Hezekiah was one of only a few righteous kings who did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 31:20). 2 Kings 18:5 tells us that Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, …so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. Hezekiah was the son of wicked king Ahaz, and later fathered wicked Manasseh. Despite his wicked family, Hezekiah walked faithfully with the Lord, turning idolatrous Judah back to Jehovah. Hezekiah removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it and called it Nehushtan (2 Kings 18:4). Under his rulership, the nation shared in the overwhelming blessings of God.


Hezekiah was one of only a few righteous kings who did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 31:20). 2 Kings 18:5 tells us that Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, …so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. Hezekiah was the son of wicked king Ahaz, and later fathered wicked Manasseh. Despite his wicked family, Hezekiah walked faithfully with the Lord, turning idolatrous Judah back to Jehovah. Hezekiah removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it and called it Nehushtan (2 Kings 18:4). Under his rulership, the nation shared in the overwhelming blessings of God.

He had a soft obedient heart that lived for the glory of God. Hezekiah’s malleable heart proved its quality (2 Chronicles 32:26) by putting the Lord first, even following times of sinful failure. True faith never abandons the Lord. We may stumble and faulter in sin, but faith always returns repentantly to walk with the Lord, and Hezekiah is proof of this. During Hezekiah’s 29 year reign over Judah, the prophets Isaiah and Micah served.

Israel had been suffering a long-term military attack by Assyria, who had invaded much of the land and now wanted to capture Jerusalem. But God destroyed the Assyrian army of 185,000 soldiers using just one angel (Isa 37:36). The king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh (Isa 37:37-38) where two of his sons killed him while worshipping an idol.

During this time Hezekiah became sick (from a boil, Isa 38:21) and was about to die, and he prayed to the Lord (2Ch 32:24), but he did not actually ask for healing in the way we would expect (Isa 38:2-3). God responded, I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria… (Isaiah 38:5-6). The Lord healed Hezekiah by telling Isaiah the prophet to have a cake of figs applied to the boil, that he may recover (Isa 38:21). They applied the fig poultice and the Lord empowered Hezekiah’s healing.

2 Chronicles 32:29 further explains that God had given him (Hezekiah) very great possessions. So, when the Babylonians came to visit, he proudly showed them everything within the kingdom that God had blessed Israel with (Isa 39:4). As a result, God left Hezekiah to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart (2 Chronicles 32:31). God wanted Hezekiah to truly know his own heart – OUCH. To understand the nature of the pride that had developed, and the deceitful way sin had manipulated his thinking and behaviour. The consequence was, God said, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord (Isaiah 39:6). This happened approximately 100 years later when evil Manasseh ruled as king, and the Babylonians took them captive.

The remaining 15 years of Hezekiah’s life were well spent in faithfully leading the nation in worship of Jehovah. Hezekiah learned well from his few stumblings. Throughout, he repeatedly centred his affections and loyalties on the Lord. He was a man of prayer who honoured the Word of the Lord. May the same be true for each of us.

There are few things in life as exasperating as foolishness. The attributes that combine to make a fool are distinctly human, lack wisdom, and are typically embedded with sin. To varying degrees all of humanity is guilty, and none of us can honestly claim to have escaped the clutches of foolishness.


The zenith of foolishness is catalogued in Scripture by David, the fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1a). In the Hebrew text of which this was written, the words “There is” do not exist. The more accurate reading of Psalm 14:1 is, the fool says in his heart, “no God.” Defiance towards God marks the height of foolishness. It makes perfect sense therefore, that David continues in Psalm 14:1b, they are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. Disobedience to God only produces more sin with increasing indifference to the Lord. As Paul explains in Romans 1:22, claiming to be wise, they became fools.

David later stretches this truth out in Psalm 92:6-7 NIV, senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, ⁷ that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. This brief life eventually comes to an end, then we are engulfed in eternity. Fools who prosper according to worldly standards deceive themselves into thinking they are safe for eternity because of the luxuries enjoyed on earth while separated from God. But God says this is NOT true. Instead, they face an eternity of hellish destruction, remaining separate from God, which is how they preferred to live on earth.

