2 Kings 18 (Part 1) Bible Study (Hezekiah Reigns in Judah) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (4/11/25)

I now ask you to meet me in second Kings chapter 18 because we begin our study in one of the most prominent and highly praised kings in the history of the kingdom of Judah. The fact that three extensive chapters are dedicated to this one man highlights the significance of his story and that doesn't even count what is said of him in second Chronicles. That doesn't count what is included in the book of Isaiah. This leader is significant. Some even consider him to be a second David, because this very chapter that we're going to study tonight celebrates his emulation of the man after God's own heart.

And he who I speak of tonight goes by the name of Hezekiah. His name means Yahweh strengthens. As we come to this text, we are going to witness a unique strengthening in the kingdom of Judah because of one man's firm devotion to the true God. And I trust that after all we've been through in second Kings thus far, we will know great refreshment from Hezekiah's walk with God. And so this is going to be a little bit of an oasis for us.

As we have traversed through this book faithfully, now we come to receive much encouragement of what it means, what it looks like to really serve the Lord when you have every reason in your personal life, in your culture, that would encourage you otherwise. So there's much to glean from in these verses. Tonight, we'll consider the first 12 of them in this chapter, but let's begin now looking at the first three verses. Second Kings 18 verse one. In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah began to reign.

He was 25 years old when he began to reign and he reigned twenty nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that David, his father, had done. We've often reflected on the remarkable truth that children of unrighteous parents are still able to develop a sincere and vibrant walk with God even with the absence of a godly role model. And that inspiration can be found here with righteous Hezekiah because we are reminded right away of his wicked father, Ahaz.

We've studied Ahaz in-depth in previous weeks. So I don't want to revisit that point because we've touched on it in many occasions in the study of second Kings, but I do wanna look at a unique aspect of Hezekiah's upbringing that I trust will provide a deeper sense of hope. Because if you remember studying Ahaz, we not only confirmed that he was an unrighteous king, we also came to the conclusion that he was a monstrous father. And if there's any hesitation to believe that, may I remind you one of the greatest atrocities that he committed as recorded in second Chronicles chapter 28. Let me read this to you from verse three of second Chronicles 28.

And he, being Ahaz, and he made offerings in the valley of the son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. Oh, I have so many questions with this horrendous insight and how it connects with the story of Hezekiah. But if there was one I would want to ask and find an answer for, it is this. How did Hezekiah survive in a household where the father slaughtered his sons with religious conviction? If we're told here that Ahaz burned his sons, plural, how did Hezekiah escape?

That's a legitimate question. Wouldn't you say? Did he grow up before his father became more depraved and adopted the abominable practices of the nations? Could it be that unlike his siblings, Hezekiah was spared for succession and so he became the protected heir. We are not given the exact reason for his survival, for his preservation.

But one thing that we can say with absolute certainty is that this this man was born and raised in a brutal, unpredictable, frightening environment. And that is the story of many. That their childhood isn't just defined by a void of moral compass, a void of godly guidance, but that they were also subject to the parents' despicable neglect and abusive behavior. And for many of those people, their future tends to be predictable according to statistics. Where they inherit a vulnerability, profound instability.

Because the father or the mother who was called to protect them and nurture them instead became the means to inflict various wounds upon them. And for some, the way they cope with that is that they themselves choose a path of self destruction, sin, in order to try to manage the trauma that they endured from a young age. Not Hezekiah. What do we read in second Kings? That he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

Against all odds and statistics, if you will. There are two important words with that statement. You can miss it very easily. He did. It was a personal choice that he made at the age of 25.

I will choose to follow the Lord. Imagine having a conversation with Hezekiah at 25. Imagine interviewing him as the new king, asking about his family background, and asking about his siblings, for example. He says, yeah, my my siblings, most of them are not here anymore. Why?

My dad gave him up to the fire. You wanna talk about trauma? You wanna talk about horrors? This man knew it. And sometimes we just have to sit long enough in a passage of scripture and consider the implications.

