2 Kings 18 (Part 1) Bible Study (Hezekiah Reigns in Judah) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (4/11/25)

I now ask you to meet me in Second Kings Chapter 18 because

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

we begin our study in one of the most prominent and highly

praised kings in the history of the Kingdom of Judah.

The fact that three extensive chapters are dedicated to this

one man highlights the significance of his story.

And that doesn't even count what is said of him in Second

Chronicles. That doesn't count what is

included in the book of Isaiah. This leader is significant.

Some even consider him to be a second David because this very

chapter that we're going to study tonight celebrates his

emulation of the man after God's own heart.

And he who I speak of tonight goes by the name of Hezekiah.

His name means Yahweh strengthens.

As we come to this text, we are going to witness a unique

strengthening in the Kingdom of Judah because of one man's firm

devotion to the true God. And I trust that after all we've

been through in Second Kings thus far, we will know great

refreshment from Hezekiah's walk with God.

And so this is going to be a little bit of an Oasis for us as

we have traversed through this book faithfully.

Now we come to receive much encouragement of what it means,

what it looks like to really serve the Lord when you have

every reason in your personal life, in your culture that would

encourage you otherwise. So there's much to glean from in

these verses tonight. We'll consider the 1st 12 of

them in this chapter, but let's begin now looking at the first 3

verses. Second Kings 18 verse one.

In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel,

Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.

He was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned

29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abby, the

daughter of Zechariah, and he did what was right in the eyes

of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

We've often reflected on the remarkable truth that children

of unrighteous parents are still able to develop a sincere and

vibrant walk with God even with the absence of a godly role

model. And that inspiration can be

found here with righteous Hezekiah because we are reminded

right away of his wicked father, A has.

We've studied a has in depth in previous weeks.

So I don't want to revisit that point because we've touched on

on many occasions in the study of second Kings.

But I do want to look at a unique aspect of Hezekiah's

upbringing that I trust will provide a deeper sense of hope.

Because if you remember studying A has, we not only confirm that

he was an unrighteous king, we also came to the conclusion that

he was a monstrous father. If there's any hesitation to

believe that, may I remind you one of the greatest atrocities

that he committed as recorded in Second Chronicles chapter 28.

2 Chronicles 28 · chapter mention

Let me read this to you from verse three of Second Chronicles

28. And he being a has.

And he made offerings in the valley of the son of Henom, and

burned his sons as an offering according to the abominations of

the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

Oh, I have so many questions with this horrendous insight and

how it connects with the story of Hezekiah, but if there was

one, I would want to ask and find an answer for it.

Is this. How did Hezekiah survive in a

household where the father slaughtered his sons with

religious conviction? If we're told here that he has

burned his sons, plural, how did Hezekiah escape?

That's a legitimate question, wouldn't you say?

Did he grow up before his father became more depraved and adopted

the abominable practices of the nations?

Could it be that unlike his siblings, Hezekiah was spared

for succession and so he became the protected heir?

We are not given the exact reason for his survival, for his

preservation, but one thing that we can say with absolute

certainty is that this this man was born and raised in a brutal,

unpredictable, frightening environment.

And that is the story of many. That their childhood isn't just

defined by a void of moral compass, a void of godly

guidance, but that they were also subject to the parents

despicable neglect and abusive behavior.

And for many of those people, their future tends to be

predictable according to statistics, where they inherit a

vulnerability, profound instability, because the father

or the mother who was called to protect them and nurture them

instead became the means to inflict various wounds upon

them. And for some, the way they cope

with that is that they themselves choose a path of self

destruction, sin, in order to try to manage the trauma that

they endured from a young age. Not Hezekiah.

But it read in Second Kings that he did what was right in the

eyes of the Lord, against all odds and statistics if you will.

There are two important words with that statement.

You can miss it very easily. He did.

It was a personal choice that he made at the age of 25.

I will choose to follow the Lord.

Imagine having a conversation with Hezekiah, 25.

Imagine interviewing him as a new king, asking about his

family background and asking about his siblings, for example.

He says yeah, my, my siblings, most of them are not here

anymore. Why?

My dad gave him up to the fire. You want to talk about trauma,

You want to talk about horrors. This man knew it.

And sometimes we just have to sit long enough in a passage of

Scripture and consider the implications.

These are real people. These are not characters of a

moral story. This is an historical account.