When God invited Solomon to ask for anything, Solomon answered, give me an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil… (1 Kings 3:9). Solomon realised that he lacked spiritual discernment, having no ability to discriminate between good and evil. Solomon knew also that his inability to detect and correctly respond to good and evil would impact upon the nation he was leader of – Israel. God’s response to Solomon’s request was, I give you a wise and discerning mind (1 Kings 3:12).

It’s not surprising then, that Solomon begins His book on wisdom by saying, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7). For the LORD gives wisdom (Proverbs 2:6), and like Solomon, we too are dependent upon the Lord as our source of wisdom. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:7). Sin will seduce you through foolish decisions into disobedience and isolation from God.

In 1 Corinthians 4:10, Paul gives the ONLY acceptable case for wise foolishness. Speaking on behalf of the apostles, Paul says, we are fools for Christ’s sake. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 NIV, do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

Wisdom, forgiveness, peace, joy, hope, security, and eternal life wait for those willing to become obedient fools for Christ. If you have never repented, and never turned your life over to Christ as Lord, I encourage you to do that right now. Romans 10:9-10, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified (declared innocent), and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Lot is a perplexing man who knew the truth of God yet followed the sinful passions of his heart. Certain of circumventing divine judgement, Lot stubbornly blundered on with the life of his choosing. Wrong choices, bad company, and a life of hypocrisy were calculated risks Lot settled for.

The lengthy story spans Genesis chapters 12 to 19 with many twists and turns. Lot was Abraham’s nephew. They lived and carried out business together with much blessing from the Lord. When the time came to separate, Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord (Genesis 13:12-13). The LORD said… the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave (Genesis 18:20).

Wanting the benefits of prosperous business in the bustling metropolis called Sodom, Lot willingly sacrificed his conscience, his testimony, and eventually his family for the lifestyle of his choice. Through a series of many foolish decisions, and his unwillingness to turn back and start again, he sacrificed all. Had it not been for the grace of God, he would have lost his soul also.

Lot would have thought that he was getting away with his dualistic lifestyle. But, as is always the case, the day of unforeseen reckoning arrived. Lot’s near-sighted and shallow belief of double standards was about to reap its reward.

Genesis 19:1 recalls the two angels of judgement arriving, with Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom. This was the position of a city leader who would vet the people entering the city. Lot’s compromised beliefs had enabled him to rise to leadership of this wicked city. Peter records that Lot was greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (2 Peter 2:7), but conscience proved insufficient to motivate Lot’s separation from wicked Sodom.

The morning of judgement day arrived. Rescuing angels were inside the house urging Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But he lingered. So, the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city (Genesis 19:15-16). Weirdly, Lot did not want to be rescued this way. But God’s mercy prevailed over Lot’s reluctance.

Well, God kept His promise of judgement (Genesis 18:20-33). The LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire… and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground, God destroyed everything (Genesis 19:24-25).

Genesis 19 leaves Lot in the pitiful cave of despair. Having lost everything except his two daughters and a supply of alcohol, Lot sadly reaps the fruit of his life. Tragically, his daughters enticed him into a drunken stupor, then committed incest with their father so they could have children.

Learning from Lot, 2 Peter 2:9 explains God’s mercy with a warning. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. We learn that God is faithful to his Word, to His justice, and to relationships which He has established with wayward people of weak faith and dubious living. While we struggle to understand the life of Lot, and we certainly do not approve of his double standards, we understand with gratitude, that only the grace of God keeps us, as it did Lot.

Believers in Jesus Christ are never abandoned by God, nor are they ever without a voice in heaven. Just as the work of Christ and the Holy Spirt powerfully actioned our salvation, so these two members of the Godhead continuously defend us before God the Father.

