Hezekiah

HEZEKI'AH (strength of Jehovah). A distinguished king of Judah, the son and successor of the apostate Ahaz. He ascended the throne b.c. 726, at the age of 25, and ruled 29 years, till b.c. 697. He was one of the three best kings of Judah, and an eminently godly man. 2 Kgs 18:5; 2 Chr 29:2. He restored the Mosaic institutions to honor. He accomplished the abolition of idolworship in his kingdom, 2 Kgs 18:4, 2 Kgs 18:22, and tore down the high places, which had been dedicated to idolatry. He also broke in pieces the brazen serpent of Moses, which had become the object of idolatrous regard, 2 Kgs 18:4. During his reign the temple was repaired, 2 Chr 29:3 sqq., and the Passover celebrated with festivities that had not been equalled for magnificence and solemnity since the days of Solomon and David, 2 Chr 30:26. A proclamation was sent from Dan to Beersheba inviting the tribes to come to Jerusalem to keep the Passover, 2 Chr 30:5, and as a result of the convocation a national religious zeal broke out, 2 Chr 31:1. Another illustration of Hezekiah's godly zeal in the cause of religion is found in the high esteem in which he held Isaiah the prophet, whom he frequently consulted, 2 Kgs 19:3; Isa 37:2. The political career of Hezekiah was an active one. He warred against the Philistines, and regained what his father had lost, 2 Kgs 18:8. He rebelled against the domination of Assyria, 2 Kgs 18:7. In the fourteenth year of his reign Sennacherib invaded his kingdom with an immense army. Rabshakeh was sent out in advance, and endeavored to intimidate Hezekiah into submission, and insolently insulted him under the walls, 2 Kgs 18:19 sqq. Hezekiah had recourse to Isaiah, who gave assurance of the assistance of the Lord, 2 Kgs 19:6. The prediction came true, and by a sudden judgment of the Almighty the Assyrian host was decimated and put to flight, 2 Kgs 19:35. This event is referred to by the three historians of Hezekiah's reign as a supernatural event. 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 32:21; Isa 37:36. Hezekiah formed an alliance with Egypt, 2 Kgs 18:21, and was rich and prosperous. 2 Kgs 18:7; 2 Chr 32:27-29. In the events of his private life, one is noted of peculiar significance. The king became sick unto death, and Isaiah uttered his doom in the words, "Thou shalt die, and not live," 2 Kgs 20:1. Turning his face to the wall, he lamented the event and prayed God to avert it. Isaiah, passing out into the court, was checked by the word of the Lord, and commanded to return and to announce the prolongation of the king's life 15 years, 2 Kgs 20:5. As a sign of the cure the dial was made to go back ten degrees, 2 Kgs 20:10. Another event of note in Hezekiah's life was the punishment pronounced upon his house by Isaiah, 2 Kgs 20:17, for the display he made of his riches to the messengers of the king of Babylon, who had come to congratulate him upon his recovery. Hezekiah died in honor and was buried in the "highest of the sepulchres of the sons of David," 2 Chr 32:33. A descendant of the royal house of Judah, 1 Chr 3:23. Ezr 2:16; Neh 7:21. See Ater.