And Hezekiah here chooses not to resign himself to dysfunction,

justifying it by the damage that he knew from a young age.

Many people do, though. Instead, what you find here is,

is this man's testimony revealing that faith in the

grace of God can help us overcome any past relational

disadvantage, even if even if it came with unspeakable abuse.

It's OK, People are just coming. I truly wonder if the same man

who said of him that he walked in the ways of David imitated

David's faith in this particular area.

Do you remember what he said in Psalm 27, verse 10?

Psalms 27:10

For my father and my mother have forsaken me.

Does anybody know the rest of it?

But the Lord will take me in. But the Lord will take me in.

What a revelation. Think about that.

David is singing about how God's love is more dependable than the

love of his parents, more secure, more available.

And I, and I like to think that Hezekiah, believe the same.

Do you? As important as human bond is,

as important as a mother's touches and a father's

affirmation may be, do you have the faith in your heart to

believe that God's love for you can make you more whole than

anything else? A lot of people get themselves

into great mess, patterns of dysfunction and relational

issues because they failed to build their identity upon that

foundation. My mom and my dad, if they

forsake me, yes, they might have forsaken me.

But let me tell you, the Lord brought me in.

Do you think that's just a theological checkbox and David's

profession of faith, or did he experience that?

I experienced that, so much so that he wrote about it.

And so we see here that Hezekiah had a bright future ahead of him

because he chose to walk in the ways of the Lord.

Speaking of David, we learned that Hezekiah, yes, walked in

the ways of that wonderful man of God.

Don't we see you there in verse three of Second Kings 18?

And there are a couple of other kings that we've already studied

that did the same, but Hezekiah was different.

And we are immediately told how, look at verse four.

He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down

the ashra, and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that

Moses had made for until those days the people of Israel had

made offerings to it. It was called Nehushtan.

Look at the first few verses. He removed the high places.

This is the first recorded king of Judah who took that bold step

and dismantled those places of worship.

Up to this point, for the longest time, these stations of

worship were considered convenient and even harmless,

even by good kings. And when it comes down to

Hezekiah, we learned that he did not concern himself with what

other leaders did. No, instead he knew that God's

Word demanded A singular, central place of worship, and he

determined to dismantle anything that would distract from it.

What a word of encouragement for many.

Christians listen very carefully who establish what they believe

and how they live for Christ, primarily based on what a

prominent pastor or leader might believe about a certain doctrine

or truth. I've heard over the years of

people who are willing to overlook some things or even

ignore clear passage of Scripture or misinterpret it.

Why? Well, because so and so taught

it this way, or because so and so views this in a different

light, and they put too much trust in the interpretation of

another. And if that's your temptation,

learn from Hezekiah. The Word of God was his sole

authority. Not what a particular branch,

not what a particular denomination or a particular man

of God, a commentator or teacher or a wonderful preacher.

What does God's Word have to say and are you willing to abide by

God's Word even though spiritual heroes may not view with that

kind of importance If he just went with the trend, Well, you

know, King ASA didn't take him down, so I just leave him.

Jehoshaphat didn't really think it was a big deal, so I won't do

it. No, no, no, God's Word said one

place to worship. I'm going to listen to God.

Unfortunately for some people, it's no, no, it's doctor so and

so said this pastor so and so said that.

OK, great. Does it agree with God's Word?

Didn't John tell us that we've all been anointed with the Holy

Spirit to teach us? Yes, we do receive from teachers

and God has gifted certain people to explain truths, but

not with things that are clear and obvious.

Do you ignore them just because you take somebody's word for it?

Hezekiah is early on showing that he is willing to stand

alone, even if it's countercultural, even if it's

counter Christian culture. Now the extent of this man's

reform reaches areas and items that we didn't even know about.

Look at verse 4 again. He broke in pieces the bronze

serpent that Moses had made for until those days, the people of

Israel had made offerings to it. We haven't seen this since

Numbers chapter 21, this particular relic, and some

Numbers 21 · chapter mention

believe it's been 800 years since the people of God

originally engaged with this thing.

And yet clearly it's been preserved since the days of

Moses, since the days of the wilderness.

And we hopefully recall the testimony behind this, that when

the people of God, at a later point in their journey through

the wilderness, yet again did not believe the word of the

Lord, the Lord released fiery serpents to bite them, to punish

them, to discipline them because of their sin.

