When Faith Stands Tall. (2 Kings 18 1:-37)

The Bible Project Daily Podcast is an in-depth, daily study of the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 

Episode Notes:  When Faith Stands Tall. (2 Kings 18 1:-37)

Life is full of challenges.

 But for the believer, there is one challenge that towers above all the rest. A challenge that shapes everything else in your spiritual life. Trusting the Lord…. In all circumstances.

And today, we meet a man who faced that challenge head‑on and stood tall. His name is Hezekiah.

Hezekiah is mentioned not only in 2 Kings 18, but he is also covered in three chapters of 2 Chronicles, 29–32, and in Isaiah, chapters 36–39. In fact, more biblical material is devoted to Hezekiah than to any king other than David and Solomon. He is one of the most significant kings in Israel’s history and one of the most remarkable examples of faith in the entire Old Testament.

 Over the next several episodes, we’re going to walk through his story one chapter at a time for three chapters. In doing that, we will discover what made Hezekiah stand tall when others fell….

Transcript

When Faith Stands Tall. (2 Kings 18: 1-37)

Life is full of challenges.

 Some are emotional.

Some are physical.

Some are financial.

Some are relational.

 But for the believer, there is one challenge that towers above all the rest. A challenge that shapes everything else in your spiritual life.

Trusting the Lord…. In all circumstances.

And today, as we continue our journey through the book of 2 Kings,

we meet a man who faced that challenge head‑on and stood tall.

His name is Hezekiah.

If you’ve spent any time in Scripture, you’ve heard his name.

But what you may not realize is just how important he is.

Hezekiah is mentioned not only in 2 Kings 18, but he is also covered in three chapters of 2 Chronicles, 29–32, and in Isaiah, chapters 36–39.

In fact, more biblical material is devoted to Hezekiah than to any king other than David and Solomon.

That alone tells you something.

He is one of the most significant kings in Israel’s history and one of the most remarkable examples of faith in the entire Old Testament.

Over the next several episodes, we’re going to walk through his story one chapter at a time for three chapters. In doing that, we will discover what made Hezekiah stand tall when others fell….

Hezekiah was one of the most significant kings in Israel’s history and one of the most remarkable examples of faith in the entire Old Testament.

Today, we begin by way of introduction with a look at Hezekiah’s world and a glimpse into a nation in crisis by turning with me to 2 Kings 18.

1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

4 He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

9 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years, they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them.

(2 Kings 18:1–12)

Verse 1 sets the scene:

Hezekiah becomes king of the southern kingdom, Judah. And the timing is crucial.

The northern kingdom has already fallen. Assyria conquered it in 722 BC. Samaria is now gone, and the people have been taken into exile.

And now Assyria, the world superpower, is threatening the south.

This is the world Hezekiah inherits.

A world of fear, instability, and a world where faith is not optional, it’s essential.

The text tells us he was twenty‑five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty‑nine years.

So, Hezekiah begins his reign around 715 BC  and rules until 686 BC. Nearly three decades of leadership during one of the most dangerous periods in Judah’s history.

Verse 3 gave us his evaluation: “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.”

That is a rare positive evaluation because out of 20 kings in Judah and 19 kings in Israel, only four kings are said to have done what was right in the sight of the Lord.

David is the standard; the benchmark of faithful kingship, and Hezekiah meets that standard.

But what does that mean? The text explains: “He removed the high places, broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made…”

This is remarkable because for centuries, the high places had remained even under otherwise faithful kings.

But Hezekiah tears them down. He removes every competing altar. And he destroys every idol. He even breaks apart the bronze serpent Moses made because the people had turned it into an object of superstition and pagan worship.

Hezekiah is not interested in partial obedience. He is not content with outward reform. He is committed to wholehearted devotion.

Why did he do that? Verse 5 is the key to everything:

“He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any before him.”

He trusted the Lord.

That is the greatest challenge any believer will ever face.

Not just trusting God for salvation but trusting Him in the pressures of life.

Trusting Him when the world is shaking.

