Have you ever felt like you didn’t deserve a bad thing that happened to you? You made the right choice, but you didn’t get the recognition you felt you deserved. Disappointments like that can lead to discouragement and even bad decisions.

Hezekiah came to the throne and immediately set about doing good. That meant returning Israel to proper worship of the Lord by destroying the high places and idolatrous statues (v. 4). Judah had fallen so far into idol worship that they had even been worshiping the bronze serpent that Moses made for Israel while they were in the wilderness (Num. 21:9)! Hezekiah’s actions were so commendable that the text says, “There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him” (v. 5). With the Lord on his side, Hezekiah went on to rebel against the Assyrian king who had become Judah’s overlord.

So, it is a bit of a surprise to read in verse 13 that the king of Assyria marched against Judah and “attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.” Had not Hezekiah behaved righteously? Why would the Lord permit this invasion? It must have been a distressing situation for the king of Judah because he buckled under the strain. Instead of submitting to the will of the Lord, he submitted to the king of Assyria. Instead of trusting God, he used his diplomatic skills and economic resources to resolve the crisis. He started with faith but crumbled in crisis.

This isn’t the end of the story, but it is important to pause and reflect. Was Hezekiah surprised that difficulty followed acts of righteousness? He wrongly assumed that his past righteous acts would guarantee him a safe future. But his compromise would have significant consequences.

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