Hezekiah: Godly Example and Sober Warning: 2 Kings #25
This is an exposition of 2 Kings 20:1-21. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, January 22, 2017.
Intro:
As a general rule, our heroes are seldom as good as we portray them and our villains are not as evil as we pretend. People are neither all good or all bad. We are a mixture of both. Thus we are often surprised by villains and disappointed by heroes. One of the arguments for the truth and integrity of the Scriptures is its honest portrayal of biblical characters. Peter was a bold, passionate follower of Christ. He famously declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He promised to follow Christ unto death. The sincerity of his promise is demonstrated by his wielding a sword when they came to arrest the Lord Jesus. Yet we also see Peter cowering by the fire denying he even knew Jesus. David was a man after God’s own heart. Yet he was an adulterer and devices a murderous plot in an attempt to cover his sin. Hypocrisy is a garment we all seem to wear quite naturally. King Hezekiah is no exception. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord including removing all the high places, breaking down the pillars and cutting down the Asherah. Thus he prospered in all that he did for the LORD was with him. Yet when threatened by the Assyrians he empty the treasury seeking the mercy of king Sennacherib. When the king continued his threat and mocked the God of Israel, Hezekiah prayed that God would intervene. 2 Kings 19 opened with the king in torn cloths and sackcloth. It ended with God promising deliverance from Sennacherib for His own sake and the for the sake of His servant David.
2 Kings 20 gives us two snapshots from the life of king Hezekiah. The first is of the king dying and God’s grace extended. The second of a king “hedging his bet” and God’s declaring the future exile of His people. Our text this evening is found in the 20th chapter of 2 Kings.
Text: 2 Kings 20:1-21
You need to understand biblical writers are not always concerned with chronology. They do not necessarily tell the story in historical order. The events of 2 Kings 20 occur before or early on in the events of 2 Kings 18 and 19. Still we wonder, “What does this have to do with us?” What is the point? What can we learn from this? I think it is that even men of faith have feet of clay. Even those whose lives are godly and righteous are prone to doubt. That even strong faith can falter. Thus Hezekiah is both an example and a warning.
As we work our way through these 2 snapshots we discover that…
Thesis: King Hezekiah serves as both an example of godly faithfulness and a warning against hesitant, halting faith.
In the first 11 verses Hezekiah walks in faith and receives a word of compassion and grace from the LORD while in 2 Kings 20:12-19 he seeks to “help” the LORD’s promise by joining forces with Babylon against Assyria and hears the message of God’s judgment upon His people. His life thus encouraging us with the benefits of living righteously and consistently seeking to walk humbly before God and warning us of the danger of second guessing and developing a backup plan in case the LORD doesn’t come through. Hezekiah’s failure should instill in us a godly fear. The kind of fear that causes us to seek God’s preserving grace.
Let me point out 2 things as we work through the passage.
- A repentant, confident Hezekiah receives mercy from the hand of a gracious God. (20:1-11)
- A halting, second-guessing Hezekiah hears the troubling yet righteous judgment of the Sovereign God. (20:12-19)
Let this good king serve as an example:
Faithfulness is often fragile.
Even good and godly people can be inconsistent.
Faith easily fades.
May this instill within us a holy fear causing us to cry out to God for persevering faith.
That we seek His mercy in keeping us.
When Scripture makes us tremble, that’s a good thing.
King Hezekiah serves as both an example of godly faithfulness and a warning against hesitant, halting faith.
Let this king be example to you of the Jekyll and Hyde nature of our feeble faith.
May it drive us to seek God’s sustaining grace with greater diligence.