And yet it's because of a man's intercession.

The Lord instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent, to

raise it up on a pole, and to call all the people to simply

look upon it, and they would know their healing.

The Lord Jesus, when he was approached by Nicodemus at

night, taught him that that pole pointed to his work on the

cross, did he not? And that the simple look of

faith, the eyes of the heart, that gaze upon the one who was

lifted up, is enough to receive healing from spiritual poison.

Is that what he said in John 314 to 15?

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so

must the Son of Man be lifted up.

And whoever believes in him will have eternal life.

Whoever would believe in him may have eternal life.

It's amazing how many things in the Old Testament point to

Christ, things that we might not consider.

But Jesus in this case is not only the fulfillment of that

miracle. Like any other thing, any other

foreshadowing, He is the greater fulfillment of it.

In what way is the Lord Jesus greater than what that bronze

serpent was able to do for the people of God?

Well, there are many explanations.

Let me give you a major one. The healing virtue that flowed

from the faith of the people connecting with what God

instructed concerning that bronze serpent only lasted that

day. Only on that awful day did it

not. So no matter how many offerings

as we read here that the people gave to this bronze serpent, no

matter how long they stared at it, it could do nothing for the

people. The best that I can offer is a

memory of what God has done in the past.

Now consider Jesus when he was lifted up 2000 years ago

according to our calendar. The Sinner can still look upon

that truth with the eyes of faith and know and receive

healing. Unlike the bronze serpent,

century after century after century, it was just a statue.

But Jesus said that points to me being lifted up, and here we are

2000 years later, and on May 18th we're going to hear a few

testimonies of those that I looked upon him and I received

my healing. It reminds me of that hymn.

The blood will never lose its power.

It reaches to the highest mountain, it flows to the lowest

valley, and that blood that gives me strength from

day-to-day will never lose its power.

Does anybody know the other reference in the New Testament

that brings us back to the bronze serpent?

If you know the answer, you can answer.

You can say it out loud. Most people know John 314 and

15. I'll wait, no rush.

Anybody know where else is the Holy Spirit bring up the

incident of the fiery serpents in the wilderness in Numbers 21?

Hebrews is a good guess, but that's not what I'm thinking

about. It's one of Paul's writings.

You can make a case that Paul wrote Hebrews, First

Corinthians. Let's turn that together.

First Corinthians chapter 10 and let's look at verse 9.

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and

were destroyed by serpents. Now what's the context?

He is again pointing to the wilderness journey and drying

out principles for practical holiness.

And Paul says here that they put Christ to the test.

So listen, not only does that account point to Jesus and his

finished work on the cross, it also is a reminder that Christ

himself was the one that they did not believe in.

What does that teach us? Well two things at least.

One, that the New Testament over and over again confirms the pre

existence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Don't we see it here? What does he say?

We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and

were destroyed by serpents. Who do they not believe in

according to Paul's words? Not just God, not just Yahweh,

Jesus Christ. Paul says let's not do the same.

Let's not do the same. And here's the second lesson

that through Jesus and the apostles teachings and the

writings, we are encouraged to know how to engage with the

Hebrew Scriptures. If I take what Christ says in

Nicodemus in John chapter 3 and what Paul says here in First

John 3 · chapter mention

Corinthians 10, then I learned the dual purpose of my study of

the Old Testament. I'm looking for Christ and I'm

also looking for what he asks of me as a follower of him.

So we should always, as we come to the Hebrew Scriptures, look

for Jesus predictions and foreshadowings, but we should

also look for principles and illustrations of what it means

to live for him. That's how the New Testament

handles the Old Testament Jesus as it points to me and what I

did nothing you can do to imitate it, but also points to

what you can do after you put your faith and trust in me, what

it looks like to live for my glory.

That's what we endeavor to do every Friday that that's what

we're doing here tonight as we study this man, Hezekiah.

So let's return to it in second Kings 18.

Unfortunately, what was originally meant to be an

instrument of good turned into an object of worship.

Not only did they venerate this item, they began to make

offerings to it. So what's, what's the lesson

here? The lesson is very clear, is it

not, that humanity has the tendency to exalt God's means of

grace beyond their purpose? And we are very good at turning

things into idols rather than channels bringing us and

pointing us back to Him. So let's not limit this

applications to the millions of people who are fixated on

shrouds or the bones of Saints or other relics.

