2 Kings 16 - 20

Hezekiah

Note: This was posted one day late.

The Bible has narratives and miracles that, no matter how many times I read them, I am still amazed at the power of the Word of God.  In today's reading, we encounter Hezekiah, the next to final "good" king of Judah before the exile and destruction of Jerusalem and Israel by the Babylonians. 

Hezekiah was a good king and did that which was pleasing to the Lord.  The Bible is extremely complimentary of Hezekiah, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.  He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands of the Lord." (18:5-6). Because of his obedience and faithfulness, and because of the purity of his heart, Hezekiah found great favor with the Lord Who, in turn, destroyed the Assyrians when they were threatening the destruction of Jerusalem.

In chapter 20, three notable events occur in Hezekiah's life.  First he is told by Isaiah, in verse 1, that he is sick unto death, to set his affairs in order, for he will soon die.  Hezekiah, unlike Ahab who pouted when told he would die, turns his face towards God and pleads for mercy (v. 3). In verse 4, Isaiah is stopped in the middle of the courtyard and sent back to Hezekiah to tell him that in 3 days he will recover and will live 15 more years. To me, the 3 days and the 15 years are related. Three sets of five years.  Five represents grace, and three represents perfection. 

This segues to the second remarkable event.  Hezekiah asks Isaiah if God can show him a sign that he will truly be healed.  Isaiah tells Hezekiah that the Lord can move the sun forward or backwards 10 degrees - his choice.  Hezekiah chooses "backwards" since it is more of a miracle because the sun already moves forward.  The Lord performs the miracle and moves the sun back 10 degrees.  Once again, the number is signficant.  Ten degrees represents 40 minutes. (360 degrees is one revolution of the Earth, which is 24 hours.  Ten degrees represent a 36th of 24 hours which is [24*60]/36 = 40 minutes.) Forty always represents judgement in the Bible, thus God turned backed the judgement (represented by the 40 minutes) and gave Hezekiah three sets of grace, 15 years.  Praise the Lord!

The final event told in chapter 20 (and repeated in Isaiah 39:1-8) is one about which I have often pondered. It seems so antithetical to Hezekiah's life. For reasons he does not explain, even to Isaiah,  he shows all of the royal treasures to a group of envoys from Babylon.  It is inexplicable why Hezekiah seemed so naive and trusting.  Verse 13 states "There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them."  Isaiah is taken aback by such a foolish and careless act!  He tells Hezekiah that because of what he did, "The time is coming when everything in your palace [...] will be carried off to Babylon ... including some of your own sons." (17-18). 

At this point, I can understand that Hezekiah may have had a weak moment or may have been overcome with pride over his treasures and succumbed to a spirit of "showing-off" an bragging.  But, his reply to Isaiah is even more shocking than his careless actions with the Babylonians.  "'This message you have given me is good.' For the king was thinking, 'At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.'" (v. 19). Isaiah tells his about the destruction of the kingdom and the enslavement of his own sons and Hezekiah calls the message GOOD??? Only because there will be peace in HIS lifetime???  It seems so self-centered for one who was otherwise pleasing to God.

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.