Ok, Bible scholars, if I were to give you a one-question Old Testament history quiz, and that one questions was, “Who was Judah’s greatest king?”—what would your answer be?
Solomon and David would probably pop into your minds immediately, and both were great kings. But they lived and died before the kingdom of Judah was separated from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Judah had 20 kings, beginning with Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and ending with Zedekiah. Eight of those kings were said to have been “good” kings, and that list includes Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham and Josiah. But, to answer the question—which king of Judah was the best king of all?—we will quote God’s Word: “He (Hezekiah) trusted in the Lord God of Israel. So that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the Lord and departed not from following him, but kept His commandments which the Lord commanded Moses.” (II Kings 18:5)
Another commentary on Hezekiah’s life is found in II Chr. 31:20,21: “And this did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the House of God and in the Law and in the commandments, to seek His God, he did it with all his heart and prospered.”
Perfect? No, not at all! But an exceptionally good king he was. And here is why:
- His work in Constructing the House of God
- He repaired the doors in the first month of the first year of his reign, II Chr. 29:3
- He replaced priests that were not sanctified, II Chr. 29:34
- His Confession, II Chr. 29:6
- Their trespasses
- Their forsaking God
- Their turning their faces from the habitation of the Lord
- Their turning their backs
- His Covenant, II Chr. 29:10
- A covenant of cleansing, 24
- A covenant of conciliation, v. 27
- His Command, II Chr. 29:27
- A command to offer offerings, v. 27
- A command to sing praises, v. 27
- His Conformity to the Word of God, II Chr. 30:2,16
- To keep the Passover, 30:1
- To keep the Passover as God’s Word commanded, v. 30:5b
- To keep the Passover out of righteousness, not ritual, 30:7-9
- According to the Law of Moses, 30:16
- To receive blessings in spite of their ignorance, frailty, weakness, 30:18
- His Consecration, II Chr. 31:16
- Consecration of thanksgiving, 31:2
- Consecration of encouragement, 31:6
- Consecration of liberality, 31:6
- Consecration of praise, 31:8
- Consecration of abundance, 31:10
- His Contrition, II Chr. 32:1-8, 20
- He took counsel, 30:3
- He realized there were some things that he could do
- He “prayed to God and passed the ammunition!” 30:5-8
- He gave counsel, 30:7,8
- Rather than panic, he resorted to prayer
How does Hezekiah’s life relate to those of us who are in the Body of Christ today?
Well, Rev. 5:10 says that we have been made unto our God kings and priests, and “we shall reign on the earth,” which means with the King of Kings during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. We can and should learn from the biographies of Old Testament kings. (“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.” Rom. 15:4)
Hezekiah, unlike so many of the Old Testament kings, teaches us that it is always better to obey, and that obedience is better than sacrifice; but one can and should sacrifice obediently.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Ps. 46:1)
YOU and GOD 