2 Kings 18

2Ki 18:5-7 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. (6) For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. (7) The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

Whew! The last couple chapters have been depressing. Remember when we were studying through Joshua and Israel was rocking face. No longer, but at least we get a breath of fresh air with these next couple chapters. Hezekiah becomes king of Judah and is one of few righteouss kings they have. He is only concerned with one thing, doing the will of the Lord. Immediately he comes in and changes things in Israel. He tears down all the high places. This would have been quite a task considering how steeped in idolatry Israel was. Secondly, He killed any form of idolatry, including the bronze serpant Moses had made. What was meant for good back in the day, had been turned into another false god.

The next of Hezekiah was to against the enemies of Israel. He immediately takes down the Philistines. He also decides to rebel against Assyria. This was a very brave move. Assyria was the world dominant empire at the time. Hezekiah did not care. He trusted God to deliver them.

By the end of the chapter we have a very angryAssyrian army ready to take down Israel. Hezekiah had foolishly taken the things of the temple and attempted to buy out Israel's freedom but of course this did not work. Hezekiah was not going to make the same mistake again. This time he tells Israel to stand up against Assyria and not to answer to their lies.

The story of Hezekiah reminds me that, though it might take sacrifice, anyone can stand up for the Lord. It does not matter whether the entire school is against you, your entire nation, or the entire world dominant empire. Hezekiah first and formost, followed the commands of the Lord himself. After he had established in his heart that God was the Lord, he attacked any idolatry. Finally, he attacked that which held him in bondage. In our Christian lives we are called to take action and tear down idols and attack that which holds us bondage. Remember to always do it in the Lord's strength, for our own strength will only fail us.