The Failure of a Faithful King, 2 Kings 18

“In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five 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. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 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). 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. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. 8 He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.”

Hezekiah reigned for 29 years, and verse three tells us “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

Hezekiah’s father was not a good king… so God tells us that Hezekiah followed in the footsteps of another faithful King, David. David is referred to as his father, like Abraham was considered to be the Father of Israel. By connecting the reign of Hezekiah to David, the writer of 2 Kings wants us to understand that this is a good and godly King.

Hezekiah removed the high places, broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah.

2 Kings 18:6 says that Hezekiah kept the commandments God gave Moses. In the 10 commandments God said first “you shall have no other God’s before me.”

Second God said, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.”

The Israelites have rebelled against the Lord and gone completely against the commands of God. And, the kings before Hezekiah had done nothing about these places where false gods were worshipped. They had tolerated and even participated in the worship of false gods and giving honor to the idols that they represented.

The Israelites had sunk so low in their worship of false gods that they had integrated the worship of false gods into their worship of Yahweh. Then, they took it a step further and made objects God had told them to make and began worshipping them instead of God Himself.

Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness.

Numbers 21:1-9 describes how during a time of a plague of fiery serpents upon the whole nation, Moses made a bronze serpent for the nation to look upon and be spared death from the snake bites. This statement in 2 Kings tells us that this particular bronze serpent had been preserved for more than 800 years and had come to be worshipped as Nehushtan. Hezekiah, in his zeal, broke in pieces this bronze artifact and put an end to the idolatrous worship of this object.

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord in ways no King since David had followed the Lord.

Hezekiah held fast to the Lord. Hezekiah did not depart from following the Lord. Hezekiah kept the commandments God gave to Moses. (Even destroying the bronze serpent that Moses made)

The Lord was with Hezekiah in the face of opposition and the sinful rebellion of Israel.

Hezekiah prospered in all that he did because of the Lord’s faithfulness. As each nation came up against Judah, Israel was victorious because of the Lord. For example (Angel sent to kill troops)2 Chronicles 32:21–23 (ESV), “21 And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. 22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.”

Lessons we can learn from Hezekiah:

I believe that there are many different ways that we can apply what we see in Hezekiah’s life to our own and to others. You can build a great list of what to look for in a leader, and in reading and praying through this sermon I considered putting that list together. But, because most people don’t consider themselves leaders, I would prefer to spend time focusing on what applies to the hearts and minds of each one of us. Hezekiah was considered to be faithful, so we will look at some lessons on faithfulness that we can learn from Hezekiah.

Faithfulness is a matter of the heart.

Before we look at actions we can make that follow in the footsteps of Hezekiah, we must first acknowledge that all his actions flow from his heart. If he was a king like David, then he was a man who had a heart for God that resulted in faithfulness.

You should always consider your heart when you consider the sin in your life. Hezekiah’s heart was right, therefore his actions were right. Everything that he did flowed from a desire to honor the Lord and follow His commands more than the approval of men and the satisfaction of his flesh.

Repentance requires removal and destruction

Far too many people try to repent without making any actual changes to their lives. It happens when the Lord moves and you want to move away from your sin and in His direction. So you commit to change… But unfortunately man have been led to say yes to God without saying no to sin… But, you cannot repent in your heart without changing your actions.

When sin has had a hold on you there are things that you must remove and destroy to follow through with repentance.

The people of Israel had been worshipping false gods. But, you may not think you are worshipping false gods. But, lets look at how they were worshipping…

The High Places, Pillars, and Asherah

A high place was a localized or regional worship center dedicated to a god. Worship at these local shrines often included making sacrifices, burning incense and holding feasts or festivals (1 Kgs 3:2–3; 12:32). Some of these high places contained altars, graven images and shrines (1 Kgs 13:1–5; 14:23; 2 Kgs 17:29; 18:4; 23:13–14). The Canaanites, Israel’s enemy who worshiped Baal as their chief deity, also used them.

The term “high places” was translated from the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), not from the Hebrew. The term conjures up images of remote hilltops, but in the biblical context, it wasn’t limited to mountaintops; Jeremiah 7:31 locates a high place in a valley and 2 Kings 23:18 at a city gate.

When the Israelites first entered the promised land, they were told to destroy the high places, idols and molten images of the Canaanite inhabitants (Num 33:52). They were also instructed not to worship at high places that were Canaanite sites (Deut 12:2–3). They were told Yahweh wanted to be worshiped in another way: “You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there” (Deut 12:4–5).

