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2 Kings 18 (Part 1) Bible Study (Hezekiah Reigns in Judah) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (4/11/25) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I now ask you to meet me in Second Kings Chapter 18 because
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  we begin our study in one of the most prominent and highly
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  praised kings in the history of the Kingdom of Judah.
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  The fact that three extensive chapters are dedicated to this
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  one man highlights the significance of his story.
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  And that doesn't even count what is said of him in Second
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  Chronicles. That doesn't count what is
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  included in the book of Isaiah. This leader is significant.
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  Some even consider him to be a second David because this very
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  chapter that we're going to study tonight celebrates his
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  emulation of the man after God's own heart.
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  And he who I speak of tonight goes by the name of Hezekiah.
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  His name means Yahweh strengthens.
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  As we come to this text, we are going to witness a unique
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  strengthening in the Kingdom of Judah because of one man's firm
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  devotion to the true God. And I trust that after all we've
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  been through in Second Kings thus far, we will know great
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  refreshment from Hezekiah's walk with God.
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  And so this is going to be a little bit of an Oasis for us as
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  we have traversed through this book faithfully.
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  Now we come to receive much encouragement of what it means,
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  what it looks like to really serve the Lord when you have
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  every reason in your personal life, in your culture that would
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  encourage you otherwise. So there's much to glean from in
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  these verses tonight. We'll consider the 1st 12 of
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  them in this chapter, but let's begin now looking at the first 3
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  verses. Second Kings 18 verse one.
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  In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel,
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  Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.
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  He was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
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  29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abby, the
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  daughter of Zechariah, and he did what was right in the eyes
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  of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
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  We've often reflected on the remarkable truth that children
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  of unrighteous parents are still able to develop a sincere and
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  vibrant walk with God even with the absence of a godly role
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  model. And that inspiration can be
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  found here with righteous Hezekiah because we are reminded
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  right away of his wicked father, A has.
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  We've studied a has in depth in previous weeks.
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  So I don't want to revisit that point because we've touched on
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  on many occasions in the study of second Kings.
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  But I do want to look at a unique aspect of Hezekiah's
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  upbringing that I trust will provide a deeper sense of hope.
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  Because if you remember studying A has, we not only confirm that
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  he was an unrighteous king, we also came to the conclusion that
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  he was a monstrous father. If there's any hesitation to
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  believe that, may I remind you one of the greatest atrocities
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  that he committed as recorded in Second Chronicles chapter 28.
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  Let me read this to you from verse three of Second Chronicles
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  28. And he being a has.
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  And he made offerings in the valley of the son of Henom, and
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  burned his sons as an offering according to the abominations of
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  the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
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  Oh, I have so many questions with this horrendous insight and
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  how it connects with the story of Hezekiah, but if there was
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  one, I would want to ask and find an answer for it.
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  Is this. How did Hezekiah survive in a
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  household where the father slaughtered his sons with
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  religious conviction? If we're told here that he has
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  burned his sons, plural, how did Hezekiah escape?
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  That's a legitimate question, wouldn't you say?
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  Did he grow up before his father became more depraved and adopted
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  the abominable practices of the nations?
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  Could it be that unlike his siblings, Hezekiah was spared
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  for succession and so he became the protected heir?
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  We are not given the exact reason for his survival, for his
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  preservation, but one thing that we can say with absolute
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  certainty is that this this man was born and raised in a brutal,
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  unpredictable, frightening environment.
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  And that is the story of many. That their childhood isn't just
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  defined by a void of moral compass, a void of godly
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  guidance, but that they were also subject to the parents
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  despicable neglect and abusive behavior.
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  And for many of those people, their future tends to be
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  predictable according to statistics, where they inherit a
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  vulnerability, profound instability, because the father
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  or the mother who was called to protect them and nurture them
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  instead became the means to inflict various wounds upon
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  them. And for some, the way they cope
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  with that is that they themselves choose a path of self
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  destruction, sin, in order to try to manage the trauma that
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  they endured from a young age. Not Hezekiah.
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  But it read in Second Kings that he did what was right in the
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  eyes of the Lord, against all odds and statistics if you will.
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  There are two important words with that statement.
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  You can miss it very easily. He did.
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  It was a personal choice that he made at the age of 25.
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  I will choose to follow the Lord.
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  Imagine having a conversation with Hezekiah, 25.
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  Imagine interviewing him as a new king, asking about his
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  family background and asking about his siblings, for example.
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  He says yeah, my, my siblings, most of them are not here
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  anymore. Why?
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  My dad gave him up to the fire. You want to talk about trauma,
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  You want to talk about horrors. This man knew it.
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  And sometimes we just have to sit long enough in a passage of
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  Scripture and consider the implications.
