Hezekiah - Sermon 1

Introduction

2 Kings 18:1 “Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.”

The first verse that speaks of Hezekiah’s reign gives us two pieces of information: the time frame and spiritual condition of the Jews.

Time Frame

Hezekiah becomes the King of Judah towards the end of Hoshea’s reign as the last king of Isreal.

Within the same time frame: Hezekiah was Judah’s 13th king, while Hoshea was Israel’s 19th king. Hezekiah came from the same dynasty that started the Kingdom of Judah. Whereas, Hoshea represented Israel’s 9th dynasty.

Hezekiah became the King of Judah sometime around 730 B.C.

By this time the traditional powers of the region had been weakened: Egypt, Israel, and Syria. The main threat in the region was Syria. To the east of Assyria, Babylon was beginning to blossom into a regional power.

The Spiritual Condition

Israel’s spiritual condition

Israel's spiritual condition was on life-support. God was waiting for the perfect time to pull the plug on the Kingdom. None of Israel’s 19 kings were good. Israel’s 230+ years of existence during the divided Kingdom stage was rife with evil.

The start of the increasing evil with Israel started with her first king, Jeroboam who was motivated with fear and compromised with comfort. Underlying Jeroboam’s fear was his unwillingness to trust God’s word.

Before he ever became the King of Israel, while Solomon was still Israel’s king, God sent Ahijah the prophet to Jeroboam. Telling him that God will divide the kingdom into 2 kingdoms for Solomon’s wickedness. Jeroboam will be the king of the 10 northern tribes.

Towards the end of this meeting Ahijah said: 1 Kings 11:38 “And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.”

Even though God miraculously fulfilled the first part of His promise to Jeroboam, by crowning him as the 1st king of Israel during the divided Kingdom stage, Jeroboam’s fear prevented him from resting in God’s second promise of conditional perpetuity. Therefore, Jeroboam took matters into his own hands by devising a plan that would keep his people from going to Judah for worshipping God.

1 Kings 12:25-30 “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.”

Fear prevented him from resting in God’s promise. The sad tale of Israel started with Jereboam fearing in the wrong direction. He feared the people’s rejection of him more than fearing God. Fearing people caused him to betray God’s word and started Israel down a spiral path of destruction. If he feared God the result would have been rest and peace.

Proverbs 19:23 “The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: And he that hath it shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil.”

Judah’s spiritual condition

Hezekiah’s father was Ahaz. He ruled Judah for 16 years and was a wicked king.

Ahaz is known for 3 horrific actions

First, he did not just depart from Jehovah; he left Jehovah for the worst kind of pagan god. He sacrificed multiple children to Molech.

2 Kings 16:3 “But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.”

There is some question what it meant for the child to pass through the fire. Based upon how the text was written and God’s hatred for Molech the version that appears to be true comes from Midrash:

How did the Molech work in the valley of Ben-Hinnom? It was built outside of Jerusalem. It was an idol with the face of a calf and open hands like someone who wants to take something from another. They would light this idol on fire until his hands were scorching. There were seven chambers before him and according to the quality of the sacrifice that is how close one could come to him. If one came with a bird, then chamber one; goat, chamber two; sheep, chamber three; calf, chamber four; cow, chamber five; and ox, chamber six.

He who brought his child, the priests would say that he is offering the greatest sacrifice. He would enter the innermost chamber and go kiss the Molech . . .

The priests would then take the child and place it near the Molech. They would then bang with drums to drown out the cries.

. . Come see how obsessed the nation was with idol worship that they were willing to do something so reprehensible! But in the future, says G‑d, “I will remove your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.”9

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/4372130/jewish/The-Tragic-History-of-Molech-Child-Sacrifice.htm

Second, when Syria and Israel allied themselves against Judah, instead of going to the Lord, he went to the Assyrians for help.

2 Kings 16:7-8 “So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.”

Ahaz was more confident in the Assyrians than the Lord. Even though the Lord sent Syria and Israel to humble Ahaz, he was not humbled but hardened. Judah would rather put their hope in Assyria than the Lord.

Third, he perverted the Temple of God by worshipping a god of his own choosing. He became the potter and god became the clay. He fashioned an altar and god after his own fashion.

2 Kings 16:10-11 “And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.”

Judah needed a king like Hezekiah

Hezekiah was the 13th king of Judah. Five kings were good, six kings were bad and one king was mix bag. After 16 years of King Ahaz, and 215 years of confusing results, Judah was at a crossroad and needed a Godly king.

America is at a crossroad. She has done enough wickedness to have been toppled decades ago. It is only by God’s mercy that we have not been completely destroyed. Our identity has been lost, authority has been compromised, truth has been deregulated, and the light of the gospel has been spurned. We desperately need God to raise someone or some people up to be national beacons of hope like Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s summary

2 Kings 18:3-8 “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. 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. He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.”

He did that which was right in the sight if the Lord religiously

He did that which was right in the sight of God. “It is a mark of God’s amazing grace that such a God-fearing king as Hezekiah could be the son of such a wicked king as Ahaz” (https://www.icr.org/books/defenders/1994/). If we had a birds eye view of his reign, he pleased God. The only person that matters is God. Many kings did that which was right before their’s or other’s eyes. The summation of Hezekiah's reign was he did that which was right before God’s eyes.

This speaks of Hezekiah being conscious of God’s presence in his life and God’s ability to see everything. The prophet and judge Samuel was reminded by God’s rebuke that He sees everything; even the things hidden from man. 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

What did Hezekiah do that spoke of him being righteous before God.

