Like Father Like Son

Breaking the Cycle of Familial Sin

King Hezekiah is an interesting man! 

He rose to power at age 25, following the death of his father, and began his reign with the intent of honoring God!  Hezekiah tore down areas of idol worship, kept the commands the Lord had given Moses, reinstated proper worship at the temple, and followed the command of the Lord when he was threatened with attack from his enemies. 

Unfortunately, Hezekiah made bad decisions in his later years and his descendants would pay the price for those mistakes but the Bible records that:

“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.  There was no one like him among all  the kings of Judah, either before or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease  to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook”   2 Kings 18: 5-7

Hezekiah’s dedication to the Lord is even more admirable when you realize that his father, King Ahaz, was an evil man!

I don’t know about you but that is a great epithet to write about a life.

Hezekiah’s dedication to the Lord is even more admirable when you realize that his father, King Ahaz, was an evil man!

The books of 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings record that Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 

Hezekiah grew up watching a father who did everything AGAINST God! Ahaz worshiped false gods and even sacrificed Hezekiah’s brother to a false god.  How did a young man in that environment turn into a Godly adult.

The bible doesn’t really tell us.  Perhaps Hezekiah had a Godly mother who taught him what was correct.  Maybe Hezekiah found faith in God in his own way.  We really don’t know.  But we do know that he is Biblical proof that we do not have to conform to the way we are raised.  We don’t have to base our life patterns on those of our parents.  We can make our own path.

The old saying “like father like son” can be a beautiful blessing on a persons life if , like me, you had great Godly examples for parents.

But, what if you didn’t have a Godly example for a parent.  What if you were like Hezekiah and had a bad example

Does “like father like son” doom you to following in the footsteps of those who came before you?

Does “like father like son” doom you to following in the footsteps of those who came before you?

Hezekiah’s  life is a beautiful testimony that “Like father like son” doesn’t apply to the Christian life!

Individuals can break cycles of familial sin and choose to live a holy life. 

What a beautiful testimony Hezekiah lived!