Question: "What can we learn from the life of Hezekiah?
"
Answer: Hezekiah was one of the few kings of Judah who was constantly aware of
Gods acts in the past and His involvement in the events of every day. The Bible
describes Hezekiah as a king who had a close relationship with God, one who did
what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God (2 Chronicles
31:20).
Hezekiahs story is told in 2 Kings 16:2020:21; 2 Chronicles 28:2732:33; and
Isaiah 36:139:8. He is also mentioned in Proverbs 25:1; Isaiah 1:1; Jeremiah 15:4;
26:1819; Hosea 1:1; and Micah 1:1.
Hezekiah, a son of the wicked King Ahaz, reigned over the southern kingdom of
Judah for twenty-nine years, from c. 726 to 697 BC. He began his reign at age 25 (2
Kings 18:2). He was more zealous for the Lord than any of his predecessors (2 Kings
18:5). During his reign, the prophets Isaiah and Micah ministered in Judah.
After Ahazs wicked reign, there was much work to do, and Hezekiah boldly cleaned
house. Pagan altars, idols, and temples were destroyed. The bronze serpent that
Moses had made in the desert (Numbers 21:9) was also destroyed, because the
people had made it an idol (2 Kings 18:4). The temple in Jerusalem, whose doors
had been nailed shut by Hezekiahs own father, was cleaned out and reopened. The
Levitical priesthood was reinstated (2 Chronicles 29:5), and the Passover was
reinstituted as a national holiday (2 Chronicles 30:1). Under Hezekiahs reforms,
revival came to Judah.
Because King Hezekiah put God first in everything he did, God prospered him.
Hezekiah held fast to the Lord and did not stop following 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 18:67).
In 701 BC, Hezekiah and all of Judah faced a crisis. The Assyrians, the dominant
world power at the time, invaded Judah and marched against Jerusalem. The
Assyrians had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and many other
nations, and now they threatened Judah (2 Kings 18:13). In their threats against the
city of Jerusalem, the Assyrians openly defied the God of Judah, likening Him to the
powerless gods of the nations they had conquered (2 Kings 18:2835; 19:1012).
Faced with the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah sent word to the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings
19:2). The Lord, through Isaiah, reassured the king that Assyria would never enter
Jerusalem. Rather, the invaders would be sent home, and the city of Jerusalem
would be spared (2 Kings 19:3234). In the temple, Hezekiah prays a beautiful
prayer for help, asking God to vindicate Himself: Now, Lord our God, deliver us
from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord,
are God (2 Kings 19:19).
God, faithful as always, kept His promise to protect Jerusalem. That night the angel
of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the
Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morningthere were all the dead
bodies! (2 Kings 19:35). The remaining Assyrians quickly broke camp and withdrew
in abject defeat. So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. . . . He
took care of them on every side (2 Chronicles 32:22).
Later, Hezekiah became very sick. Isaiah told him to set things in order and prepare
to die (2 Kings 20:1). But Hezekiah prayed, beseeching God to be merciful and to
remember all the good he had done. Before Isaiah had even left the kings house,
God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that his prayer had been heard and that his life
would be extended fifteen years. Isaiah applied a poultice, and Hezekiah was healed
(2 Kings 20:57).
However, soon after his healing, Hezekiah made a serious mistake. The Babylonians
sent a gift to Hezekiah, for they had heard Hezekiah had been sick. In foolish pride,
Hezekiah showed the Babylonians all of his treasures, all the silver and gold, and
everything in his arsenal. There was nothing Hezekiah did not parade in front of
them. Isaiah rebuked Hezekiah for this act and prophesied that all the king had
shown the Babylonians would one day be taken to Babylonalong with Hezekiahs
own descendants.
During the years following his illness, Hezekiah fathered the heir to Judahs throne,
Manasseh, who would turn out to be the evilest king ever to reign in Judah (2 Kings
1820; 2 Chronicles 2932; Isaiah 3639). Tradition has it that Manasseh is the
one who murdered Hezekiahs friend, Isaiah.
Hezekiahs life is, for the most part, a model of faithfulness and trust in the Lord. His
faith was more than superficial, as his bold reforms show. Hezekiahs trust in the
Lord was rewarded with answered prayer, successful endeavors, and miraculous
victory over his enemies. When faced with an impossible situation, surrounded by
the dreadful and determined Assyrian army, Hezekiah did exactly the right thing
he prayed. And God answered.