These are real people. These are not characters of a moral story. This is an historical account. And Hezekiah here chooses not to resign himself to dysfunction, justifying it by the damage that he knew from a young age. Many people do though.

Instead, what you find here is is this man's testimony revealing that faith in the grace of God can help us overcome any past relational disadvantage. Even if even if it came with unspeakable abuse. It's okay. People are just coming. I truly wonder if the same man who said of him that he walked in the ways of David, imitated David's faith in this particular area.

Do you remember what he said in Psalm 27 verse 10? For my father and my mother have forsaken me. Does anybody know the rest of it? But the Lord will take me in. But the Lord will take me in.

What a revelation. Think about that. David is singing about how God's love is more dependable than the love of his parents. More secure, more available. And I and I like to think that Hezekiah believed the same.

Do you? As important as human bond is, as important as a mother's touches and a father's affirmation may be, do you have the faith in your heart to believe that God's love for you can make you more whole than anything else. A lot of people get themselves into great mess, patterns of dysfunction, and relational issues because they failed to build their identity upon that foundation. My mom and my dad, if they forsake me, yes, they might have forsaken me, but let me tell you, the Lord brought me in. Do you think that's just a theological checkbox in David's profession of faith or did he experience that?

He experienced that. So much so that he wrote about it. And so we see here that Hezekiah had a bright future ahead of him because he chose to walk in the ways of the Lord. Speaking of David, we learned that Hezekiah, yes, walked in the ways of that wonderful man of God. Don't we see there in verse three of second Kings 18?

And there are a couple of other kings that we've already studied that did the same, but Hezekiah was different and we are immediately told how. Look at verse four. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah, and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made. For until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it. It was called Nehushtan.

Look at the first few verses. He removed the high places. This is the first recorded king of Judah who took that bold step and dismantled those places of worship. Up to this point, for the longest time, these stations of worship were considered convenient and even harmless even by good kings. And when he comes now to Hezekiah, we learned that he did not concern himself with what other leaders did.

No. Instead, he knew that God's word demanded a singular, central place of worship and he determined to dismantle anything that would distract from it. What a word of encouragement for many Christians. Listen very carefully. Who establish what they believe and how they live for Christ primarily based on what a prominent pastor or leader might believe about a certain doctrine or truth.

I've heard over the years of people who are willing to overlook some things or even ignore clear passage of scripture or misinterpret it. Why? Well, because so and so taught it this way. Or because so and so views this in a different light. And they put too much trust in the interpretation of another.

And if that's your temptation, learn from Hezekiah, the word of God was his sole authority. Not what a particular branch, not what a particular denomination or a particular man of God, a commentator or a teacher or a wonderful preacher. What does God's word have to say? And are you willing to abide by God's word even though spiritual heroes may not view it with that kind of importance? If he just went with the trend, well, you know, king Asa didn't take him down, so I just leave him.

Jehoshaphat didn't really think it was a big deal, so I won't do it. No, no, no. God's word said one place to worship, I'm gonna listen to God. Unfortunately, for some people, it's no no no, it's doctor so and so said this. Pastor so and so said that.

Okay. Great. Does it agree with God's word? Didn't John tell us that we've all been anointed with the Holy Spirit to teach us? Yes.

We do receive from teachers and God has gifted certain people to explain truths, but not with things that are clear and obvious. Do you ignore them just because you take somebody's word for it? Hezekiah is early on showing that he is willing to stand alone even if it's countercultural, even if it's counter Christian culture. Now the extent of this man's reform reaches areas and items that we didn't even know about. Look at verse four again.

He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days, the people of Israel had made offerings to it. We haven't seen this since Numbers chapter 21, this particular relic. And some believe it's been eight hundred years since the people of God originally engaged with this thing. And yet, clearly it's been preserved since the days of Moses, since the days of the wilderness. And we hopefully recall the testimony behind this.

