THE GOOD KING HEZEKIAH
[2 Chronicles:29:1-11 [1] Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. [2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. [3] He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. [4] And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, [5] And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. [6] For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. [7] Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. [8] Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. [9] For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. [10] Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. [11] My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense. ], [2 Chronicles:29:25-31 [25] And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. [26] And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. [27] And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. [28] And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. [29] And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped. [30] Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. [31] Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings. ]; [2 Chronicles:32:1-23 [1] After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. [2] And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, [3] He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. [4] So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? [5] Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. [6] And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, [7] Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: [8] With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. [9] After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, [10] Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? [11] Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? [12] Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? [13] Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? [14] Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? [15] Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? [16] And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. [17] He wrote also letters to rail on the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand. [18] Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. [19] And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. [20] And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. [21] And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. [22] Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. [23] And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. ].
“He that doeth good is of God” (III John 11).
Remembering God’s Blessings
God does not want people to forget His blessing to them. When they remember that God protected them when they were in great danger of being killed; that He healed them when they were sick; or fed them when they were hungry and had nothing to eat, it makes them trust God again to help when they need Him. God is pleased when we thank Him for His many blessings, for the many good things he gives us – our food, our clothing, our parents, but most of all for Jesus and the Bible. That is one reason we have testimony meetings – so that we may tell of all the great and good things the Lord has done for us.
God’s Chosen People
In this lesson we learn that for many long years the people had not remembered the Word of the Lord about eating the Passover. We remember the nine different plagues that God sent into the land of Egypt (Exodus 7, 8, 9, 10). Each time the king would promise to let the people go, but when the plague was lifted, he would again harden his heart and they had to stay there and work for him. God knew how to make King Pharaoh willing to let the people go. He said he would send one more plague. The last punishment to Egypt was that the death angel should visit the land and the eldest son in every house should die. The only way to escape death on that night was to kill a lamb, roast it, eat it, and put some of the blood on the side doorposts and on the upper doorpost of the house. This was to cause them to think of a time to come when Jesus should die on the cross of Calvary and shed His Blood so that people might be saved from sin. God said that when He saw the blood on the doorposts of the house, He would “pass over” that house – the death angel would not kill the eldest one in the house. That is why they called it the “Passover”.
The Children of Israel obeyed God that night, and in the little country of Goshen, where they lived, there was not one dead in any of the families. But in the place where the Egyptians lived, there was much sorrow, for in every home the eldest son was found dead that night. Then the wicked king was glad to let the people go out of the land.
God wanted these people to remember the night Moses had led them out of Egypt – the night that they had placed the blood on the houses and were saved from death. But they forgot to thank God for His great blessing to them. They forgot to eat the Passover meal once every year. They had turned away from God and made idols of wood and stone and were worshiping them.
Their Church Opened Again
A good man named Hezekiah became king. He at once began to do right before God. The very first thing he did was to open the doors of the church and have the people make the place clean. The doors had long been closed; the lights were out; and no one had been there to pray in a long time. When the church was again ready for the worship of the Lord, the king and the rulers of the city went there and held a service. They offered sacrifices to God, the musicians played on their instruments, and the singers sang praises to God. All the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord.
How happy they were to again have a place in which to worship God! Can you imagine how we would feel, if, after a long time without meetings, we could again go to Sunday School and church? We should be very thankful that we live where the laws of our land do not stop us from attending church as often as we wish.
The Passover Feast
The next thing we find King Hezekiah doing was sending invitations to all the people in the land to come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to the Passover feast. As we said before, this was to be a time of thanksgiving unto the Lord in memory of the day they came out of the land of Egypt. The king asked the people to turn to the Lord, so He could again be pleased with them. But not all the people wanted to do the right thing. Some of them laughed at those who brought the letters or invi-tations from the king. But many came to Jerusalem; and on the fourteenth day of the month, they kept the Passover feast. There was great joy in the city of Jerusalem in those days, and God in Heaven heard the people’s prayers.
Idols Destroyed
King Hezekiah destroyed the idols that the people had been worshiping, and even cut down the trees under which the people had worshiped the idols. You remember the serpent of bras that Moses had made in the wilderness for the people to look at and be healed. This had been brought to Jerusalem and was still there. The people were worshiping that snake; but Hezekiah soon made an end of that. He broke it in pieces. God never meant for the people to worship the serpent of brass.
Tithes and Offerings
The people brought offerings to the Lord – corn, wine, oil, honey, and their tithing, or money. We learn from the Bible that one tenth of all that we earn belongs to the Lord. As far back as the days of Abraham, people paid tithes unto the Lord. (Read [Genesis:14:20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
]; [Genesis:28:22And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
]; [Deuteronomy:14:22Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
]; [Malachi:3:8-10 [8] Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
[9] Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
[10] Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
].)
Paying tithes is according to God’s plan. It was Joash, the boy king, who used a chest, or a box, to put the tithe money in. He was only seven years old when he became king, but the Lord gave him the wisdom he needed for the work of the Lord. A few small boxes, or chests, are placed in our churches, for the purpose of receiving freewill offerings and tithes. People are never asked for money in our services.
A little girl at one time had earned some money of her own. She was figuring up the amount of tithes she should pay. She said to a lady nearby, “If I earn one dollar and pay ten cents tithes, that isn’t very much – I can do that. But if I earn ten dollars and give one dollar to the Lord, then I will have only nine dollars left for myself.” The lady said, “But the Lord does not want any of our money, unless we give it to Him willingly.” The child never forgot that lesson, and always paid her tithes willingly. She learned that what she did for the Lord she must do freely and with all her heart.
The reason the Lord blessed King Hezekiah was that whatever he did in his work for God, “he did it with all his heart,” and God was pleased. [2 Chronicles:31:21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. ].)
The Enemy Army
A wicked king named Sennacherib decided to fight against King Hezekiah and his people. He sent letters telling of his plans. When King Hezekiah received the letter, he went to the Temple, or church, and spread the letter out before the Lord. He prayed with all his heart that God would spare him and his people from the wicked king that was coming into their land. The Lord in Heaven heard his prayer.
When the enemy army came to fight against God’s people at Jerusalem, King Hezekiah gathered his armies together and told them not to be afraid. He said that the enemy was trusting in their own power, but that the Lord was with His own people, and He would fight for them. The wicked armies did not believe in the God of Heaven and spoke against Him, and also against the king. But God saw and heard all that was happening. He sent an angel from Heaven by night into the camp of the enemy, and destroyed 185,000 of the Assyrians [2 Kings:19:35And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. ]).
Faithful Service
No doubt the reason that the Lord heard and answered the prayer of this man of God was that he was serving the Lord with all his heart. When we do all that God wants us to do, we may call upon Him whenever we need help, and God is right there to help us. When we are displeasing God and not doing all that we know He wants us to do, it may not be so easy to reach Him with our prayers. The Word tells us that “the eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil” [Psalms:34:15-16 [15] The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
[16] The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
]).
1. What is meant by the Passover? [Exodus:12:13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
].
2. When the Temple was again opened for services, what happened at the first meeting? [2 Chronicles:29:25-30 [25] And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.
[26] And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
[27] And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
[28] And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
[29] And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.
[30] Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
].
3. Why do you think King Hezekiah was blessed by God? [2 Chronicles:31:21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
].
4. What did he do when he received the letter from Sennacherib? [2 Kings:19:14And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
].
5. Who won the battle? [2 Chronicles:32:21And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.
];[2 Chronicles:32:22Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.
].
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