The challenge of faith and how we respond
2 Kings 18:1-16
According to Greek myth, Achilles’ mother dipped his baby son in the water of the Styx, the river that runs through the underworld, to make him invulnerable. His only exposed area was on his heel where his mother held onto him. Despite his seeming immunity, Achilles was later killed in the Trojan War by a (poisonous) arrow that wounded him in the heel. This classic tale illustrates a real-life principle that even the best of us has a weak spot somewhere. In spiritual terms, none of us are immune to temptation and there will always be areas where we are more vulnerable. As we return to the story of Kings after our exploration of Hosea,[1] we meet Hezekiah, who gets a glowing review (2 Kings 18:3, 6) but, notably, he is no sinless paragon. He, too, has his Achilles’ heel, which can be both an encouragement and a challenge for us. It should hearten us to know that we do not need to live perfect lives to be commended by God, but it also warns us not to become complacent.
Trust and commitment to God
Hezekiah is the son of ungodly Ahaz, the king of Judah who worshipped other gods and even sacrificed one of his sons to them (2 Kings 16:2-4). Ahaz was so afraid of the allied forces of Israel and Syria (Aram) that threatened to attack him that he called in Assyria for help and became his vassal (2 Kings 16:7). Yet no matter what a dark background Hezekiah comes from, he chooses to serve the Lord and Him only! His action of getting rid of idolatrous worship (2 Kings 18:4) is a courageous move. The people put their trust in other gods like the fertility goddess, Asherah, so destroying these would have raised anger, even fear in those who pinned their hopes for a good life on worshipping these. However, Hezekiah trusted God and clung (Hebrew davaq) to Him. This latter word does not mean emotional clinginess but indicates deep commitment used when the man is joined to his wife in marriage (many translations have ‘cleave’, Gen 2:24). The same word is also key in Deuteronomy where it likewise expresses covenant faithfulness, this time to God (e.g. ‘hold fast’, Deut 4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 13:4; 30:20).
When faith wobbles
Hezekiah is initially successful as he puts his trust in God. He regains territory from the Philistines in the south-west and breaks the ties with Assyria that his father has established (2 Kings 18:7-8). However, when Assyria takes Israel into captivity and Judah is attacked some years later (2 Kings 18:9-10, 13), he panics and tries to buy peace by paying tribute to the Assyrian king, who is attacking Lachish (2 Kings 18:14).[2] Hezekiah’s admission of wrongdoing in political terms (literally ‘I have sinned’, hataʾti, v.14) is ironic, since the word has religious connotations. Yes, the king sinned but not against Assyria but against the Lord! Instead of trusting God, he even robbed the temple treasury and stripped the gold from the temple to avert disaster (2 Kings 18:15-16). While he asks the Assyrian king ‘to turn/ withdraw’ (shuv, v.14), it is really Hezekiah who should turn/repent (shuv) from his unfaithful attitude to God.
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The challenge of faith and how we respond
Hezekiah’s story highlights our deeply ingrained impulses to resolve our problems by looking to solutions outside God. Yet, when we do so, we rob the Lord of what properly belongs to Him: our trust and our very own self. Much like Hezekiah gave away the temple treasures, we give away our strength, our time, our possessions that should be in God’s service to deal with the difficulties we might be facing. As it turns out for the king, however, such alternative solutions can only bring relief for a time, if at all. Assyria will be back gobbling up the treasures paid in tribute but wanting to conquer and subdue God’s people into the bargain. It is no different today as we face Satan who would dearly love to rule and enslave us. Yet, the threat Judah will face also gives the king another opportunity to seek the Lord. It is our encouragement that even when we made the wrong call previously, God is willing to give us another chance to trust Him.
[1] As a reminder, here is The introduction to Kings, posts on 1 Kings 1-11 (Solomon), on 1 Kings 12-16 (the early years of the divided monarchy), on 1 Kings 17–2 Kings 8 (Elijah and Elisha), and on 2 Kings 9-17 (Israel’s demise).
[2] Lachish was about 50km south-west of Jerusalem at the southern end of the foothills in Judah (the Shephelah). It was a fortress city that guarded Judah from an attack from the south (e.g. Egypt). Sennacherib’s campaign took him down Philistia with incursions into Judah to conquer fortified cities. Sennacherib’s attack on Lachish is famously depicted in reliefs that adorned his palace in Nineveh (and are now housed in the British Museum). Several scenes show the extreme cruelty of the Assyrians against their enemies: people put on stakes, flayed alive, and so on.
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