Hezekiah

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Hezekiahs Temptation

• 2 Kings 18-19

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Sources of Hezekiahs Story
  2 Kings 18-20 2 Chronicles 29-32 Isaiah
36-39 Daniels poem
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Judahs Monarchy
Reheboam Abijam Asa Jeshoshaphat Jehoram Ahaziah A
thaliah Jehoash Amaziah Uzziah Jotham Ahaz
Manasseh Amon Josiah Jehoahaz Jehoiakim Jehoiachim
Zedekiah
Hezekiah
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Hezekiah the king

• 2 Kings 181-2 ESV 2 Kings 181 In the third
  year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel,
  Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to
  reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he
  began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years
  in Jerusalem. .

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Hezekiah the king with a difference

• 2 Kings 183 3 And he did what was right in the
  eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his
  father had done.

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Hezekiah the king

• 2 Kings 184 4 He removed the high places and
  broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah.

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Exodus 203 3 "You shall have no other gods
before me.

• DOING WHAT IS RIGHT

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Hezekiah the king

• 2 Kings 184 .. 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). . .

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Exodus 204-5 4 "You shall not make for yourself
a carved image, or any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them,
for I the LORD your God am a jealous God

• DOING WHAT IS RIGHT

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King Hezekiah

• 2 Kings 185 5 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.

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Joash
2 Kings 122-3 2 And Jehoash did what was right
in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because
Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3
Nevertheless, the high places were not taken
away the people continued to sacrifice and make
offerings on the high places.
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Amaziah
2 Kings 143 3 And he did what was right in the
eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his
father. He did in all things as Joash his father
had done. 2 Kings 144 4 But the high places
were not removed the people still sacrificed
and made offerings on the high places.
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Hezekiah the king with a difference

• 2 Kings 183 3 And he did what was right in the
  eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his
  father had done.

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Josiah
2 Kings 2325 25 Before him there was no king
like him, who turned to the LORD with all his
heart and with all his soul and with all his
might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor
did any like him arise after him . .
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Josiah
2 Kings 236-7 6 And he brought out the Asherah
from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem,
to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook
Kidron 7 And he broke down the houses of the
male cult prostitutes who were in the house of
the LORD 2 Kings 2319 19 And Josiah removed all
the shrines also of the high places 2 Kings
2323 23 But in the eighteenth year of King
Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in
Jerusalem. .
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• 2 Kings 186 6 For he held fast to the LORD. He
  did not depart from following him, but kept the
  commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.

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How God sees us

• Personal spirituality
• Reflected on what we do
• Clean house...
• Petty quarrels
• Bad habits
• Things done within his power
• For us is there a ......nevertheless....but?

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Accomplisments
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Accomplishments
Rebelled against Assyria
2 Kings 187 7 And the LORD was with him
wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled
against the king of Assyria and would not serve
him.
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Northern Kingdom defeated and exiled
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Northern Kingdom defeated and exiled
Sennacharib
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The reason for the fall

• 2 Kings 1811-12 11 The king of Assyria carried
  the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in
  Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and
  in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did
  not obey the voice of the LORD their God but
  transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses
  the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither
  listened nor obeyed.

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• 2 Kings 1814-16 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah
  sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying,
  "I have done wrong withdraw from me. Whatever
  you impose on me I will bear." And the king of
  Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three
  hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of
  gold. 15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver
  that was found in the house of the LORD and in
  the treasuries of the king's house

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• . 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold
  from the doors of the temple of the LORD and from
  the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had
  overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.

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Hezekiahs response

• 2 Kings 1919 19 So now, O LORD our God, save
  us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms
  of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God
  alone."

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Charles Taylor Prism
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Senaccharibs annals

• I fixed upon him.And of Hezekiah king of the
• Jews,who had not submitted to my yoke,
• 46 of his fenced cities, and the strongholds,
  and the smaller cities which were round about
  them and which were without number, by the
  battering of rams, and by the attack of engines,
• and by the assault of foot-soldiers, and ...
• I besieged, I captured 200,150 people, small and
  Great, male and female, horses and mules, and
  asses, and camels, and oxen, and sheep
  innumerable from their midst I brought out and
• I reckoned them as spoil.

