Holy King Hezekiah. Photo by: Hult, Adolf- Wikimedia.

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Hezekiah


 

Hezekiah was a phenomenal king who was used by God to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians and to bring Judah transformation and reassertion. He is remembered for his God-honoring prayer life, a miraculous miracle, and a tragic choice.

1. Some of King Hezekiah’s achievements

Hezekiah outlawed idol worship and restored Yahweh to his rightful place as Judah’s God. As a military commander, he held off the Assyrians’ superior forces.

2. What were King Hezekiah’s strengths as a leader?

King Hezekiah clothed in sackcloth, spreads open the letter before the Lord- Wikimedia.

Hezekiah, as a God-fearing man, obeyed the Lord in all he did and heeded Isaiah’s advice. His wisdom told him that God’s way was the best way.

3.What were King Hezekiah’s flaws as a leader?

Hezekiah displayed Judah’s treasures to Babylonian envoys with arrogance. In his attempt to impress, he revealed vital state secrets.

4. King Hezekiah’s life experiences as a king

Descending into “Hezekiah’s tunnel,”  Photo by: Ian Scott- Wikimedia.

Hezekiah chose God’s way over his culture’s popular immorality. Due to his loyalty, God blessed King Hezekiah and Judah.

Genuine love for the Lord extended Hezekiah’s life by 15 years when he was dying. God longs for our love.

Even a godly man can be affected by pride. Hezekiah’s boasting later played a role in the looting of the Israelite treasury and the Babylonian captivity.

Although Hezekiah instituted significant reforms, he did nothing to ensure that they would continue after his death. Only through careful planning can we ensure our legacy.

5. Hezekiah citations in the Bible

The story of Hezekiah is told in 2 Kings 16:20-20:21, 2 Chronicles 28:27-32:33, and Isaiah 36:1-39:8. Proverbs 25:1, Isaiah 1:1, Jeremiah 15:4, 26:18-19, Hosea 1:1, and Micah 1:1 are other citations.

The name Hezekiah means “God has strengthened.” He is mentioned in a number of scriptures. His story can be found in 2 Kings 16:20-20:21, 2 Chronicles 28:27-32:33, and Isaiah 36:1-39:8. He is mentioned in the Bible in Proverbs 25:1, Isaiah 1:1, Jeremiah 15:4, Jeremiah 26:18-19, Hosea 1:1, and Micah 1:1.

Hezekiah’s righteousness was diametrically opposed to his father’s wickedness. King Ahaz was a wicked, idolatrous ruler. During Ahaz’s reign, the people of Israel claimed to fear God while also practicing idolatry (2 Kings 17:33).

Hezekiah was David’s 13th successor, ruling in Judah’s southern kingdom. He reigned for 29 years, from 715 to 686 BC, beginning at the age of 25. (2 Kings 18:2).

His reign began in Samaria in the third year of Hoshea’s reign over the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 18:1-3), coinciding with the ministry of two of God’s prophets, Isaiah and Micah.

Archaeologists discovered Hezekiah’s royal seal in 2010 near the Temple Mount’s southern wall, confirming his place in biblical history.

6. What policies did King Hezekiah enact?

King Hezekiah, clothed in sackcloth, spreads open the letter before the Lord- Wikimedia.

For the most part, King Hezekiah faithfully walked with God (2 Chronicles 31:20), and 鈥渢here was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him鈥 (2 Kings 18:5). (2 Kings 18:5). In 2 Kings 18:3, he is compared to King David. Following his wicked father’s reign, Hezekiah vowed to restore Judah to its former glory.

King Ahaz had nailed the Temple doors shut in Jerusalem, but Hezekiah reopened and cleansed it. He destroyed Judah’s idols, pagan temples, and altars (2 Chronicles 29:3-19; 31:1-2); and he re-established worship, reinstated the Levitical priesthood, and established temple contributions (2 Chronicles 29:5; 20-35; 31:2-21).

