Day 24: Hezekiah Lent 2016 - Forty days in the genealogy of our Lord
The twenty-fourth generation in the genealogy of Jesus Christ is Hezekiah. The name Hezekiah means "the Lord is my strength," "the Lord is strong." Hezekiah succeeded Ahaz and became the 13th king of the southern kingdom of Judah. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord so that there was no king like him before or after his reign (2 Kgs 18:5). The Bible devotes the most amount of writing to him among all the kings of Judah and Israel combined.
“He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.” (2 Kings 18:5, NASB95)
Hezekiah boldly carried out a religious reformation.
First, Hezekiah, in the first month of his first year, repaired the temple.
The doors of the temple, which were closed due to the continuous wickedness of Hezekiah's father Ahaz (2 Chr 28:24), were all opened by Hezekiah (2 Chr 29:3). He also lit the lamps of the temple which had been put out (2 Chr 29:7) and started to burn incense in the temple again. He also consecrated the Levites and removed all unclean things such as the Gentile altars from the temple (2 Chr 29:5).
Also, Hezekiah prepared and consecrated all the utensils which his father King Ahaz had discarded during his sinful reign. Then, they placed them before the altar of the Lord (2 Chr 29:19). King Hezekiah confessed that God, in His wrath, forsook Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah, making them become an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, when the temple was defiled and the worship was ceased; and their ancestors had fallen by the sword (2 Chr 29:7-9).
Second, Hezekiah worshiped God and gave offerings of thanksgiving.
Hezekiah gave sin offerings and burnt offerings at the newly cleansed temple. Hezekiah had them bring seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven male goats to offer as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary and Judah. The animal, which sheds its blood in sacrifice, foreshadows Jesus Christ the Passover Lamb, who took up our sins and died in our place on the cross (John 1:29). The Old Testament sacrifice achieved a one time, temporary atonement, whereas Jesus Christ accomplished an eternal redemption for us (Heb 9:12; 10:12).
Therefore, 2 Chronicles 29:36 states, “Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly. “To the human perception, certain works may seem to have occurred suddenly. However, we may realize later that God had been preparing for this in the background as we notice how the work brings joy and benefits to many people.
Third, Hezekiah had Israel and Judah keep the Passover.
The Passover is a great festival which celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from the 400-year slavery in Egypt through the power of God. Unleavened bread (bread made without yeast/leaven), roasted lamb, and bitter herbs were eaten as Passover food (Exod 12:5-11; Num 9:1-11).
The Passover Lamb is a type of Jesus Christ who redeemed us from sin and death (1 Cor 5:7). Hezekiah sent men to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to encourage them to come and celebrate the Passover together (2 Chr 30:1). The couriers took the letter from the king and his princes, as Hezekiah commanded, and circulated them throughout Israel from Beersheba to Dan (2 Chr 30:5-10).
Hezekiah believed that keeping the Passover, which had been neglected until then, was an act of returning in complete submission to God (2 Chr 30:8).
“So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.” (2 Chronicles 30:26-27)
True joy and gladness for the people of God can be obtained when a proper relationship with God is established through the recovery of worship.
Fourth, Hezekiah destroyed all kinds of idols.
Hezekiah broke the pillars in pieces and cut down the Asherim (2 Chr 31:1). “Pillars” refer to Canaanite idols shaped like pillars. These were objects that were worshiped in the high places. Hezekiah was the only king who obeyed the second command of the Ten Commandments as well as the command, “Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes” (Deut 12:11-14, ESV). He had carried out a more thorough reformation than all of the other preceding kings. Moreover, Hezekiah broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made because the people were worshiping it like an idol. It had been called “Nehushtan,” meaning “thing of brass.” (2 Kgs 18:4)
Fifth, Hezekiah reestablished the offering and the tithe.
In order to provide for priests and the Levites, Hezekiah commanded the people to bring the first fruits and the tithes of all the produce of the field (2 Chr 31:5-6). This was a perpetual statute that God commanded Moses – that the first fruits of the grain, wine and the oil may be given to the priests (Num 18:12-13) while the tithes were to be given to the Levites (Num 18:21-24).
Hezekiah was able to keep the commands of God completely because he clung to the Lord (2 Kgs 18:5-7). It means Hezekiah had discarded all distractions and had maintained a deep relationship with God through meaningful fellowship.
As a result of the reform, God was with Hezekiah and made him prosper wherever he went. God is with those who cling to him and enacts reforms in obedience to His Word; He will make them prosper wherever they go (2 Kgs 18:6-7).
“For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; wherever he went he prospered.” (2 Kgs 18:6–7)
Hezekiah had his life extended 15 years when he was on the verge of death.