Isaiah, prophesying of the coming Messiah, foretold that Jesus would make intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). God ordained, that through His Son, He would act between sinful humanity and Himself to reconcile the two parties. He knew that He would have to do everything needed to rescue spiritually dead sinners and keep them rescued.

As fantastic as it is that Christ died and rose again for our justification, that was not the end of His work. Christ Jesus is the one who died …who was raised, and is at the right hand of God …interceding for us (Romans 8:34). Christ’s declaration of innocence (Justification) over our inconsistent lives is maintained by Christ Himself. Incredibly, Christ lives to make intercession for every single born again child of God (Hebrews 7:25). Knowing our every stumbling which involves sin, Christ is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). Relentless in His defence of the redeemed, Christ, the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5) tirelessly maintains His accomplished redemption on our behalf. Our salvation is not susceptible to variation or weakened by any personal insecurities.

Similarly, the Holy Spirit works ceaselessly in maintaining the integrity of fellowship within the relationship Christ establishes on our behalf with the Father. Life and our fleshliness so often repress our heart’s ability to communicate well with God, even to the point of silencing our ability to pray coherently. Obviously, our relationship with the Lord does not change, and we humanly lack the inner resources required for such a relationship to exist.

Understanding this, and knowing us intimately, God the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

The Holy Spirit is the believer’s liaison with the Father, at a level beyond our comprehension. Although the exchange of fatherly searching and Holy Spirit groaning on our behalf is invisibly silent to our senses, this ceaseless engagement is both essential and real. These intimate discussions take place without our knowledge or participation, yet we are the focus of their talks.

Whether in the darkness of night, or the heat of the day, our fears, doubts, failings, and fleshly insecurities are privately and exhaustively laid out before the Almighty. There, before the throne of grace, the most intense dialogue takes place between Father and Spirit on your behalf. Nothing is overlooked. Nothing is excused away as being irrelevant or inappropriate. In fact, this intensely interactive exchange over your weakness within the Godhead meets your every need and satisfies every facet of the Father’s will. No wonder the apostle Paul says that human words are deficient for the job, and only Holy Spirit groanings are sufficient to communicate in this divine exchange.

Therefore, in our prayers, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Knowing our prayer shortcomings and inadequacies, the Holy Spirit steps in to complete the communication. Let us walk and talk with the Lord today in the confidence and security of His gracious work of intercession.

God, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see (1 Timothy 6:15-16). Paul reminds Timothy that God is without equal, which is precisely what believers need to remember today. Existing in eternity, God is unmatched in every sphere of His character. The Lord asked Isaiah in 46:5, “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” Obviously, the answer is, NOBODY! 

There is no alternative to Jehovah, no better option than Yahweh. His loving compassion and sovereign rule are incontestable. His will and His justice are perfectly executed in every age. God proves Himself to be precisely as declared to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7. The LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.

This is what we Christians believe, and these truths are to be kept in the forefront of our minds throughout uncertain and changing times. While the world rationalises God out of its thinking, we tightly hold onto the indomitable reality of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

With fear being common throughout the nations, and governments putting such great effort into social control, believers in Christ need to reason through their faith in God just as the prophet Habakkuk did. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. ¹⁹ GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places (Habakkuk 3:17-19). Holy God exists above the tyranny of this world, and we should never evaluate Him by the defiant disbelief of this world.

The world works to remove certainty, to destabilise relationships, and obliterate God from people’s minds. But faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), which means we are certain of the God in whom we hope. We are convinced of biblical truth which brings into reality the assurance of faith.

As Christians, we stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).

The methods employed by faith are not the methods of this world. Believers look to Christ, to God’s Word, and to the sanctifying control of the Holy Spirit. With our eyes wide open, we look to the Lord with confidence. We do not hide or ignore the present-day conditions of the world, rather, we understand that the friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant (Psalms 25:14). In Christ we are safe and secure, no matter what the world says or does.