That when the people of God, at a later point in their journey through the wilderness, yet again, did not believe the word of the Lord. The Lord released fiery serpents to bite them, to punish them, to discipline them because of their sin. And yet, because of a man's intercession, the Lord instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent to raise it up on a pole and to call all the people to simply look upon it and they would know their healing. The Lord Jesus, when he was approached by Nicodemus at night, taught him that that pole pointed to his work on the cross. Did it not?

And that this simple look of faith, the eyes of the heart that gaze upon the one who was lifted up, is enough to receive healing from spiritual poison. Is that not what he said in John three fourteen to 15? And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, and whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Whoever would believe in him may have eternal life. It's amazing how many things in the Old Testament point to Christ.

Things that we might not consider. But Jesus in this case is not only the fulfillment of that miracle. Like any other thing, any other foreshadowing, he is the greater fulfillment of it. In what way is the Lord Jesus greater than what that bronze serpent was able to do for the people of God? Well, there are many explanations.

Let me give you a major one. The healing virtue that flowed from the faith of the people connecting with what God instructed concerning that bronze serpent only lasted that day. Only on that awful day. Did it not? So no matter how many offerings, as we read here, that the people gave to this bronze serpent, no matter how long they stared at it, it could do nothing for the people.

The best that it can offer is a memory of what God has done in the past. Now consider Jesus. When he was lifted up two thousand years ago, according to our calendar, the sinner can still look upon that truth with the eyes of faith and know and receive healing. Unlike the bronze serpent, century after century after century, it was just a statue. But Jesus said, that points to me being lifted up.

And here we are two thousand years later. And on May 18, we're gonna hear a few testimonies of those who said, I looked upon him and I received my healing. It reminds me of that hymn, the blood will never lose its power. It reaches to the highest mountain. It flows to the lowest valley.

And that blood that gives me strength from day to day will never lose its power. Does anybody know the other reference in the New Testament that brings us back to the bronze serpent. If you know the answer, you can answer. You can say it out loud. Most people know John three fourteen and fifteen.

I'll wait. No rush. Anybody know? Where else does the Holy Spirit bring up the incident of the fiery serpents in the wilderness in numbers 21? Hebrews is a good guess, but that's not what I'm thinking about.

It's one of Paul's writings. You can make a case that Paul wrote Hebrews. First Corinthians. Let's turn that together. First Corinthians chapter 10, and let's look at verse nine.

We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. Now what's the context? He is again pointing to the wilderness journey and drawing out principles for practical holiness. And Paul says here that they put Christ to the test. So listen, not only does that account point to Jesus and his finished work on the cross, it also is a reminder that Christ himself was the one that they did not believe in.

What does that teach us? Well, two things at least. One, that the New Testament over and over again confirms the preexistence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't we see it here? What does he say?

We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. Who do they not believe in according to Paul's words? Not just God, not just Yahweh, Jesus Christ. Paul says, let's not do the same. Let's not do the same.

And here's the second lesson, that through Jesus and the apostles teachings and the writings, we are encouraged to know how to engage with the Hebrew scriptures. If I take what Christ said to Nicodemus in John chapter three and what Paul says here in first Corinthians 10, then I learn the dual purpose of my study of the Old Testament. I'm looking for Christ and I'm also looking for what he asks of me as a follower of him. So we should always, as we come to the Hebrew scriptures, look for Jesus predictions and foreshadowings, but we should also look for principles and illustrations of what it means to live for him. That's how the new testament handles the old testament.

Jesus says it points to me and what I did. Nothing you can do to imitate it, but also points to what you can do after you put your faith and trust in me, what it looks like to live for my glory. That's what we endeavor to do every Friday. That that's what we're doing here tonight as we study this man, Hezekiah. So let's return to it.

In second Kings 18, unfortunately, what was originally meant to be an instrument of good turned into an object of worship. Not only did they venerate this item, they began to make offerings to it. So what's what's the lesson? The lesson is very clear, is it not? That humanity has the tendency to exalt God's means of grace beyond their purpose.

