Click to read 2 Kings 18
Synopsis
Finally, Judah produced a king who put an end to the idol worship practices by removing the Asherah poles and high places of pagan sacrifices. The bible recorded 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.... And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.".". Hezekiah's faith in God gave him courage to rebel against Assyria and was freed from Assyria's control for many years until Sennacherib became Assyria's king.
Even when Judah was attacked, Hezekiah still trusted the Lord. And eventually, Sennacherib was defeated.
Major Verses
V4 - The bronze serpent was made during Moses' time to cure the Israelites of poisonous snake bites. It was originally created to be a reminder of whom to worship, instead of being an object of worship by itself. As such, Hezekiah had to destroy it along with the Asherah poles and the high places.
What I learn
We must be careful not to allow aids to our worship to replace the worship of God. We must not allow popular things such as worship songs, churches, pastors, the crucifix and popular Christians to become idols that replace the true God.
V5-7 - Hezekiah, in contrast to his father, Ahaz and the many other kings before him, chose to follow and obey God closely. He trusted the Lord. As such, the Lord favored him and allowed success to come to him in "whatever" he undertook.
What I learn
God demands our obedience and trust in Him. His reward is immense for those who choose to obey and trust Him. If we want to be successful in all that we undertake, we have no other choice but to simply trust and obey Him. Jer 29:11 says it clearly, He has plans for our success, plans not to harm us but to give us hope and a future. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to trust and obey Him daily.
V28-36 - The army commanders of Assyria taunted the people of Judah. They tell them not to trust in God, as Hezekiah did. But the people remained silent, as instructed by Hezekiah.
What I learn
There will be people around us who will taunt us for our belief. They will tell us not to trust our God. We must stand our ground, even if we need to be silent before these taunting. But more importantly, we must know and trust our God for He is indeed the true God. Let us build our faith up by reading His Word daily and get to know Him better each day, so that the "taunting" of the world will have no effect.
Summary
Hezekiah trusted and obeyed God. He was blessed in whatever he undertook. God rewards all who trust in Him.
Your say ... please share your learning with us by clicking Comments.
Up next .... Hezekiah prayed for deliverance against Sennacherib. God answers .... read it on 28th Jul.
Perhaps there are 2 reminders we can ask the Lord and the Holy Spirit to keep us in faith.
ReplyDeleteR1: Is He the same Christ yesterday, today, and tomorrow?
R2: Taken from a song...
"God is Good, All the time..."
(so God is Good all the time!
not sometime, not the last time,
not that time, not another time,
not the next time....)
Can we believe, submit and obey?
God's Word is alive and the Truth.
...We can, because Christ did.