Zedekiah, King of Judah: He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 36:13

The life of King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, is a demonstration of the importance of the fear of God to live and govern a nation. The philosopher Aristotle taught that to know a virtue we have to first know its opposite, and the life of King Zedekiah was the opposite of the fear of God, Zedekiah hardened his heart, sinned gravely, and lived according to his passing whims.
The fear of God is a very special grace, not only is it the most important gift of the Old Testament, it is the gift that makes men more human by giving them a heart of flesh, and brings men closer to God. The life of this king can be compared to a dark path, little by little the destructive unforeseen events appeared, until his own end came, and thus a proverb was fulfilled: "The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness", Ecclesiastes 2:14.
The Bible tells us that all of Zedekiah's actions were against common sense: he failed to keep his word, he did not listen to the prophets, he became an unpredictable man and provoked the hatred of many, and this is typical of the contempt of the fear of God. There was no glory nor any virtue to speak of in the life of this King, and his sad end is a reminder that men reap what they sow: "For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Hosea 8:7.
This is how the Second Book of Chronicles summarizes the actions of Zedekiah:
"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel" 2 Chronicles 36:11-13.

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