April 2, 2003
Reading: 2 Kings 19:8-19

 

“Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD” (15)

 

Hezekiah was King of Judah, very wealthy in both treasures and livestock, above all, however, he was a man of prayer. When reading the accounts of his life, one cannot help but be impressed with his relationship with God and his love for the House of the Lord. One of the first things he did when he became king was to open the doors of the Temple and repair them. His father, King Ahaz, an ungodly man who led the people into idolatry, and of whom it is said, “He had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD” (2 Chron 28:19-20), destroyed the articles of the House of the Lord, and closed it’s doors (24). At the age of 25 years, Hezekiah began to restore the physical, spiritual and moral damage his father had caused.

Not only did Hezekiah restore the damage to the House of the Lord, he was personally involved in everything for which it stood. Was he without fault? No, he was human, but when he sinned he knew it and sought the face of God in repentance, then he himself was restored. One important thing of note is that He learned from his mistakes. When Sennacherib attacked and conquered the cities of Judah, Hezekiah made a deal with him – he “gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king's house. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria” (2 Kings 18:15-16). As the Assyrians applied pressure on the people to forsake Jehovah, Hezekiah “tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD” (2 Kings 19:1). God answered his prayer and destroyed the armies of Assyria. On another occasion, Hezekiah allowed pride to enter his life. He immediately “humbled himself for the pride of his heart” (2 Chron 32:24-26).

Once the House of the Lord had been repaired and cleansed, Hezekiah called all the city leaders, and took bulls, rams, lambs and goats to be sacrificed there (2 Chron 29:20-21). He stationed Levites in the House of the Lord with their “cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps,” and the priests with their trumpets (2 Chron 29:25-28). All the time the burnt offering was being offered to God, music was played, “And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD also began.”

The king of Assyria sent a letter to Hezekiah in an attempt to get him to forsake Jehovah and yield to him, but this time “Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD” (2 Kings 19:14-15). God said, “Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard” (20).

Isaiah was sent to Hezekiah to inform him he was at the end of his life and to “set your house in order” - his immediate response was to pray (2 Kings 20:1-2). Once more God heard his prayer, restored his health, and added 15 years to his life (2 Kings 20:5-6).

Our prayers are often not answered, not because we have sinned, but because we do not repent. Repentance restores fellowship with God. The scriptures record Hezekiah’s legacy – “So that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments” (2 Kings 18:5-6). Hezekiah loved being in the presence of the Lord.