Hezekiah

Today I read about Hezekiah. What an interesting story he has. God worked a remarkable miracle to save Hezekiah and the country of Judah from Assyria. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, was sweeping across the land conquering nation after nation. Hezekiah and the people of Judah prayed to God for help, and they reinforced their city to prepare for a seige. Sennacherib sent messages insulting the people of Judah and God... and God responded. God can defend His honor! He sent an angel who annihilated all the fighting men ahd the leaders and officers in the Assyrian camp. Can you imagine what that was like? There is no battle... just dead men everywhere. So Sennacherib withdrew "in disgrace"... he slunk back home, defeated and probably confused as to what happened. When he went into the temple of his own god, some of his sons killed him. Why do people defeated by God go back and worship something shown to be inferior? To see God's power and walk away from it... well, I guess the truth is in the submission and control. We can control false gods and we don't have to submit to them.

Anyway, Hezekiah saw a remarkable miracle here. Not only did God defeat Assyria but all the nations around had a new respect for Judah. Hezekiah became "Somebody" and it went to his head. He became proud. I wonder if he thought God saved him because he deserved it. He did a lot of good things, but he thought pretty highly of himself. In his later years he foolishly showed off all his treasures to the son of the king of Babylon... and that moment of bragging put a seed of lust in Babylon's heart to possess it all. Isaiah the prophet told Hezekiah how foolish he had been, and that one day his own descendants would be conquered by Babylon. Hezekiah's thoughts on this are so sad. "There will be peace and security in my lifetime" He showed no thought for the welfare of the future, of his own children and grandchildren. Indeed, a son born to him in his later years of life succeeded him as king, and he was very wicked. The miracle that established his kingdom at the beginning of Hezekiah's reign was forgotten by the end his life.

May we not forget what God has done for us. It is not for our own sakes that God saves us, it is for His.