Taunts H ezekiah was probably one of the best kings of Judah. Not only did he rid the land of idol worship, but he removed the high places and smashed the Asherah poles, and re-established the temple as the sole place of worship to Yahweh, consecrating it as holy. The high places had been a stumbling block to every generation, and almost every other king allowed the high places to remain, but not Hezekiah. We are told that “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.”(2 Kings 18:5-7) This description of Hezekiah really stands out among the lists of other kings! He was a man who sought the Lord wholeheartedly and desired to worship Him alone. When the Enemy By: Stephanie Weaver
As great a king as he was, Hezekiah wasn’t perfect. Like all humans, he had
some pride and some impure motives. But there are also many things for us to learn from Hezekiah’s good example of faith and trust in Yahweh, especially when he was faced with overwhelming opposition…
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had come to attack. He had already captured all of Judah’s fortified towns, but King Hezekiah had temporarily pacified him with gifts of gold and silver. But now, the tyrant Assyrian king was back, issuing threats and hurling insults against not only Hezekiah, but also the God in whom Hezekiah trusted, against the King of Kings himself. It’s important to understand that the Assyrians were the dominant world power at this point in time, and had taken over nearly every other nation, including the nation of Israel. Because they had forsaken their covenant with Yahweh and persisted in worshiping other gods, the northern kingdom of Israel had been captured by the Assyrian armies and exiled from their homeland. And now the Assyrians have shown up to take control of Judah too. Hezekiah would have had every reason to be afraid. He would have had every reason to believe that his little kingdom couldn’t stand against this powerful empire. And the Assyrians had every confidence that they could wipe Judah off the face of the earth, just as they had with Israel and many other nations. They boasted exactly that when their field commander brought this message for King Hezekiah: “What makes you so confident? Who do you really think you can depend on to help you now? If you think Egypt is going to rescue you, you’re sadly mistaken! And as for this God of yours, he’s the one who sent us to destroy your country in the first place!” (2 Kings 18:19-25, paraphrase mine) And then in an attempt to intimidate the people of Judah into abandoning loyalty to Hezekiah and giving into fear of the Assyrians, he continued by saying, “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you by convincing you that God will really deliver you from the hand of our king! Don’t listen to him when he tells you such things! You’d be much better off just surrendering to us. We can give you lives of ease and wealth. Wouldn’t you rather live than die?! Hezekiah is misleading you when he says your God has the power to save you!! Have the gods of any other nation ever been able to stop us? We took over Samaria (Israel’s capital), didn’t we? What makes you think your God is any different?” (2 Kings 18:30-35, paraphrase mine) When King Hezekiah hears these blasphemous words, he sends messengers to the prophet Isaiah in sackcloth and great distress to ask for prayer and for mercy from the Lord. The prophet replies with a message of hope and encouragement. Isaiah tells
2 Kings 18:5-7 NIV
Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
This is especially noteworthy considering that Hezekiah’s father was King Ahaz, one of Judah’s most wicked kings, who engaged in all the most detestable pagan worship practices (including child sacrifices) and completely desecrated the temple of the Lord. It would have been easy for Hezekiah to repeat the sins of his father and continue in the idolatry he grew up with, but he didn’t! He renounced his father’s wicked ways and chose to serve the One true God.
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