And we are very good at turning things into idols rather than channels bringing us and pointing us back to him. So let's not limit this applications to the millions of people who are fixated on shrouds or the bones of saints or other relics. We too are capable of looking at past movements, past ministers, current movements, current ministries, current ministers, and making them more than they ought to be. Failing to see that they're channels of grace and actually making them the object of our affection. And now they compete with Christ.

It's debated who labeled the bronze serpent with the name Neushtan because translations depict it differently. But contextually, especially when you know what this name means, there is greater evidence that Hezekiah was the one who named it this. Especially, you have the King James version in your hand because it will read there the last part of verse four, and he called it Nehushtan. You won't find that in the ESV. It's a little bit more clear in the Hebrew.

What does Nehushtan mean? A thing of brass. In other words, a piece of metal. Understanding that, it makes sense then for Hezekiah to be the one who labels it in this way. Why?

Because that's pretty degrading for an object of worship, isn't it? A thing of brass. That's the point. Because this man of God is reminding the people of God, this is just an instrument. It can't offer anything to you.

It's lifeless. And apart from God's animating work, it's void of purpose. It offers you absolutely nothing. And listen, a true man of God will remind himself and others that any means of God's goodness is simply an instrument in his hand. I love what Paul says to the Corinthians.

What is Apollos? Who is Paul? Servants through whom you have believed as the Lord assigned to each. We're nothing. To view yourself that way will keep you from much trouble.

And from time to time, to let people know also that you are only human. And to remind yourself that others that you're being blessed by, they're only human. They put on their pants one leg at a time like you. It's God through them. It's God in them.

And this man is doing that in this case. I I just can imagine the reaction of the people when he took this thing and crushed it into pieces. It was around for centuries. It was normalized. It was ingrained in their system and in their culture.

He could care less. The high places, he just was sniffing for anything that rivaled God's word and he dealt with it. This is a true reformer. And we're only beginning to learn from him. Let's read from verse five down to verse seven.

Second Kings 18 verse five. 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 fell held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him.

Wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. Look at the beginning of verse seven again. And the Lord was with him. A statement rarely made about the kings of either Israel or Judah.

But it's said of him. But what was rare in the days of the kings does not have to be uncommon for us. Because we are granted in those very verses that we just read a formula to secure the Lord being with us. Now hold on. I know it is true that in a general sense, we are promised God's unbroken companionship as his children.

But it is unrealistic and dishonest to say that each of us experienced the Lord's fellowship in the same way. You can't tell me that a worldly Christian will know the same blessings as the one who chooses to walk closely with Christ. Impossible. So is there anything here that can grant us the assurance or the recipe to be able to secure this wonderful prosperous way of life of the Lord being with us wherever we go? Absolutely.

It's found in the preceding verses. Look at the beginning of verse five again. He trusted in the Lord, number one. And look at the beginning of verse six. For he held fast to the Lord.

And look at it again at verse seven, and the Lord was with him. You see the formula? He trusted in the Lord. He held fast to the Lord. So let's consider those things separately.

He trusted in the Lord. What does it mean to truly trust the Lord? This is synonymous with having faith in the Lord, but is there anything that can give us confirmation? Is there any definition? Anything that we can work with that can give us greater clarity or or the ability to measure the trust that God asked of us that pleases him?

And I'll never forget a New Testament passage that removed any fogginess, any confusion around this area of a faith that pleases the Lord, a mature faith. And it's in the place where Paul teaches about Abraham's faith. And how he exercised his faith. And how he became a model of faith for believers even today. So let's turn to Romans chapter four, and let's look at a couple of verses here that I hope will bless you as much as it blessed me.

Romans four beginning in verse 20. It says here, no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Look again at the words, the two words beginning in verse 21, fully convinced. Can I ask you a personal question? Does it ever disappoint you when you assess something, you analyze something, you explain something to someone and they don't trust you?

