HE TRUSTED IN THE LORD GOD. 2nd Kings 18 The contrast between Hezekiah and his father Ahaz was so different that one wonders if his mother, or perhaps it was Isaiah the prophet, had impacted his life and decisions for good. Likely, he shared leadership with his father for a time, but when he was the sole king of Judah, he brought about great reforms. He opened the temple for use again and broke up the brass serpent Moses had made hundreds of years before in the wilderness.
One of Hezekiah’s first acts was to open the temple that Ahaz, his father, had closed. Not only did he destroy the high places where idols were worshipped, but also the high places where the Jews went to worship the Lord at their own convenience. Worship was to be where the Lord had placed His name, in the temple. There, tithes and offerings were to be given, and sacrifices were offered. Hezekiah probably had opposition as he eliminated practices that had replaced divinely given instructions. Practices going on for generations were not what God had sanctioned, so objects like the brass serpent Moses had made, which had become an object of worship, had to be destroyed.
The brass serpent's name was "Nehushtan" (meaning “a piece of brass”), and sadly, the Israelites had been burning incense to it. Essentially, they made an idol out of it, which was a symbol of salvation because sin was judged when the Israelites looked at the brass serpent in faith when fiery serpents bit them. It had become an object of worship rather than a reminder of the One whom we are to worship. Idols do not make themselves or become objects of worship by themselves.
Many traditions have been established in Christendom for centuries, and ancient buildings and religious symbols have been accepted with, no scriptural sanction. The gatherings of the people of God are to be unto the person of our Lord Jesus Christ alone, not to the forms, practices, and buildings that bear the name “Christian.” We need God’s approval more than what people want. We must be willing to serve God first and then serve people under His authority in the way He makes plain to us.
When we add anything as an aid to worship, it stops true worship. By the way, it is used, a thing becomes an idol. People now talk about "worship music" or "worship drama." We must be careful not to let anything interfere with our worship of God alone. As a historical artifact, the brass serpent could have been used as an instructive teaching tool to remind the children of Israel of God's righteous judgment and gracious provision in saving those who looked in faith to the serpent and lived.
The cross is not to be an object of worship, but it was the object upon which the sacrifice of Christ was made for our salvation. In itself, the cross has no value. But when Paul wrote, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," and "He made peace through the blood of His cross," he meant those pieces of wood that made up the cross were in his mind because the "Son of Man” must be lifted up on them, “that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have eternal life." The life was not in the cross, but in the One who gave us His life when He died there on our behalf.
"There was no one like him, “Hezekiah," of all the kings of Judah. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel. His uniqueness was in his trust in the Lord. He chose to follow God more than any other king. Josiah was careful in his observance of the law of God, and so was one of a kind to that extent. Even though we may have a spiritual heritage that places us in a position of favor, we must personally "Trust in the Lord with all thine (our) heart, and lean not on thine (our) own understanding."
When one has placed their trust in the Lord, it will be necessary to act courageously to right wrongs. Hezekiah found his strength in God because he placed his faith in Him. That enabled him to act in obedience to God against an ungodly world despite the obstacles and dangers he had to face. To stand up against the threats of a force that seems overwhelming takes the power of God in us, not mere human resolve. Reclaiming that which has been lost is never easy, but when one knows this action is the Lord's will, and He gives the needed strength to accomplish the task, we can move forward to correct those things that are wrong and promote those things that are right.
It must have been disconcerting to Hezekiah when the Assyrians totally captured the ten tribes of Israel and took them away as captives, dispersing them to different parts of the empire. When the Assyrians came after Judah, Hezekiah gave tribute to them, but that did not satisfy them. The Assyrian king sent his second in command (vice president), the chief officer (secretary of state), and the head of his army (secretary of defense) along with a large military force to get Hezekiah to surrender Judah without a fight.
One way the Assyrians conducted warfare was by using psychological tactics to create fear. Before Hezekiah became king, the Assyrians controlled Judah by intimidating Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father. With courage, Hezekiah rebelled against the Assyrians to whom his father had submitted. Intimidation is quite effective if we rely only on ourselves to defend our position. The greatest response we can give to challenges made against us and/or the truth of God is, "Thus saith the Lord."
