I believe that writing about good King Hezekiah will not be an easy task. There’s also the battle with Sennacherib, which I believe should be written as a separate entry. Like every king of Judah, I have to bounce back between 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. His history can be found in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32. 2 Chronicles has a very extensive narrative of the reforms. It would probably mean trying to review Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Fortunately, it’s the New Testament now or pastors will have to wear the priestly attire. I doubt it’d be easy to make a miter. I can’t imagine attending a Sunday service and the pastor must wear the prescribed attire of the Old Testament priest. 1 Peter 2:9 talks about a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people as every believer now has equal access to God. I really found reading Hezekiah’s reforms to be, “Can I really fulfill this?” Hezekiah did all of that by God’s grace.
To think of Hezekiah’s reforms, one should read 2 Kings 18:1-6 and 2 Chronicles 29-31 to get a picture. It can get mighty tough dealing with it. To think about it, Hezekiah’s reforms really require a lot of hard work. In fact, even the introduction in 2 Kings 18:3-6 writes this about him as a good king:
3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the peple of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kingds of Judah after himn, nore more those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.
It’s noted that, unlike Hezekiah’s other good kings before Jehoshaphat, the first king who took the initiative to destroy the elevated places of worship was him. It’s been centuries from Rehoboam down to Ahaz. Not even the better kings in between Rehoboam (who later repented like Manasseh, Hezekiah’s wayward son) and Ahaz ever bothered to destroy the high places. When the bronze serpent of Moses was later worshiped, there was no choice but to destroy it. Anything that takes the place of God, even if it’s God-given, can become an idol. There was no reason to keep the bronze serpent already because it was supposed to only work in Numbers 21:4-8. That was the time when fiery serpents bit the Israelites for their rebellion. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent as a miraculous object. I think the efficacy of the miracle was only meant to work for that one time only. Today, we may see a loose interpretation of that in the medical field. It has no miraculous value. Sure, I love that sign but I can’t expect patients to get well by just looking at it. I think the bronze serpent no longer had miraculous powers after that same incident.
We must understand the very spiritual condition of Israel after Ahaz. Ahaz was a very wicked king. I wonder if the mention of Hezekiah’s mother and maternal grandfather was because of the positive influence they had on him. I could imagine the difficulty of having parents of unequal yoke. Ahaz was an unbeliever. Apparently, Hezekiah’s mother Abijah, and maternal grandfather Zechariah had a positive influence on him. We read of the negative things that Hezekiah had to do to restore the worship of Yahweh in 2 Kings. 2 Chronicles gives a list of the positive things.
Restoration of the place of worship
Ahaz had shut down the worship of Yahweh by nailing the temple. Hezekiah was going to need to renovate the temple. As a faithful Jew, Hezekiah would need to have the Law of Moses as his proper reference. Just reading through 2 Chronicles 29 reminds me of how tedious it can be to read the Jewish law. Thankfully, I don’t have to follow the Mosaic law though it’s fun learning about Jewish cuisine. Eating some Middle Eastern food made me develop some form of distaste for pork. The reason is because I often associate pork with high cholesterol. I even try to avoid pork if I have to unless it’s served to me. Reading a commentary on Leviticus 11 helped me understand the scientific side of dietary laws. Perhaps by the time Peter got the vision on the roof–the Gentiles already figured out stricter ways to raise pigs and cook pork. Maybe, the Gentiles figured out how to raise cleaner pork when Peter got his vision on the roof.
It was time to bring in the priests as needed. The Levites received no land inheritance, unlike the other tribes. The scattering of the Levites was in Joshua 21. The Kohathites, the descendants of Aaron were scattered across 13 cities. The Levites were given their pasturelands. In short, they were to be pastors. I feel that every verse in Jeremiah condemning the pastors (shepherds) and priests of that day was because the Levites failed to do their duty. When the kingdom was divided, Jeroboam the son of Nebat had no excuse not to use Levites since the Levites were scattered. With Ahaz’s reign, I could imagine the Levites were really scattered. I could imagine how Hezekiah may have perspired a lot looking for the priests. There was no social media back then. It was very difficult work to get the Kohathite priests in order.
