Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’S sight, just as his ancestor David had done. (2 Kings 18:1-3, NLT)
Abijah gets two passing mentions in Scripture. One here and one in the parallel account in 2 Chronicles. It’s easy to overlook her, but she must have had a tremendous testimony, one that deeply impacted her son, the good king, Hezekiah.
Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, had sold out, and thrown his lot in with Assyria. To assure his new allies of his sincerity, he adopted their religion. In chapter 16 of 2 Kings is the chilling description of Ahaz’s sacrifice of his own son to those pagan gods.
Even with that example, Hezekiah turned out to be the greatest king Judah had aside from David. Apparently, his mother quietly passed on an unwavering faith to her son.
Who knows? There may be a young Hezekiah in your life, soaking up your example, learning from your life. Be diligent to pass on your faith, then watch and see what God does with the investment.