Does it bother you? And we're fallible. We have a tendency of exaggerating. We have the ability to forget. So how much more the one who is perfect in knowledge, who never blows things out of proportion, who has never ever been accused of being inaccurate, what does it do to his heart when we don't fully trust him?

Nobody here would settle, no husband here would settle for their wives to partially trust them, and vice versa. We we wouldn't settle for that in a friendship level. It would irk us. It would bother us. It would disturb us.

So again, how much more that the one who is perfect in all of his ways? And yet we see here that the faith that blesses God is when we were totally persuaded that he's able to accomplish anything that he has said. That's Abraham. He was fully convinced. Fully convinced.

So one way for you to know the strength of your faith is to simply ask, am I completely persuaded by the word of God? Where God said something, do I say, I trust you completely? And if we can say that we're fully convinced, then there is much room for growth. And that's in fact how we know we're growing in faith. Look back at verse 20, the middle of it, but he grew strong in his faith.

He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, and then it's followed by fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. So the way I can determine growth in my trust is that I become more and more convinced. That whenever I come to God's word, whenever I hear a truth concerning him, what he's able to do, who he is, in my heart it has this unshakable ability to rely on that, you know that you're growing and you know that you're maturing in faith. I believe Hezekiah had that kind of faith. He trusted in the Lord.

And it's proven here, the courage that this man had. He removed the high places. He destroyed something that was recognized by everyone as a harmless thing worthy of devotion. He goes, no. So that there's no question here that verse five in second Kings 18 where it says he trusted the Lord is the secret to his boldness.

He didn't fear what would happen to him by his own kinsmen. It didn't worry him at all because he trusted in the Lord and this pleased God. But not only that, it says here that he held fast to the Lord. All this means is that Hezekiah was consistent with his consecrated life. It says that in the same verse.

And this principle applies to all men, even kings, that there are certain blessings that are reserved for those who are consistent, who are consistent, who determine I will never depart from the Lord. I will continually submit to what his word asks of me in all seasons. There's something there for such a person who remains in longevity with the master. Yes, he is faithful to bring us back when we veer. Yes, he is faithful to restore us when when we run away.

Absolutely. But there is something for those who remain steadfast. Another way of saying it is, as long as you stay close to the Lord, God will stay close to you. Okay. Maybe you don't believe me, so let me show you what the Lord says to another king in second Chronicles.

Let's turn that together in second Chronicles chapter 15 verse one. This is what the Lord says through Azariah to Asa. The spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are aware you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

It's very simple. Do we find the same truth in the New Testament? What did James tell the believers? Draw near to God and what? He'll draw near to you.

So the Lord doesn't go anywhere. He's constant. He remains. We're the ones that take different routes. We're the ones who delay when he moves forward.

We're the one who go goes ahead when he remains. So as much as this is a warning, it's a wonderful promise that as long as you seek him, he'll he'll let you find him. And if you want to remain under the current of his blessings, just stay close to him. How do you stay consistent over all these years? Where else am I gonna go?

Like, is it that much of a mystery? What else does this world have to offer me? So like Peter, you have the words of eternal life. I can't go anywhere. There's no other option.

So Hezekiah, he held fast to the Lord. And as long as he held fast to the Lord, the Lord made him prosper wherever he went. Include the Lord in everything. Walk with the Lord in everything, and you will know perpetual blessing. And we're told here back in second Kings eighteen two ways that Hezekiah was prosperous.

Let's come back to it. In verse seven, the second part of verse seven, Something very important. It says here, let's just read the whole verse, and the Lord was with him. Wherever he went, he prospered. There's a new covenant version of spiritual prosperity.

But notice this, he rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. Why is that significant? Do we remember how Judah got into the mess with Assyria to begin with? Why was Assyria oppressing these people? Because of Hezekiah's father.

