2 Kings 18:1

2 Kings18:1 says, Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.  Hoshea had been king in Israel for three years when Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, began to reign in Judah.  Matthew Henry says that by comparing Hezekiah's age with his father's age that Ahaz was only eleven or twelve years old when Hezekiah was born, and that divine providence caused this to happen so that Hezekiah would be ready to reign when Ahaz's iniquity hit its peak.  I can say that God is behind every life, since He alone is the giver and sustainer of the soul, which really determines life in humanity.  Verse two adds, Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.  He was twenty-five when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years.  We are given his mother's name, as we are of all the kings, but are not told her age.  I usually have not motioned them, not because they were unimportant, but because we are told so little about them except their name and maybe their father's name, but in this case, since Ahaz was so young when Hezekiah was born, I have to wonder how old she was.  Still, I also have to assume that God was working through her no matter her age.  Even if things don't start out right in life, God can still work through anyone to accomplish His purpose, if they are willing to allow Him to and I believe at times even if they aren't.  Verse three continues, And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.  Instead of following the sinful ways of his father, Hezikiah did what was right in the sight of God, as David had done during his life and rule.  It doesn't matter who our parents are nor how sinful they may be, because we are free to choose to follow God, and that is all that really matters.  Verse four states, He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.  He got rid of all the idols and even got rid of the high places of worship that most of the kings, even if they were called good kings, had not done.  He also got rid of the brass serpent that Moses had made, because the people were worshipping it, even though it had been made only for a specific use at a specific time.  We cannot worship anything except God, even if the thing we are worshipping was used by God for a specific purpose at a specific time in history.  Verse five adds, He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.  We are told that Hezekiah trusted in God and that at no time, before he began to reign or after his reign ended, was a better king in Judah as far as their relationship to God.  We have to remember that David was king of all of Israel and not just Judah, so he would still be the greatest king.  We can also say that Jesus Christ is the King of all believers, and there never was and never will be another ruler as great as He is, not even David.  Verse six continues, For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.  Hezikiah kept the commandments of God as God had commanded His people to do through Moses.  We can say that God's commandments will never be done away with, even though salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  Verse seven declares, And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.  God was with Hezekiah in all that he did, and he also rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.  God was with him because of his faithfulness to Him.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we must serve God alone and rebel against all sin, and he will always be with us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eight adds, He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.  Hezekiah also defeated the Philistines, a long-time enemy of God's chosen people.  As Christians, we may defeat our enemies today only to find that we have to defeat them again later on.  Sometimes, a sin that we have thought to have defeated long ago can come back to tempt us again if we aren't careful.