beloved Hezekiah - 12th king of Judah

After pages and pages of doom and destruction, what a relief to read about the new king of Judah: Hezekiah. II Kings 18 gives us some useful information about him. His father was Ahaz, his mother Abi (daughter of Zechariah). He reigned for 29 years, beginning at the age of 25. His reign (possibly 715 - 686 BC) was considered on a par with his ancestor David. Britannica's article about him says he "reigned at a time when the Assyrian empire was consolidating its control of Palestine and Syria" and the Living Bible explains: "He trusted very strongly in the Lord God if Israel ... he followed the Lord in everything, and carefully obeyed all of God's commands to Moses (II Kings 18: 5-6). 

It's at this point that the prophet Isaiah pops into the story. Thomas de France explains, in his article "Hezekiah", that the "three books where Hezekiah's story appears in the Hebrew Scriptures -- II Kings, II Chronicles, and Isaiah -- tell the story of Hezekiah's push for religious and political freedom" (The Christian Science Journal, November 2003).

This king did not always make the right decisions. In his desire to stave off the Assyrians, he handed over the ransom money they demanded, but they didn't let up, their ambassador throwing insults at him and his people. Hezekiah stood his ground, however, and turned to God with all his heart. The enemy was subdued, but Hezekiah soon had another challenge. He "became deathly sick" (II King 20: 1 Living Bible). It may be that at this point, Hezekiah learned humility and he soon recovered. 

Second Kings chapter 20 verse 8 gives an account of time going backward. Peter Henniker Heaton shared his thoughts on the spiritual significance of this event and Hezekiah's healing in his poem "The Healing of Hezekiah" (The Christian Science Journal, September 1933):   

The Healing of Hezekiah (Peter Henniker Heaton)

"Evil is a negation: it never started with time, and it cannot keep pace with eternity."—Miscellaneous Writings, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 107.

The king thanked God: beneath him in the court
The dial recorded sun-lit hours serene,
While in the antechambers of his thought
Death with that old, false witness, time, had been;
But far within gleamed light of happier days
And purer worship, idols vanquished all,
A secret shrine—with calm expectant gaze
He turned from earthly succors to the wall.

Swift, swift God's ever eager answer flew,
And at the gate of thought arose a stir,
And a great wind in all its chambers blew,
As through them passed the strong-winged messenger,
Truth ever present; in the royal ears
Hope's clarion stilled the chant of Ichabod,
Faith brushed aside the cobweb-dream of years
And once again God's servant walked with God.

And Hezekiah was whole; death backward reeled,
Its claim by Truth's eternity disproved,
While in the court a wonder was revealed—
The shadow on the dial backward moved.
And still, though dancing hours would lure our feet
From ways where shepherd-truth doth all provide.
We now can prove that waiting, watchful, fleet
Eternity moves changeless at our side. 

One other point to note about Hezekiah: in trying to fortify Jerusalem, he built the Siloam tunnel which conveyed water right into the city (II Kings 20: 20). 

After his passing, his twelve-year old son Manasseh became king. The question was always: will he be a good king or not?

Julie Swannell