Legend says that when this king was a boy, his wicked father, Ahaz, threw him into the fires of Molech, but he did not burn because his mother had rubbed salamander blood upon him. As soon as he ascended the throne, Hezekiah reopened and purified the Temple which his evil father Ahaz had closed. He "suppressed the shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, cut down every sacred pole, and broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made" in the wilderness because the people had begun to burn incense to it as to an idol (2 Kings 18:4). He destroyed the high places and tore down the pagan altars throughout Judah. He reinstituted the feast of the Passover and sent messengers to his rival Israel inviting all the Hebrews to return to the proper worship of the Lord in the Jerusalem Temple. Even though his messengers were often mocked and abused by the Israelites, and God's chosen people had forgotten how to keep themselves ritually pure for the feast, the Passover in the first year of his reign was celebrated like never before or since. The festivities were even extended for seven extra days. The Lord was implored to look away from their unintentional lack of propriety and consider their hearts which were turning towards Him.
When the Assyrian King Sargon II died many of the country's vassals, including Judah rebelled against his successor, Sennacherib. The new king shortly subdued the rebellious nations around Judah and began marching on Jerusalem. At its gates, Sennacherib's messengers insulted the Lord crying out to the people on the walls, "Do not listen to Hezekiah! Has any other nation been saved from the Assyrian army by their gods? Nor will your God save you!" The Assyrians sent a letter to Hezekiah bearing a similar message. Greatly disturbed, Hezekiah sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah telling him to plead to the Lord for Jerusalem. Then the king went to the Temple and spread out his letter before the Lord, praying, "Save us so that the nations will know that You are the one true God."
And the Lord spared Jerusalem. He sent his angel into the enemy camp and in one night it struck down 185,000 men. Some say that mice also attacked the camp, chewing up their weapons. The next morning the Assyrians marched off without attacking the city.
That same year Hezekiah fell mortally ill. When Isaiah told the king that death was near he wept bitterly and cried out to the Lord. God heard Hezekiah and added 15 years to his life. The son of Ahaz proved himself to be unlike his father and asked God for a sign as proof that he would recover from his illness. The Lord then caused the sun's shadow to retreat 10 steps on the stairway of Ahaz. (Some say that at this time Isaiah rebuked the king for not marrying and fathering children and that Hezekiah recovered because he repented of his negligence in this matter, married Isaiah's daughter, and fathered Manasseh.)
Shortly after his recovery, the king received visitors from Babylon. He showed them all the treasures of his kingdom. Then Isaiah came to him and rebuked him, saying that Babylon would carry away all that they had seen, even Hezekiah's sons. The king replied, "The word of the Lord is good," because he would still have peace in his own lifetime. Many people see this as a strange judgment against Hezekiah but 2 Chron. 32:30-31 relates that he was successful in all that he did including the matter of the Babylonian envoys.
2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chron 29-32; Is 36-39; Mt 1:9
All scripture quotes are from the REB Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Comments© 1998 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "Jesse Tree Advent Calendar - December 21
- Hezekiah." ChristStory Christian Bestiary. 1998.
http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/21hezeki.htm ().