We too are capable of looking at past movements, past ministers,

current movements, current ministries, current ministers

and making them more than they ought to be, failing to see that

their channels of grace and actually making them the object

of our affection. And now they compete with

Christ. It's debated who labeled the

bronze serpent with the name Nehushtan because translations

depicted differently. But contextually, especially

when you know what this name means, there is greater evidence

that Hezekiah was the one who named it.

This especially you have the King James Version in your hand

because it will read there the last part of verse 4, and he

called it Nehushtan. You won't find that in the ESV.

It's a little bit more clear in the Hebrew.

What does Nehushtan mean? A thing of brass, In other

words, a piece of metal. Understanding that, it makes

sense, then, for Hezekiah to be the one who labels it in this

way. Why?

Because that's pretty degrading for an object of worship, isn't

it? A thing of brass?

That's the point. Because this man of God is

reminding the people of God. This is just an instrument.

It can't offer anything to you. It's lifeless and apart from

God's animating work, it's void of purpose.

It offers you absolutely nothing.

And listen, a true man of God will remind himself and others

that any means of God's goodness is simply an instrument in his

hand. Hello, Paul says to the

Corinthians. What is Apollo's?

Who is Paul? Servants through whom you have

believed as a Lord assigned to each.

We're nothing To view yourself that way will keep you from much

trouble. And from time to time to let

people know also that you are only human and to remind

yourself that others that you're being blessed by, they're only

human. They put on their pants one leg

at a time like you. It's got through them, it's got

in them. And this man is doing that.

In this case, I just can imagine the reaction of the people when

he took this thing and crush it into pieces.

It was around for centuries. It was normalized.

It was ingrained in their system and in their culture.

He could care less the high places.

He just was sniffing for anything that rivalled God's

word and he dealt with it. This is a true reformer, and

we're only beginning to learn from him.

Let's read from verse 5 down to verse 7, Second Kings 18, verse

five. He trusted in the Lord, the God

of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the

kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

For he felt help fast the Lord. He did not depart from following

him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses,

and the Lord was with him. Wherever he went out, he

prospered. He rebeled against the king of

Assyria and would not serve him. Look at the beginning of verse 7

again. And the Lord was with him, a

statement rarely made about the kings of either Israel or Judah,

but it's said of him. But what was rare in the days of

the kings does not have to be uncommon for us, because we are

granted, in those very verses that we just read, a formula to

secure the Lord being with us. Now hold on.

I know it is true that in a general sense we are promised

God's unbroken companionship as his children.

But it is unrealistic and dishonest to say that each of us

experienced the Lord's fellowship in the same way.

You can't tell me that a worldly Christian will know the same

blessings as the one who chooses to walk closely with Christ.

Impossible. So is there anything here that

can grant us the assurance or the recipe to be able to secure

this wonderful, prosperous way of life of the Lord being with

us wherever we go? Absolutely.

It's found in the preceding verses.

Look at the beginning of verse 5 again.

He trusted in the Lord #1 Now look at the beginning of verse

6. For he held fast to the Lord and

look at it again in verse 7. And the Lord was with him.

You see the formula? He trusted in the Lord, He held

fast to the Lord. So let's consider those things

separately. He trusted in the Lord.

What does it mean to truly trust the Lord?

This is synonymous with having faith in the Lord.

But is there anything that can give us confirmation?

Is there any definition, anything that we can work with

that can give us greater clarity or, or the ability to measure

the trust that God asked of us that pleases him?

And I'll never forget a New Testament passage that removed

any fogginess, any confusion around this area of a faith that

pleases Lord, a mature faith. And it's in the place where Paul

teaches about Abraham's faith and how he exercised his faith

and how he became a model of faith for believers even today.

So let's turn to Romans chapter 4 and let's look at a couple of

Romans 4 · chapter mention

verses here that I hope will bless you as much as it blessed

me. Romans 4 beginning in verse 20,

it says here, no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise

of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to

God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had

promised. Look again at the words, the 2

words beginning in verse 21, fully convinced.

Can I ask you a personal question?

Does it ever disappoint you? When you assess something, you

analyze something, you explain something to someone and they

don't trust you. Does it bother you?

