The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: 2 Kings 18-20

Today’s Devotional: 2 Kings 18:1-12

A great King

After the Split of the Kingdom of Israel into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah respectively, Judah had 8 good kings and 4 of these the were great kings. There are a few common characteristics of these 4 great kings and specifically what the Lord’s personal assessment of specifically Hezekiah is:

• Hezekiah did right according to all that David had done 18:3

Hezekiah had a heart that desired God and to remove the things which often times enslaved the nation, instead of the nation experiencing the freedom and abundance which is in the Lord and the things of the Lord. Hezekiah desired a change in the culture, or a revival.

• Hezekiah removed the high places 18:4

Hezekiah removed the things which distracted the people from the Lord, the things which took the primary energy, attention, focus, and growth of knowledge and understanding of the people. Hezekiah had a heart for the people.

• Hezekiah trusted in the Lord as his strength and deliverer, before and after in the Kingdom of Judah there was none like Hezekiah 18:5

Hezekiah knew there was nothing of his ability that could save him or could change his behavior, but only the Lord’s work in His life which came from spending time with the Lord in His Word.

• Hezekiah Did not depart from, but kept the Word of God close 18:6

• Because of these things the Lord was with Hezekiah, because Hezekiah sought to include the Lord in every aspect of his life 18:7

Then in 18:9-12 we see a contrast of the freedom of trusting and abiding in the Lord in our lives to the slavery and bondage that we can too easily go into by not seeking the Lord to be in every decision and area of our life, which leads to compromise after compromise the slavery and bondage to that thing.