II Kings 18-20  Hezekiah becomes the king of Judah.  He is described this way, " And he did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.  He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Ashram.  He also broke the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.  He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.  For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses." 

Hezekiah was an extraordinary man and king.  In a day when there was more evil done in Israel than ever, Hezekiah took a stand.  It was not an easy thing to do.  He had the responsibility of taking care of the people of Judah and he chose to do it by putting his faith in the Lord and not in chariots or horses.

There are several important events in Hezekiah's life that teach us about real faith.

Assyria came up against Israel and took Samaria captive, ending the nation of Israel.  Then they turned their sights on Judah.  Hezekiah refused to surrender to Assyria.  Hezekiah prayed and led his people to pray.  And God delivered them from the Assyrians with a miracle.  Over night 185000 Assyrian warriors died as they camped outside the walls of Jerusalem!

Later, Hezekiah became very sick and was about to die.  Isaiah came to him and told him to prepare to die, but Hezekiah prayed and God heard his prayer and turned Isaiah around to deliver a message that he would have 15 more years. Hezekiah was healed.  3 days later he was in the temple worshipping the Lord.

Hezekiah was not perfect.  He made a terrible mistake by showing the envoys of Babylon all of his treasures.  Isaiah told him that in the future Babylon would take it all away.  Yet, Hezekiah was relieved that the remaining days of his life would be in peace.   When Hezekah died, his son Manasseh succeeded him.  He was only 12 years old at the time.

Truth - Faith doesn't mean that life will be easy.  It doesn't mean that we won't have pain or that we won't face terrible enemies.  But, true faith means that when we pray, we know that God hears us and that He will help us.  Hezekiah's prayer is recorded for us:

"O Lord, the God of Israel,

Who art enthroned above the cherubim,

Thou art the God, Thou alone,

of all the kingdoms of the earth.

Thou has made heaven and earth.

Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and hear;

open Thine eyes, O Lord and see;

And listen to the words of Sennacherib,

which he has sent to reproach the living God.

Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have 

devastated the nations and their lands

and have cast their gods into the fire,

for they were not gods but the work

of men's hands, wood and stone.

And they have destroyed them.

And now, O Lord our God, 

I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the 

kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, 

O Lord, are God. "

(v15-19)

Our God and Father,  You are enthroned above the cherubim,  You are God alone.  Once again the world and all the kingdoms of this earth need to know that You alone are God.  Lord, will You once again incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see.. would You stop the evil that is destroying people.  Would You move in ways that cause the world to know that You alone are God. Will You send forth workers into Your harvest so that men and women and children will hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and be saved?  We are so thankful that You never change.. You have planned from ancient times and You will bring to pass all that You have promised.  We cling to You, even as Your servant Hezekiah did.  May our faith be strengthened and our hearts content in Your peace and truth. Amen