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  These are real people. These are not characters of a
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  moral story. This is an historical account.
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  And Hezekiah here chooses not to resign himself to dysfunction,
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  justifying it by the damage that he knew from a young age.
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  Many people do, though. Instead, what you find here is,
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  is this man's testimony revealing that faith in the
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  grace of God can help us overcome any past relational
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  disadvantage, even if even if it came with unspeakable abuse.
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  It's OK, People are just coming. I truly wonder if the same man
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  who said of him that he walked in the ways of David imitated
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  David's faith in this particular area.
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  Do you remember what he said in Psalm 27, verse 10?
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  For my father and my mother have forsaken me.
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  Does anybody know the rest of it?
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  But the Lord will take me in. But the Lord will take me in.
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  What a revelation. Think about that.
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  David is singing about how God's love is more dependable than the
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  love of his parents, more secure, more available.
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  And I, and I like to think that Hezekiah, believe the same.
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  Do you? As important as human bond is,
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  as important as a mother's touches and a father's
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  affirmation may be, do you have the faith in your heart to
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  believe that God's love for you can make you more whole than
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  anything else? A lot of people get themselves
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  into great mess, patterns of dysfunction and relational
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  issues because they failed to build their identity upon that
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  foundation. My mom and my dad, if they
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  forsake me, yes, they might have forsaken me.
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  But let me tell you, the Lord brought me in.
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  Do you think that's just a theological checkbox and David's
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  profession of faith, or did he experience that?
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  I experienced that, so much so that he wrote about it.
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  And so we see here that Hezekiah had a bright future ahead of him
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  because he chose to walk in the ways of the Lord.
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  Speaking of David, we learned that Hezekiah, yes, walked in
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  the ways of that wonderful man of God.
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  Don't we see you there in verse three of Second Kings 18?
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  And there are a couple of other kings that we've already studied
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  that did the same, but Hezekiah was different.
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  And we are immediately told how, look at verse four.
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  He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down
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  the ashra, and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that
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  Moses had made for until those days the people of Israel had
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  made offerings to it. It was called Nehushtan.
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  Look at the first few verses. He removed the high places.
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  This is the first recorded king of Judah who took that bold step
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  and dismantled those places of worship.
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  Up to this point, for the longest time, these stations of
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  worship were considered convenient and even harmless,
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  even by good kings. And when it comes down to
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  Hezekiah, we learned that he did not concern himself with what
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  other leaders did. No, instead he knew that God's
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  Word demanded A singular, central place of worship, and he
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  determined to dismantle anything that would distract from it.
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  What a word of encouragement for many.
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  Christians listen very carefully who establish what they believe
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  and how they live for Christ, primarily based on what a
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  prominent pastor or leader might believe about a certain doctrine
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  or truth. I've heard over the years of
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  people who are willing to overlook some things or even
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  ignore clear passage of Scripture or misinterpret it.
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  Why? Well, because so and so taught
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  it this way, or because so and so views this in a different
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  light, and they put too much trust in the interpretation of
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  another. And if that's your temptation,
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  learn from Hezekiah. The Word of God was his sole
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  authority. Not what a particular branch,
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  not what a particular denomination or a particular man
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  of God, a commentator or teacher or a wonderful preacher.
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  What does God's Word have to say and are you willing to abide by
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  God's Word even though spiritual heroes may not view with that
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  kind of importance If he just went with the trend, Well, you
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  know, King ASA didn't take him down, so I just leave him.
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  Jehoshaphat didn't really think it was a big deal, so I won't do
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  it. No, no, no, God's Word said one
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  place to worship. I'm going to listen to God.
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  Unfortunately for some people, it's no, no, it's doctor so and
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  so said this pastor so and so said that.
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  OK, great. Does it agree with God's Word?
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  Didn't John tell us that we've all been anointed with the Holy
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  Spirit to teach us? Yes, we do receive from teachers
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  and God has gifted certain people to explain truths, but
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  not with things that are clear and obvious.
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  Do you ignore them just because you take somebody's word for it?
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  Hezekiah is early on showing that he is willing to stand
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  alone, even if it's countercultural, even if it's
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  counter Christian culture. Now the extent of this man's
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  reform reaches areas and items that we didn't even know about.
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  Look at verse 4 again. He broke in pieces the bronze
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  serpent that Moses had made for until those days, the people of
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  Israel had made offerings to it. We haven't seen this since
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  Numbers chapter 21, this particular relic, and some
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  believe it's been 800 years since the people of God
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  originally engaged with this thing.
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  And yet clearly it's been preserved since the days of
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  Moses, since the days of the wilderness.
