“Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered. After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah.”
2 Chronicles 31:20-32:1
Faithful Hezekiah brought about one the greatest revivals in the history of the people of God. His father Ahaz had turned Israel into a center of idolatry and gross iniquity. Ahaz even destroyed all the articles of the temple and shut its doors so that the worship of God had ceased. When Hezakiah became king, he tore down all the idols in the land, repaired the temple, and restored the true worship of God to Israel. He sought the Lord with all his heart and Israel rejoiced.
The very next verse says that the result of all this was that Assyria was able to enter the land of Judah and sought to destroy it! What’s going on? God is not angry with Hezekiah. This is not a judgment for the sins of Israel. This is a test of his faithfulness. Hezekiah did good and right in the sight of the Lord and now that faith would be put to the test. Would Hezekiah remain faithful during this trial and seek the Lord or would he turn to false gods or foreign nations like his father did?
Hezekiah remained faithful to the Lord. He went into the newly repaired temple and prayed to Almighty God that He would save them from the Assyrians so that all the kingdoms of the earth would know that God is God alone. In answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, the Lord sent one angel who killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night, thus delivering Israel.
God was well pleased with Hezekiah, and the arrival of the Assyrians was actually an opportunity for God to show Himself strong for His faithful people. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” This was the purpose of the trial.
A similar thing happened to the disciples of Jesus. In Matthew 8:18 Jesus commanded that His disciples follow Him and get into a boat to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Two of the disciples wanted to follow Jesus but they had other things they wanted to take care of first. Jesus told them to forget those things and come and follow Him. Unlike Hezekiah they would not follow Jesus with their whole heart and so they stayed behind. The disciples that did follow Jesus into the boat immediately got caught in such a terrible storm that these seasoned fishermen were fearful that they all were going to die. But this was just a test. Jesus tells them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). Then Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and instantly there was a great calm.
Jesus wasn’t angry with the disciples. The storm was not a judgment upon them for unfaithfulness. It came because they were faithful and it was an opportunity for God to show Himself strong for those who have faith in Him, even if it is a little faith. Our trials are opportunities for us to show that our hearts are loyal to God and for God to show Himself strong for us and to strengthen our faith!
Glory to the Lord of hosts!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn
