Hezekiah

Biblical Record

The life of Hezekiah is recorded in 2 Kings 18–20, 2 Chronicles 29–32, and Isaiah 36–39. The son of Ahaz, he became king at the age of twenty-five and reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:2).

• Reforms: He removed the high places (local sites of sacrifice) and broke in pieces the bronze serpent made by Moses, to which the people had been burning incense, and called it "Nehushtan" (2 Kings 18:4). Second Chronicles describes in detail how he cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem and reinstituted the celebration of the Passover (2 Chronicles 29–30).
• The Assyrian invasion: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah and sent his official, the Rabshakeh, to demand surrender. Hezekiah went up to the temple and prayed, and Isaiah prophesied deliverance. Scripture records that the angel of the LORD smote 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19:35).
• Illness and prayer: Stricken with a mortal illness, he turned his face to the wall and prayed, and he received the answer that his life would be extended by fifteen years. As a sign, the shadow of the sun went backward (2 Kings 20:1–11). Isaiah 38 contains a poem he composed after his recovery.
• The Babylonian envoys: After showing all his treasuries to envoys sent by the king of Babylon, he was rebuked with the warning that these treasures would one day be carried away to Babylon (2 Kings 20:12–19).

Significance within Scripture

Second Kings assesses him as a king who "did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did" (2 Kings 18:3; see also 18:5). Proverbs 25:1 mentions proverbs of Solomon "which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out," and Jeremiah 26:18–19 likewise recalls how he heeded the warning of the prophet Micah and repented. In the New Testament, his name appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:9–10.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Prayer and the will of God: The scene in which a pronouncement of death was reversed after prayer is frequently cited in discussions of predestination and free will. The Reformed tradition often explains that prayer itself is a means ordained by God within his providence. The Wesleyan and Arminian traditions often emphasize the personal relationship of a God who genuinely responds to prayer.
• The fifteen added years: Since his successor Manasseh came to the throne at the age of twelve (2 Kings 21:1), Manasseh would have been born during the extended period. On this basis some sermons interpret the passage to mean that "the extension of his life produced a wicked king," but this is not a judgment the text itself makes.
• Pride: Second Chronicles 32:25–26 records that after his recovery he became proud and then humbled himself. Interpretive emphasis therefore differs depending on whether he is presented solely as an exemplary figure or with his shortcomings also taken into account.
• Extrabiblical sources: The view that the conduit mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30 is to be identified with the Siloam Tunnel in Jerusalem is widely accepted. Hezekiah's name is also reported to appear in records of Sennacherib's campaign. Interpreters differ, however, on how the miracle of the sun's shadow should be understood.

In the Korean Church

The prayer he offered after he "turned his face to the wall" is frequently cited in sermons urging earnest prayer and committed prayer. The scene in which he spread the Assyrian letter out in the temple and prayed (2 Kings 19:14) is commonly used in sermons and Sunday school lessons on faith in times of crisis. Around Reformation Sunday, he is also sometimes presented alongside Josiah as an example of a "reforming king."