JULY 9 – FAITHFULNESS OF HEZEKIAH!

“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in your sight” (II Kings 20:3).

Today, we are going to meditate about the faithfulness of King Hezekiah. He was the thirteenth king to rule Judah. He became the king when he was twenty-five years old. He was one among the three truthful and honest kings of Judah. “Jehovah alone is my strength” is the meaning of the name Hezekiah.

What was the faithfulness of King Hezekiah? He completely abolished the idol-worshipping system and broke all the stages where the sacrifices were made to the idols. As the Israelites of those days worshipped the bronze serpent made by Moses, he broke it. He streamlined the proper way of worship and paved the way for the people to worship with truth and Spirit.

Not only that. He also reunited the Israelites who had been scattered and specially celebrated the Passover for fourteen days. In the 30th chapter of the book of II Chronicles, we read how faithfully he loved God.

The Scripture says, “Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God” (II Chronicles 31:20). Even then, he faced a struggle in his life. A dreaded disease attacked him and he was about to die. Isaiah who visited him said, “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live” (II Kings 20:1).

King Hezekiah was heartbroken when he heard this. “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly (Isaiah 38:3).

The faithfulness of King Hezekiah touched the heart of God. God remembered how truthful and perfect King Hezekiah had been throughout his life. He said to Hezekiah, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years” (Isaiah 38:5) and extended his lifespan.

Dear children of God, when you are truthful with a loyal heart before God, He listens to your prayer. He wipes your tears away. He extends your lifespan. The Scripture says, “He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation of our God” (Psalm 98:3).

To meditate: “Nevertheless my loving kindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow my faithfulness to fail” (Psalm 89:33).