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  And we hopefully recall the testimony behind this, that when
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  the people of God, at a later point in their journey through
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  the wilderness, yet again did not believe the word of the
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  Lord, the Lord released fiery serpents to bite them, to punish
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  them, to discipline them because of their sin.
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  And yet it's because of a man's intercession.
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  The Lord instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent, to
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  raise it up on a pole, and to call all the people to simply
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  look upon it, and they would know their healing.
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  The Lord Jesus, when he was approached by Nicodemus at
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  night, taught him that that pole pointed to his work on the
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  cross, did he not? And that the simple look of
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  faith, the eyes of the heart, that gaze upon the one who was
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  lifted up, is enough to receive healing from spiritual poison.
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  Is that what he said in John 314 to 15?
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  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
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  must the Son of Man be lifted up.
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  And whoever believes in him will have eternal life.
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  Whoever would believe in him may have eternal life.
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  It's amazing how many things in the Old Testament point to
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  Christ, things that we might not consider.
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  But Jesus in this case is not only the fulfillment of that
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  miracle. Like any other thing, any other
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  foreshadowing, He is the greater fulfillment of it.
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  In what way is the Lord Jesus greater than what that bronze
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  serpent was able to do for the people of God?
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  Well, there are many explanations.
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  Let me give you a major one. The healing virtue that flowed
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  from the faith of the people connecting with what God
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  instructed concerning that bronze serpent only lasted that
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  day. Only on that awful day did it
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  not. So no matter how many offerings
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  as we read here that the people gave to this bronze serpent, no
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  matter how long they stared at it, it could do nothing for the
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  people. The best that I can offer is a
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  memory of what God has done in the past.
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  Now consider Jesus when he was lifted up 2000 years ago
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  according to our calendar. The Sinner can still look upon
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  that truth with the eyes of faith and know and receive
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  healing. Unlike the bronze serpent,
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  century after century after century, it was just a statue.
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  But Jesus said that points to me being lifted up, and here we are
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  2000 years later, and on May 18th we're going to hear a few
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  testimonies of those that I looked upon him and I received
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  my healing. It reminds me of that hymn.
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  The blood will never lose its power.
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  It reaches to the highest mountain, it flows to the lowest
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  valley, and that blood that gives me strength from
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  day-to-day will never lose its power.
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  Does anybody know the other reference in the New Testament
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  that brings us back to the bronze serpent?
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  If you know the answer, you can answer.
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  You can say it out loud. Most people know John 314 and
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  15. I'll wait, no rush.
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  Anybody know where else is the Holy Spirit bring up the
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  incident of the fiery serpents in the wilderness in Numbers 21?
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  Hebrews is a good guess, but that's not what I'm thinking
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  about. It's one of Paul's writings.
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  You can make a case that Paul wrote Hebrews, First
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  Corinthians. Let's turn that together.
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  First Corinthians chapter 10 and let's look at verse 9.
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  We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and
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  were destroyed by serpents. Now what's the context?
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  He is again pointing to the wilderness journey and drying
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  out principles for practical holiness.
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  And Paul says here that they put Christ to the test.
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  So listen, not only does that account point to Jesus and his
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  finished work on the cross, it also is a reminder that Christ
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  himself was the one that they did not believe in.
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  What does that teach us? Well two things at least.
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  One, that the New Testament over and over again confirms the pre
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  existence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Don't we see it here? What does he say?
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  We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and
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  were destroyed by serpents. Who do they not believe in
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  according to Paul's words? Not just God, not just Yahweh,
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  Jesus Christ. Paul says let's not do the same.
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  Let's not do the same. And here's the second lesson
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  that through Jesus and the apostles teachings and the
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  writings, we are encouraged to know how to engage with the
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  Hebrew Scriptures. If I take what Christ says in
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  Nicodemus in John chapter 3 and what Paul says here in First
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  Corinthians 10, then I learned the dual purpose of my study of
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  the Old Testament. I'm looking for Christ and I'm
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  also looking for what he asks of me as a follower of him.
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  So we should always, as we come to the Hebrew Scriptures, look
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  for Jesus predictions and foreshadowings, but we should
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  also look for principles and illustrations of what it means
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  to live for him. That's how the New Testament
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  handles the Old Testament Jesus as it points to me and what I
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  did nothing you can do to imitate it, but also points to
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  what you can do after you put your faith and trust in me, what
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  it looks like to live for my glory.
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  That's what we endeavor to do every Friday that that's what
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  we're doing here tonight as we study this man, Hezekiah.
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  So let's return to it in second Kings 18.
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  Unfortunately, what was originally meant to be an
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  instrument of good turned into an object of worship.