These places were supposed to be destroyed, but instead of destroying them the Israelites had kept and built idols for the purpose of worship. These physical idols served to direct the hearts and minds of the Israelites toward sin. In many cases the Asherah would be placed right next to the altar of Yahweh.

So, we have to think about our own hearts and lives and consider what we have placed next to the Lord in our own hearts.

Our lives are the temple, but like the Israelites many of us have also built high places in our minds and hearts… and even in our physical lives.

Work

Materialism

Money

Image/ Personal Identity

Relationships- family, romantic, Sex

Faithfulness requires admitting the difference between the traditions of men and the commands of God.

This bronze serpent was a wonderful thing – when the afflicted people of Israel looked upon it, they were saved. It was even a representation of Jesus Christ, as Jesus Himself said in John 3:14-15. At the same time, man could take something so good and so used by God and make a destructive idol out of it.

In the same way, sometimes good things become idols and therefore must be destroyed. For example, if the true cross of Jesus or His actual burial cloth were to be discovered, and these objects became idolatrous distractions, then it would be better for those objects to be destroyed. “Although it was an interesting memorial, it must be utterly destroyed, because it presented a temptation to idolatry. Here if ever in this world was a relic of high antiquity, of undoubted authenticity, a relic which had seen its hundreds of years, about which there was no question as to its being indisputably the very serpent which Moses made; and it was moreover a relic which had formerly possessed miraculous power – for in the wilderness the looking at it had saved the dying. Yet it must be broken in pieces, because Israel burned incense to it.” (Spurgeon)

God’s people must likewise be on guard against idolatry today. There are many dangers of idolatry in the modern church:

· Making leaders idols.

· Making education an idol.

· Making human eloquence an idol.

· Making customs and habits of ministry an idol.

· Making forms of worship an idol.

Faithfulness depends on prayer

When faced with the ridicule of another nation and their king, Hezekiah brought it all before the Lord. He didn’t just ask God to do something, he shared it and talked about with the Lord. He literally spread the situation before the Lord and asked for direction.

Too many times we evaluate the situation and come up with our own plan, then we go to the Lord and ask him for help with our plan to respond to the difficult situation… not Hezekiah. He took the situation to the Lord and asked Him what to do… Faithfulness depends on asking God what He thinks, and then following His instructions.

The sermon title is The Failure of a Faithful King, and at this point we have not pointed out the failure of Hezekiah. We have focused on what we can learn from his faithfulness, but we also need to learn from his failure.

2 Chronicles 32:24–26 (ESV)

24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

2 Chronicles 32:31 (ESV)

31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

The way the Lord tested him is referenced in 2 Chronicles 32, but the account is found in 2 Kings 20.

2 Kings 20:12–19 (ESV) says, “12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

Hezekiah failed after the Lord healed him to stay humble and honor God. When the envoy from Babylon came to him, Hezekiah proudly showed off all that Israel had accumulated under his reign… and did not give credit to the Lord. Even though Hezekiah had been faithful to remove the high places, the pillars, the Asherah… even though he had rebuilt the temple and restored right worship of Yahweh among His people. Even though he was considered to be a king like David with a heart for God… we find that much like David he had a weakness.. and his weakness was pride.

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord when things were hard, but when he experienced prosperity he struggled.

Ins’t this the way it is for most of us though? When things are falling apart we lean on God, talk to Him, about Him, and give ourselves to Him… but when we experience a little peace and prosperity in life we quickly abandoned our posture of dependence and begin to think and do what we think is right.

JD Greear said, “Hezekiah had passed the test of adversity… but he failed the test of prosperity.”

God tested Hezekiah when things were good. When things were hard Hezekiah proved himself to be humble… and yet the Lord knew his heart then, and the Lord knows his heart at the end of his life. So, to reveal his heart and open the door for repentance the Lord tested him.

Lessons from Hezekiah’s Failure:

People change.

Most people change based on their circumstances. It’s why when things are good they are good and when things are bad they are struggling.

This is so true that I have learned to pray for those who are harsh or difficult, the truth is they are likely dealing with a difficulty in their life and your are experiencing the impact of it.

Early in his life Hezekiah was faithful to God when things were hard… but he changes. As he gets older and life gets easier with prosperity and favor his heart begins to lean away from the Lord and toward sin.

Much like the high places he tore down early in his reign he has built an altar to himself with his pride in his heart.

