Hezekiah in History
Hezekiah, the thirteenth king of Judah, has earned the description of “one of Judah’s godly kings” (Youngblood, 1995, Pg. 563), though his lineage, as the son of King Ahaz, would make him an unlikely candidate for that title. It is the unlikely nature of Hezekiah’s godliness that makes him such a great candidate for this essay, in that, though he was a king, he was not born into a highly pietistic family. Whatever godliness there was in Hezekiah, it came through God alone, for the sake of His Kingdom on earth. A detailed survey of King Hezekiah’s reign of Judah can be found in 2 Chronicles 29-33. Remarkable though his reign was, it was far from perfect, as can be seen in his many failings, many of which would lead to the eventual downfall of Judah and of his own house.
Regardless of the righteousness or the sinfulness of King Hezekiah and his reign, there are a number of important leadership principles that can be gleaned from his life and work. Of the many lessons that can be learned in those five chapters in 2 Chronicles, eight distinctive principles stand out. Observing these principles, one can find great encouragement, and even warning from the life of King Hezekiah. May God use King Hezekiah’s life, and this brief look into his reign to encourage His people to discernment and piety.
Leadership Principles
Of the many lessons that can be drawn from the likes of king Hezekiah, eight distinctive leadership principles stand out. In this essay, these principles will be laid out and discussed in the order that they are drawn from the text, beginning in 2 Chronicles 29, and ending in chapter 32, making a brief comment on chapter 33 which speaks of the end of Hezekiah’s life, and his resulting legacy.
God’s preparation and Hezekiah’s Remembrance:
The first of the eight principles found in Hezekiah’s life is one that the king had nothing to do with: God’s work in the nation. This is especially clear given the fact that Hezekiah was the son of king Ahaz. Of Ahaz, the Spirit tells us the following:
He did not do what was right in the Lord’s sight like his ancestor David, for he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made cast images of the Baals. He burned incense in Ben Hinnom Valley and burned his children in the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. […] Then Ahaz gathered up the utensils of God’s temple, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the Lord’s temple, and made himself altars on every corner in Jerusalem. He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he angered the Lord, the God of his ancestors. (2 Chronicles 28:1b-4; 24-25)
Despite what, for every possible reason, looks like a hopeless trajectory for the people of God, Hezekiah is born into the line of David, and is spared the fires in which king Ahaz burned his own children. That it is God at work in Hezekiah’s life is clear from the beginning, because the author of Chronicles tells us that the first thing he did as king was to “[open] the doors of the Lord’s temple and [he] repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and Levites […]” (2 Chronicles 29:3-4).
We are then told that Hezekiah desires to be in covenant with God and calls on the Levites and the people of Israel to be faithful to the Lord. Despite performing such righteous works as king, Hezekiah recognizes that it was God working through him that prepared for, and accomplished his rule: “Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come suddenly” (2 Chronicles 29:36). Thus it should be remembered that, regardless of what spiritual feast or famine we may be experiencing, or whether we feel ourselves under the rule of a godly ruler like Hezekiah, or a wicked ruler like his father Ahaz, we can trust that God is faithful to His people, just as He was faithful to them during the time of the kings.
It is Hezekiah’s remembrance of this that seems to give him the boldness to do what he did. Remberance is important to God and His people, which is why it is the second principle here. As the above text states, the changes that occurred during Hezekiah’s reign were sudden. No sooner had he been made king then he had set himself to the task of reversing so much of what his father Ahaz had established. And one can assume that the establishment of temples, and the practice of child sacrifice is not something that is lightly established or set-aside. Despite what may have been a challenging endeavor, Hezekiah’s remembrance of the Lord and His statutes are what drove him to desire the covenant that is spoken of in 29:10. Where his father has abandoned God, he desired to remember Him, and that is what sets his reign apart from the rest.
Intercession for One’s Flock:
The third principle that one finds in Hezekiah’s life is that of intercession. After reestablishing the Passover festival, it was found that many of those who had participated in the festival were unclean:
A large number of the people - many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun - were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement on behalf of whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, the Lord, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (2 Chronicles 30:18-20)
A good leader intercedes for his people. Even though these people had clearly disobeyed the very law that Hezekiah had just called them to be recommitted to. Though the text is silent on what illness the people gained from this disobedience, what is clear is that Hezekiah desired that those whose desires were for God and His Law would find the hope and identity in them that God had promised. It is for this reason that Hezekiah seeks atonement on behalf of his people.