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• Hezekiah himself like a caged bird within
  Jerusalem,
• his royal city, I shut in. Banks against him
• I threw up, and whosoever came forth from the
  gate of his city, I turned back.
• I requited his sin.

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Senaccharibs annals

• As for Hezekiah himself,
• the fear of the majesty of my lordship
  overwhelmed him and
• the Urbu of his trusty warriors,
• whom, in order to strengthen Jerusalem, his royal
  city,
• he had brought in, left him.
• 30 talents of gold, and 800 talents of silver,
  and precious stones.

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Hezekiahs illness

• 2 Kings 201 ESV 2 Kings 201 In those days
  Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of
  death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz
  came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD,
  'Set your house in order, for you shall die you
  shall not recover.'"

In the midst of 2 year seige
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Hezekiahs prayer

• 2 Kings 202-3 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face
  to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3
  "Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked
  before you in faithfulness and with a whole
  heart, and have done what is good in your sight."
  And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

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Gods anwser

• 2 Kings 205-6 5 "Turn back, and say to
  Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the
  LORD, the God of David your father I have heard
  your prayer I have seen your tears. Behold, I
  will heal you. On the third day you shall go up
  to the house of the LORD, 6 and I will add
  fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you
  and this city out of the hand of the king of
  Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own
  sake and for my servant David's sake."

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Hezekiah asked and was given as sign

• 2 Kings 2011 11 And Isaiah the prophet called
  to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten
  steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of
  Ahaz.

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Gods Response

• 2 Kings 1934-35 34 For I will defend this city
  to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of
  my servant David." 35 And that night the angel
  of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in
  the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose
  early in the morning, behold, these were all dead
  bodies.

Herodotus wrote mice ate bow strings
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• Isaiah 375-7 5 When the servants of King
  Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them,
  "Say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD Do not
  be afraid because of the words that you have
  heard, with which the young men of the king of
  Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a
  spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and
  return to his own land, and I will make him fall
  by the sword in his own land.'"

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Sennacheribs fate

• 2 Kings 1937 37 And as he was worshiping in
  the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and
  Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the
  sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And
  Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

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The fruits of victory

• 2 Kings 2012 12 At that time Merodach-baladan
  the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys
  with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he
  heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

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2 Kings 2013 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and
he showed them all his treasure house, the
silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil,
his armory, all that was found in his
storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in
all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
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• 2 Kings 2014-15 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came
  to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did
  these men say? And from where did they come to
  you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come from a
  far country, from Babylon." 15 He said, "What
  have they seen in your house?" And Hezekiah
  answered, "They have seen all that is in my
  house there is nothing in my storehouses that I
  did not show them."

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The Judgement of God

• 2 Kings 2016-18 16 Then Isaiah said to
  Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD 17 Behold,
  the days are coming, when all that is in your
  house, and that which your fathers have stored up
  till this day, shall be carried to Babylon.
  Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 18 And
  some of your own sons, who shall be born to you,
  shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in
  the palace of the king of Babylon."

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Hezekiahs Response
2 Kings 2019 19 Then said Heze-kiah to Isaiah,
"The word of the LORD that you have spoken is
good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be
peace and security in my days?"
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One observationFour temptations

• Hezekiahs Life

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The observation It is possible to be faithful
and yet fail in some areas

• David ---extraordinarily humble man did not
  oppose Saul, heart after God then there is
  Bathsheeba.
• Abraham ..lies about wife, Eliazer
• Eli no moral guts to discipline own family
• Job pre-emptive sin offering...God owes him
  answers
• Temptation comes after life time of service
• Idolise super Christians ...float above us mortal
  men
• Temptation not less as you grow old change focus

Need to be real with each other
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Need to hold each other in check

• Galatians 211-14 11 But when Cephas came to
  Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he
  stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came
  from James, he was eating with the Gentiles but
  when they came he drew back and separated
  himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And
  the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along
  with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by
  their hypocrisy.

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• 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in
  step with the truth of the gospel, I said to
  Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew,
  live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can
  you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

Be careful of grudges
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1. Temptation to False priorities

• 2 Kings 202-3 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face
  to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3
  "Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked
  before you in faithfulness and with a whole
  heart, and have done what is good in your sight."
  And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
• False evaluation of priorities in the light of
  eternity

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Paul

• Philippians 122-23 22 If I am to live in the
  flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet
  which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard
  pressed between the two. My desire is to depart
  and be with Christ, for that is far better.

