A Tale of Two Kings
2 Chronicles 28-29
What do you do when your back is to the wall?
This story about an ancient king of Judah grabbed my attention...
“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,”
Isaiah 38:1-2 NLT
Isaiah 38:1-2 NLT
Hezekiah's back was up against the wall until he turned and faced it. When he turned his face to the wall, it served as a sign of surrender and resignation to God. This was a hard pill to swallow, but it wasn't the first time Hezekiah found himself in a tough situation...
Tale of Two Kings
King Hezekiah had a habit of surrendering to God when hard times and hard decisions came his way.
His father, King Ahaz had a habit of running FROM God when trouble came his way.
When a king was walking with God, the nation was blessed.
When a king turned away from God, the nation became vulnerable.
This trend is very clear in scripture and it is evident in our own lives as well.
Facing God causes you to turn your back on your circumstances and situations and we are going to do that by looking today at the tale of two kings.
King=Leadership
We don’t deal with kings (in the traditional sense) a whole lot in the 21st century, but these stories from ancient Israel were written down as leadership lessons for us as followers of Christ. If you intend to lead any group of people, the stories of these ancient Kings (that is recorded in the books of Chronicles and Kings) can be an example of Godly leadership or an example of what NOT to do.
Read these accounts that are recorded in 2 Chronicles...
2 Chronicles 26:5 NLT
“Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.
“Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.
“Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the LORD, God gave him success.”
2 Chronicles 27:1-2 NLT
“Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. Jotham did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done, except that Jotham did not sin by entering the Temple of the LORD. But the people continued in their corrupt ways.”
Do you see the trend? Now let's look at King Ahaz (Hezekiah's father)
2 Chronicles 28:1-2
“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, as his ancestor David had done. Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal.”
King #1- Ahaz: Profile of a terrible king
Ahaz was twenty years old when he succeeded his father, Jotham to the throne of Judea. He was a weak and idolatrous king. He even made his first son walk through the fire of Moloch. His other son, Hezekiah, who was to become king after Ahaz, was saved from the flames of the idol by his mother.
King #2- Hezekiah: Profile of a faithful king
2 Chronicles 29:1-2
“Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, 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.”
Hezekiah fought with the same enemies and dealt with the same cultural decay that his father, Ahaz, did.
The difference is clear, however, when it comes to the way God saw them and the effect that had on the people they led.
“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.”
2 Kings 18:5-7
2 Kings 18:5-7
What made them so different?
Which king are you most like?
Which king are you most like?
Do you lead your own life like Ahaz or Hezekiah?
Are you leading others to blessing or brokenness?
What kind of leader are you?
We all lead in some way. Others are looking at us to lead them. Our kids, our family, our office or coworkers. If you are not leading anyone, perhaps you should start by leading yourself!
Here are three things I see in King Hezekiah's life, leadership and the tale of two kings that can be valuable lessons for us to learn...
Decree 1: Lead by following
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.
Obedience to God leads to success
Success doesn’t mean Hezekiah never faced a battle...in fact, it means quite the opposite. His reign was filled with conflict . What made it successful was HOW he faced that conflict.
Decree 2: Lead with a mirror in mind
Good leaders are self-aware leaders. Hezekiah was VERY self-aware and his father was just plain self-centered.
Good leaders also understand that the people they lead are a direct reflection of the health (and unhealth) in their own lives.
The best leaders know that the people they are leading will be hurt or helped because of their own personal growth and godliness.
Look at this passage about Ahaz...
“Because of all this, the LORD his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel’s king, killed 120,000 of Judah’s troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors. Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son; Azrikam, the king’s palace commander; and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.
The LORD was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 19 NLT
The LORD was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 19 NLT
Are the people you lead being humbled because of your failure to deal with your trash?
Decree 3: Lead by giving up
Good leaders know when and who to surrender to.
Ahaz ended up surrendering to his enemies because he never surrendered to God.
“Because of all this, the LORD his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus.
Hezekiah surrendered to God and didn’t have to surrender to his enemies.
He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute.”
I wonder if there are any of you who are ready to stop paying tribute to the enemy of your soul?
I wonder if there is someone who is willing to stand up to the enemy their father or mother could never deal with?
What we gain victory over in private, we have authority over in public.
I wonder if there is someone who is willing to fight a spiritual foe in their own life so that their children, family and followers can get victory as well?
Three things to consider:
Does your life show others how you want them to live?
Are you creating a pattern of surrender to God?
How do you respond when your back is to the wall?
