The Testing of Good King Hezekiah

2 Kings 18-19

            Coming out of the entanglement with the family of Ahab, Judah found herself governed by several good kings, faithful to the Lord. We read about Joash and his repairs to the temple last week (2 Kings 11-12). Amaziah, Azariah, and Ahaz all did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. In this stretch, Ahaz is the lone exception to this pattern. But his son, Hezekiah—he’s the high water mark. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord—just as his father David had done.” As far as I can tell, Hezekiah is the only king to be so favorably compared to David.

            Unfortunately, even the most faithful king is not exempt from the powers arrayed against the Lord and his people, and the king of Assyria comes back. There are a couple of places where the arrogance of the Assyrian king is on full display. In 18:28, his messenger declares “Hear the word of the great king!” That sounds an awful lot like something the Lord would say (2 Kings 7:1, for example). Later, in verses 31-32, Sennacherib promises a vine and fig tree and a land flowing with honey. That sounds like the Lord’s promises in Deuteronomy 8:8 and Micah 4:4. Even the king’s conclusion, “Choose life!” echoes the Lord (Deuteronomy 30:19). The Lord will  not let such usurpation stand, and Jerusalem is miraculously delivered when the angel of death destroys the entire Assyrian army.

            So, Hezekiah learns that even the most faithful are not beyond having their faith tested. We need to learn that, too! Sometimes, we think that if we are faithful then we deserve a life of blessedness; relatedly, sometimes we think if things don’t go our way there must be something wrong with us. But Hezekiah is described as a faithful king, who nevertheless is tested to his limit. And Sennacherib needs to be taught that he is not God, a lesson that we unfortunately also need to learn sometimes. In both cases, we are learning to “walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).