What did Ahaz say to Assyria when he was threatened by Syria? Just go back a couple chapters. Look at chapter 16. Look at verse seven. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath pileser, king of Assyria saying, I am your servant and your son.

Remember we covered that? I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria, from the hand of the king of Israel who are attacking me. And here's now the son of Ahaz and he goes, I'm not your servant nor am I your son. I'm his servant and I'm his son.

So again, another wonderful encouragement for us that we can shake free from generational patterns. Just because you saw your father, your mother, an older sibling, or your friends walking in a certain way, doesn't mean that you have to submit to that blueprint for life. You can make the choice and say, actually, I'm not going to worship you. I'm not going to serve you. My allegiance is to the Lord himself.

Counseling would look a lot different if we believe that. Instead of allowing people to sit in their trouble, in their disorientation. No. Give people hope and pull them out of that. Don't let that person remain a victim.

Is it true that people are victims of people's sins? Yes. But they can know victory. A lot of the counseling today people are offering is not real counsel. It just numbs people and keeps them in defeat.

But notice here a very important sequence. Hezekiah could not break free from Assyria until he first fully trusted and committed himself to the Lord. Did he rebel against Assyria before he trusted and gave himself to the Lord? No. It came after.

The confidence came after. The promise came after. The blessing of being free came after. And the same is true in our relationship with sin. Our relationship with anybody for that matter.

You can't know the blessing that God has for your personal life and for your relationship with others until you establish your relationship with him. And there are many people around, even philosophers and psychologists and pundits and gurus, that are trying to fix this whole mess in our world. How do we establish peace? How do we create harmony? How do we, flourish in justice?

Have you ever thought how the 10 commandments were organized? You have the first four that deal with obedience and worship to God alone. And the final six deal with our relationship with others. That's not on accident. You wanna avoid murder and theft and adultery and covetousness?

You can't skip the first four steps. You have to be rightly related to God if you're gonna know any kind of hope with your relationship with others and vice versa. But everybody wants to skip that. Everybody wants a level of righteousness, but they don't wanna be right with God. No.

No. We see it throughout scripture that it first begins with submission to him before we know any kind of sweetness in any other area. Verse eight is another way that he prospered. Says here that he struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory from watchtower to fortified city. So in a way here, we have a subtle reference to how Hezekiah is imitating David in another way.

In the same way that David chased off the Philistines and knew victory over them, Hezekiah is also walking in his steps. That's why people recognize him as a second David. Even in the way that he worshiped, Hezekiah wrote a song to the Lord, if you go to Isaiah. Let's come to the final verses of our study. This is quite interesting how it ends, at least this section.

Verse nine. Let's read the last three verses together. In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. And at the end of three years, he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken.

The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put him in Hellah and on the Habor, the River Of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant the Lord commanded, they neither listened nor obeyed. Is there any reason why these verses should stand out to us? Think about previous studies, a very recent study, like the last two weeks. It's not as deep as you think.

It's just an observation. Is this a review of what happened to the Northern Kingdom Of Israel? It is. Right? But we already covered this extensively in second Kings 17.

So then why is the historian repeating it? Why are we reviewing this again? I thought we're moving on. I thought we're dealing with the Kingdom Of Judah. Why are we getting a flashback?

It seems out of place. But read carefully. Look again at verse nine. In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea, son of Elah king of Israel, who was the last king of Israel. So the reason why this is being brought up again is because we are to see that the Syrian exile, the the conquest of the people of Israel took place during the reign of Hezekiah.

So that's the focus here. Hezekiah was fully aware of what happened to his neighbors. And this was to highlight the risk that Hezekiah took in rebelling against Assyria. If Assyria was successful in dominating a much larger kingdom in Israel, what would take place for Judah now that they revolted? So in a sense, we're left here with suspense.

What's going to happen now? You turned your back on Assyria and it wasn't too long ago where the Assyrians took over the nation of Israel, namely the Kingdom Of Israel up north. At the same time, we're reminded here that Israel did not lose because they disobeyed Assyria, but they disobeyed who? God. That's why they were given into the hands of Assyria.

