“Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute. He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its territory, from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city.”
2 Kings 18:1-8 NLT
Hezekiah was a good king. He is one of few in the line of David whose heart was set on following God. He kept him first and foremost and was aware of him in everything. The scripture records that because of this, he was successful in everything he did. Yet, let us consider two other things. Firstly, he was the son of Ahaz and secondly the father of Manasseh. His lineage is directly located between two of Israel’s most vile kings. Their is something to be learned here. We must consider that faith and will trump heritage and upbringing. We are not creatures determined by our upbringing as far as god is concerned. We all choose to stand with or against God. Even though our upbringing informs that, it doesn’t guarantee it. We must remember that our journey in faith must be a personal one. Any vile person can be the Father of a Hezekiah. Any Hezekiah can be the son or father of a vile person. We must withhold judgment and give opportunity equally to follow God as David did.
JOSH McGARY. COM 