King Hezekiah Gets a Visit...And a Test
King Hezekiah is described in scripture as a king that “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done” (2 Kings 18:3). Like many of us, his life is a record of highs and lows including several tests. He faced a test toward the end of his reign that had consequences far into the future. Let’s see what we can learn from his experience.
God Gives King Hezekiah a Victory, a Healing, and a Sign
God gave Israel and King Hezekiah a miraculous victory over the Assyrian army and their king Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35-37). As a result of the great victory, “many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter” (2 Chronicles 32:23).
Around this time King Hezekiah became ill and the prophet Isaiah told the king that this illness would lead to the king’s death (2 Kings 20:1). Hearing this prophecy, King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, with bitter tears, that the Lord would remember how closely King Hezekiah had walked with the Lord and done the Lord’s will (2 Kings 20:2-3).
In response to King Hezekiah’s desperate appeal, God instructed the prophet Isaiah that God would heal the King and that God would give Hezekiah an additional 15 years of life (2 Kings 20:4-6). When Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that the Lord would do this, Isaiah confirmed that God would answer Hezekiah’s request for the shadow on the sundial to go backward 10 degrees (2 Kings 20:8-11).
Apparently, something about the recent victory over Sennacherib, or maybe the sign of the shadow reversal on the sundial, caused Hezekiah’s heart to be lifted up in pride, and God’s anger was then aroused against Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:24-25). But “then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah” (2 Chronicles 32:26). Hundreds of years later, Jesus would say, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12, see also Luke 14:11).
What to Do with All Those Gifts?
Having received so many gifts of money and material possessions from visitors and nations, Hezekiah set about getting it all organized and properly stored. The king built treasuries for gold, silver, gemstones, spices and shields. He constructed storehouses for grain, wine and oil, and he made stalls for his livestock and flocks (2 Chronicles 32:27-28). “Moreover he provided cities for himself … for God had given him very much property” (2 Chronicles 32:29). Scripture summarizes his activity by saying, “Hezekiah prospered in all his works” (2 Chronicles 32:30b).
King Hezekiah Gets a Visit from Babylonian Officials
One of the later visiting groups was a delegation of ambassadors from Babylon, who brought letters and a present to Hezekiah because they had heard that Hezekiah was sick (2 Kings 20:12), and they wanted “to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land” (2 Chronicles 32:31a). Were the Babylonians wondering about the miraculous victory over the Assyrians? Or Hezekiah’s healing? Or the wealth and prosperity of the land? Or the God who had provided all those things?
There is a very revealing verse of scripture in 2 Chronicles 32:31b about this visit. It says, “God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.”
Hezekiah Gets a Rebuke from the Prophet
After the Babylonian ambassadors left Hezekiah and returned home, the prophet Isaiah asked king Hezekiah, “What have they seen in your house?” (Isaiah 39:4). The king replied, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them” (Isaiah 39:4). The king had shown the Babylonians everything he had.
The prophet Isaiah then gave king Hezekiah a prophecy from the Lord. That prophecy stated that one day all of the king’s possessions would be carried off to Babylon and that nothing would be left. In addition, some of the king’s descendants would be servants in the Babylonian king’s palace (Isaiah 39:5-7). It was a prediction of doom that included the loss of all that the king (and the king’s predecessors) had accumulated, and that some of the king’s descendants would be taken captive, marched to Babylon, castrated, and forced to serve the king of a pagan empire.
Hezekiah’s response was odd. Hezekiah said, “’The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!’” For he said, ‘At least there will be peace and truth in my days’” (Isaiah 39:8). King Hezekiah seemed pleased that he himself would escape destruction, but not too concerned that his descendants would suffer. Hoping to impress his visitors, the king had now made Jerusalem a target for any future Babylonian invasion.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Sure enough, approximately one years later the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Israel and her neighbors. As a part of Jerusalem’s destruction, scripture records that, “all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon” (2 Chronicles 36:18). Also, some of the king’s descendants that were taken to Babylon were brought to the master of the eunuchs so that they might be taught (probably “brainwashed”) the “the language and literature of the Chaldeans” for 3 years in preparation for service to the king (Daniel 1:3-5).
Lessons For Us
God may test us to show us what is in our heart (Deuteronomy 8:2, Psalm 7:9, Jeremiah 17:10) because He already knows our heart. God may allow trials to come into our life in order to expose competing affections, that is things or people that we love more than God Himself. Therefore, we need to examine ourselves to identify if there something or someone that we have greater affection for than God.
Maybe all that time and effort that Hezekiah spent organizing and storing all that money and all those possessions caused him to gradually wrap his heart around them. Psalm 62:10 warns us, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” Many people think that money provides security. To the contrary, God’s Word teaches us that money can quickly disappear (Proverbs 23:4-5), and that security can only come from God Himself (Proverbs 3:21-26).
Solomon’s experience taught him that “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase,” and that “the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, 12 NKJV) When Jesus was asked to resolve an inheritance issue, He replied, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).
Instead, we begin to find contentment when we realize that life is finding and enjoying Christ’s presence, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalms 16:11). We can use riches to accomplish good works to pave the way for sharing the gospel, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
The apostle Paul was willing to lose possessions to know Christ much more intimately. Paul stated that “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). As Paul did this, his desire became “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).
Finding and enjoying Christ’s presence, and accomplishing good works that honor the Lord (Matthew 5:16) will transform our heart to be like Christ (Matthew 6:19-21). These practices lead to righteousness that will be rewarded when we stand before Christ to give an account of our lives, “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death” (Proverbs 11:4).
(Note: all scripture quotations are from the New King James Version).