So the additional lesson is this, as frightening as obedience may be, there is no safer place than to live in full obedience to God. There's no safer place. And Hezekiah is about to learn that in the rest of this chapter. He's going to anger Assyria. He's going to actually invite the wrath of Assyria.

And as we're reading this, we're thinking what's going to happen? But we're also offered hope because we're told in this commentary, yes, Israel, they didn't listen or obey Moses who represented God. But Hezekiah has been obeying God. So how is this gonna turn out? What's gonna happen to this man and his kingdom?

Because they have been obeying. And I think this is a wonderful place to finish our study tonight. Do you know why? Because when we consider the times that we're living in, how the entire world seems to be on edge, let's recall where the safest place, where the safest place is to be. I'm reminded of the words of Isaiah who very descriptively predicted the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem in Isaiah chapter three.

And you know this very well. I I've quoted this verse many times. I'm not ashamed to quote it again in Isaiah three ten. Tell the righteous that it will be well with them. Interestingly enough, Isaiah is gonna come alongside Hezekiah as they're going to be tested with the appearance of Assyria on their front step, and he is going to bring much assurance to him and the people of Judah.

And let me offer it to you as the people of Jesus Christ. No matter what you see on the news, no matter what conspiracy theories are out there, no matter what the market looks like, the vacillation of our culture, of our politics. Don't put your hope in any investment. Don't put your hope in any location that you have to move your family to. Ultimately, put your trust in Christ.

Dwell in the shelter of the most high and abide in the shadow of the almighty, and you have nothing to fear. That's something that we're gonna see in more than one lesson as we continue in our study of second Kings. But for now, let's digest together. I just encourage you now to genuinely take a short amount of time to engage with the Lord, to fellowship with the Lord, to respond to the Bible study. Lord, we thank you that you've reminded us what it means to you for us to trust in you, to cling to you.

We want that for our lives. We want you to be with us in whatever we do, wherever we go. We thank you that you promised us that you'll never forsake us. But Lord, it is us who forsake you. So we pray that even now, if anybody knows that they are not walking with you the way that they should be walking with you, that they would see the promise, they would see the prosperity that's available, and they would abandon anything that is trying to take them away from you.

Lord remind us that there is nothing more fulfilling than fellowship with you. That there's nothing that can offer the comfort and the hope and the joy that a real vibrant relationship with you offers. And Lord, from the bottom of our hearts, we even ask that if there's anybody here who has not taken that step of faith by planting their eyes on Calvary and understanding the significance of your sacrifice and applying it to their own lives, Lord, may tonight be the night. May tonight be the night where people will cross from death to life by understanding the simplicity of the gospel that you've come to die for us, and that it's our sin that put you on the cross. And that on that cross, you've paid our debt and that we can receive a clearance if we but trust that that's what you did for us.

And so for any person who is outside of the Lord Jesus this evening, may they look upon you now. And may they receive the healing, the restoration, the salvation that only you provide. May we look to no other. Lord, we pray that if there are any high places in our lives, maybe even an object, a ministry, a minister, a beloved Christian, and we have elevated them, and we adore them, and we're relying on them more than you. May those things break into pieces even now.

Help us Lord, place you above all things. To extol and exalt you above all men or all women. Take preeminence, Lord, in our affections and our meditations, maybe Christ and Christ alone. Lord, we now sing to you, rejoice that you are the true king of our lives. This Bible study can only go so far.

It must be the work of your Holy Spirit to groove these things in us. To surgically deal with the issues of our souls. And yes, Lord, even for those who might have had a traumatic past, may they trust that your grace is able to rescue them and set them on a path of true joy and victory where they can offer hope and healing to others in your name. So any person here who has convinced themselves that they are a permanent victim, oh, in Christ may they know victory. Only you can do it.

And we give you glory for all the things that you can do in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship the living Christ.