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The Bible dedicates a lot of page space to King Hezekiah of Judah. We read about him in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah, and he also pops up briefly in Proverbs 25. Historically, we also know about Hezekiah from the records of Assyria and her king at that time, Sennacherib, also from the wall inscriptions and depictions in Sennacherib’s palace. We have signet seals that mention Hezekiah and his officials, and we have a lot of archeological sites from his kingship and potentially even a few ancient artists’ images of him as well. With all of this evidence, I think he deserves a careful look. So let’s do it:
Hezekiah inherited the throne from his father, King Ahaz. King Ahaz had made Judah a vassal to Assyria. This meant they were no longer independent as a nation, they officially served Assyria and paid her a large yearly tribute to prove it. Ahaz had gone that route because Judah had been experiencing heavy military losses to the nation’s around her as they prepared to try to resist the Assyrian Empire’s empire building. Essentially for Ahaz, the deal was ‘I’ll become a vassal to Assyria, but at least I’ll still exist as King of Judah, and my immediate enemies will be destroyed’. Of course the cost was high physically – there was a lot of money owed for this, but the cost was also high spiritually. 2 Kings 16 tells us that on top of completely renovating the Jerusalem Temple to worship pagan gods, King Ahaz also removed the royal association with Temple worship in deference to the king of Assyria. This essentially served to strip the throne of Judah of religious authority, everything was now to go through Assyria. At this point in his reign, Ahaz was already neck deep in idolatry so if there was a sting that came with this for him, it was probably just in his own pride of position.
“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LROD and did not stop following Him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.”
2 Kings 18:5-6
SO back to Hezekiah. When he receives the throne, Assyria is the boss. Idol worship is rampant. And the line of David, the kings of Judah, have severed their official relationship with God in deference to a pagan king. And this, all while the prophet Isaiah has been preaching! What would Hezekiah do? Well, Isaiah prophesied that Northern Israel would fall to Assyria – King Hezekiah watched that happen. Isaiah prophesied that Judah would be invaded by Assyria up to their neck as judgment for abandoning their covenant with God. Think about how Hezekiah would have heard this prophecy from Isaiah, “My people who live in Zion do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you as Egypt did. Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.” (Isaiah 10:24-25).
Hezekiah had a choice, would he toe the political line and continue his allegiance with Assyria, or would he launch a rebellion by reestablishing the throne’s connection with God, and embark on the dangerous path of rededicating the nation to God? Surely inviting Assyria’s army to come and wreck havoc. Hezekiah rebels. He reestablishes relationship with God, and even seems to try to emulate the actions of the Messianic character from Isaiah’s prophecies. The shoot from the root of Jesse who will be wise, have the spirit of the LORD, and be a banner to call all peoples to God. We see Hezekiah launch a huge religious reform and call all people even from outside of his territory to come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover – a festival remembering the deliverance of God’s people from Egypt. And for this 2 Kings 18 says of Him “Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LROD and did not stop following Him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.” (2 Kings 18:5-6 NIV)
Corie Bobechko is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. She also hosts a YouTube channel that shows how history and archaeology prove the Bible. Her heart for seekers and skeptics has led her to seek truth and share it with others. Corie also has a Bachelor of Theology from Canada Christian College.
