.png)
There have been quite a few recurring discussions recently surrounding different events and circumstances. This past weekend, multiple of these discussions converged as I discovered that there were multiple people unaware of one of my favorite Biblical characters from the Old Testament, King Hezekiah. (II Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, and Isaiah 36-39)
King Hezekiah
King Hezekiah is either the 12th or 13th king of Judah depending on how you count it, and is still considered to be possibly the greatest king of Judah. Hezekiah took the throne at 25 years old, and his reign was defined by implementing massive religious reforms throughout the land. He began early on by repairing and reorganizing the temple and the Levites back to the way the Law required, even welcoming the survivors of Assyria’s invasion in the North to rejoin them for the festival feasts. He then went through the kingdom, smashing all the idols in the land, including the bronze serpent that Moses had made in the desert, due to a cult-like following that had developed around it. He then also repelled Assyria after he learned from previous mistakes by calling for Isaiah for prayer rather than running to Egypt for military might. When, like the other good kings of Israel, Hezekiah suddenly found himself seriously ill, Hezekiah did what no king before him had, and he called for Isaiah rather than the doctor. This act of faith ends up saving his life. All of these events cause the people of Judah to love and endure him, and he is recorded as being a king who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”. However, there’s another piece to his story that comes after he is healed, often called Hezekiah’s folly.
Hezekiah lived at the same time as the prophet Isaiah, and the Northern Kingdom was falling to Assyria. But around this time is also when Babylon rebelled against Assyria and began to reestablish themselves as a sovereign entity. Because of this, they eventually sent emissaries to Jerusalem to meet Hezekiah. Hezekiah welcomed them, toured them through the palace, and showed off the immense wealth of the kingdom. This caused Isaiah great distress, and as a result, Isaiah prophesied that the wealth and descendants of the city would be carted off to Babylon, to which Hezekiah surprisingly responded with, “The word of GOD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “It means that safety is assured for my time” (II Kings 20:19). When Hezekiah dies, his son Manessah takes the throne at just 12 years old, and is recognized as being the most evil of Judah’s kings.
So why does this story matter? What can we take from Hezekiah’s life?
Discipleship matters.
This is a simple point but important. Discipleship matters. Hezekiah was known for starting a revival throughout the land and was recognized for his great faith in the face of Assyria and disease. Yet, his son becomes the evilest king in the land. The age that Manasseh becomes king is important here as well because he was 12 when Hezekiah died. That means that Manasseh was born 3 years after Isaiah prayed and Hezekiah was healed. Why, then, does Mannasseh seemingly not know who God is when he arrives on the scene? Why was Hezekiah not sharing the story with his son? The legacy we leave must be more than just what we have done. It must also be seen in the lives we come across.
No Empathy for others is simply Apathy for others.
Hezekiah, unfortunately, showed he had no concern for those who would come later. Not only do we see this from the life of his heir, but also in his response to the prophecy of Isaiah. His only concern was peace in his life and not in the lives of others. He had smashed all the idols, he had fought back the oppressing kings, he had dealt with disease, he provided water for the city, and he made deals that brought not only peace but also prosperity to the kingdom. But the reality was that it was ultimately about his own comfort and peace in the end, and not about the physical or spiritual provision for Judah.
Faith v Empire
This dynamic of faith and empire is seen twice in the story, but at opposite ends. Once with Assyria and once with Babylon. With Assyria, we see Hezekiah initially call on Egypt to save them. When that failed and Assyria returned, this time Hezekiah called for Isaiah and prayed. Go then, in turn wiped out the Assyrian army. Hezekiah saw firsthand the reality that you cannot beat back the Empire using the systems of an Empire. It required a better way forward, and that way was a reliance on God and his promises. But then we see another example of the dynamic come in towards the end of Hezekiah’s reign. Two emissaries from Babylon arrive, and according to Isaiah 39, they arrived wanting to learn more about the God that had saved Hezekiah. But when they arrive, Hezekiah chooses to show off his kingdom rather than the God that saved it. He chose to show off the power of the empire rather than the God that was his power. As a result, he doomed the future of his kingdom, resulting in the eventual exile not only of the kingdom but of the gold and silver Hezekiah held dear.
It doesn’t matter how many cultural idols you remove if you never smash your own.
Hezekiah spent his entire career attempting to return the nation back to God. He destroyed items that were initially made for the worship of Yahweh, but had become idolatrous for the people, in an attempt to restore pure worship and community again in Judah, even welcoming the Northern refugees. But at the end of his life, we find that for all the public pious work that this king did in his reign to outlaw idolatry, he never dealt with his own idols. He showed great faith and trust in God in the midst of chaos, turning to the prophets rather than political and medical advisers. But in the midst of peace and prosperity, he found himself copying the attitudes of his forefathers and allowing pride, wealth, and the perception of power to be his guide.
The story of Hezekiah, I have argued, may be the most important story of all the kings of Judah for us to learn from because his life is one that highlights so many important aspects of a life of faith. He shows us the need for discipleship, both in his own life with Isaiah and the results of not continuing to disciple later generations in his own son. He highlights the danger of relying on worldly power to accomplish goals. He highlights the power of prayer and faith in the midst of chaos. He highlights what a public-facing faith can accomplish and the impact it can bring. But he also shows us how easy it is to miss our own struggles, temptations, and idols. He highlights the need for us to look inward before we begin to look outward.
It sounds as if I am being a bit harsh with Hezekiah here; after all, he is STILL recognized as being one of the greatest kings of Jerusalem to this day, but there is one other thing that the story of Hezekiah can highlight for us. Struggle does not mean failure. Outside of David, I don't think we see the progress of a king's life highlighted so vividly as we do in Hezekiah. We watch him fail with Assyria, learn from it, and succeed. We watch him fear for his life with the diagnosis and see his faith provide him with relief. And we even watch him shrug off judgment when it doesn't really affect him. His life was a series of ups and downs, and the final recorded events of his life seem to be a failure, but yet, he is still revered and still called good. It's not our failures that define us, but the faith that we have in a God who saves, even when we need to be saved from ourselves.
This blog is being crossposted to our network blog at www.kfmbroadcasting.com/blog. If you have found this or other Misfits Resources helpful, check out the netwrok of resources available through KFM!