King David and the King of Pop: What 1-2 Kings can teach us about God's favor and the flawed people upon whom it rests (Part 2)

Last month, I led a breakout session at our denomination's annual national conference. Below is my presentation that was inspired by the 1-2 Kings commentary I co-authored. I am breaking the entire presentation up into three parts, to give emphasis to each kind of flaw and flawed leader. This is part 2.

Hezekiah is our next example and is one of the few Kings after Solomon who is given an overall positive evaluation by God. In case you aren’t part of the Hezekiah-hive, when he was in his mid-twenties, he leads much-needed spiritual reform in the nation of Judah. He demonstrates faith in God, the Law, and the Covenant.

After Hezekiah had seen God miraculously deliver him from Assyrian invasion and a serious illness, he unwisely welcomed a Babylonian envoy and let them see all of Judah’s resources. It was an arrogant and foolish decision and God calls him out for it (2 Kings 20:12-20).

So, while he's a rare example of godly leadership in Kings, Hezekiah is not above foolish and unforced errors.

His mistakes are ones that we often see repeated in our modern world. Billy Graham had to publicly apologize after Richard Nixon’s secret Watergate tapes became public because Graham was revealed to have had some unflattering and untoward conversations with the President in the Oval Office. This past June SW Baptist Theological Seminary revealed that an internal investigation had found that their recently resigned President, Adam Greenway had improperly spent $1.5 million of the institution’s money on largely personal expenses. What made it even more egregious was that it came during a time of financial cutbacks and shortages for the school in general. Too many Christian leaders take advantage of the unique aspect of American Christianity that allows men of God to afford a lifestyle of affluence.

Different situations involve different factors and judgments of course. But Hezekiah offers slightly different lessons than Solomon. His legacy speaks to how foolishness can tarnish a legacy, but it doesn’t necessarily ruin a leader’s legacy.  Hezekiah’s life is not covered in shame as the narrative unfolds. His flaws are evident, but his overall impact is a positive one. He makes foolish mistakes, but his heart was faithfully devoted to God – and that’s what mattered most in the end. Billy Graham’s reputation endured well through the rest of his life, one would hope that Dr. Greenway would learn the same lessons for himself.