Hezekiah showed an incredible balance of faith and wisdom. When an enemy advanced Hezekiah kept his faith but he also sought counsel and employed wisdom against the enemy.
When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields (2-5).
I love the balance of Hezekiah. He never boasted or let his preparations go to his head. Instead he applied all his wisdom and counsel to preparing for the coming attack. When the attack came his defenses held off the attackers from immediate victory. And when Assyria resorted to intimidation Hezekiah kept the faith and encouraged the people. Eventually the Lord came to Judah’s rescue.
Faith and wisdom are a dynamic duo!
It is important to maintain faith. God is our ultimate defense and protector. But the Lord also gave us minds to use in conjunction with our faith and King Hezekiah is a great example of these two qualities molded into one person.
Lord, thank You for people like Hezekiah, who are examples for me…. May I follow in his example to be ever faithful and to use the gifts, intelligence, wisdom and godly counsel as I live life and face issues of life. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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