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  Not only did they venerate this item, they began to make
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  offerings to it. So what's, what's the lesson
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  here? The lesson is very clear, is it
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  not, that humanity has the tendency to exalt God's means of
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  grace beyond their purpose? And we are very good at turning
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  things into idols rather than channels bringing us and
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  pointing us back to Him. So let's not limit this
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  applications to the millions of people who are fixated on
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  shrouds or the bones of Saints or other relics.
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  We too are capable of looking at past movements, past ministers,
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  current movements, current ministries, current ministers
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  and making them more than they ought to be, failing to see that
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  their channels of grace and actually making them the object
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  of our affection. And now they compete with
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  Christ. It's debated who labeled the
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  bronze serpent with the name Nehushtan because translations
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  depicted differently. But contextually, especially
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  when you know what this name means, there is greater evidence
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  that Hezekiah was the one who named it.
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  This especially you have the King James Version in your hand
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  because it will read there the last part of verse 4, and he
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  called it Nehushtan. You won't find that in the ESV.
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  It's a little bit more clear in the Hebrew.
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  What does Nehushtan mean? A thing of brass, In other
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  words, a piece of metal. Understanding that, it makes
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  sense, then, for Hezekiah to be the one who labels it in this
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  way. Why?
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  Because that's pretty degrading for an object of worship, isn't
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  it? A thing of brass?
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  That's the point. Because this man of God is
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  reminding the people of God. This is just an instrument.
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  It can't offer anything to you. It's lifeless and apart from
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  God's animating work, it's void of purpose.
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  It offers you absolutely nothing.
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  And listen, a true man of God will remind himself and others
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  that any means of God's goodness is simply an instrument in his
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  hand. Hello, Paul says to the
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  Corinthians. What is Apollo's?
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  Who is Paul? Servants through whom you have
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  believed as a Lord assigned to each.
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  We're nothing To view yourself that way will keep you from much
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  trouble. And from time to time to let
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  people know also that you are only human and to remind
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  yourself that others that you're being blessed by, they're only
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  human. They put on their pants one leg
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  at a time like you. It's got through them, it's got
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  in them. And this man is doing that.
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  In this case, I just can imagine the reaction of the people when
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  he took this thing and crush it into pieces.
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  It was around for centuries. It was normalized.
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  It was ingrained in their system and in their culture.
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  He could care less the high places.
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  He just was sniffing for anything that rivalled God's
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  word and he dealt with it. This is a true reformer, and
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  we're only beginning to learn from him.
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  Let's read from verse 5 down to verse 7, Second Kings 18, verse
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  five. He trusted in the Lord, the God
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  of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the
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  kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.
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  For he felt help fast the Lord. He did not depart from following
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  him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses,
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  and the Lord was with him. Wherever he went out, he
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  prospered. He rebeled against the king of
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  Assyria and would not serve him. Look at the beginning of verse 7
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  again. And the Lord was with him, a
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  statement rarely made about the kings of either Israel or Judah,
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  but it's said of him. But what was rare in the days of
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  the kings does not have to be uncommon for us, because we are
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  granted, in those very verses that we just read, a formula to
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  secure the Lord being with us. Now hold on.
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  I know it is true that in a general sense we are promised
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  God's unbroken companionship as his children.
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  But it is unrealistic and dishonest to say that each of us
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  experienced the Lord's fellowship in the same way.
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  You can't tell me that a worldly Christian will know the same
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  blessings as the one who chooses to walk closely with Christ.
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  Impossible. So is there anything here that
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  can grant us the assurance or the recipe to be able to secure
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  this wonderful, prosperous way of life of the Lord being with
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  us wherever we go? Absolutely.
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  It's found in the preceding verses.
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  Look at the beginning of verse 5 again.
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  He trusted in the Lord #1 Now look at the beginning of verse
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  6. For he held fast to the Lord and
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  look at it again in verse 7. And the Lord was with him.
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  You see the formula? He trusted in the Lord, He held
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  fast to the Lord. So let's consider those things
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  separately. He trusted in the Lord.
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  What does it mean to truly trust the Lord?
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  This is synonymous with having faith in the Lord.
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  But is there anything that can give us confirmation?
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  Is there any definition, anything that we can work with
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  that can give us greater clarity or, or the ability to measure
• 25:59
  the trust that God asked of us that pleases him?
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  And I'll never forget a New Testament passage that removed
• 26:08
  any fogginess, any confusion around this area of a faith that
• 26:12
  pleases Lord, a mature faith. And it's in the place where Paul
• 26:17
  teaches about Abraham's faith and how he exercised his faith
• 26:23
  and how he became a model of faith for believers even today.
