Bible study: 2 Kings 18-19

Sometime last week, my pastor preached about Hezekiah and the value of personal prayer using the text 2 Kings 18-19. But while reading that text in Church, I felt I needed to know more about what happened, so I did further study on it.

This article and the ones that follow in this series, will be details of my discovery. I will run the Bible text like a commentary and then identify lessons in italics as we go on. Be blessed.

2 Kings 18:1-8: Hezekiah was a king that walked before God in truth of heart. He “clave” to the Lord and God made him prosper. We see this ring true throughout the Scriptures that when you stick to God, you will prosper. Isaac in Genesis 26:12-13, King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:5, Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33.

2 Kings 18:14-16: Sometime later, King Hezekiah ran into a problem because the King of Assyria had come against him. Even after Hezekiah had given him gold and silver, that wicked king was still relentless. This tells me something: Don’t try to appease/beg the enemy – Satan – but stand your ground on the Word of God. James 4:7.

2 Kings 18:17-35: So that wicked king sent 3 of his top officials to scare the people of Judah. This is another device of the enemy: FEAR. 1 John 4:18. So we need to be careful what we feed our ears, minds and hearts with. Even seemingly innocent friends/family can instill fear in us unknowingly by the things they say.

2 Kings 18:36: However, the people did not reply these officials because Hezekiah had told them not to. I believe this is a tactic for success in life: SELF CONTROL. People will provoke you just so you react but we need to restrain ourselves. 2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP)

We will continue with this text in the next article. Feel free to share your own Bible study text with me/the readers. Just let me know 🙂

Not even good works

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*dusts cobwebs off this blog*

I haven’t been here in a while; I’m sorry about that. I have something for you today though and it’s about a certain Roman soldier. We find his story in the Book of Acts, chapter 10. Let’s read a few verses:

Acts 10:1-2 (emphasis added) “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.“

Here we see a Roman that the Bible recorded was a devout man that feared God. When I read this passage, I wondered what “God” he feared. I don’t know about you but I sort of had this notion in my head (from the Old Testament) that only the Israelites knew the True God and every other human being either didn’t know God or knew some other god.

Well, we know from the rest of the chapter that it was the “God God” that this Roman soldier feared and prayed to. But that’s not where I’m going with this article. Moving on: this soldier feared God so much and did good deeds enough that God sent an angel to him in a vision (vs. 3-6). I think seeing an angel is a pretty “divine” thing. (Disclaimer: I’m not saying we should seek visions of angels).

We have gotten to the point I’m trying to make: Even though this man feared God and was devout and did good works, not even all these could “save” him; if they could save him, God would not have asked him to send for Peter who preached salvation through believing Jesus Christ.

Paul puts it this way in Romans 3: 20-22:

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…“

Food for thought:

There’s no amount of ‘righteousness’ acts/deeds that can bring us salvation. However, when Jesus died for us, His righteousness was imputed to us who believe as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“

Life nugget:

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Note: This article does not discuss the place of good works after salvation.

Incomplete or Out-of-context

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In times past, either due to false or inaccurate information that we’ve heard, or due to our own mistakes, we’ve believed some things that are incomplete or we take them out of context. Let’s look at a few Scriptural examples:

1. Romans 3:22-23 “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” We usually stop here and just keep going on about ourselves as sinners. But the next verse 24 says “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” So, even though we were sinners, we have been justified by Jesus as long as we remain in Him.

2. Romans 7:20 “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” We sometimes use this as an explanation (and excuse) for sinning. A few verses further however, in Romans 8:1-2, the Bible says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” So, I’m no more a slave to sin because of Jesus Christ.

3. Phil 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We usually pray this verse when seeking calm in the storm. But let’s not forget the premise on which it is based in verse 6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

These are just a few examples. As we study the Word of God more, I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth.

Food for thought:

Some of these things are ingrained into our minds that even when we see the truth in the Bible, we refuse to believe it.

Life nugget:

“The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”- Alvin Toffler

In Him, In Whom, In Jesus (III)

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More on the confessions:

1 Corinthians 1:2- “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”