As Christmas approaches, I think of Mary, the mother of Jesus. God entrusted her with the care of His Son. Mary was a special, wonderful person and a perfect example of the importance of motherhood. Examples of godly women are scattered throughout the Bible. The mother of King Hezekiah is one of those.
Hezekiah’s father was one of the most wicked kings Judah had ever known. Ahaz brought back the worship of Baal. Judah reeled under the influence of this ungodly king who even sacrificed one of his sons to the heathen god. Yet, he married a godly woman, Abi or Abijah, who was the daughter of Zechariah, spiritual counselor to King Uzziah.
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and Abi. He became king at the age of twenty-five and he was a godly king. How could Hezekiah, whose father was evil personified be a young man who loved and feared the Lord? I believe the answer must have been Abi, his mother.
Abi most likely kept Hezekiah away from his father as much as possible. Perhaps his bedtime stories were about the glory days of King David and the way the country flourished under God’s blessings. Abi could have faced her husband’s displeasure in the way she brought up Hezekiah but she believed obeying God was more important than obeying a wicked king.
The teachings of his mother stayed with King Hezekiah. He tore down the places of idol worship and restored the glory of the temple in Jerusalem. It sounds as if the people were tired of evil and false gods and the depravity of Ahaz. I can imagine a young Hezekiah who had obtained the trust of the people even before he became king. Did his mother, in her wisdom, guide him in this?
God blessed Judah because of Hezekiah. Through the wisdom of the young king, Jerusalem’s walls were re-built. The Assyrian king, Sennacherib, was defeated through the leadership of Hezekiah.
One of my favorite Bible stories is of God turning back the shadow of the sun dial ten degrees while Hezekiah was king. (See Isaiah 38.) Do you find this hard to believe? I don’t. With God, all things are possible.
Sometimes I wonder about Abi’s mother. She had a godly father, perhaps a godly mother too. Maybe King Hezekiah was influenced by his grandparents as well as his mother.
My Mother’s Day bouquet
Abi must have been brave. She must have kept her son away from Ahaz and taught him that idol worship was wrong. She may have well risked her life in doing this. She had courage and wisdom and perseverance. Being a godly mother is a hard job, but it’s the most important job on earth and the rewards far outweigh any hardships.
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