- King Hezekiah of Judah is given high praise, that there was no other king of Judah before or after him that was like him because of how greatly he trusted the Lord.
- It reminds me of the Centurion’s faith in the gospels. Jesus marvels at his faith, saying that He hadn’t found anyone in Israel with such faith.
- I’ve prayed at times throughout my life for faith that would amaze Jesus like that.
- I don’t need to be the most trusting of all time, but I want Jesus to marvel at my faith. I want faith that makes Him smile.
- It says that the Lord was with him and he prospered wherever he went.
- I want the Lord to go with me wherever I go. More like, wherever He goes, I want Him to take me with Him.
- It was during this time that Assyria conquers Israel and takes them away, taking over their land. Hezekiah sees the land of Israel being given to his enemies.
- Then Assyria comes for Judah. They are able to conquer many of their fortified cities. Now they are going to come for Jerusalem.
- Hezekiah is no longer feeling the Lord’s prospering. He seems to react in the flesh, at first.
- He buys off the king of Assyria, stripping the Lord’s temple of its gold.
- The king of Assyria doesn’t back down. It will be to Hezekiah’s deliverance, but it comes in the next chapter.
- Hezekiah doesn’t let go of the Lord. He will turn to Him again.
- We’re told he held fast to the Lord.
- Even though paying off Assyria with the Lord’s gold didn’t show trust and fear of God, Hezekiah didn’t abandon the Lord. When he saw that his way didn’t work, he doesn’t turn to another king for deliverance. He will turn to his God.
- I love reading the stories in the Bible that praise people that we can see obviously stumbling in their faith. From Abraham who never wavered in his faith to David who kept God’s commandments and walked in the Lord’s ways, we see flawed men praised by God.
- Hezekiah is no different. He falters, but his heart stayed turned towards God. He was a godly man. His heart kept God’s commandments.
- He trusted God and held fast.
- God sees the end from the beginning and is good at overlooking those foibles in the middle. Let’s run our race and finish well with hearts that trust God and hold fast to His word.
