Hezekiah was one of the few good kings we read about in the Old Testament.  Most of us know that the people of God failed miserably under the first covenant.  The Jews were influenced by the heathen nations that remained in the land of promise and they went after other gods over and over again.  One of the primary reasons for this was that the majority of their kings did evil in the eyes of God.  In Israel, all the kings were wicked.  In Judah, only eight of the twenty kings did what was right, and one of them (Uzziah) turned bad.  Whether we are talking about a country, a church, or even a home, most of the time when the leadership is bad, the people follow.

One of the few good kings in Judah, however, was Hezekiah.  For the most part he lived a good and godly life, and we do not have to look too far to understand why—he trusted God.

2 Kings 18:5 (ESV)
⁵ 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.

Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, reigned for sixteen years as king (2 Kings 16:2).  Think about that.  It would be like us having a four-term President.  A lot of influence takes place during a sixteen-year period.  Nevertheless, Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, not in the eyes of man.  Was he worried about the repercussions of doing so?  No, because He trusted God.

Trusting God helps us to live godly in an ungodly world.  Hezekiah showed great courage, not only in reforming Judah, which, no doubt, prolonged the existence of the southern kingdom, but also, in standing against the threat of the great Assyrian Empire (2 Kings 18:7).  Assyria was the dominant power in the world at that time and had a reputation of great brutality employed against those who rebelled.  Still, Hezekiah, trusting in the Lord, stood strong, even after witnessing the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in the sixth year of his reign (2 Kings 18:9-12).

In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, when the Assyrian army was bearing down upon Judah, the king paid tribute to Assyria to just go away (vers. 13-16).  Being the evil empire that it was, Assyria, now led by King Sennacherib, took the tribute but refused to go away (vers. 17-37).  Did Hezekiah show a temporary lack of faith by paying tribute to Sennacherib?  Probably, but after Sennacherib’s emissary disrespected God, suggesting that the Jews were foolish for trusting in Him (vers. 29-30), Hezekiah once again began to trust in God fully, turning to Him for help (2 Kings 19:1-4).  Because of this, Sennacherib and the great Assyrian army were defeated when the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000, and the mighty king of Assyria was forced to flee (2 Kings 19:5-37).

Trusting God, not only leads to a life of godliness, but it also helps us to be victorious against great odds.  Sennacherib, in his own words, had Hezekiah and Jerusalem “shut up like a bird in a cage,” but in the end, Hezekiah prevailed.  It is easy to trust God when everything is going our way; but, trusting Him amid difficult circumstances is the key to spiritual prosperity.

Psalm 112:6-7 (ESV)
⁶  For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. ⁷  He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

As long as we trust in the Lord, as Hezekiah did, we will not be moved.  Instead, we will live godly in this present world, relying on God to deliver us from whatever trouble invades our lives.  Hezekiah is a great reminder of this.  He was not perfect, and neither are we, but trusting God can overcome any difficulty in life.  Remember, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1).

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.