Of special interest to us is the demands of the enemy were made, where Isaiah prophesied the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. He had told Ahaz that "Immanuel" was coming, and He would reject the wrong and choose the right. But Ahaz ignored the prophecy and allied with the Assyrians against the Arameans and the northern tribes. Now Assyria had come against Judah. With the design to demoralize the people who heard the challenge, the Assyrians used psychological, calculated intimidation in an attempt to get Hezekiah to surrender.
The enemy of souls uses these same practices to get those who live by faith to capitulate to the designs of those who do not want to follow the Lord wholly. Driving a wedge between those who lead and those who follow is still used to pressure the Lord's people to accommodate the wishes of society or at least the majority. There will always be resentment between those who have learned life lessons and are led by their maturity and wisdom and those who want things their way.
The changes Hezekiah made to bring people back to where God wanted, by destroying the "high places" and bringing about spiritual reformation, may have been a "sore spot" for some who liked religious sin. The threat of a long siege may have affected some others. But the king had made them understand the lies they were being told and told them not to say a word. The arrogant boasting and the challenge against the Lord Himself were a great flaw in the Assyrian demands.
It is to be expected that unbelievers will challenge righteousness and holiness because it exposes the evil in the hearts of willful, self-centered, arrogant people. Humility still impacts others because they trust God to bring the desired results according to His will. "God resists the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." When Hezekiah's representatives told the king of the challenge of the Assyrians, and their torn clothes testified to their own emotional response, the king also tore his clothes. He went a step further by putting on sackcloth and entering the temple to plead with the Lord.
One who trusts in the Lord knows where to go and what to do in times of distress and challenges against holy, righteous living in this ungodly world. The efforts of the world, the flesh, and the devil to bring down God's people and defeat the spread of the kingdom of God will not cease until the Righteous King rules. It is our responsibility to be aware of those things that are not right and respond in a biblical way with humility, grace, and faith, knowing that God is working in and through us to fulfill His divine objectives.
Nehushtan, the brass serpent Moses made and put on a pole, stood in a solitary center place in the camp of Israel as a sign of hope and healing. People stopped, looked, and lived because they did what God said and praised Him when they were healed. That brass serpent was a symbol of death when it first hung shining in the sun’s bright glare. Its flashes of reflected light gave guidance to the sufferers. The hidden, dark, dangerous venom of murmuring discontent was coursing through the veins of the bodies of Israelites, leaving them as good as dead.
The type is real: the results are the same today as in the distant past. Lifted high upon a cross before the soul-suffering of the sin-bitten nation, our Lord Jesus Christ hung bearing our sins on His own body. No longer was a symbol needed because the Anti-type hung on the cross before the needy eyes of all mankind. We all needed the healing of our sin-polluted souls, seeing only the darkness of blackness forever before us until the triumph over sin was declared, “It is finished!” A new day of healing has come. Not just body but soul, and new birth for spirit long dead, but now alive in Christ reflecting light coming from the Son.
But wait, what strange notion is leading folks years later to a high place amidst the symbols of mankind’s perverted mind, to the light-reflecting brass? No longer are there healing rays from that serpent on the pole, but tripping cords stretched tight before the feet of sinful men. Instead of blessing brought when told by God to look and live, that which brought blessing brought darkness. The darkness of mind and soul, when man puts a sin-polluted hand to change a work of God to suit himself. The only remedy? Make broken pieces of what blessing once brought but now brings sin.
Even today, the symbols of redemptive grace, a loaf of bread, and a cup of wine that are so simple have been replaced by the hands of those who think they know the minds of men. But God knows the thoughts and intents of men’s hearts and what is needed. No Roman cross form of wood, gold, brass, or flowers can meet man's needs. But the Person lives who once, in an act of supreme love and grace, died in our place. His death and life again are blessings, not empty symbols before which men bow.
To do what is right after wrong has been done for a long time is a great test of faith in God. To place unreserved faith in God’s strength, not our own, and obey His commands despite obstacles and dangers can be overwhelming unless we are committed to God's will. Never boast about what you will do or what you have done. The word of God may not be fulfilled yet, but the prophetic word can be counted on even in the psychological warfare of words between the powers of darkness and the light of divine truth.