2 Kings 18:4 “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.”

He cleansed worship

2 Kings and 2 Chronicles mentions the first significant act of King Hezekiah was to restore worship of Jehovah. 2 Kings 18 speaks of this restoration in a few verses. 2 Chronicles devotes 3 chapters to this cause.

I will highlight what 2 Kings has to say then fill in the blanks with 2 Chronicles.

He removed the high places. The high places were established altars in the rural parts of the Kingdom. The original purpose was to provide an opportunity for the country folks to worship God without having to travel to Jerusalem. The problem was two-fold. First, God was not pleased with these high places. When God did speak of the good kings of Judah, He lamented their unwillingness to remove the high places. 2 Kings 15:34-35 “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the Lord.”

Second, they were used to worship pagan gods. The high places could not be regulated by any religious authority; therefore, many of these high places were used to worship false gods. Hezekiah did what no other king of Judah did by removing the high places.

This was important for Hezekiah to do. The High places represented convenience over conviction. Worship of God is not about convenience but conviction. God takes worship serious and so should we.

No experience on earth should delight the soul of the Christian more than corporate worship. It is the high point of our week and establishes the rhythm of our lives. As Christians, we live life from Lord's Day to Lord's Day. We dare not "neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some" (Heb. 10:25).

We often speak of worship in terms of giving and receiving. We receive mercy, grace, kindness, peace, love, truth, and joy from God in corporate worship. And though this is true, receiving is not the essence of worship. We also give to God in worship. We give Him adoration, praise, confession, love, and service. And though this is true, neither is giving the essence of worship. Corporate worship, rather than primarily consisting of receiving or giving, is about being. Above all else, worship is an encounter with the living, true, holy, sovereign, triune God of the universe. He chooses to meet with us by His Word and Spirit, and there is nothing as meaningful, rich, and glorious on earth as the church gathered together with its Lord and Savior in worship.

(https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/seriousness-worship).

Therefore, worship must be about God and not our convenience.

He broke the images and groves. The images were idols and the groves were to the goddess Ashtoreth. Hezekiah went as far as to destroy the brazen serpent. The brazen serpent was originally a memorial of God’s saving power. His people who were bitten in the wilderness (Numbers 21) by poisonous snakes becasue of their wickedness. Yet, in God’s mercy, he tasked Moses with creating this brazen serpent so that if people looked to this brass pole with a serpent on it they will be divinely healed from the poison. The pole was a memorial to remind Israel of God’s mercy and grace. Yet, it became an item to be worshipped.

These steps Hezekiah took was aimed at reforming worship. Directing people to worshipping Jehovah, in a manner that pleases Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 29-31 gives a more detailed account of the restoration of worship.

Sanctified the priest, Levites and temple. 2 Chronicles 29:5 “And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.”

Why was there a need for restoration? 2 Chronicles 29:6-7 “For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.”

He caused the priests and Levites to cleanse the holy house, which had been shut up by his father Ahaz, and had been polluted with filth of various kinds; and this cleansing required no less than sixteen days to accomplish it. - https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/2-kings-18.html

After the cleansing and the sanctification of the Priest, Levites and Temple, the King called for all of Israel, even the northern tribes to celebrate the Passover. The Passover was help a month later than prescribed by the law becasue cleansing and sanctification process went beyond the prescribed Passover date. King Hezekiah wanted to keep the Passover but not with a polluted Temple and Priesthood. We can get so stuck in our ways with the formality of worship that we forget the most important part - our hearts being sanctified to worship God.

After the cleansing and sanctification, and the Passover. Following the people worshipping God they had great joy. 2 Chronicles 30:26 “So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.”

The great joy brought about a renewed spirit of revival. 2 Chronicles 31:1 “Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.”

King Hezekiah’s emphasis on worship led to a Kingdom revival that extended beyond the cities to the hills and mountains.

“The methods adopted by this good king for extirpating idolatry” (2 Kings 18 - Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Bible Commentaries - StudyLight.org) was renewing the sacredness of worship

He trusted in God

2 Kings 18:5 “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.”

The word “trust” means to go quickly for refuge. His refuge was the Lord God of Israel. As we examine his life, we will see Hezekiah go to the Lord quickly for his refuge during anxious moments. Unlike his father who went to the Assyrians, he went to the Lord God of Israel.

He clave to the Lord’s word

2 Kings 18:6 “For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.”

In verses 5-8 we can see Hezekiah’s character.

He trusted in the Lord God of Israel;

He clave to the Lord;

He was steady in his religion; he departed not from following the Lord;

He kept God's commandments. And what were the consequences?

The Lord was with him;

He prospered whithersoever he went. - https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/2-kings-18.html

He did that which was right politically

2 Kings 18:7-8 “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. He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.”

Assyria

“Hezekiah’s father Ahaz had been a vassal of Assyria and modified temple arrangements to reflect this fact (16:7–18). Hezekiah’s rebellion against the Assyrians probably involved withholding tribute from them” (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/reformation-study-bible/2Kgs.18.7). King Hezekiah put a stop to this unholy alliance that was created by a wicked king unwilling to trust in Jehovah. Even though he did not have the resources or might to withstand the Assyrians, he trusted God for protection of the kingdom.

Philistines

During Ahaz’s reign the Philistines conquered many cities towards the southern part of Judea. 2 Chronicles 28:18 “The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.” King Hezekiah reclaimed these cities.