King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday. August 02, 2025
Chapters: II Chronicles 32, II Kings 20-21
Message: II Chronicles/II Kings: Hezekiah’s Pride
Hello My Friend,
As we return to the reading of II Chronicles and II Kings we learn why salvation has always been granted by the grace of God and not by one’s works, but it is still advisable to maintain good works, [Titus 3:5-9 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
Speaking of something being unprofitable and vain, we also learn that answering those foolish questions comes from pride, and nothing good comes out of pride. II Chronicles, also gives us an account of when Assyria invaded Judah, and we are given more details as to why they were trying to intimidate Judah to begin with.
[2 Chronicles 32:1-3,5,8 After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. 5 Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.]
Sennacherib, in all his pride thought that since he was able to take over so many other countries who trusted in their false gods, including Samaria (Israel), that it would be easy to take over Judah. He failed to understand that Judah was under the protection of the Almighty living God. We have nothing to fear over man, and it does not matter if there is one or one million up against us, we still have more going for us with Christ because we have Him standing before us. Amen! [Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.]
We can sort of understand affliction when we are not being faithful to God, but when we are faithful we tend to wonder why and when it will all end. If there is one thing I truly come to understand is that God is in every circumstance, every battle, and every trial. We just need to look beyond the surface of our emotions to see that He is helping us through them. Since Christ is on our side, we can expect the devil to show up and try to get us to doubt Him, and that is what he did when he sent Sennacherib to Jerusalem.
[2 Chronicles 32:10-12,15 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? 11 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? 15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?]
This is perhaps the biggest tactic to get one to doubt God and that is to try to convince them that God cannot see them through. This is also why Jesus said this when the devil tempted Him, [Luke 4:3-4 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.]
Of course, the devil is going to prevail if we are trusting in some man made god to save us. However, when we trust in the Almighty and only living God, we are the ones who get the victory. Again, we learn that Isaiah was there to help pray with them to lead them to defeat Assyria.
[2 Chronicles 32:20-22 And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 21 And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. 22 Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.]
This was referring to Sennacherib getting assassinated by his own sons while he was worshiping his own false god. We really do not need a lot of faith, in fact, we are told by Jesus that all it has to be is the size of a mustard seed and God will move mountains, we just need some faith, [Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.]
You can be sure that if we say that we have faith in Him that not only is the devil going to try our faith, God is going to as well. It is just like when He tested Job, [Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?] He already knew what faith he had in Him, He was showing the devil and Job what He already saw. God, was about to prove Hezekiah when He allowed the devil to afflict his body. II Kings also gives the account of then Hezekiah, became deathly ill and Isaiah came to tell him that he was going to die.
[2 Kings 20:1-3 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, 3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.]
As someone who is watching my mother decline so fast that we are scrambling to set our house in order before that happens I can see why he started crying out to God. With his face turned away from him, and with tears in his eyes, he pleads with God to extend his life. And before Isaiah even left the property, God sent him back.
[2 Kings 20:4-7 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. 7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.]
If only it were that easy to recover all the time, but then again, God is the source of the cure. God calls Hezekiah the captain of His people to show that He would heal him for His people’s sake. While God does not always use healing and recovery to reach people, everything He does actually is used to lead others to Him, [Romans 8:27-28 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.]
As Christians, sometimes the trials we face does feel like we are in a never ending battle, if it is not the devil tempting us to do evil, God is using that temptation to see if we are going to cave or trust Him to deliver us out of it. After God healed Hezekiah, news got out of his miraculous recovery, it was then that the king of Babylon sent his son to visit with him and Hezekiah made the very unwise decision to show him all the treasures and weapons in the kingdom as well as the temple.
[2 Chronicles 32:24-26,31 In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 31 Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.]
Hezekiah’s fall was his pride, but unlike the other kings who rebelled against God after He had made their sin known to them, he did let go of his pride and humbled himself to God, [2 Kings 20:16-19 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. 17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. 18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?]
Do you see how God will allow us to fall, but just a little bit? It humbles us. I will be honest and say that there have been times when I was dangling on the cliff with my fingers slipping one by one, but by the grace of God I never let go and was able to get back up. And it was not me that never let go, it was actually Jesus who never let go of me. This is why I believe that no true, saved, born again Christian can call completely away from their faith. When Jesus said that nothing or no one can pluck us from His hand, He is serious about that because when we belong to Jesus that means we belong to God, [John 10:29-30 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.]
Now, you would think that with Hezekiah’s success as a Godly king that his son, Manasseh would follow in his footsteps, but sadly he was did more to provoke God than even the heathen nations that his father drove out. In the fifty-five years that he reigned he managed to turn Jerusalem completely upside down.
[2 Kings 21:1-3,6 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzi-bah. 2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. 6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.]
Manasseh, did the unthinkable and even went as far as sacrificing his own children to these false gods. When heathen nations have more morals than the ones that God has instituted there is a huge problem. Apparently, Manasseh did not have much communication with Hezekiah growing up or his mother was into all those things because he did more to provoke God than even Ahab did. In fact, God was so angry that He was about to remove them all from Jerusalem.
[2 Kings 21:11-14,16 Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 12 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; 16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.]
While God would not destroy it completely as He promised David that He would always leave light shining that would keep the royal lineage through his descendants in order to bring His own Son into the world, He would send judgment like no one has ever seen before. The same measure of judgment that God used on Samaria would be used to judge Jerusalem, in other words, He would remove all of them from the land and nearly wipe it clean of any Jew, and the thing that angered God the most was the shedding of innocent blood, [Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for your faith in us, and for Your faithfulness to us, even when we are not always obedient. I know that the Bible is not some ordinary book, it is Your Word, holy, pure, alive, and it gives life to all who want You in their lives. Reading Your Word, studying it, and following it will never return void as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to what truly is and is not acceptable to You. It keeps us humble and separated from the world and those who are not like minded as well. Lord, as our nations face judgment because they put their trust in the false gods, give us Your hedge of protection from all its evil, fill us with Your power, strength, wisdom, and guidance to stand by Your Word, even if we are the only one standing. We have nothing to fear when we keep our faith and trust in You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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