Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 18
Among the kings of Judah, there was nobody like Hezekiah for his trust in God. Other kings remained loyal to God, but Hezekiah had a strong personal relationship with God. Other kings obeyed God, but Hezekiah truly loved God with all his heart (2 Chronicles 31:21). So, the passage can only compare Hezekiah with David, who ruled the whole of Israel and not just Judah (18:3). Like David, Hezekiah was a truly holy king, who had a close relationship with God in prayer.
Hezekiah brought other people into a right relationship with God, by his actions, his speeches and his prayers. He prayed for other people and God accepted his prayers (2 Chronicles 30:18-20). He carefully taught the priests and the people how to turn back to God after they had served false gods (2 Chronicles 29:4-11 and 30:6-9). He did not only care about the people in his own nation. He sent his servants to urge the people in northern and central Israel, where Hoshea was king, to turn back to God.
Hezekiah obeyed God’s law gladly. He carefully studied the laws that God had given to Moses. In this way, Hezekiah obeyed the instructions that God gave to Moses for the king (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
God gave great success to Hezekiah. His father Ahaz had declared that he accepted the king of Assyria’s rule over him (16:7-8). That meant that Judah’s people had to pay taxes to Assyria. However, Hezekiah refused to pay and Assyria’s army did not attack for 14 years. Hezekiah also had success in his wars against the army of Philistia, on the west side of Judah.
Next part: Events in northern Israel during Hezekiah's rule (2 Kings 18:9-12)
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