He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
--2 Kings 18:4-7 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on June 27, 2013 of Psalm 115; Ephesians 1:1-14; 2 Kings 17-18:16.
Since the times of Jeroboam and the horrible example he set, the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel sinned against the Lord by serving Baal and caused the people to sin also. They built altars and idols in the high places and worshiped false gods. One after another the kings failed to obey God's commandments and led the people in wrongful ways. Through His prophets and His holy men, the Lord warned them to repent and turn from their wickedness or face sure punishment. The prophets cautioned that the Lord's patience would not last forever. And at last the Lord did indeed extract punishment against the people of Israel, giving them to be carried off and dispersed into foreign captivity by the Assyrians.
The kings of Judah came a little closer to following God's commandments. Through King Jehu they put an end to the worship of Baal (please see "Unfinished Business"), but time after time the kings ignored the altars built to other minor gods and the people of Judah burned incense there to honor these idols. This practice finally changed when Hezekiah became king of Judah. He destroyed all these places of worship, smashed the altars and icons, burned the idols, even broke into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had forged 700 years before as a means of healing the people but that since then had become an idol of worship in itself. Hezekiah had accomplished what no other king of Judah before had done in ridding the land of all signs and means of idolatry. For this he prospered and, unlike the kingdom of Israel, was able to resist Assyrian aggression with God's help.
Perhaps the most telling words in today's focus verses regarding Hezekiah are that "he trusted in the Lord God". Hezekiah trusted the Lord and believed in both His promise of salvation and His warning of retribution. Because of his faith and his love of his people and his land, he trusted that God would honor him if he honored God, so he saw to it that the Lord was put first in the lives of the people. No longer were man-made gods worshiped, but only the one true God. And God rewarded Hezekiah's faith. Judah did not fall to Assyria. God destroyed the army they poised against Jerusalem and saw to the death of the Assyrian king by the hands of his own sons. And all because Hezekiah trusted God and obeyed His commandments, leading his people to righteousness. Trust and obey, for there's no other way. Amen.
Lord God of all, may we always trust in You and obey Your commandments. May we especially be heedful to the wonderful commandment You and Your Son gave us, to love one another fully just as Jesus loves us. Forgive us, Lord, when we place some false god before You. Help us destroy all idols we place in our lives. Help us, please Father, to resist Satan's temptations. Lead us into righteousness for Your name's sake. In the sacred name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
The kings of Judah came a little closer to following God's commandments. Through King Jehu they put an end to the worship of Baal (please see "Unfinished Business"), but time after time the kings ignored the altars built to other minor gods and the people of Judah burned incense there to honor these idols. This practice finally changed when Hezekiah became king of Judah. He destroyed all these places of worship, smashed the altars and icons, burned the idols, even broke into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had forged 700 years before as a means of healing the people but that since then had become an idol of worship in itself. Hezekiah had accomplished what no other king of Judah before had done in ridding the land of all signs and means of idolatry. For this he prospered and, unlike the kingdom of Israel, was able to resist Assyrian aggression with God's help.
Perhaps the most telling words in today's focus verses regarding Hezekiah are that "he trusted in the Lord God". Hezekiah trusted the Lord and believed in both His promise of salvation and His warning of retribution. Because of his faith and his love of his people and his land, he trusted that God would honor him if he honored God, so he saw to it that the Lord was put first in the lives of the people. No longer were man-made gods worshiped, but only the one true God. And God rewarded Hezekiah's faith. Judah did not fall to Assyria. God destroyed the army they poised against Jerusalem and saw to the death of the Assyrian king by the hands of his own sons. And all because Hezekiah trusted God and obeyed His commandments, leading his people to righteousness. Trust and obey, for there's no other way. Amen.
Lord God of all, may we always trust in You and obey Your commandments. May we especially be heedful to the wonderful commandment You and Your Son gave us, to love one another fully just as Jesus loves us. Forgive us, Lord, when we place some false god before You. Help us destroy all idols we place in our lives. Help us, please Father, to resist Satan's temptations. Lead us into righteousness for Your name's sake. In the sacred name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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