Hezekiah - Part 3

[Hezekiah] 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. 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.


Hannah sat at her desk in class and stared at the book in front of her. Right now everyone was learning math. Hannah did not like math at all. She looked up and studied her classmates around her. One girl was drawing a picture on her notebook, some of the kids were listening intently, and then she saw this boy named, Bryce, sitting beside her slowly unzipping Lydia's backpack in front of him.

He took out her pencil bag and slipped it into his bag. Hannah's eyes grew wide. What should she do? Bryce looked over to Hannah and put his finger to his lips telling her to keep quiet. She couldn't believe he had done that. Bryce was one of the most popular kids in their class. Hannah couldn't just raise her hand and tell on him. She would be the biggest loser in the class.

Slouching in her chair, Hannah thought about what she had read in her Bible that morning. Hezekiah was different from all the kings before him because he obeyed the Lord. God was with him everywhere he went. Hannah knew God was with her too, but was it her duty to make sure everyone else was following God's commandments?

She saw Lydia reach behind her to get something from her backpack. Lydia rummaged around and swept her hand from side to side in the bag. A look of confusion contorted on her face and she turned slowly back towards the front. Bryce stifled laughter and gave Hannah the shush gesture again.

When Hannah got home from school, she could not get Bryce and Lydia off her mind. She read over 2 Kings 18:5-8 again. It said that Hezekiah, "rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him."

Bryce is kind of like the king of our classroom, Hannah thought to herself. I don't have to stand for his bullying. I can rebel against his authority and do what I know is right. Just like Hezekiah. I serve God, not Bryce or any of my classmates.


The next day, Hannah went up to her teacher before class started and told her what had happened. The teacher, Mrs. Shalman, took Bryce out of the classroom and walked him to the principle's office.

The principle walked Bryce back to his desk where he opened his bag and pulled out the pencil bag. He plopped it on surprised Lydia's desk and glared at Hannah. The principle guided Bryce back out of the room.

Hannah knew this wasn't over, but the look on Lydia's face as she held her pencil bag made Hannah feel  good.

Hezekiah - Part 2

Hannah hopped off the bus at school and began her walk down the hall toward her classroom. There were girls clustered around lockers showing off these colorful wristbands. Some were glittery, others multi-colored, and when the girls stretched them out, they were in the shapes of animals, fairies, dinosaurs...just about anything she could think of. It seemed as if from nowhere all the kids in her grade had acquired hundreds of these randomly-shaped rubber bands overnight.

"They're called 'silly bands,'" her friend Arleen said.

Soon, Hannah caught onto the craze. She had twenty of them up each arm and wanted more. Every time a new package of shapes came out, Hannah used her allowance money to buy them. She was gaining popularity with her classmates, too. Everyone liked to trade with her because she always had the newest shapes.

Her parents didn't approve of her infatuation with these bands, but they also wanted her to learn how to spend her money wisely. They gave their input, but in the end, it was up to her.

One day, Hannah was in her room and had all of her silly bands spread out on the floor. Tamara, her younger sister, came skipping in and wanted to play with her. She scooped up about five of the bands and began stretching them as far as they could go.

"Ma-ra!" Screamed Hannah as she snatched them out of Tamara's hand. "You're going to break them! Don't you ever touch them again! They're mine. You hear me?? Mine!"

Tamara ran out of the room, crying.

A little later, Hannah's mom knocked quietly at her bedroom door.

"Yes?" Hannah asked sulkily.

"Do you know why I'm coming in here?"

"I think so."

"Hannah, why did you treat your sister that way? You usually love playing with her."

"I know. She was going to break my silly bands, though."

"You've gotten quite carried away with those silly bands and your dad and I are very worried about you. You hardly ever snap at your sister like that. It's not like you, Hannah. And I think you realize that too. When was the last time you read your Bible? You haven't told me any cool stories you've read recently. Have you been reading?"

"Well, no. I haven't had time because I've been trying to earn more money to buy silly bands... and I like to count them... and my friends and I like to trade them. Plus, I have to make sure I keep track of when new shapes come out..."

"Hannah, silly bands can be completely harmless, you know, until you begin placing those things before God. He is zealous for time with you. He loves to listen to you and show you new things about Him. What you are doing is placing an idol in a higher position than God. My advice to you would be to put your silly bands up and pick up where you left off in your Bible."

"Yes ma'am."

Hannah's mother smiled and quietly left the room. As she began to pick up all the silly bands surrounding her, Hannah got her Bible out and flipped to where she had left off.

...David had done. [Hezekiah] 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).


"Well, I don't have a bronze serpent, but I do have some idols placed in some high places. Time to tear them down."

The next day, Hannah gave half of her silly bands to her sister and the rest she gave to her friends at school. She kept one for herself though. It was a reminder to her that many of life's pleasures are okay in small doses, as long as God remains in the high place.