• 26:27
  So let's turn to Romans chapter 4 and let's look at a couple of
• 26:30
  verses here that I hope will bless you as much as it blessed
• 26:33
  me. Romans 4 beginning in verse 20,
• 26:44
  it says here, no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise
• 26:48
  of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to
• 26:54
  God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had
• 26:58
  promised. Look again at the words, the 2
• 26:59
  words beginning in verse 21, fully convinced.
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  Can I ask you a personal question?
• 27:08
  Does it ever disappoint you? When you assess something, you
• 27:10
  analyze something, you explain something to someone and they
• 27:13
  don't trust you. Does it bother you?
• 27:19
  And we're fallible. We have a tendency of
• 27:21
  exaggerating. We have the ability to forget.
• 27:25
  So how much more the one who is perfectly knowledge, who never
• 27:29
  blows things out of proportion, who has never ever been accused
• 27:33
  of being inaccurate, what does it do to his heart when we don't
• 27:38
  fully trust him? Nobody here would settle.
• 27:42
  No husband here would settle for their wives to partially trust
• 27:45
  them and vice versa. We we wouldn't settle for that
• 27:50
  in a friendship level. It would irk us, it would bother
• 27:54
  us, it would disturb us. So again, how much more that the
• 27:59
  one who is perfect in all of his ways.
• 28:01
  And yet we see here that the faith that blesses God is when
• 28:05
  we were totally persuaded that he's able to accomplish anything
• 28:09
  that he has said, that's Abraham.
• 28:12
  He was fully convinced, fully convinced.
• 28:17
  So one way for you to know the strength of your faith is to
• 28:20
  simply ask, am I completely persuaded by the word of God
• 28:27
  where God said something? Do I say I trust you completely?
• 28:33
  And if we can say that we're fully convinced, then there is
• 28:36
  much room for growth. And that's in fact how we know
• 28:40
  we're growing in faith. Look back at verse 20, the
• 28:42
  middle of it. But he grew strong in his faith.
• 28:45
  He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.
• 28:47
  And then it's followed by fully convinced that God was able to
• 28:49
  do what He had promised. So the way I can determine
• 28:53
  growth in my trust is that I become more and more convinced
• 28:59
  that whenever I come to God's Word, whenever I hear a truth
• 29:01
  concerning him, what He's able to do, who He is in my heart, it
• 29:05
  has this unshakable ability to rely on that you know that
• 29:09
  you're growing and you know that you're maturing in faith.
• 29:14
  I believe Hezekiah had that kind of faith.
• 29:17
  He trusted in the Lord and it's proven here the courage that
• 29:21
  this man had. He removed the high places.
• 29:24
  He destroyed something that was recognized by everyone as a
• 29:28
  harmless thing worthy of devotion.
• 29:30
  He goes no, so that there's no question here.
• 29:33
  That verse five and second Kings 18 where it says he trusts in
• 29:36
  the Lord is the secret to his boldness.
• 29:41
  He didn't fear what would happen to him by his own kinsmen.
• 29:43
  It didn't worry him at all because he trusted in the Lord
• 29:47
  and this pleased God. But not only that, it says here
• 29:53
  that he held fast to the Lord. All this means is that Hezekiah
• 29:58
  was consistent with his consecrated life.
• 30:01
  It says that in the same verse, and this principle applies to
• 30:06
  all men, even kings, that there are certain blessings that are
• 30:10
  reserved for those who are consistent, who are consistent,
• 30:16
  who determine I will never depart from the Lord.
• 30:19
  I will continually submit to what is Word asks for me in all
• 30:22
  seasons. There's something there for such
• 30:26
  a person who remains in longevity with the Master.
• 30:31
  Yes, He is faithful to bring us back when we veer.
• 30:34
  Yes, He is faithful to restore us when we run away.
• 30:36
  Absolutely. But there's something for those
• 30:39
  who remain steadfast. Another way of saying it is as
• 30:44
  long as you stay close to the Lord, God will stay close to
• 30:46
  you. OK, maybe you don't believe me,
• 30:48
  so let me show you what the Lord says to another king in Second
• 30:50
  Chronicles. Let's turn that together in
• 30:52
  Second Chronicles chapter 15, verse one.
• 31:00
  This is what the Lord says through Azariah to ASA.
• 31:04
  The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded, and he
• 31:07
  went out to meet ASA and said to him, Hear me, ASA and all Judah
• 31:11
  and Benjamin, the Lord is with you while you are aware you are
• 31:17
  with Him. If you seek Him, He will be
• 31:21
  found by you, but if you forsake him, He will forsake you.
• 31:25
  It's very simple. Do we find the same truth in the
• 31:31
  New Testament? What did James tell the
• 31:33
  believers? Draw near to God and what He'll
• 31:37
  draw near to you. So the Lord doesn't go anywhere.