And we're fallible. We have a tendency of

exaggerating. We have the ability to forget.

So how much more the one who is perfectly knowledge, who never

blows things out of proportion, who has never ever been accused

of being inaccurate, what does it do to his heart when we don't

fully trust him? Nobody here would settle.

No husband here would settle for their wives to partially trust

them and vice versa. We we wouldn't settle for that

in a friendship level. It would irk us, it would bother

us, it would disturb us. So again, how much more that the

one who is perfect in all of his ways.

And yet we see here that the faith that blesses God is when

we were totally persuaded that he's able to accomplish anything

that he has said, that's Abraham.

He was fully convinced, fully convinced.

So one way for you to know the strength of your faith is to

simply ask, am I completely persuaded by the word of God

where God said something? Do I say I trust you completely?

And if we can say that we're fully convinced, then there is

much room for growth. And that's in fact how we know

we're growing in faith. Look back at verse 20, the

middle of it. But he grew strong in his faith.

He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.

And then it's followed by fully convinced that God was able to

do what He had promised. So the way I can determine

growth in my trust is that I become more and more convinced

that whenever I come to God's Word, whenever I hear a truth

concerning him, what He's able to do, who He is in my heart, it

has this unshakable ability to rely on that you know that

you're growing and you know that you're maturing in faith.

I believe Hezekiah had that kind of faith.

He trusted in the Lord and it's proven here the courage that

this man had. He removed the high places.

He destroyed something that was recognized by everyone as a

harmless thing worthy of devotion.

He goes no, so that there's no question here.

That verse five and second Kings 18 where it says he trusts in

the Lord is the secret to his boldness.

He didn't fear what would happen to him by his own kinsmen.

It didn't worry him at all because he trusted in the Lord

and this pleased God. But not only that, it says here

that he held fast to the Lord. All this means is that Hezekiah

was consistent with his consecrated life.

It says that in the same verse, and this principle applies to

all men, even kings, that there are certain blessings that are

reserved for those who are consistent, who are consistent,

who determine I will never depart from the Lord.

I will continually submit to what is Word asks for me in all

seasons. There's something there for such

a person who remains in longevity with the Master.

Yes, He is faithful to bring us back when we veer.

Yes, He is faithful to restore us when we run away.

Absolutely. But there's something for those

who remain steadfast. Another way of saying it is as

long as you stay close to the Lord, God will stay close to

you. OK, maybe you don't believe me,

so let me show you what the Lord says to another king in Second

Chronicles. Let's turn that together in

Second Chronicles chapter 15, verse one.

2 Chronicles 15 · chapter mention

This is what the Lord says through Azariah to ASA.

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded, and he

went out to meet ASA and said to him, Hear me, ASA and all Judah

and Benjamin, the Lord is with you while you are aware you are

with Him. If you seek Him, He will be

found by you, but if you forsake him, He will forsake you.

It's very simple. Do we find the same truth in the

New Testament? What did James tell the

believers? Draw near to God and what He'll

draw near to you. So the Lord doesn't go anywhere.

He's constant. He remains.

We're the ones that take different routes.

We're the ones who delay when he moves forward.

We're the one who go goes ahead when He remains.

So as much as this is a warning, it's a wonderful promise that as

long as you seek him, he'll, he'll let you find Him.

And if you want to remain under the current of his blessings,

just stay close to him. How do you stay consistent over

all these years? Where else am I going to go?

Like, is it that much of A mystery?

What else does this world have to offer me?

So like Peter, you have the words of eternal life.

I can't go anywhere. There's no other option.

So Hezekiah, he held fast to the Lord and as long as he held fast

to the Lord, the Lord made him prosper wherever he went.

Include the Lord and everything, walk with the Lord and

everything and you will know perpetual blessing.

And we're told here back in Second Kings 18, two ways that

Hezekiah was prosperous. Let's come back to it in verse

7. The second part of verse 7,

something very important. It says here, let's just read

the whole verse. And the Lord was with him

wherever he went, he prospered. There's a new covenant version

of spiritual prosperity. But notice this.

He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.

Why is that significant? Do we remember how Judah got

into the mess with Assyria to begin with?

Why was Assyria oppressing these people?

Because of Hezekiah's father? What did Ahaz say to Assyria

when he was threatened by Syria? Just go back a couple chapters.

