Hezekiah

[Read 2 Kings 19:14-19]

O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.

“Holy Hezekiah!”

That’s written in the margin of my Bible next to 2 Kings 18:3. The Batman-like exclamation is not meant to be trite. Righteous kings were a rare phenomenon in Hebrew history. Just as God warned the people through his prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 8), power and wealth would prove too potent a temptation for most of the men who ascended to the Jewish throne. Unfortunately, the people would pay dearly for their overwhelming desire to be like their neighbors.

But just when you are tempted to believe all is lost for this chosen nation, God raised up Hezekiah. At 25 years old, he got busy for God…shutting down counterfeit religions and reopening the temple. His ascent was a like a comet in a dark Mideastern sky. His father was evil, and his son would prove to be really evil. But in the precious middle was Hezekiah. Holy, humble, heroic.

In 2 Kings 19, there is a national crisis and King Hezekiah is afraid. But he doesn’t give in to his fear, instead running immediately to the Lord for guidance. He literally spreads the problem before God and pours out his heart. Most impressively, he honestly desires for God to be glorified, not himself.

2 King 18:3 states, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.” His singular focus on the glory of God would echo into the ministry of a future King and descendant – the very Son of God.

Pastor Nancy Bontempo
Friends Community – Sturgeon Bay



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