• 31:41
  He's constant. He remains.
• 31:43
  We're the ones that take different routes.
• 31:47
  We're the ones who delay when he moves forward.
• 31:49
  We're the one who go goes ahead when He remains.
• 31:53
  So as much as this is a warning, it's a wonderful promise that as
• 31:56
  long as you seek him, he'll, he'll let you find Him.
• 32:00
  And if you want to remain under the current of his blessings,
• 32:05
  just stay close to him. How do you stay consistent over
• 32:12
  all these years? Where else am I going to go?
• 32:15
  Like, is it that much of A mystery?
• 32:17
  What else does this world have to offer me?
• 32:20
  So like Peter, you have the words of eternal life.
• 32:22
  I can't go anywhere. There's no other option.
• 32:27
  So Hezekiah, he held fast to the Lord and as long as he held fast
• 32:30
  to the Lord, the Lord made him prosper wherever he went.
• 32:33
  Include the Lord and everything, walk with the Lord and
• 32:35
  everything and you will know perpetual blessing.
• 32:38
  And we're told here back in Second Kings 18, two ways that
• 32:40
  Hezekiah was prosperous. Let's come back to it in verse
• 32:43
  7. The second part of verse 7,
• 32:45
  something very important. It says here, let's just read
• 32:47
  the whole verse. And the Lord was with him
• 32:49
  wherever he went, he prospered. There's a new covenant version
• 32:53
  of spiritual prosperity. But notice this.
• 32:57
  He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.
• 33:03
  Why is that significant? Do we remember how Judah got
• 33:08
  into the mess with Assyria to begin with?
• 33:11
  Why was Assyria oppressing these people?
• 33:14
  Because of Hezekiah's father? What did Ahaz say to Assyria
• 33:19
  when he was threatened by Syria? Just go back a couple chapters.
• 33:23
  Look at chapter 16, Look at verse 7.
• 33:28
  So it has sent messengers to Tillglath Pilizer, king of
• 33:32
  Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son.
• 33:36
  Remember we covered that. I am your servant and your son.
• 33:39
  Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and
• 33:41
  from the hand of the king of Israel who are attacking me.
• 33:44
  And here's now the son of A has and he goes, I'm not your
• 33:48
  servant, nor am I your son. I'm his servant and I'm his son.
• 33:53
  Just again, another wonderful encouragement for us that we can
• 33:59
  shake free from generational patterns.
• 34:03
  Just because you saw your father, your mother and older
• 34:06
  sibling or your friends walking in a certain way, it doesn't
• 34:08
  mean that you have to submit to that blueprint for life.
• 34:13
  You can make the choice to say, actually, I'm not going to
• 34:15
  worship you. I'm not going to serve you.
• 34:16
  My allegiance is to the Lord himself.
• 34:20
  Counseling would look a lot different if we believe that
• 34:25
  instead of allowing people to sit in their trouble and their
• 34:32
  disorientation, No. Give people hope and pull them
• 34:36
  out of that. Don't let that person remain a
• 34:39
  victim. Is it true that people are
• 34:43
  victims of people's sins? Yes, but they can no victory.
• 34:49
  A lot of the counseling today people are offering is not real
• 34:52
  counsel. It just numbs people and keeps
• 34:54
  them in defeat. But notice here a very important
• 34:58
  sequence. Hezekiah could not break free
• 35:04
  from Assyria until he first fully trusted and committed
• 35:09
  himself to the Lord. Did he rebel against Assyria
• 35:14
  before he trusted and gave himself to the Lord?
• 35:18
  No, it came after. The confidence, came after the
• 35:22
  promise came after the blessing of being free came after.
• 35:28
  And the same is true in our relationship with sin, our
• 35:33
  relationship with anybody for that matter.
• 35:37
  You can't know the blessing that God has for your personal life
• 35:44
  and for your relationship with others until you establish your
• 35:47
  relationship with Him. And there are many people
• 35:50
  around, even philosophers and psychologist and pundits and
• 35:54
  gurus that are trying to fix this whole mess in our world.
• 35:58
  How do we establish peace? How do we create harmony?
• 36:02
  How do we flourish injustice? Have you ever thought how the 10
• 36:08
  commandments were organized? You have the first four that
• 36:13
  deal with obedience and worship to God alone, and the final six
• 36:18
  deal with our relationship with others.
• 36:21
  That's not an accident. You want to avoid murder and
• 36:26
  theft and adultery and covetousness.
• 36:28
  You can't skip the first four steps.