Look at chapter 16, Look at verse 7.

So it has sent messengers to Tillglath Pilizer, king of

Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son.

Remember we covered that. I am your servant and your son.

Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and

from the hand of the king of Israel who are attacking me.

And here's now the son of A has and he goes, I'm not your

servant, nor am I your son. I'm his servant and I'm his son.

Just again, another wonderful encouragement for us that we can

shake free from generational patterns.

Just because you saw your father, your mother and older

sibling or your friends walking in a certain way, it doesn't

mean that you have to submit to that blueprint for life.

You can make the choice to say, actually, I'm not going to

worship you. I'm not going to serve you.

My allegiance is to the Lord himself.

Counseling would look a lot different if we believe that

instead of allowing people to sit in their trouble and their

disorientation, No. Give people hope and pull them

out of that. Don't let that person remain a

victim. Is it true that people are

victims of people's sins? Yes, but they can no victory.

A lot of the counseling today people are offering is not real

counsel. It just numbs people and keeps

them in defeat. But notice here a very important

sequence. Hezekiah could not break free

from Assyria until he first fully trusted and committed

himself to the Lord. Did he rebel against Assyria

before he trusted and gave himself to the Lord?

No, it came after. The confidence, came after the

promise came after the blessing of being free came after.

And the same is true in our relationship with sin, our

relationship with anybody for that matter.

You can't know the blessing that God has for your personal life

and for your relationship with others until you establish your

relationship with Him. And there are many people

around, even philosophers and psychologist and pundits and

gurus that are trying to fix this whole mess in our world.

How do we establish peace? How do we create harmony?

How do we flourish injustice? Have you ever thought how the 10

commandments were organized? You have the first four that

deal with obedience and worship to God alone, and the final six

deal with our relationship with others.

That's not an accident. You want to avoid murder and

theft and adultery and covetousness.

You can't skip the first four steps.

You have to be rightly related to God if you're going to know

any kind of hope with your relationship with others and

vice versa. But everybody wants to skip

that. Everybody wants a level of

righteousness, but they don't want to be right with God.

No, no. We see it throughout Scripture

that it first begins with submission to Him before we know

any kind of sweetness in any other area.

Verse 8 is another way that He prospered.

Says here that he struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza

and its territory from watchtower to fortified city.

So in a way, here we have a subtle reference to how Hezekiah

is imitating David in another way.

In the same way that David chased off the Philistines a new

victory over them, Hezekiah is also walking in his steps.

That's why people recognize him as a second David, even in the

way that he worshipped Hezekiah, wrote a song to the Lord.

If you go to Isaiah, let's come to the final verses of our

study. This is quite interesting how it

ends, at least this section, verse 9.

Let's read the last three verses together.

In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the 7th year

of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, shamaniser, king of

Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it.

And at the end of three years he took it in the sixth year of

Hezekiah, which was the 9th year of Hosea, king of Israel.

Samaria was taken the king of Assyria.

Carry the Israelites away to Assyria, and put them in Hella,

and on the high bar the river of Gozen, and in the cities of the

Medes. Because they did not obey the

voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant.

Even all that Moses the servant the Lord commanded, they neither

listened nor obeyed. Is there any reason why these

verses should stand out to us? Think about previous studies, a

very recent study like the last two weeks.

It's not as deep as you think, it's just an observation.

Is this a review of what happened to the northern Kingdom

of Israel? It is right, but we already

covered this extensively in Second King 17.

So then why is the historian repeating it?

Why are we reviewing this again? I thought we were moving on.

I thought we're dealing with the Kingdom of Judah.

Why are we getting a flashback? It seems out of place.

But read carefully, look again at verse nine in the fourth year

of King Hezekiah, which was the 7th year of Hosea, son of Ela,

king of Israel, who was the Last King of Israel.

So the reason why this is being brought up again is because we

are to see that the Syrian exile, that the conquest of the

people of Israel took place during the reign of Hezekiah.

So that's the focus here. Hezekiah was fully aware of what

happened to his neighbors, and this was to highlight the risk

that Hezekiah took and rebelling against Assyria.

If Assyria was successful in dominating a much larger Kingdom

in Israel, what would take place?

For Judah, now that they revolted.

So in a sense, we're left here with suspense.

What's going to happen now? You turned your back on Assyria,

and it wasn't too long ago where the Syrians took over the nation

of Israel, namely the Kingdom of Israel up north.