He consecrated the vandalized temple vessels but destroyed the bronze servant Moses made because God’s people had turned it into an idol (Numbers 21:9; 2 Kings 18:4). Hezekiah also declared the sacrificial Passover to be a national holiday (2 Chronicles 30:1-27).

Revival came to God’s people as Hezekiah restored Temple worship and reformed Judah. They returned to God, His Word, and the blood sacrifice for sin in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 29:15, 22-24). God also blessed and prospered him personally. According to 2 Kings 18:6-7a, the righteous king “held fast to the LORD and did not abandon him; he obeyed the commands the LORD had given Moses.” And the LORD was with him; he was successful in everything he attempted.”

7. How did Hezekiah come across miraculous healing?

Zigzag journeys in the Levant, with a Talmudist story-teller – a spring trip of the Zigzag club through Egypt and the Holy Land (1885) Photo by: Internet Archive Book Images- Wikimedia.

Some time down the line, King Hezekiah became extremely ill that Isaiah appeared to him and told him to get his life in order because death was approaching (2 Kings 20:1-7; 2 Chronicles 32:24).

Weeping and facing a wall, Hezekiah begged God to be merciful. He reasoned with the Lord, reminding Him of all the good he had accomplished during his reign through faith and obedience to Him.

God quickly answered the king’s prayer! Before Isaiah left Hezekiah’s house, the Lord told him to inform the king that his prayer had been heard. Hezekiah would go to the Temple three days later and live for another 15 years, according to Isaiah. The king healed after Isaiah applied a simple thick paste (2 Kings 20:5-7).

In reaction to this recovery, Hezekiah gave his faith testimony and a psalm of thanksgiving (Isaiah 38:9-20). These additional years were not a season of blessing for Hezekiah. He made a foolish decision not long after his recovery.

8. What was the horrific error of the King?

“Incredibly, Hezekiah himself indicates the ongoing failure of God’s people to trust the Lord,” writes a writer for Ligonier Ministries. Hezekiah’s heart became proud, and he failed to “respond to God’s kindness” to him (2 Chronicles 32:25). J. D. Greear wrote in “Hezekiah’s Tragic End: A Warning and a Promise” that “Hezekiah had passed the test of adversity… but he failed the test of prosperity.”

God poured out His wrath on Hezekiah’s kingdom as a result of a tragic turn of events brought about by Hezekiah’s foolish choice. When the Babylonians learned of the king’s illness, Marduk-Baladan, the son of the Babylonian king, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah through envoys (2 Kings 20:12). 

Hezekiah failed that examination. The king proudly displayed to Marduk-ambassadors Baladan’s all the “precious things” in Jerusalem, including his personal treasures, the city’s riches, and everything in the arsenal. “Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and throughout his kingdom” (2 Kings 20:13).

Hearing this, Isaiah went to Hezekiah and chastised him for his stubborn ego, which put Jerusalem and God’s people at risk. The prophet made a terrible prophecy (2 Kings 20:16-18). Everything Hezekiah had demonstrated to the Babylonians would be taken from him and transported to Babylon. Even the king’s descendants would be taken to the Babylonian palace to serve as eunuchs. During King Zedekiah’s reign, Isaiah’s prophecy came true (2 Kings 24:13-16).

The prophecy should have terrified the king, but his reaction revealed another flaw. Hezekiah was only concerned with maintaining peace and safety during his own lifetime (2 Kings 20:19).

Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, the heir to his throne, in the 15 years following his illness. Despite the fact that Hezekiah had led the nation in reform and revival, his lack of concern for the future had disastrous consequences. Manasseh would be a heinous villain who would undo most of his father’s reforms (2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-32; Isaiah 36-39).

He restored immorality to Judah, promoted the worship of pagan gods, and according to Jewish tradition, he may have murdered Hezekiah’s long-time friend, Isaiah.

9. Hezekiah’s profession in the Bible

Judah’s thirteenth king. 

10. Hezekiah’s hometown 

King Hezekiah was born in Jerusalem.

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