June 4th | 2 Kings 18

I love magic and watching people perform illusions. I enjoy watching card tricks, but I also appreciate big stage productions where performers execute incredible feats, such as sawing a person in half or one of my favorites, escaping from a tank of water. You’ve likely seen a magician bound in chains by their hands and feet, locked in place, with no hope for escape. Then they are dropped in a tank of water, and the pressure is on. Failure to escape from the chains means they will die. The magician flails around for a bit, then, miraculously, they escape from the impossible chains they are in and emerge from the water for a breath of oxygen. 

The illusion is that they are actually bound. In reality, there is a key they have or a way to easily break free from the chains. They aren’t truly in danger of drowning; it's all for show. But it makes great theatre for the audience! 

In 2 Kings, the people have repeatedly let sin corrupt their lives and the nation of Israel. In chapter 17, Israel has sinned so much that God allowed them to fall. They are defeated and sent into exile. However, there is still the kingdom of Judah. Judah has sinned greatly, but one man, King Hezekiah, brings them back to the Lord. 

2 Kings 18:3-4, “3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 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).” 

How did Hezekiah bring the people back? He cut out the sin from the nation. Did you notice the harsh language? He removed, broke, cut down, and broke into pieces all of the idols and false gods that had infiltrated the nation of Judah. This is how we must deal with sin in our lives. We must utterly destroy it. 

Too often, we want to put on a show like magicians on stage. We claim to handcuff the sin in our lives and throw it into a tank to destroy it, but secretly, we have a key that lets it escape. We will make big claims about going to church, stopping seeing those friends, etc. Yet, in the back of our minds, we know we are going to give that sin oxygen. We aren’t going to kill it completely. The result? Sin continues to live and reign in our lives. Hezekiah knew this, which is why he utterly destroyed the sin in the nation. What was the result?

2 Kings 18:6-7a, “6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.” 

Hezekiah’s decision to follow God and not sin resulted in God’s presence and peace in his life. For you today, choose to kill the sin in your life. Don’t give it any oxygen. Don’t put on a performance of destroying sin, but actually do it! How can we do this? By continually trusting in Christ to give us power over sin. The more we seek Him, the more we search after Him, He will give us the strength to say no to sin and yes to God. Seek Jesus, kill sin, and walk in freedom today.