Trusting Him when the enemy is near.

Trusting Him when obedience is costly.

Hezekiah trusted the Lord, and because he trusted, he obeyed.

He held fast. He clung to the Lord. He stayed close, and he refused to let go.

This is the heart of Hezekiah’s greatness.

He trusted, he obeyed, and he held fast, and God responded.

And Hezekiah’s Reward was, “The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went.”

That’s the pattern:

Trust → Obedience → God’s presence → Leads to, God’s blessing

Hezekiah even rebelled against Assyria, the very empire that had crushed the northern kingdom. Why? Because he trusted the Lord more than he feared the king of Assyria…. And God honoured that faith.

The text tells us he also defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza.

Nothing new under the sun is there? Gaza was a trouble spot 700 years before Christ, and it remains so today.

But Hezekiah prevailed because God was with him.

At this point in the text, the writer does something interesting. After introducing Hezekiah, he briefly returns to the fall of the northern kingdom.

Why?

To show the contrast.

The North fell because they did not trust the Lord. Hezekiah stands because he does.

The north was conquered because they followed idols. Hezekiah prospers because he follows God.

The North collapsed because it refused to obey. Hezekiah thrives because he obeys. 

The message is clear:

Faith makes all the difference.

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah, king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

16 At this time, Hezekiah, king of Judah, stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the Lord and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer, and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 18 They called for the king; and Eliakim, son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

19 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20 You say you have the counsel and the might for war, but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending that you rebel against me? 21 Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who depend on him. 22 But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God, isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?

23 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

(2 Kings 18:13–25)

Hezekiah's faith is now about to face its greatest test.

Because faith is not proven in comfort, it is proven in crisis, and Hezekiah’s crisis arrives in the form of the most terrifying empire of his day.

So, the threat comes in the form of Assyria.

This is not just a rumour of war. This is not some distant threat or a hypothetical danger. Assyria is in the land.

Remember they have already conquered the northern kingdom.

They have already taken Samaria and now they sweep into Judah,

city after city falling like dominoes.

Archaeologists have found an inscription by Sennacherib, boasting:

·         46 fortified cities captured

·         200,000 people taken captive

This is not a myth; this is recorded history, and Hezekiah is watching it unfold in real time.

Imagine standing in Jerusalem, knowing the world’s most brutal army is only miles away, and every city around you has already fallen. This is the moment when faith is no longer theoretical.

However, Hezekiah’s first response  is fear, not faith

Because first, he panics somewhat. He tries to buy peace, he tries to negotiate, and he tries to fix the problem himself himslef.

Sound familiar?

Even the strongest believers have moments of fear.

Even the most faithful Christians have moments of weakness.

And even Hezekiah, one of the greatest kings in Scripture, buckles under pressure.

And the price is enormous because the king of Assyria demands 

300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold

That’s actually 11 tons of silver and a full ton of gold.

Where does Hezekiah get it from? Verse 15 tells us: “He gave him all the silver from the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house.” And verse 16 adds: “He stripped the gold from the doors of the temple…”

Hezekiah, the man who restored worship, is now dismantling the temple to pay off a pagan king….

Fear will make you do things you never thought you’d do.

Did it work?

Verse 17 gives the answer: “The king of Assyria sent the commander of his army… with a great army to Jerusalem.”

The tribute didn’t stop them.

The gold didn’t stop them.

The silver didn’t stop them; they still came.

Fear-based decisions rarely solve spiritual problems, and now the Assyrian army stands at Jerusalem’s doorstep, and Hezekiah’s earlier compromise has gained him nothing.

The Assyrian commander stands by the aqueduct, a strategic location, a public place, and calls out to Hezekiah’s representatives.

This is not just political pressure. This is spiritual intimidation. He mocks Hezekiah’s alliance with Egypt, his military strength, and then he mocks Hezekiah’s faith.

Notice the spelling of the ‘LORD’ is in all caps, which is the personal name of Israel’s God. So, the Assyrians know exactly who Hezekiah trusts, and they mock Him. “Isn’t He the God whose altars Hezekiah tore down?”, they say.

