King Hezekiah - The Books of 2 Chronicles & 2 Kings

In this Bible Story, we return to the kingdom of Judah, where the wicked King Ahaz perished. In his place was Hezekiah - a young king whose righteousness was unmatched, not even by David himself. This story is inspired by 2 Chronicles 29-31 & 2 Kings 18:1-12. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 2 Chronicles 20 from the King James Version.

Episode 149: As the armies of Assyria surrounded the kingdom of Judah, Hezekiah met with his men. As his men were brainstorming, they noticed a river on the map that gave water to the surrounding armies. The King ordered them to dam it and the armies of Assyria had nothing to drink. While Judah prepared for attack, Sennacherib sent men to taunt and divide the people of Judah. But Hezekiah, strong in faith, took his taunts and prayed to God for His intervention. And God answered by sending the Assyrian army away in shame.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. Then, Hezekiah the King rose early and
gathered the rulers of the city and went up to
the house of the Lord Second Chronicles twenty. Dear God,
as you increase the works of my hands and multiply
all that I touched to day, I make a covenant

(00:20):
with you that as much as it remains with me,
I will make sure that I use my influence and
affluence to build the local church so that others can
have a place to be restored and healed. Like King Hezekiah,
I will place my focus on bringing excellence to your house.

(00:45):
I will be a resource to help bridge the gap
between those who are lost and those who can help
guide them back to your presence. I declare that this
will be a season of restoration and reconciliation. I declare
that the lost shall be found, and that I can
be trusted to do more and become more for your

(01:08):
glory in Jesus name, Amen, thank you for praying with
me today. Continue listening for an incredible Bible story brought
to you by Bible in a year dot.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Com King Hezekiah.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
In our last story, we learned about the tragic downfall
of Israel. Fully immersed and evil, they found themselves captive
to the dark nations. They swore allegiance to fish. Hooks
were driven into their mouths as they tugged away from
their homes. They were captives, stolen away from their country,
and yet they still did not cry out to God

(01:57):
for help. Now we returned to the Kingdom of Judah.
Whether wicked king a has perished in his place? Was Hezekiah,
a young king whose righteousness was unmatched, not even by
David himself. Inspired by the books of Second Chronicles and
second Kings.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
the Bible in a Year. Thank you for joining us
once again today. In yesterday's episode, we heard about the
fall of Israel under the cowardly reign of King Hoshea.
Generations of idolatry and rejection of God's ways culminated in
the capture, enslavement, and exile of the Israelites who were

(02:40):
dispersed throughout Assyria. Today will return to Judah to find
a shining example of a king who followed the Lord
and did his will, King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the complete
opposite of his wicked father AHAs and his righteousness exceeded
even King David. It's a beautiful example of a life

(03:02):
lived well in true, heartfelt worship and service to our God.
So let's listen joyfully to his story.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Judah was suffering like a withered plant without sunlight. Their
time under the reign of a Has produced a great
deal of pain. As king, he was supposed to be
a symbol of hope. Instead he was a symbol of dread.
The children of Judah grew up in a land filled
with uncertainty and instability. Idols erected in the streets loomed

(03:33):
over the citizens like dark watchmen. Their presence brought a
great deal of distress among the people. At any moment,
a Has or one of his priests could snatch them
up and sacrifice them. However, as all kings do, a
Has died. His body was buried in dust, and the

(03:54):
people did their best to forget him. A Has His son, Hezekiah,
was next in life to take the throne. Hezekiah was
a young man, only twenty five years old. At first,
the people truly wondered if he would be different. Hezekiah
bore the name of Ahaz as his father, but he
was nothing like him. Hezekiah grew up as a survivor

(04:15):
of his father's cruelty. He watched as false gods poisoned
his father's mind. As a result, he held fast to
the Lord with all his might. Hezekiah was anointed as
king over Judah. The crowds cheered, the elders nodded in confidence,
and the Lord rejoiced over him. Hezekiah took no time

(04:36):
to celebrate. Instead, he walked straight to the Temple of God.
The place had been neglected under his father's rule. Dust
collected in the corners of the halls. The altar was stained,
and the gold pillars had lost their shine. The temple
was empty and quiet. All they could hear was the
sound of his own footsteps. He ran his hands against

(04:58):
the walls, look up at the ceiling above. He breathed
in deeply and closed his eyes. Hezekiah listened to the quiet.
There were no sacrifices, no prayers, and no service to
the people. The silence was deafening to Hezekiah. The absence
of ministry within the walls of the temple represented the

(05:21):
emptiness of Judah. People's hearts were empty. They were far
from God. They were scared and without the joy of
the Lord. Tears streamed down his face. Hezekiah would not
allow people to stray even further. Hezekiah looked to the
front of the temple. The doors were heavy and rusted

(05:42):
from being shut for so many years. Hezekiah's heart started
to beat faster. He could feel the presence of God.
The strong hand of the Lord was upon him. His
voice was silent, but clear in his heart. Hezekiah ran
towards the temple doors and burst them open. Light beamed
through the open doorway, and a cloud of dust left

(06:05):
the halls. People who were passing by were startled at
the sudden sound. Hezekiah gathered his servants to find the
priests and levites. Then he sent word for the best
builders in the land. Hezekiah was going to mend what
was broken. He was going to restore the temple and
restore the hearts of Judah. The first month of Hezekiah's

(06:27):
rule was spent on the restoration of the temple. He
and his men spent days fixing doorways, replacing beams, and
polishing altars. The once dusty building was restored to its
former glory. Solomon himself would have been pleased with Hezekiah's work.
After the restoration was complete, Hezekiah gathered all the priests

(06:48):
and levites. The men had been cast away by King
Ahaz and had finally come out of hiding. As they gathered,
Hezekiah stood up in excitement. Hear me, Levites, He shouted,
prepare yourself and the temple. Our fathers were unfaithful. Their
hearts were dim and filled with corruption. They forsook God.

