“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.” Isaiah 32:1-2 ESV
Reflection: What happens when we do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and follow the His ways?
Even from those who reject that there is a Creator who is behind everything created, there is a common thought and understanding that nature in itself is in harmony. That there is a natural order of things, natural “frequency” that the universe functions. That we can, as humans, observe this, and have observed this since the beginning of time. In fact, it brings us such peace to observe nature, to watch a sunset over the ocean. Turn on any secular nature program on TV, and even they will be discussing how everything around us, is in balance by itself. Is at peace. Seasons, weather, oceans, plant and animal life, all thriving by itself, without any “help” from human beings. In fact, it is also commonly recognized that intervention of humans is actually causing nature to come out of balance.
This idea of being in harmony with the created order is one way to look at sin. Since we believe that everything is created by God, who also created the harmony of nature, created us to live in harmony with our Creator and with each other. Sin is therefore anything that goes against this harmony of God. And we can certainly observe people, including rulers and nations, who are more or less in harmony with God’s laws. We read from Isaiah today about “a king will reign in righteousness”, which for Christians points towards the righteous King of kings, Christ Jesus. But, scholars also believe that this prophecy was another dual prophecy, also pointing towards an earthly king; most likely Hezekiah, who reigned during Isaiah’s time. And, while he was merely a man, we can learn a lot from this man of God, this righteous ruler. Let’s read a bit from 2 Kings about Hezekiah.
“In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.” 2 Kings 18:1-3 ESV. Notice while he was very young when he became king, he chose to be in harmony with God, “doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. So, what did that entail? What did he do? We read on,
“He 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 (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses.” 2 Kings 18:4-6 ESV. Not only did he do what was right, but he also destroyed what was offensive to God, removing idols and idol worship. And, it is said of him that he was the greatest of all kings of Judah; including his forefather David. So, what was the result? How did his harmony with God affect his rule and kingdom? Keep in mind he is still a mere man. We read,
“And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.” 2 Kings 18:7-8 ESV Hezekiah brought peace to the land, striking down anything not in harmony with God’s will and laws.
There is a direct lesson here for each of us, how we “rule” in our own kingdoms even if they are just a household. Are we righteous rulers, in harmony and peace with God’s laws, or are we going against His will creating conflict? We see clearly the results from this beautiful example Hezekiah was for his kingdom, as he chose to follow and be in harmony with God. And they experienced great prosperity and peace as a result.
