2 Kings 18:1-8 (New International Version) introduces us to Hezekiah, son of Ahaz. Yesterday we watched Ahaz copy pagan altars and hollow out Judah’s faith. Today the pendulum swings hard the other way.
Hezekiah removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, cut down the Asherah poles, and broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it (v. 4).
Key notes western readers may miss:
• “High places” were usually hilltop shrines thought to bring worshipers
closer to the heavens. They mixed Israel’s God with local Canaanite
practices. Hezekiah’s choice to shut them down was bold politically;
they were popular, economically useful, and long-standing.
• The name Nĕḥuštān (נְחֻשְׁתָּן) is a pun in
Hebrew—literally “a piece of bronze,” sounding like
nāḥāš (serpent). By calling Moses’ once-gifted symbol
just “bronze,” Hezekiah strips it of misplaced awe.
Cross-references for reflection
– Numbers 21:4-9 — the original bronze serpent
– John 3:14-15 — Jesus re-centers that symbol on Himself
– Deuteronomy 12:2-7 — the early command to destroy high places
Today’s question: What good thing from the past have I let harden into an idol?
Verses 5-8 summarize Hezekiah’s life motto: “He trusted (Hebrew bataḥ) in the LORD… not one of the kings of Judah was like him.”
Archaeology lights this up:
• Hezekiah’s bulla (seal), found in Jerusalem in
2015, reads “Belonging to Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah,”
surrounded by a two-winged sun and ankhs—symbols of life. A small object
whispering a large truth: real faith leaves real marks in real
clay.
• The Siloam Tunnel under the City of David, dug to
secure water during the coming siege, still carries spring water. An
inscription halfway through records two teams digging toward one
another—an image of determined faith meeting provision.
Hezekiah married common sense (build a tunnel) with covenant faith (seek the Lord). Mature faith is never passive.
Verses 9-16 telescope the timeline. The northern kingdom (Israel) falls to Assyria (722 BC)—just as we covered on Devotion 17. Only Judah remains. Eight years later, Assyria turns south. Hezekiah first tries diplomacy, offering Sennacherib 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold (v. 14); he even strips the temple doors he had once overlaid.
The Bible neither praises nor condemns this payment; it simply reports. Some church fathers (Jerome, Chrysostom) see it as a lapse, others (Calvin) as a prudent delay to ready the city. What we can say: faith can waver, yet God stays on course.
Modern parallels: when pressure rises—health bills, legal threats, layoffs—our first move may be to “buy time.” God can work even through partial or imperfect strategies, but He will always circle us back to trust.
Verses 17-37 zoom in on one long afternoon outside Jerusalem’s walls. Three Assyrian officials—the field commander (Rab-shaqeh in Hebrew, literally “chief cup-bearer,” now a military spokesman), the chief eunuch, and the supreme officer—stand at the conduit of the Upper Pool (same spot where Ahaz once doubted, Isaiah 7:3). They shout in polished Judahite Hebrew, not Aramaic, so every common soldier can hear.
Literary artistry: the speech is loaded with repeated taunts—
“On what are you basing this confidence?” (vv. 19, 24, 29).
Irony: Assyria uses the same line God used on Ahaz a generation
earlier—“If you do not stand firm in faith, you will not stand at all”
(Isaiah 7:9). The battlefield is as much in the ear and heart as in
stone walls.
Key claims the enemy makes:
1. Egypt is “a broken reed” (v. 21).
2. The LORD Himself sent Assyria (v. 25).
3. No other god has saved any nation (vv. 33-35).
All half-truths, all designed to drain hope. Notice how often today’s news, ads, or inner fears use the same logic: “No one else has won, so why try?”
The royal officials silence themselves (v. 36). In Hebrew culture a well-timed silence can be stronger than counter-argument (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:7). Sometimes the most faithful reply to taunt is to refuse the debate.
Theological themes
• Exclusive worship — Hezekiah’s purge echoes the first
commandment, paving the way for later reforms under Josiah.
• Faith under siege — Foreshadows the New Testament
church facing ridicule and power (Acts 4-5).
• True King vs. counterfeit power — The Assyrian king
boasts, but Yahweh will soon “put a hook in his nose” (19:28).
Revelation will echo that final reversal.
Voices through history
• Augustine saw in Hezekiah a type of Christ who broke the power of the
serpent.
• Luther read Rab-shaqeh’s speech as a picture of Satan’s accusations;
“A Mighty Fortress” grows from that insight:
“The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him…”
Suggested hymn for meditation: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Sing or read it slowly, imagining the Assyrian spokesman at the wall and the quiet trust inside the city.
Questions for personal retreat
1. What “high place” might God be asking me to tear down—something
socially accepted yet spiritually compromising?
2. Where have I tried to “buy time” instead of first seeking the
Lord?
3. Which voice shapes my inner narrative—the taunts from the wall or the
promises of God?
Small group prompt
Walk through Isaiah 36-37 (parallel account) and list every action
Hezekiah takes. Rank them not by success but by faith expression.
Family/household idea
Run water in the sink and read aloud the Siloam Tunnel inscription
(easily found online). Invite everyone to thank God for unseen streams
of provision He is digging toward them right now.
Tomorrow chapter 19 will reveal God’s answer—an overnight victory no sword could win. For now, the story rests on a sharp edge: a king who has done everything he knows, and a city listening for God in the hush after enemy laughter.
Hold that tension through the day. It mirrors many of our own unfinished prayers.
Lord of Hosts,
You are our steady place when the world shouts and walls shake.
Search our hearts for hidden high places; give us courage to tear them
down.
Root our trust deeper than silver or strategy.
Guard our ears from lies, and fill our silence with Your sure
word.
As You carved water through rock for Hezekiah, carve living streams
through our hard places today.
Through Jesus, the Serpent-Crusher and King forever.
Amen.