Hezekiah[HÔöÇ├▓zekÔöÇ┬¢’ah]
His name means: “Yahweh Has Strengthened”
–jehovah is strength or a strong support is jehovah.
Also given as Hizkiah, Hizkijah, Ezekias.
His work: He became coregent of Judah with his father, Ahaz, in 729 BC, six years before the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians. He reigned on his own for twenty-nine years, during which time he reopened the temple and restored Jerusalem as the center of worship, destroying the pagan altars and high places his father had built.
His character: Hezekiah is one of only four kings that the Bible compares favorably with King David, saying, “Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah├ö├ç┬¬. 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.”
His sorrow: That Judah and Israel had fallen away from the Lord, worshiping the gods of the nations around them.
His triumph: Hezekiah reformed the religious practices of Judah and with the Lord’s help withstood the Assyrian invaders.
Key Scriptures: 2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles28:19-25
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Hezekiah
1. Son and successor of Ahaz as king of Judah (2 Kings 16:20). He is referred to in well over one hundred references in 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Hosea and Micah.
The Man Who Asked for Added Years
Hezekiah was one of the best kings who ever sat upon the throne of Judah, and is distinguished as the greatest in faith of all Judah's kings (2 Kings 18:5). Sincere and devout, he was not a perfect man by any means, nor outstanding because of any brilliant gifts he possessed. This good king, however, is to be admired when one remembers his family background. Having such a wicked, apostate father as Ahaz, the wonder is that his son became the noble king he did. He had no pious training, but only a heritage of weakness in his moral fibre, for which God graciously made all fair allowance.
With Hezekiah's ascent to the throne at the age of twenty-five there began a period of religious revival in which he was encouraged by the noblest and most eloquent of the Hebrew prophets, Isaiah, who knew how to carry his religion into his politics.
I. Hezekiah was a man who prayed about the difficulties and dangers overtaking him. What faith and confidence in God he revealed when he spread Sennacherib's insolent letter before the Lord. Both Hezekiah and Isaiah defied mighty Assyria, God using one angel to slay one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp.
The king knew how to pray about personal matters as well as military dangers. When smitten with a fatal illness, he turned his face to the wall and prayed. Isaiah, his friend and counselor, came to him with a message from God that he would not die but live. "I will add unto thy days fifteen years." Hezekiah asked with all his heart that he might live, and God continued his life.
But the question arises, why did Hezekiah desire the removal of his illness and the continuation of his life? What object did he have in mind? Was the king anxious to live in order to promote the glory of God, or was he actuated by some personal motive? It is apparent that Hezekiah was afraid of death and loved life in itself. Death was not the same to Hezekiah as it was to Paul, who had a desire to depart, seeing death was far better than life.
At the time of his sickness, Hezekiah had no son, and this fact possibly added to his desire to live. Three years after his recovery Manasseh was born, who became a curse upon the earth and an abomination in the sight of the Lord. Here, then, was one of the results of Hezekiah's answered prayer. It might have been better for Judah if Hezekiah had died without such an heir. Many prayers we offer are mistakes. God graciously grants our requests but "brings leanness to our souls" (Ps. 106:15). Perhaps Hezekiah's sin began in his unwillingness to go to heaven when God sent for him (2 Kings 20:1-3).
II. Hezekiah's simple faith in God was the source and secret of his strength. He believed God ruled among the armies of heaven and of earth. His faith was the intuitive perception that God was near-a real Personality and not a mere tendency making for righteousness. The loss of faith is ultimately the loss of moral power. One of the main lessons of Hezekiah's life is, Have faith in God.
III. Hezekiah lost favor with God because of pride. After all the divine blessings showered upon him, he allowed his heart to be lifted up with pride. Vanity and self-sufficiency led the king astray. His heart became obsessed with his household treasures. He turned from God to goods. "Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 32:24, 25). Sin never ends with the person committing it.
The four crises Hezekiah faced were:
The crisis of choice, and he chose to forsake the idols of his father and purge the kingdom of idolatry (2 Chron. 28:23, 252 Kings 18:22).
The crisis of invasion (2 Chron. 32:1-19). Prayer brought deliverance (2 Chron. 32:20, 21).
The crisis of sickness. Obedience furnished the foundation of the king's prayer for healing (Isa. 38:1-5).
The crisis of prosperity. Alas, Hezekiah manifested pride when he displayed his treasures to the ungodly (Isa. 39).
2. A son of Neariah and a descendant of the royal house of Judah (1 Chron. 3:23).
3. An ancestor of the prophet Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:1). Given in Common Version as Hizkiah.
4. An exile, descendant of Ater who returned from exile in Babylon (Ezra 2:16Neh. 7:21).
A Look at the Man
Hezekiah’s character stands in sharp contrast to the character of the other two kings who appear in the story. His father, Ahaz, trusted not in the God of Israel, but in the gods of other nations, particularly Assyria, believing them to be the source of its great power. By currying favor with idols, he must have hoped to increase his own power. But the reverse happened, and Judah grew weaker, not stronger.
Sennacherib was like him, trusting the power of his empire and then attempting to undermine Judah’s trust in God. Three times his spokesman advised the people, “Don’t trust Hezekiah when he tells you your god will save you. It’s a fantasy! Your god is no different than the gods of all the other nations, none of whom have been able to resist us.” Then, to entice them further, he promised to take them to a land of ease, a place with olive trees and honey, admonishing them to “choose life and not death.”
It’s no accident that Sennacherib’s words directly contradict the counsel of Moses just before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, a land filled with milk and honey. At the end of his ministry, Moses warned them: “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” Deuteronomy 30:19-20
By attempting to persuade the people of Judah that everything good in life comes from trusting in the power of human beings, Sennacherib urged them toward the path of least resistance. Fortunately for Judah, Hezekiah recognized the lie and continued to trust in the Lord, thus inviting God’s help and assuring Judah’s survival.
Though the details of our stories differ vastly from the story of this ancient king, the principles are identical. We are still assailed by voices assuring us that the good life consists of amassing wealth, accumulating personal power, achieving success, and forging the kind of relationships we desire. But to mistake earthly blessings for the life that only God can give is to place our future in jeopardy. The choice is ours to make-today, tomorrow, and the day after that. The joy we seek lies in loving the Lord our God, listening to his voice, and holding fast to him.
Reflect On: 2 Kings 19:15ÔÇô28