At the same time, we're minded here that Israel did not lose

because they disobeyed Assyria, but they disobeyed who?

God. That's why they were given into

the hands of Assyria. So the additional lesson is

this, As frightening as obedience may be, there is no

safer place. And to live in full obedience to

God, there's no safer place. And Hezekiah is about to learn

that in the rest of this chapter, he's going to anger

Assyria. He's going to actually invite

the wrath of Assyria. And as we're reading this, we're

thinking, what's going to happen?

But we're also offered hope because we're told in this

commentary, yes, Israel, they didn't listen or obey Moses, who

represented God, but Hezekiah has been obeying God.

So how's this going to turn out? What's going to happen to this

man and his Kingdom? Because they have been obeying.

And I think this is a wonderful place to finish our study

tonight. Do you know why?

Because when we consider the times that we're living in, how

the entire world seems to be on edge, let's recall where the

safest place, where the safest place is to be.

I'm reminded of the words of Isaiah, who very descriptively

predicted the judgement of Judah and Jerusalem and Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 3 · chapter mention

3, and you know this very well. I've quoted this verse many

times. I'm not ashamed to quote it

again in Isaiah 310. Tell the righteous that it will

be well with them. Interestingly enough, Isaiah is

going to come alongside Hezekiah as they're going to be tested

with the appearance of Assyria on the front step, and he is

going to bring much assurance to him and the people of Judah.

And let me offer to you as the people of Jesus Christ, no

matter what you see on the news, no matter what conspiracy

theories are out there, no matter what the market looks

like, the vacillation of our culture, of our politics, don't

put your hope in any investment. Don't put your hope in any

location that you have to move your family to ultimately put

your trust in Christ, dwell in the shelter of the Most High,

and abide in the shadow of the Almighty, and you have nothing

to fear. That's something that we're

going to see in more than one lesson as we continue in our

study of Second Kings. But for now, let's digest

together. I just encourage you now to

genuinely take a short amount of time to engage with the Lord, to

fellowship with the Lord, to respond to the Bible study.

Well, we thank you that You've reminded us what it means to you

for us to trust in you, to cling to you.

We want that for our lives. We want you to be with us.

And whatever we do, wherever we go, we thank You that you

promised us that you'll never forsake us.

But Lord, it is US who forsake you.

So we pray that even now, if anybody knows that they are not

walking with you the way that they should be walking with you,

that they would see the promise, they would see the prosperity

that's available, and they would abandoned anything that is

trying to take them away from you.

Lord, remind us that there is nothing more fulfilling than

fellowship with you, that there's nothing that can offer

the comfort and the hope and the joy that a real, vibrant

relationship with you offers. And Lord, from the bottom of our

hearts, we even ask that if there's anybody here who is not

taking that step of faith by planting their eyes on Calvary

and understanding the significance of your sacrifice

and applying it to their own lives.

Lord, may tonight be the night. May tonight be the night where

people will cross from death to life by understanding the

simplicity of the gospel. That you've come to die for us

and that it's our sin that put you on the cross.

And that on that cross you've paid our debt and that we can

receive a clearance if we but trust that that's what you did

for us. And so for any person who is

outside of the Lord Jesus this evening, may they look upon you

now, and may they receive the healing, the restoration, the

salvation that only you provide. May we look to no other, Lord,

we pray that if there are any high places in our lives, maybe

even an object, a ministry and minister, a beloved Christian,

and we have elevated them and we adore them and we're relying on

them more than you. May those things break into

pieces even now. Help us, Lord, place you above

all things, to extol and exalt you above all men or all women.

Take preeminence, Lord, and our affections and our meditations

may be Christ and Christ alone. Lord, we now sing to you and

rejoice that You are the true king of our lives.

This Bible study can only go so far.

It must be the work of Your Holy Spirit to groove these things in

US, to surgically deal with the issues of our souls.

And yes, Lord, even for those who might have had a traumatic

past, may they trust that Your grace is able to rescue them and

set them on a path of true joy and victory where they can offer

hope and healing to others in Your name.

So any person here who has convinced themselves that they

are a permanent victim, oh, in Christ, may they know victory.

Only you can do it and we give you glory for all the things

that you can do in our lives. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Let's stand and worship the

living Christ.