2 Kings 18-19

(August 13, 2014)

                There are a number of powerful ideas in these two chapters, but I wanted to focus on two that struck me (one I don’t think I understand, and one that I do).  The first is in Hezekiah paying the tribute to Assyria.  This seems bad enough, but what is more he paid the tribute by giving of the silver and gold from the temple (carving gold out of the very woodwork of the temple).  To my mind, I do not see how this is consistent with a person who trusted in the Lord God of Israel.

                My best understanding is that it is showing that the trust that he developed in the Lord was not always there.  It was intermittent, and periodically weak.  When confronted with his challenge, he at first was not up to meeting it.  He feared, and he caved.  Then, over time and with determination, he became the sort of man that would follow Isaiah to the brink of destruction only to have the Lord intervene.  This interpretation gives me some comfort as I continue my halting path towards giving my will over to the Lord.  It is frustrating to me to see my efforts fail in this regard – I turn myself over to Him, and He cares for me.  Then I lose trust in Him (not for any failure of Him), and I take my life back for a time.  Slowly, but hopefully surely, I am learning to fully trust the Lord, and this is the path that I presume Hezekiah was on.

                The second thought was on monotheism.  I suppose that between the groves and the high places and everything else, I envisioned a polytheistic society in Israel even at this time.  But it is clear from these chapters that Hezekiah understood that there was only one God and He was the God of Israel.  Hezekiah didn’t presume that His God was stronger than the God of the Assyrians – instead he understood that the God of Israel was the only God (including being the God of the Assyrians, whether they worshiped or knew Him or not).