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Simeon

• Luke 226 -29 "Lord, now you are letting your
  servant depart in peace, according to your word
  30 for my eyes have seen your salvation

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We measure everything with the yardstick of our
own comforts and life span

• Life to be lived to the praise of God and His
  people

Patients desire and purpose to live Distortion
of values True spirituality has as its anchor
eternity Romans 835-36 35 Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword... We can suffer ,
ridiculed, tortured, deprived, in light of
eternity Theologian working commentary Extra 15
yrs brought great sin Set priorities in light of
eternity
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2. Temptation of self righteousness

• 2 Kings 203 "Now, O LORD, please remember how I
  have walked before you in faithfulness and with a
  whole heart, and have done what is good in your
  sight

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Self righteousness has no basis

• 1 Corinthians 47 7 For who sees anything
  different in you? What do you have that you did
  not receive? If then you received it, why do you
  boast as if you did not receive it?
• Next to the cross?
• Doug

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3. Temptation to turn Gods provisions into your
own accomplishments
Particular risk for successful Christians
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2 Chronicles 32

• 2 Chronicles 3225-31 25 But Hezekiah did not
  make return according to the benefit done to him,
  for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came
  upon him and Judah and Jerusalem.

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• 27 And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor,
  and he made for himself treasuries for silver,
  for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for
  shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels 28
  storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine,
  and oil and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and
  sheepfolds.

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• 29 He likewise provided cities for himself, and
  flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given
  him very great possessions.
• 30 This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of
  the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the
  west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah
  prospered in all his works.

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Gods secret purpose in the Babylonian envoys
visit

• 2 Chronicles 3231 And so in the matter of the
  envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been
  sent to him to inquire about the sign that had
  been done in the land, God left him to himself,
  in order to test him and to know all that was in
  his heart.

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Israel

• Deuteronomy 82-4 2 And you shall remember the
  whole way that the LORD your God has led you
  these forty years in the wilderness, that he
  might humble you, testing you to know what was in
  your heart, whether you would keep his
  commandments or not.

Where is your heart?
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Jesus in the Judean Wilderness At the beginining
of his ministry At the end of his 40 days
Where is your heart?
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Hezekiah in end of his life at pinnacle of
spiritual achievement and physical riches
Where is your heart?
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Pride dressed up as spirituality

• How God blessed me as prefaced formality
• Condescension
• your remarks flies past them
• Cannot believe anyone else can contribute..risk
  of highly educated
• Story Christian leader. Success corode sense of
  perspectivewhole new range of sin

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Sins of Old Men

• Legalistic mentality
• Greed
• Bitterness
• Self pity
• Preoccupation with health
• Frivilous spending
• Spiritual Retirement
• Questioning Gods sovereignity as friends die off

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Genuine humility before God
Genuine belief it is God not you... ...sit back
sense of anticipation Readiness to believe God
will use others Openness to input from
others Working hard at all the things He would
have you do
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4. Temptation to Complacency
2 Kings 2019 19 Then said Heze-kiah to Isaiah,
"The word of the LORD that you have spoken is
good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be
peace and security in my days?"
Desire of creature comforts...he leave us to see
what is in our hearts No zeal or drive for
anything active for Gods people, frustration
,sense of powerlessness Hardness of heart,
callousness... Society individuliasm
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The SolutionSeek Gods face

• 2 Kings 185-6 5 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. 6 For he held fast to the
  LORD. He did not depart from following him, but
  kept the commandments that the LORD commanded
  Moses

Positive not only negative. Forget the small
things because preoccupied with big things.
Sennacherib the illness
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The Deuteronomic King

• Deuteronomy 1718-20

18 "And when he sits on the throne of his
kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a
copy of this law, approved by the Levitical
priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he
shall read in it all the days of his life, that
he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping
all the words of this law and these statutes, and
doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted
up above his brothers, and that he may not turn
aside from the commandment, either to the right
hand or to the left, so that he may continue long
in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
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The True Deuteronomic King