Hezekiah, continued

II Chronicles 31 – 32

In the past, the people of Judah were not following God.  Although some of the kings were, the people were not.  Now we see that even the people started following God.  They destroy all the idols and worship areas for the idols in their region.  The regular worship of LORD at the Temple was reestablished.  The people were ordered to tithe to the Temple.  They obeyed and God blessed them for their obedience.

Sometime later, the Assyrians under Sennacherib invaded Judah.  If the king and people had not turned their hearts toward the LORD, surely they would have been taken into captivity and exiled just as the nation of Israel was.  Hezekiah trusted in the LORD:  “With him [Sennacherib] is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.”  Isn’t that true for the Christ follower?

Sennacherib blasphemes the LORD and tries to break the spirit of the people.  He does not succeed and the LORD takes care of his army and ultimately him. 

After Hezekiah was saved from an illness leading to death, we see that he became proud and incurred the wrath of God.  But, he eventually humbled himself, and the wrath was postponed until after his death.

There is an interesting note in 32:31 where God left Hezekiah alone to test him and see what was in his heart.  This was in the matter with the Babylonian envoys.  Although, as Christ followers, we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have free choice.  I am sure that we are sometimes tested by God to make sure our faith in Him.  That is part of what this life is about.