The last two weeks we've been studying the most outstanding Kings of Israel. We looked at Jehoshaphat (II Chronicles 17-19) last week and Hezekiah (II Kings 18,19) this week. These men were both two of the best kings of the Southern Kingdom of Israel-that of Judah. Each of these men made great contributions to the people of Israel. They both were known for directing their people to serve God. Both of them destroyed idols and tried to follow the Lord in worship. Jehoshaphat was the King who loved souls. He tried to bring everyone around him to the Lord-even a wicked King. He was unsuccessful in bringing wicked King Ahab to God-but in the scripture I think we can see his heart for helping people to know God. He was a good example for all of us. Would that we had the heart for souls like Jehoshaphat and that we would have the discernment and closeness to God like Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was a strong King. One all of us fathers can learn from. He also cared about bringing his people to God, but went a step further than Jehoshaphat and destroyed all of the high places. He destroyed the idols and then made it so the people would no longer worship idols by destroying the places where the idols were worshipped. But, perhaps the greatest key of his character was that in the King James Bible it tells us that his heart "clove" to the Lord. This means he clung to the Lord and loved the Lord with all his heart. Hezekiah was a strong King because he had a personal relationship with God. How his relationship came in handy when he had to stand down the wicked King of Assyria. He stayed strong and trusted the Lord to protect his Godly Kingdom in the way His God would see fit. Then, Hezekiah sat back and watched God directly and miraculously destroy the Assyrian army with His own hand. May we learn from the good King Hezekiah and seek a perosnal relationship with God by making God's Word a part of our daily life.
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