What a beautiful picture of Christ’s own leadership this is. One can hear echos of our Lord’s words to the Pharisees about how one is not made unclean by what he puts into the mouth but by what comes out of the mouth. Likewise, we see here a picture of one who is in the kingly office seeking atonement, which is something that was reserved for the priestly office. Hezekiah was a man, and as we will see later, a flawed man who had many failings, but in this act, we can see a glimpse of what is to come in the work of the promised Messiah.
Encouragement:
The fourth of the eight leadership principles that we find in the life and work of king Hezekiah is that of encouragement. Just after the account of Hezekiah seeking atonement for his people, the text tells us the following:
Then Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the Lord. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. The whole congregation decided to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy, for King Hezekiah of Judah contributed one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation.” (2 Chronicles 22:24a; emphasis added)
The Ancient Faith Study Bible includes a footnote with the word encourage. The translators state that, where the CSB translates that word as encourage, the literal meaning is “spoke to the heart of”(Holman, 2019, pg. 524). By doing this, Hezekiah is not only breathing courage into the hearts of the Levites but was a living example of a servant leader. He was being a servant by giving his own possessions for the sake of the sacrifices. And these were not insignificant gifts for mundane sacrifices. These exceptional gifts were given for the purpose of fellowship offerings. The people had been brought into covenant with the Lord, and they were fellowshipping with Him through this festival. Hezekiah gave of his own possessions, which was right and good for him to do as a kingly host! And through this work of giving of his own wealth, he set an encouraging example for both the Levites and the people of Judah.
The result of this was great because the rejoicing that came from this prolonged festival was unlike anything that had been experienced since King Solomon’s reign. “There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven” (2 Chronicles 30:26-27). This harkens back to a time of unity before God’s people were divided into two kingdoms. Solomon’s time was one of great wealth, honor, and magnificent sacrifices in a beautifully crafted temple; a sort of golden age, which had all but fallen out of memory. And yet, Hezekiah’s encouragement to the Levites caused them to bless the people, also interceding for them. God heard this and was pleased.
Orthodox Discipleship:
When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Ashram poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possessions. Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord, each division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites. The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbath, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 31:1-3)
After the celebration of the festival, right worship is established and practiced, and then the people go about the rest of their work, as they had been doing before. One can see some parallels here in what Jesus said about demons who had been cast out returning with more, or his message about binding a strong man. The wicked ways of idolatry were first expunged from the presence of God. This happened first in reconsecrating the Levites (29:5a) and then in the temple itself (29:5b-7). After this, the festival took place, before all of the idols from the rest of the kingdom were destroyed and right sacrifices reestablished.
Here we see an example of the intermingling of orthodoxy with orthopraxy and orthopathy; that is, when right worship is prioritized, then right actions and feelings will follow. Hezekiah understood the proper order that these things needed to take place, and speaks again to the fact that God had prepared the way for Hezekiah and his nation, because this is not earthly wisdom and is certainly not anything he would have learned from his wicked father.
Diligent and Consistent:
The author of 2 Chronicles summarizes the recent events of king Hezekiah’s reign by saying this: “Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the Lord his God. He was diligent in every deed that he began in the service of God’s temple, in the instruction and the commands, in order to seek his God, and he prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:20-21). The Oxford English Dictionary defines diligence as “careful and persistent work or effort.” Combined with the consistent application of that careful persistence, the work that a leader does and exemplifies to his subordinates can be a powerful thing.
In numerous lectures and almost every book that he has written, James K.A. Smith argues that our habits - what we have ingrained into ourselves from consistent practice - are working on us as much as we are working on them. Once the rut has begun to be scratched into the surface, the fluidity of our nature will begin taking that course every time. This is why, as Smith argues, our habits are actually liturgies.
Either through his own wisdom or the direction of the Holy Spirit, Hezekiah seems to have understood this. Not only was he intent on returning to the very public aspects of observing the Law of God by reinstating the festivals and reopening the Temple, but he seems to have been doing all of this through an already ingrained habit of devotion and love for the Lord. We’ve already seen how the nation began to benefit from this, and this passage tells us that now Hezekiah is benefiting from it as well. And, if the consistency of Hezekiah is anything to go on, one can assume that his benefits would be given to the people as they were in 31:3-4.