• 36:31
  You have to be rightly related to God if you're going to know
• 36:34
  any kind of hope with your relationship with others and
• 36:36
  vice versa. But everybody wants to skip
• 36:40
  that. Everybody wants a level of
• 36:45
  righteousness, but they don't want to be right with God.
• 36:51
  No, no. We see it throughout Scripture
• 36:53
  that it first begins with submission to Him before we know
• 36:57
  any kind of sweetness in any other area.
• 37:04
  Verse 8 is another way that He prospered.
• 37:07
  Says here that he struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza
• 37:11
  and its territory from watchtower to fortified city.
• 37:15
  So in a way, here we have a subtle reference to how Hezekiah
• 37:18
  is imitating David in another way.
• 37:20
  In the same way that David chased off the Philistines a new
• 37:25
  victory over them, Hezekiah is also walking in his steps.
• 37:31
  That's why people recognize him as a second David, even in the
• 37:35
  way that he worshipped Hezekiah, wrote a song to the Lord.
• 37:37
  If you go to Isaiah, let's come to the final verses of our
• 37:41
  study. This is quite interesting how it
• 37:43
  ends, at least this section, verse 9.
• 37:46
  Let's read the last three verses together.
• 37:49
  In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the 7th year
• 37:52
  of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, shamaniser, king of
• 37:56
  Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it.
• 38:00
  And at the end of three years he took it in the sixth year of
• 38:03
  Hezekiah, which was the 9th year of Hosea, king of Israel.
• 38:06
  Samaria was taken the king of Assyria.
• 38:09
  Carry the Israelites away to Assyria, and put them in Hella,
• 38:12
  and on the high bar the river of Gozen, and in the cities of the
• 38:16
  Medes. Because they did not obey the
• 38:18
  voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant.
• 38:21
  Even all that Moses the servant the Lord commanded, they neither
• 38:24
  listened nor obeyed. Is there any reason why these
• 38:30
  verses should stand out to us? Think about previous studies, a
• 38:36
  very recent study like the last two weeks.
• 38:42
  It's not as deep as you think, it's just an observation.
• 38:47
  Is this a review of what happened to the northern Kingdom
• 38:50
  of Israel? It is right, but we already
• 38:53
  covered this extensively in Second King 17.
• 38:56
  So then why is the historian repeating it?
• 39:01
  Why are we reviewing this again? I thought we were moving on.
• 39:03
  I thought we're dealing with the Kingdom of Judah.
• 39:05
  Why are we getting a flashback? It seems out of place.
• 39:11
  But read carefully, look again at verse nine in the fourth year
• 39:16
  of King Hezekiah, which was the 7th year of Hosea, son of Ela,
• 39:20
  king of Israel, who was the Last King of Israel.
• 39:23
  So the reason why this is being brought up again is because we
• 39:26
  are to see that the Syrian exile, that the conquest of the
• 39:31
  people of Israel took place during the reign of Hezekiah.
• 39:37
  So that's the focus here. Hezekiah was fully aware of what
• 39:41
  happened to his neighbors, and this was to highlight the risk
• 39:47
  that Hezekiah took and rebelling against Assyria.
• 39:51
  If Assyria was successful in dominating a much larger Kingdom
• 39:56
  in Israel, what would take place?
• 40:00
  For Judah, now that they revolted.
• 40:03
  So in a sense, we're left here with suspense.
• 40:07
  What's going to happen now? You turned your back on Assyria,
• 40:13
  and it wasn't too long ago where the Syrians took over the nation
• 40:18
  of Israel, namely the Kingdom of Israel up north.
• 40:22
  At the same time, we're minded here that Israel did not lose
• 40:27
  because they disobeyed Assyria, but they disobeyed who?
• 40:31
  God. That's why they were given into
• 40:33
  the hands of Assyria. So the additional lesson is
• 40:38
  this, As frightening as obedience may be, there is no
• 40:46
  safer place. And to live in full obedience to
• 40:49
  God, there's no safer place. And Hezekiah is about to learn
• 40:54
  that in the rest of this chapter, he's going to anger
• 40:58
  Assyria. He's going to actually invite
• 41:01
  the wrath of Assyria. And as we're reading this, we're
• 41:05
  thinking, what's going to happen?
• 41:06
  But we're also offered hope because we're told in this
• 41:09
  commentary, yes, Israel, they didn't listen or obey Moses, who
• 41:12
  represented God, but Hezekiah has been obeying God.
• 41:14
  So how's this going to turn out? What's going to happen to this
• 41:18
  man and his Kingdom? Because they have been obeying.
• 41:22
  And I think this is a wonderful place to finish our study
• 41:25
  tonight. Do you know why?
• 41:26
  Because when we consider the times that we're living in, how
• 41:30
  the entire world seems to be on edge, let's recall where the
• 41:37
  safest place, where the safest place is to be.
