After the death of David in the Old
Testament, the bible talks at great length about the kings of Israel and Judah
that followed David on the throne, but many of them did “evil in the sight of
the Lord” and led God’s people astray by pursuing “other” (false) gods.
However, there were some exceptions. One of them was King Hezekiah. Listen to what is said about him in 2 Kings
18: 3-6 - “He [Hezekiah]
did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.
He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah
poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that
time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. 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. He held fast to the Lord and did not
stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.”
Wow, that’s some pretty high praise
from God – no one like him, ever!
What did Hezekiah do to earn that kind
of praise? Well, first, he removed the
“high places.” He tore down those places
in Judah that represented idol worship.
Second, he only trusted in the Lord, the true God of Israel. And lastly, he held fast (clung) to the Lord
and did not stop following Him and keeping His commands.
The Lord recently challenged me to be a
Hezekiah. To continually search my heart
and tear down those things that would steal my worship and affections away from
Him. To trust only in Him and not the
things of this world. To cling to Him
and pursue Him with all my heart, choosing to obey His word.
We aren’t kings over
a nation, but we do have control over the choices that impact our lives. Will you join me in choosing to be a Hezekiah?
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