The message is clear:

“Your God can’t save you. Your faith is foolish, and your trust is misplaced.”

This is the heart of the challenge issued here. The real battle is always spiritual.

The attack includes sarcasm — “I will give you two thousand horses if you can find riders to put on them.”

This is mockery. He is belittling Judah’s strength, their strategy, their alliances, and their God.

And then he drives the point home:

This is the moment when faith is tested. This is the moment when fear tells us that maybe God won’t come through. This is the moment when Hezekiah must decide: Will he trust the Lord, or will he surrender to fear?

26 Then Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

27 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim, son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah, son of Asaph the recorder, went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

(2 Kings 18:26–37)

The Assyrian commander has already mocked Hezekiah’s military strength. He has mocked his alliance with Egypt, he has mocked his strategy, and he has mocked his courage. But now he crosses a line because he has mocked Hezekiah’s God.

This is bold, brazen, and blasphemous.

This guy again uses the covenant name of God; the term LORD is again in all caps, so he claims that Israel’s God has sent Assyria to destroy Judah…. Imagine hearing that. 

You’re Hezekiah, and you’re standing in Jerusalem, and the most powerful army in the world is outside your walls. Your cities have fallen, and your people are terrified, and now the enemy says, “Your God is on our side, not yours.”

This is not just military warfare; this is psychological and spiritual warfare. This is the enemy attacking the very foundation of Hezekiah’s faith.

Let me summarise the commander’s strategy for you.

·         He mocked Hezekiah’s defences. “Your walls won’t save you.”

·         He mocked Hezekiah’s alliances.  “Egypt is a broken reed.”

·         He mocked Hezekiah’s reforms.  “You tore down the high places — your God won’t help you now.”

·         He mocked Hezekiah’s army.  “I’ll give you 2,000 horses — if you can find riders.”

·         He mocked Hezekiah’s God. “The LORD Himself sent me to destroy you.”

This is a full‑scale assault on Hezekiah’s faith.

And that’s exactly what the enemy does to us.

He attacks our confidence.

He attacks our obedience.

He attacks our motives.

He attacks our hope.

He attacks our very trust in God.

The people on the wall panic: What this shows is that Hezekiah’s officials are terrified and they don’t want the people to hear this. They don’t want fear to spread, and they don’t want morale to collapse.

But the Assyrian commander refuses, and then he paints a horrifying picture… He describes the horrors of siege warfare — starvation, desperation, humiliation, in Hebrew, so the ordinary people will hear,

He wants the people to panic. He wants them to surrender, and he wants them to lose faith in their king… and in their God.

He called out with a loud voice in Hebrew because he wants everyone to hear, and his message is simple:

Verse 29: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you… he cannot deliver you.”

Verse 30: “Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD…”

Verse 31: “Make peace with me… and you will live.”

So, he promises comfort safety and prosperity. Which is the same lie the enemy always tells: Trusting God is risky. Trusting in other things is safer

This is the heart of the attack. Not your army is weak, not your walls are small, and not your strategy is flawed, but: Your God is powerless. 

This is the greatest challenge any believer will ever face:

Will I trust the Lord when everything around me says not to?

You know, sometimes silence is wisdom

Verse 36: “The people held their peace and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, ‘Do not answer him.’”

Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is say nothing.

You can’t argue someone out of arrogance. You can’t debate someone out of unbelief, but there are moments when silence is the most spiritual response.

The Committee then and they come to Hezekiah with their torn clothes. They are crushed and shaken, and now Hezekiah must decide whether he will trust the Lord or will he surrender to fear?

The real challenge is always trusting God in Crisis….

At the beginning of this episode, we said life is full of challenges. But the greatest challenge is always the challenge to your faith. The real challenge is: Will you trust the Lord?

Hezekiah is facing the greatest crisis of his life.

And now he must face the greatest question of his life.

