The Wise King (2)

TEXT: 2 Kings 18:1-8

INTRODUCTION: Who will you be? We must choose who we want to be in like. Do we want to be for the Lord or against Him? We all have a choice to make, and in 2 Kings, we read of a king who made his choice. We can learn a lot from king Hezekiah in chapter eighteen of twenty-four. He chose to be a righteous king (1-3), he chose to be a king of action (4-6), and because of these choices, he prospered (7,8).

THESIS: We must follow and obey the Lord, for our character and action to be noticed and blessed.

A Righteous King (1-3)

A. Hezekiah became king (1,2).

1. In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

2. He was twenty-five years old.

3. He went on to reign for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.

4. His mother was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

B. He was righteous (3).

1. Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

2. Can this same sentence be written about us and how we live our lives?

3. He did according to what David did.

4. David set a good example for future kings to follow, what legacy will we leave behind?

A King of Action (4-6)

A. Hezekiah stood up against idolatry (4).

1. He removed all the high places, something past kings failed to do.

2. He broke down the images and broke the bronze serpent Moses made.

3. The serpent had become an idol to Israel, they had burned incense to it.

4. Hezekiah burned it.

5. He called it Nehustan.

B. He trusted in God (5,6).

1. He trusted in the Lord.

2. There was no one else like him among all the kings of Judah.

3. Our trust in the Lord will set us apart.

4. He clave to the Lord, not departing from His commandments.

A Prosperous King (7,8)

A. Because of his obedience, he prospered (7).

1. The Lord was with Hezekiah.

2. He prospered wherever he went.

3. He was victorious against the king of Assyria, rebelling against him and no longer being in servitude.

4. The Lord blesses those who obey Him.

B. He was a victorious king (8).

1. Hezekiah was victorious over the Philistines.

2. He smote them to Gaza and the borders.

3. God gives His children victory over their enemies.

Conclusion: Hezekiah chose to be a righteous king and he chose to be a king of action. Because of these choices, he prospered. Who will we choose to be? We must follow and obey the Lord, for our character and action to be noticed and blessed.