This study, taught by pastor Barry Forder at our Sunday morning service on Sunday 13th September 2015 is part of our series of studies through the book of Second Kings – the 12th book in the Bible.
In this verse by verse study of chapter 18 we finally get to see a good king that walks in the ways of the LORD!
The books of 1 & 2 Kings give us the history of the monarchy of the divided kingdoms of Israel (north) and Judah (south), but the main focus of these books up until now has been the northern kingdom. However, as we saw in the last session, Israel has now been taken into captivity by Assyria because of their disobedience and unfaithfulness. The attention therefore now switches to the southern kingdom of Judah, and king Hezakiah.
Of Hezakiah we are told: “He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.” (2 Kings 18:5-7).
To the natural mind, to stand up against the mighty king of Assyria, who had already subdued many nations, including Syria and Israel, was foolish! But Hezakiah, despite who things seemed, chose to trust God. As a result, his people trusted him; and even though the special envoy of the king of Assyria tried to taunt Hezakiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, trying to cause them to doubt God’s ability to protect them, Hezakiah and his people stood firm.
The challenge of this chapter to you and I is, will you just give in to the pressure to become like the world? Will you allow the world to carry you away from God’s inheritance, falling for the lies that the world will give you everything you need?
May you be blessed and challenged as you listen to this study.
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for later listening. The PowerPoint slides in PDF format are also available for download.
