2 kings 18

S: 2 Kings 18:5 He put his trust in the Lord, the God of Israel.

O: Hezekiah took great strides to separate himself from the previous leaders of Judah. So he was seen as being more like David, and a great ruler.

A: Hezekiah did put his trust in the Lord, even though his father Ahaz was not a good leader. Hezekiah saw what was happening to Israel and knew that Judah would suffer the same fate if they did not return to God’s commandments. So Hezekiah removes all the false idols, pillars and poles of worship.

The Assyrian army continued their destruction and came close to Judah. In fear, Hezekiah told Assyria that he had done wrong and tried to please the king by sending all the treasure of Judah. So much so that the Judeans began to suffer and starve. Hezekiah also put his trust and faith in the king of Egypt. Both of these things were done instead of putting faith and trust in the Lord. During this time, Isaiah was the prophet of God. These same events are replicated in Isaiah chapter 36. Isaiah foretold what would happen to Israel and told Hezekiah not to trust in Egypt.

The king of Assyria sent the commander out to meet with king Hezekiah, and to taunt the people. To make them more afraid. Satan does the same thing all the time. He uses truth to try and frighten us, to demoralize us and being us to despair. To make us doubt when we can’t see the clear end of our path. To make us want to give up. But we must remember God’s truth in Jesus. He sent Jesus so that our sins could be forgiven. We must continue to put our faith and trust in God even when we can’t see a clear path. We must know that God is at our side in light and darkness.

As we will see in future chapters of 2 Kings, faith in God does make us prevail against the devil. I need to keep God in the forefront of my mind, so when ever any slip happens, I know He is still there. I know even in my darkest hour, He has not forsaken me, regardless of what the darkness calls out to me. My faith is in my true King.

K: Lord, thank you for delivering your people time and time again. Thank you for forgiving my sins time and time again. For always being at my side. I trust in your Lord and know you will not forsake me, but will lead me down the path you have chosen for me.