(07:09):
But we do not have to. Hezekiah began to choke up.
He could see the emotions welling up from the priests
that sat before him. Hundreds of them sat in awe
of their king's words. Hezekiah continued with passion, saying, they
shut these walls, they shut the temple, They shut themselves

(07:30):
off to God. No wonder Judah has fallen so far
from power and glory. Our fathers were killed by swords
and spears. Our sons and daughters have been taken away
in captivity. Hezekiah was speaking with a great deal of strength.
He paused for a moment and turned his face to
the temple. He spoke with a whisper, Now as if

(07:52):
it was just him and God speaking. The whole congregation
leaned in to listen. It is in my heart to
make a covenant with God. He turned back to the
leaders before him. My sons, do not be idle, do
not neglect the Lord. He has chosen you to stand
before him with honor. He has chosen you to minister

(08:15):
to God and to the people. As Hezekiah spoke, all
the priests, elders, commanders, and the levites stood to their feet.
They answered the call of God. One by one. They
entered the temple with purpose. As the months passed, the
temple began to awaken with activity again. Men and women

(08:37):
were blessed once again with closeness to God. Through the
ministry of the priests. Not only was the temple prepared,
but all the past idols and instruments of torture used
by Ahaz were burned and destroyed. Beautiful music filled the
city in streets near the temple, harps, trumpets, liars, and
symbols played to the glory of God. Praise were sung,

(09:01):
and the old psalms of David were recited in the
presence of the whole nation. With gladness in their hearts,
they bowed in worship and joy filled the streets of Judah.
Revival was echoing across the nation, and the broken were
being made whole again.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Not only did.

Speaker 3 (09:18):
Hezekiah worship the Lord with all his heart, but he
also protected the people from evil. He outlawed parts of
the country where dark arts were practiced, He banned the
worshiping of idols, and he made laws that pointed people
in the direction of God. He trusted God with all
his being. No king before him or after him clung

(09:38):
to the presence of God more honestly, he did not
depart from the goodness of the Lord, and his nation
was blessed for it.

Speaker 4 (09:49):
We began today's passage in the aftermath of a truly
terrible key. AHAs had utterly rejected God, clung to countless
foreign gods, and defiled himself and Judah in ways no
king before him had done. When he died, Judah was
suffering and the people lived in fear. Human sacrifice, something

(10:10):
totally abhorrent to the Lord, was commonplace under AHAs how
far the people had fallen from the days of good
King jotham Ah has his son Hezekiah was anointed king.
In this context, it would certainly be understandable for the
people to expect more of the same bad news. But
Hezekiah could not have been more different than his father.

(10:33):
Listen to the words of Hezekiah found in Second Kings eighteen,
verses five and six. 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. For he held fast to
the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but

(10:54):
kept the commandments that the Lord commanded. Moses, I love
those words. He held fast to the Lord. That is
a true measure of genuine success in a person's life,
to hold onto God and never let go, and also
to know that God will never let go of us.

(11:15):
That's precisely what Hezekiah did. Immediately when he became king.
He set about fixing what his father had destroyed. The
Temple of God, which AHAs had plundered and shuddered, was
a pathetic sight. It grieved Hezekiah to see the Lord's
house in such a state. But as sad as that
picture was, what it represented was even a greater tragedy.

(11:38):
The people's hearts were in shambles. They were so far
from God, disconnected from his life giving presents. So Hezekiah
resolved to make both things right, both at the temple
and with the people. He called the priest and levice,
as well as the best craftsman. Work began immediately to

(11:58):
repair and restore the temple. God's servants. Priest, who had
gone into hiding and fear of the evil king, stepped
into the light again to begin guiding God's people and
their hearts back to the Lord. Hezekiah knew he must
lead the people and inspire them to change their way
of life, so he stood up and spoke loudly and clearly.

(12:21):
The many sins that had been committed by their fathers
hung heavy upon the people, but there was a way out.
Judah was suffering the consequences of generations of sin. This
was not God's cruelty, but it was the natural outflow
of their sin and the righteous judgment of God. It
was clearly time for the people to repent. Hezekiah's words

(12:45):
are a clear message to all of us today. We
do not have to live in the sins of our fathers.
We don't need to live in generational disobedience. We can
break the power of sin in our lives through repentance.
Hezekiah was calling God's people back into a relationship with
the Lord, who is provider and sustainer, and the people listened,

(13:08):
and we should listen today in America. We know that
we stand in the face of an impending judgment from God.
In fact, the whole world is right for judgment. But
there is a way out. There is a way through,
and that is through the Cross and the resurrection of
Christ and personal salvation, but also the revival of God's

(13:29):
Church and God's people. Judah experienced a revival of hearts,
and the symbols of evil and idolatry were purged from
the land. Songs of praise fill the air as the
people worship the One True God again, Our Great God,
our Good God accepted their praise and their worship because
they came to him sincerely. And what a sweet song

(13:51):
it must have been for the Lord to hear the
songs of revival, the songs of repentance, and the songs
of faith. Dear God, how we thank you for the
example of Hezekiah, who gave his entire life to following
you and to holding fast to you and leading your people.
Thank you that you forgive when we are ready to repent,

(14:15):
and today we're reminded that when we are prodigal children
that we can always come back to you because of
your love for us. And in the name of Jesus,
we pray Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible
in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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(14:36):
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(14:59):
there of available to you. God bless you.