But now we need to address the question that sits quietly behind every crisis:

What if trusting the Lord doesn’t “work”?

Because let’s be honest, sometimes it does look like trusting God leads to victory. Sometimes the Red Sea parts, and sometimes the giant falls.

Sometimes the lion’s mouth is closed, and sometimes the fire doesn’t burn.

But sometimes…

The job is lost, or the diagnosis is bad or even terminal

Sometimes the marriage collapses, or the prayer isn’t answered

That door doesn’t open, or the healing doesn’t come, and if we’re not careful, we can slip into a subtle, dangerous assumption: “If I trust the Lord, I will always win.”

There are preachers who say that.

There are books that promise that.

There are sermons that imply that.

But Scripture does not teach that.

And if we’re going to grow into spiritual maturity, we need to understand what trusting God really means.

Hebrews 11 is the great chapter of faith.

The first half is filled with victories:

Kingdoms conquered

Lions silenced

Fires quenched

Enemies defeated

But the chapter doesn’t end there.

The second half lists believers who trusted God…

and lost.

They were tortured.

They were imprisoned.

They were stoned.

They were sawn in two.

They wandered in deserts and mountains.

And the text says: “They did not receive the promise… of whom the world was not worthy.”

They trusted God, and they suffered.

But they gained something greater…. A better resurrection  (Hebrews 11:35)

In other words, faith doesn’t always change your circumstances. But faith always changes your eternity.

So, what are you trusting God for?

If trusting God doesn’t guarantee earthly success, then what does it guarantee?

James gives us the first answer.

James 1:2–4 says: Count it all joy when trials come. Why? Because trials test your faith. And tested faith produces endurance, and endurance produces maturity.

Trusting God produces endurance.

In other words:

Faith may not remove the trial, but it will grow you through the trial.

Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes God lets the storm rage… and calms His beloved child who is going through the storm.

Even Paul had a thorn in the flesh, a painful, persistent problem, and he prayed three times for God to remove it. And God said: “No. My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s response? “Most gladly… I will boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Do you hear that? Paul discovered something:

God’s grace is not just the power to escape suffering; it is the power to endure suffering with joy.

And then Paul says: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” That is spiritual maturity.

Not the absence of weakness, but the presence of God’s strength in the middle of it.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel said:

“Our God can deliver us…

and He will deliver us…

But if not… we still will not bow.”

That is the heart of true faith.

Saying, “God can deliver me. God may deliver me, but even if He doesn’t. I will trust Him…. That is the faith that stands tall.

Also, the prophet Habakkuk who witnessed these events and watched his nation crumble, and he saw judgment coming. He saw devastation on the horizon, and he prayed: “In wrath LORD, remember mercy.”

Then he ended his book with one of the greatest declarations of faith in Scripture:

“Though the fig tree does not blossom…

Though there is no fruit on the vine…

Though the fields yield no food…

Though the flocks are gone…

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Why?

“The Lord is my strength.

He makes my feet like deer’s feet.

He makes me walk on high places.”

That is faith.

Not faith that avoids hardship, but faith that rises above it.

So here is the heart of the message: The greatest challenge you will ever face is trusting the Lord when things don’t get better.

Trusting Him even when the answer is “no.”

Trusting Him when the door stays closed.

Trusting Him when the storm doesn’t stop.

Trusting Him when the outcome is painful.

Trusting Him when the future is unclear.

Because that is the moment when faith becomes real.

That is the moment when grace becomes sufficient.

That is the moment when God’s strength becomes perfect.

That is the moment when you walk on high places.

Outro:

In our next episode, we continue the story of Hezekiah, and we’ll see how he responds to this overwhelming crisis. 

The working title is: “Amazing Grace - When Prayer Turns the Tide.”

We’ll watch Hezekiah fall on his face before God and seek the counsel of the prophet Isaiah, and discover when a believer brings an impossible situation to the God who specializes in the impossible.

I hope you’ll join me for that.

Until then —

Trust Him, even when it doesn’t appear to “work,” because His grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect in your weakness.