9) Hezekiah - the king who was naïve

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(2 Chronicles 29 – 32)

Hezekiah is recognised as one of the better kings. He is also well-known for ruling during the ministry of Isaiah the prophet:

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. (2 Chronicles 29:1-2) 
He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (2 Kings 18:4)

Unlike some of our previous monarchs, Hezekiah was of a mature age when he began to rule. He started really well especially with an impressive and confident move to destroy the bronze snake made by Moses centuries before. One can imagine he had to take on some strong, sentimental objections in removing that icon and its idolatrous worship.

consecration

He displayed excellent spiritual leadership in calling his fellow citizens to repent before the Lord:

“ .. the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.” (2 Chronicles 29:8-10)

Recognising when God is not blessing his people is an astute spiritual gift. But only when it is being used can the correct remedial response be made. Hezekiah’s requests were spot on:

Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: ‘We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.’ (2 Chronicles 29:18-19)

abundance

These measures began a wonderful revival experience amongst the people:

So the service of the temple of the Lord was re-established. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.
(2 Chronicles 29:35-36)

One of its special fruits was the reinstitution of the Passover. This was even more special because Hezekiah had invited people from Israel to attend. It was unusual for those from the kingdom of Israel to attend the Temple in Jerusalem:

A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. They removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
(2 Chronicles 30:13-14)

Joy is possibly the most misunderstood of genuine human experiences. Modern people have substituted pleasure in its place. Joy has a spiritual dimension to it and it is a feature of true revival:

There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling-place. (2 Chronicles 30:26-27)

Another fruit of revival is generosity. Revived hearts are sharing hearts as the early Church experienced (Acts 2 & 4). These people also shared what was theirs with everyone else. But it should be seen as a response to God’s spiritual generosity in sharing His presence with His people. We see it also when Jesus brought the reviving presence of God: after He miraculously shared food with the 5000, there were 12 baskets of fragments left over:

The Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.’ 
(2 Chronicles 31:10)

confidence

Another sign of wise leadership which Hezekiah demonstrated was the way he prepared for spiritual battle following that revival. Experience shows that this happens. When God blesses, there is a backlash to try and dilute or undo the good fruits of what has occurred. Hezekiah exhorted the people:

‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
(2 Chronicles 32:7-8)

Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, was undertaking a campaign in which he was conquering his neighbouring countries and exiling their people. He had already captured the kingdom of Israel and had now set his sights on Judah and Jerusalem. But we can see by the way he thinks, that the world does not understand the ways of the Lord. They have their earthly wisdom and logic; but it is defective. We should not be taken in by their ungodly reasoning:

‘This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: on what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? When Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,” he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it”? (2 Chronicles 32:10-12)

Hezekiah was supported in his struggles now, by the prophetic inspirations of Isaiah. Through their intercessory prayers together, deliverance came:

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword. (2 Chronicles 32:20-21)

naïve

After these wonderful times of revival and victory in spiritual warfare, Hezekiah stumbled in the face of another test:

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 32:24-26)

Leadership can never be off its guard. Any day may bring a potential stumbling-block. One of Hezekiah’s strengths was that, unlike his ancestors Asa or Uzziah, he was able to repent. However, it does show us that judgment can be delayed until after a leader has gone. That is often difficult for people to accept in that they seem to be paying for the follies of those who are no longer leading them.

This was how his pride appears to have manifested itself. During his reign he entertained envoys from a king who was plotting against the Assyrian regime. Hezekiah showed naïvety in his response to their flattery. He seems to have thought that his reign had prospered largely due to his own achievements rather than the blessing of God. It is such a simple temptation for leadership to fall into:

At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses – the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil – his entire armoury and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. (Isaiah 39:1-2)

The judgment on his sin of pride began four generations later during the reign of Jehoahaz with Pharaoh’s invasion. 

Isaiah detailed to Hezekiah the judgment resulting from the incident with the king of Babylon:

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: the time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ 
‘The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,’ Hezekiah replied. For he thought, ‘There will be peace and security in my lifetime.’ (Isaiah 39:5-8)

This seems such a selfish way to respond to a terrible prophecy and maybe demonstrates how much Hezekiah had settled into an earthly mentality.

complacent

It seems as though in his last years that his young son, Manasseh, reigned with him as co-regent. Even though he was a child, he did not appear to be at all influenced by the good things which his father had achieved in his earlier years. Certainly, the ability of leaders to pass on their own good qualities to their children is a challenge; and one in which the bible demonstrates failure in so many men. Complacency in ministry will produce bad fruit:

Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s descendants are. (2 Chronicles 32:33) 
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord (2 Chronicles 33:1)

Manasseh proved to be one of the worst kings of Judah, whose leadership ruined many. The complacency shown by those who think all is well with their leadership is something which God condemns:

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, “The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.” (Zephaniah 1:12)

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