I started preaching at 19. I didn’t have a church background and hadn’t read all the Bible. What I did have was a genuine conversion, a love for God, and God’s abundant grace.
One evening, my small congregation and I attended a meeting at the church where God first began His work in my life. The guest preacher announced we would turn to the book of Hezekiah.
Not wanting anyone to know I didn’t know where that book was, I started flipping through my Bible. My good friend on the front row turned around and said, “Couldn’t find it, could you, Bob?” I couldn’t because it wasn’t there.
I couldn’t find the book of Hezekiah, and I didn’t know who he was. So, let’s ask: Who is Hezekiah, and what does 2 Kings 18 say about him?
- Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz of Judah. When we study Isaiah, we will see that Ahaz was unwilling to trust God, even when God offered to give him a sign of His provision and protection.
- At age 25, Hezekiah began to rule and served God and the nation for 29 years.
- He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done.
- He removed the high places, broke down the pillars, and cut down the sacred pole.
- He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it; it was called Nehushtan.
- He relied on the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah after him or among those who were before him. (See 2 Kings 18:1-5).
The Nature of Idolatry
Anything that serves as a substitute for God is an idol. Idolatry is the worship of and service on behalf of something that is a substitute for God.
Idolatry is particularly harmful when it is practiced by people who claim to be aligned with God.
(1) God calls people to Himself to represent His character and reality to a world that doesn’t recognize His authority. When God’s people adopt the idols of the world, we lose the ability to present an accurate picture of God’s glory.
(2) People become like the idols they serve.
Paul describes the negative results of making money and possessions a substitute for God.
He writes, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
The prophets decry the worship of power, rather than trusting God. Here is Isaiah on the topic.
“Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!” (Isaiah 31:1).
The access to power for church leaders is seductive. God is not looking for people who know important people in high places. He wants His servants to recognize that He is the Highest of All and trust His wisdom and provision.
Hezekiah is to be commended for removing the vestiges of idol worship from Judah.
Each of us will do well to reflect daily on our relationship with God to make sure that our full trust is in Him and not some substitute.
Trouble for God’s Faithful
We live in a world that doesn’t always reward faithful obedience to God. God allows tests and trials to come to reveal His character and ours.
One test was when Sennacherib invaded Judah. In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them (2 Kings 18:13).
Hezekiah tried to pay tribute to Sennacherib and avoid the conquest of his nation by a stronger nation. The Assyrians had a different approach. They sent emissaries to Jerusalem in attempt to foment a rebellion against Hezekiah’s leadership.
The spokesman for Sennacherib, whose title was “the Rabshakeh,” could have been the early version of an Internet troll. If he had a social media account, we could change the names, dates and words, and they would be similar to what happens around the world today.
- On what do you base this reliance of yours?
- Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war?
- On whom do you now rely, that you have rebelled against me?
- See, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff . . . Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
- Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
- How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants when you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’” (See 2 Kings 18:19-25).
I’m convinced that the Rabshakeh wasn’t trying to persuade Hezekiah or his loyal representatives. Instead, he was hoping that word would spread and the inhabitants of Jerusalem would rebel and give their city to the Assyrians.
Destroyed from Within
The easiest way to destroy a nation is from within. In yesterday’s blog, we saw how the Northern Kingdom fell due to the corruption and idolatry of its leaders.
In contrast, Hezekiah remained faithful to God in the Southern Kingdom. However, the Assyrians tried to undermine them internally. They couldn’t get the king to commit idolatry, so they aimed to persuade the people to turn against their leader and overthrow the nation.
Pay attention to what you see on social media. The idols of money, sex, and power are presented to us in attractive forms.
Like Assyria’s Rabshakeh, foreign governments attempt to divide us from one another.
A dynamic relationship with God will enable us to overcome the flood of corrupting influences. It will also help us to represent His character and reality to a world that desperately needs Him.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 