Encouraging from a place of Trust:
A time of testing was soon to come. King Sennacherib soon invaded Judah and laid siege to the fortified cities of Judah. Hezekiah immediately set to work rebuilding and strengthening the walls and organized the people for war. Gathering his people together, Hezekiah spoke these words to them:
“Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more of us than with him. He has only human strength, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people relied of the words of King Hezekiah of Judah. (2 Chronicles 32:7-8)
Henry V and William Wallace must have been familiar with these words. Not only is Hezekiah’s speech emboldening for the time of war, but the passage says that “the people relied on the word of king Hezekiah.” Hezekiah was taking great risks here. Not only were the lives of his people at risk here, but his very name and honor. He knew the history of his house, and he understood that he could either crumble under the threat of invasion or stand against them for the sake of the Lord. While Hezekiah put his trust in the Lord’s promise to His people, those people, seeing Hezekiah, chose to not only trust in his judgment to stand against Assyria but relied on his words as they would come to rely on the walls that Hezekiah had strengthened.
In Ezekiel 22:30, God says: “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.” By opening the Temple, reading the Law, establishing the priesthood, Hezekiah was one who stood in the gap between God and man, and now he was literally rebuilding the walls in order to stand between his people and almost certain destruction. Would that all Christian men, emboldened by God and His Word, would be willing to stand before their God and willingly intercede on behalf of their nation and families as king Hezekiah did here.
Humility:
Finally, the siege has gone on and the people are beginning to grow afraid. Threats are thrown over the walls in the local language so that all can hear. The author describes the scene for us and Hezekiah’s response:
Then they called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city. They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were made by human hands. King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.
One can imagine the level of pride that Hezekiah could have felt at seeing all that had been accomplished by him in such a short time. And yet, he does not allow pride to settle into his heart. Instead, unlike the majority of the kings before or after him, he humbles himself.
Hezekiah is seen here to recognize his position as servant to his people by going to the prophet Isaiah, and then humbly approaching God’s throne through intercessory prayer. This seems to have been an intentional and difficult choice for Hezekiah because we are told later in the chapter that Hezekiah has a prideful heart and that it was his pride that would bring wrath on him and his people. But in that case, as well as in the current case, he actively humbled himself before God, acknowledging himself as the servant of God’s people.
This may be the most difficult principle to follow through with for those who are prideful, especially in an age where we are so prone to excuse sin as parts of our nature. Hezekiah does no such thing. He understands that he is a servant and that the needs of his people outweigh his own desires or perceived needs.
Application
Clearly, king Hezekiah of Judah can be an example for those who have been given authority of any kind in this world. Though the specific applications from this text would take up too much space for this essay, a few can be stated here in summary.
First: God is preparing the fields for harvest (Matthew 9:38). This is true not only of evangelical enterprises, but of personal, familial, and national enterprises as well. As Christians, we can know that the will of the Lord and the work of His Church cannot be overturned, and so we are able to walk in our vocations with confidence, knowing that God will prepare the way for that which is in His will to complete.
Second: we are given the grace to walk in the way that God has established for us (2 Timothy 2:13; Psalm 33:4; Psalm 91:4). Because God is faithful, we can be assured that the work that He has called us to His good work and that He will accomplish His will through that work. This may be in little things like humbly caring for one’s home, or in grander works in the public arena. Regardless of grandeur, God’s calling on our lives, and the work He has set out before us is right and good, and we have been preparedThird, and last: God will not leave us to destruction (Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Hebrews 13:6). Building on the first application, this means that though we may feel at odds with all those who are around us, if we belong to God we are secure in Him. And from this, we have a great assurance.
Assurance
Assurance comes to us from this passage in recognizing the faithfulness of God to His people, and to the work that He has given to His people to do. We may not all be in a place where we can try to emulate the principles that Hezekiah as shown here. Some of us are more likely the people of Judah in this passage. Regardless of our rank or station, it is God who is faithful. It is God who is working. And it is God who has called you from your sin so that you can be welcomed into the fold of Christ, who is the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34).
Furthermore, there is great encouragement in this passage. Hezekiah was far from perfect. Regarding his lineage, he came from broken stock. His father was more wicked than the rulers of the nations, even more wicked that the ruler of Assyria, who would later invade Judah. What’s more, Hezekiah himself seems to have been a poor father. He failed to raise his son up in the ways of the Lord, and this resulted in a disaster for Judah, though his son Manasseh would eventually come to repentance.
The encouragement here is that we will often fail. We cannot be perfect sons or fathers. We cannot be perfect leaders or congregants. But we can walk together in humble repentance before our Lord who is quick to forgive and has promised that He will care for us because we are His Body.
Praise be to God.
Art:
Hezekiah, King of Judah: 1856–1863. Hippolyte Flandrin.
Resources:
Holy Bible. CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible. (2019). Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, TN.
Youngblood, Ronald F. (1995). Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Thomas Nelson
Publishing: Nashville, TN.