• 41:44
  I'm reminded of the words of Isaiah, who very descriptively
• 41:48
  predicted the judgement of Judah and Jerusalem and Isaiah chapter
• 41:52
  3, and you know this very well. I've quoted this verse many
• 41:55
  times. I'm not ashamed to quote it
• 41:57
  again in Isaiah 310. Tell the righteous that it will
• 42:01
  be well with them. Interestingly enough, Isaiah is
• 42:07
  going to come alongside Hezekiah as they're going to be tested
• 42:11
  with the appearance of Assyria on the front step, and he is
• 42:14
  going to bring much assurance to him and the people of Judah.
• 42:20
  And let me offer to you as the people of Jesus Christ, no
• 42:26
  matter what you see on the news, no matter what conspiracy
• 42:29
  theories are out there, no matter what the market looks
• 42:31
  like, the vacillation of our culture, of our politics, don't
• 42:37
  put your hope in any investment. Don't put your hope in any
• 42:41
  location that you have to move your family to ultimately put
• 42:43
  your trust in Christ, dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
• 42:49
  and abide in the shadow of the Almighty, and you have nothing
• 42:52
  to fear. That's something that we're
• 42:54
  going to see in more than one lesson as we continue in our
• 42:56
  study of Second Kings. But for now, let's digest
• 43:00
  together. I just encourage you now to
• 43:22
  genuinely take a short amount of time to engage with the Lord, to
• 43:29
  fellowship with the Lord, to respond to the Bible study.
• 43:54
  Well, we thank you that You've reminded us what it means to you
• 44:02
  for us to trust in you, to cling to you.
• 44:05
  We want that for our lives. We want you to be with us.
• 44:10
  And whatever we do, wherever we go, we thank You that you
• 44:16
  promised us that you'll never forsake us.
• 44:18
  But Lord, it is US who forsake you.
• 44:21
  So we pray that even now, if anybody knows that they are not
• 44:26
  walking with you the way that they should be walking with you,
• 44:30
  that they would see the promise, they would see the prosperity
• 44:34
  that's available, and they would abandoned anything that is
• 44:37
  trying to take them away from you.
• 44:42
  Lord, remind us that there is nothing more fulfilling than
• 44:44
  fellowship with you, that there's nothing that can offer
• 44:49
  the comfort and the hope and the joy that a real, vibrant
• 44:53
  relationship with you offers. And Lord, from the bottom of our
• 44:58
  hearts, we even ask that if there's anybody here who is not
• 45:01
  taking that step of faith by planting their eyes on Calvary
• 45:06
  and understanding the significance of your sacrifice
• 45:09
  and applying it to their own lives.
• 45:11
  Lord, may tonight be the night. May tonight be the night where
• 45:14
  people will cross from death to life by understanding the
• 45:18
  simplicity of the gospel. That you've come to die for us
• 45:22
  and that it's our sin that put you on the cross.
• 45:25
  And that on that cross you've paid our debt and that we can
• 45:28
  receive a clearance if we but trust that that's what you did
• 45:31
  for us. And so for any person who is
• 45:34
  outside of the Lord Jesus this evening, may they look upon you
• 45:39
  now, and may they receive the healing, the restoration, the
• 45:44
  salvation that only you provide. May we look to no other, Lord,
• 45:53
  we pray that if there are any high places in our lives, maybe
• 45:59
  even an object, a ministry and minister, a beloved Christian,
• 46:06
  and we have elevated them and we adore them and we're relying on
• 46:11
  them more than you. May those things break into
• 46:14
  pieces even now. Help us, Lord, place you above
• 46:20
  all things, to extol and exalt you above all men or all women.
• 46:25
  Take preeminence, Lord, and our affections and our meditations
• 46:30
  may be Christ and Christ alone. Lord, we now sing to you and
• 46:35
  rejoice that You are the true king of our lives.
• 46:40
  This Bible study can only go so far.
• 46:42
  It must be the work of Your Holy Spirit to groove these things in
• 46:47
  US, to surgically deal with the issues of our souls.
• 46:53
  And yes, Lord, even for those who might have had a traumatic
• 46:55
  past, may they trust that Your grace is able to rescue them and
• 47:01
  set them on a path of true joy and victory where they can offer
• 47:05
  hope and healing to others in Your name.
• 47:07
  So any person here who has convinced themselves that they
• 47:10
  are a permanent victim, oh, in Christ, may they know victory.
• 47:15
  Only you can do it and we give you glory for all the things
• 47:18
  that you can do in our lives. In Jesus name we pray.
• 47:22
  Amen. Let's stand and worship the
• 47:24
  living Christ.