The Breaker of Idols

While God was sending calamity on the northern kingdom of Israel in the form of Shalmaneser King of Assyria, one evil king of Judah died and his son became king in his place. In the third year of Hoshea, who overthrew the kingship of Pekah son of Ramaliah, who had overthrown the previous king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king over Judah. The line of evil kings of Israel was coming to an end, but the kingdom of Judah still had some time to get things right.

Hezekiah had seen the evil his own father had done, and understood the reason Ahaz went mad. Ahaz had sought other gods, so the One True God abandoned him to his futile pursuits. He brought enemies against him that were coming against the kingdom of Israel too. So at 25, when he became king, he had already decided what kind of man he wanted to be. He wanted to be a righteous king, not a wicked one like his father.

Where Ahaz had built up high places and fashioned Asherah poles and worshiped other gods, Hezekiah came to those places and broke them down. He did what was right in the sight of the LORD. He cut down the Asherah, broke down the phallic pillars, and pursued the LORD so that there was no king like him before or after him. He even went as far as destroying the bronze serpent on the pole that Moses had made. This symbol of the sacrifice of Christ to come, which Jesus would reference in the future, had become an idol itself. The people had given it a name - Nehushtan. So Hezekiah removed that idol too. He broke it in pieces so the people could not worship it anymore.

King Hezekiah clung to the LORD. He did not depart from following Him. He kept the commandments of the LORD which He had given to Moses. And because of his faithfulness, the LORD was with him wherever he went. He rebelled against Assyria, he fought and defeated  the Philistines as far as Gaza and all throughout their territory. In so short a time Hezekiah transformed the future of Judah because of his obedience to the LORD.

The LORD had promised Israel blessings if they obeyed. Hezekiah obeyed and he experience God’s blessings. His people were blessed because of it. And this created such a stark contrast between Israel and Judah at the time Israel fell. The fall of Israel was due to idolatry and breaking the rest of the commandments. The preservation of Judah during Hezekiah’s reign was due to his obedience to the LORD. Every person has a choice to listen to God and be blessed, or to reject God and face calamities. What kind of person will you be?