I am not advocating that people can change from belonging to God and being saved to being lost and unsaved… what I am trying to point out is that one of the biggest lessons is to learn that you, and others can change. You can drift… You can cease to be the man of purity you once were. You can stall in being the person of grace and mercy that you were known for. And many times the reasons for change are related to our circumstances… things come up, we get busy, we feel like we have done enough…

But, you cannot put your walk with the Lord on cruise control. Hezekiah didn’t see it…The Lord and Isaiah saw it… I’m sure that others experienced it…

Just because you were faithful 25 years ago doesn’t mean you are automatically faithful today. This leads me to the next thing we can learn…

God sanctifies our hearts, Sin calcifies our hearts

Regardless of your age you must fight for purity and faithfulness to the Lord. There are many in the church that are like the men who can’t quit talking about their high school sports accomplishments. I loved what I was able to be a part of in HS, and I find myself connecting with people of all ages through common experiences… that’s not what I am talking about. I’m talking about the men who still relive the glory days… the Uncle Rico’s in Napoleon dynamite… who relive and relive and are still convinced they can do it.

The problem with living spiritually in the past is that it ignores God’s plan and the work of the Holy Spirit. God saves us to then sanctify us to be more like Christ as we grow and mature. There is no end of this process until Jesus comes back or you pass away and go be with Him.

This means that the oldest believers in the church have been called to be the most holy, righteous, and faithful in the body.The ones who have walked with Jesus the longest are called to set the example for us and invest in the younger believers.

God sanctifies, but sin calcifies. There really isn’t a neutral position. You are either moving toward Jesus or toward sin… and sin, especially the sin of pride calcifies the heart.

Humility grows through hardship, but pride is often the fruit of prosperity.

“One commentator notes how Hezekiah's failure shows the importance of a life of obedience. If we trust God only when we are in dire straits, like Hezekiah was with Sennacherib, but forget Him when things are good, then we are treating the Lord like a talisman or good luck charm who helps us when things look down. We are not called to trust the Lord only once at our conversions, but we must seek Him and obey His commandments every day of our lives.” Ligonier

This is one of the core truths we see in the life of Hezekiah… His prosperity bore the fruit of pride… and this sin of pride stands in complete contrast to Jesus Christ, the true king of Israel and of our hearts.

Jesus has every reason to be proud and to parade his accomplishment and his treasures before us.

Jesus is a faithful and true King

Jesus is the better King David and the better King Hezekiah. He succeeds in faithfulness in every way they failed.

Philippians 2:5–8 (ESV), “5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus found victory through humility… and his example is the one we follow. There is so much for us to learn from Hezekiah’s faithfulness and from his failure. And from his failure we learn that this world needs a king who never fails.

We need help from someone who hasn’t fallen and who isn’t falling apart.

Jesus Never Fails

I was reminded of a song that I heard the Brooklyn Tabernacle sing… Jesus Never Fails

Even in the days of old

He brought His people through

And then He came to show His love

And died for me and you

Then He rose again to prove

That every story has been true

Jesus never fails

Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails

You might as well get thee behind me, Satan

You cannot prevail, because Jesus never fails

Sometimes this world brings trouble

I find so hard to bear

I know I could not make it

Without Jesus being there

It's so encouraging to know

How ever deep we're in despair

Jesus never fails

For all the good that Hezekiah did, he failed. For all the good that David did… he failed; but not Jesus. Jesus is a King and Savior who has never failed and never will.

Though Jesus never failed… you and I can and will. But, don’t let the sin of pride cause you to fail and miss Jesus. When preaching on this passage to FBC Dallas W.A. Criswell called the church to get right with the Lord and not let the sin of pride stand between them and Jesus.

Jesus has never failed the Father or you. Hezekiah failed with pride, and one of the hardest spots to see pride is when it comes to repentance. Especially when we have a life of good things behind us and are living in a time of relative peace and prosperity. But… remember that pride grows in the midst of prosperity and pride is ultimately the enemy to your peace with God.

Pride causes our hearts to become idol factories rather than the garden for spiritual fruit that God intends.

Don’t let pride keep you from Jesus. Don’t let pride keep you from repentance. Don’t let pride keep you from investing in others and making sure the gospel continues. (Towards the end of his reign and life be failed. He also failed to instill the same love for God in his children. Hezekiah received the Lord’s judgment and seems content to enjoy his moment and not live for those who come behind…)

I feel confident there is a lot for us each of us to process and respond to today… but before we leave and scatter back out to live for the Lord and strive for faithfulness to Him… where are you with the Lord? Is there pride in your heart? Are you swimming in peace and prosperity?

Are you struggling and facing the hardest moment of your life? If so… the same person is the answer for both circumstances- Jesus.

Turn to Him in the midst of the hard.

Turn to Him as you turn away from your sin.

Turn to Him as you guard your heart from the pride that builds in times of peace and prosperity.

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