King Hezekiah was rare among the kings of Judah and Israel in that he was good and righteous. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was no one like him among the kings of Judah before or after him (2 Kgs 18:5). But all of a sudden, God gave Hezekiah a fatal disease. Isaiah delivered God’s message saying, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live” (2 Kgs 20:1; 2 Chr 32:24; Isa 38:1).
Why did God suddenly pronounce death upon Hezekiah? God desired Hezekiah – standing at the threshold of life and death - to trust and rely on him more, so that He can grant him the blessing of a miraculous cure.
After receiving the sentence of death from the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah turned his face toward wall and prayed (2 Kgs 20:1). This act signified that Hezekiah was giving up everything in the world to concentrate wholeheartedly on relying on God through prayer. He discarded his reputation and authority as king and wept bitterly saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight” (2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3).
God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and saw his tears (2 Kgs 20:5; Isa 38:5). Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the Word of the Lord came to him (2 Kgs 20:4). God immediately cured Hezekiah of his illness by having him apply a cake of figs on the boil (2 Kgs 20:7; Isa 38:21). Moreover, as a sign to show that God has healed Hezekiah, God made the shadow go back ten steps (2 Kgs 20:8-11; Isa 38:7-8). This was an amazing miracle of God just like the incident in Joshua 10:12-13, when the sun had stopped for almost one day.
Hezekiah became proud after his life was extended.
After hearing that Hezekiah had been sick, Berodach-baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12). God’s intention to test Hezekiah was working behind-the-scenes of this incident.
“But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.” (2 Chronicles 32:31, NIV)
However, king Hezekiah showed the messengers of Babylon all that was in the treasure house, the treasuries and even the armory. By doing this, he was subtly parading his own achievements. His heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:24-25).
As a result of Hezekiah’s actions, the prophet Isaiah relayed the message from God saying that all that he has shown to the Babylonians will be transferred to them (2 Kgs 20:17). This was a prophecy about the destruction of the southern kingdom of Judah at the hands of Babylon. In history, this would be fulfilled approximately 115 years later (586 BC).
After being rebuked by God, Hezekiah felt remorse and repented about his prideful ways and lack of thanksgiving. Therefore, he was told by God that the wrath would not come upon Hezekiah in his lifetime (2 Chr 32:25-26).
Hezekiah went to battle against Assyria twice.
The first invasion by Assyria
In the 14th year of Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah (2 Kgs 18:13). At this time, Hezekiah did not entrust himself to God but evaded Assyrian aggression by paying tribute to the king of Assyria. He did not fully trust in God.
The second invasion by Assyria
When Assyria invaded Judah for the second time (2 Chr 32:1-2), King Hezekiah had realized his previous mistake and fully trusted in the Lord.
In the precarious moment of being surrounded by his enemies, Hezekiah tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of God to pray (2 Kgs 19:1). Then, Hezekiah took the threatening letter from the king of Assyria, spread it out before the Lord, and prayed earnestly (2Kgs 19:14-19).
When King Hezekiah tore his clothes and put on sackcloth (2 Kgs 19:1), it was an act of faith, expressing his complete dependence on God as the kingdom was confronted with a calamitous and dangerous situation that the king could not resolve on his own (2Kgs 6:30; Esth 4:1). Through this act, the king was confessing that he was nothing before God. Moreover, it was an act of deep contrition and repentance arising from facing such extreme anguish and sorrow (Gen 37:34; 2 Sam 3:31; 1 Kgs 21:27).
When the prophet Isaiah and king Hezekiah came together that day and prayed with one heart (2 Chr 32:20; Ref 2 Kgs 19:20), God sent the angel of the Lord that night and struck down 185,000 enemy troops (2 Kgs 19:35; Isa 37:36; Ref 2 Chr 32:21). The southern kingdom of Judah reaped a dramatic victory that day.
All of these events were God’s answers to the earnest prayer of King Hezekiah of the southern kingdom of Judah. Though we may be surrounded by danger on all sides, God will send thousands upon thousands of the host of His angels to perform a miraculous salvation for us when we earnestly cling to Him in reverence and prayer ( Gen 32:1-2; Ps 34:7; 68:17; 148:2; Dan 7:10)
Hezekiah did not fully pass down his faith to his son Manasseh.
After the second Assyrian invasion, Hezekiah’s life was full of riches and honor (2 Chr 32:27), and all that he did succeeded (2 Chr 32:30). When King Hezekiah died at age 54, they buried him in the upper section of the tombs of the sons of David, and the people of Jerusalem honored him at his death (w Chr 32:33).
While Hezekiah was a good and righteous person, he was not entirely able to transmit his faith to his son Manasseh, thereby leaving behind the embers of tragedy in the southern kingdom of Judah.
Hezekiah wholly relied on God for his strength as he enacted the religious reforms that brought great joy to Jerusalem. Let us also cling to God as Hezekiah had so that we may prosper in all of our endeavors.
- from God's Profound and Mysterious Providence by Rev. Abraham Park