The real ill of the people was that Judah had abandoned the worship of Yahweh. The temple was in severe disarray. The king had to reverse his ungodly father’s policy. Not only were the high places torn down but the temple was also repaired. I could imagine the damage may have probably been just as bad, if not worse than what Jehoram and Athaliah did. Hezekiah lived through the trauma of seeing his own father offer his other siblings as human sacrifices. Hezekiah may have had some PTSD which may also be part of the reason why he did what he did. There was a need for repairs. 14 leaders were assigned to prepare for the cleansing. We have the three groups namely the Kohathites, Mararites, and Gershonites.
The strict following of the law was done. Since the non-priests weren’t allowed within the walls of the holy place. You can imagine the difficulty of cleaning the place. Hezekiah had to follow God’s laws. If God says no, He means no. Fortunately today, church members can now assist the pastor in taking away the rubble from where the pastor stands. I can’t imagine the frustration of taking eight more days to get rid of whatever debris was there thanks to Ahaz’s wickedness. I guess Hezekiah had read through how Joash and Jehoiada did the repairs. After all that difficult work, it was time to reopen the Temple of Yahweh. The Levites were commanded to sing praises to the LORD from the writings of David and Asaph. Unfortunately, there was no tape recorder or a copy of the notes back then. Today, the Psalms are mostly read, and trying to find the right tune to sing them to is almost impossible. Psalm 42 has a song called “As the Deer” but it’s not even the whole chapter.
There were too few Levitical priests. Maybe, a lot of them had become so corrupted that they had to be gotten rid of. The offerings were plenty with 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs, and they were all burnt offerings. The consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. I couldn’t imagine the blood of that sight. Right now, I’m thankful that there are no animal sacrifices now. However, they will be reinstituted during the Millennial Kingdom, as a memorial and warning of the ugliness of sin, to the Millennial children that will be born during the 1,000 years.
The Passover was to be restored
Until the Messiah came, the Passover was to be celebrated. It will be celebrated again during the Millennium. Hezekiah reached back to restore the Passover which may have not been properly and regularly observed. A wicked king like Ahaz may have outlawed it. I could imagine what Athaliah may have done during her time when she was queen under Jehoram and during her illegitimate reign as well. It’s been 215 years since the division between Israel (which is now sacked by the Assyrians) and Judah at this point. It should be interesting that Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:1-9) and Zerubbabel (Ezra 6:19-22) also both revived it at later points. In Josiah’s case, Hezekiah’s son Manasseh had a very bad start (and the effects would still go on, even after his repentance) and his grandson Ammon was also a wicked king. Josiah followed the example of his great-grandfather Hezekiah after he ruled at merely eight years old, just a year older than when Joash started.
An invitation to the 10 other tribes of the divided kingdom was sent. We can read that Ephraim and Manasseh are the leading tribes. It’s a shame that Ephraim got hit by idolatry. Both of these tribes are descendants of the righteous Joseph. Sadly, these tribes are also where Jeroboam the son of Nebat came from. There would be people who have either left the land or escaped from the Assyrian rule, which started in 722 B.C. The call for the Passover was to unite the nation again in worship. That’s why Israel is back into one state today, though it’s not the fulfillment of the prophecy. Today’s Israel is still a worldly state. Many Jews today still reject the Messiah. Thankfully, there are some Jews who are saved whether it’s in Israel or around the world. These saved Jews, though few, are a blessing as every saved Gentile.
The call for the gathering was that far. To mention Beersheba to Dan means from South to North. Can you imagine the distance there was? The three festivals in Jerusalem are the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. God would’ve returned to bless the people of the Northern apostate kingdom if they returned to Him. Not everyone was taken captive by the Assyrians. However, generations later, the whole of Judah was taken captive by the Babylonian Empire. However, a restoration will be done 70 years later, and the nation of Israel will be returning back to its land. Unfortunately, many members of these tribes were still scorning and mocking. It’s only natural because they were so used to such wickedness since Jeroboam the son of Nebat down to Hoshea. Even worse, 2 Chronicles 30:18 shows how they ate the Passover without cleansing themselves. Today, we have people partaking in the Lord’s supper while living dirty lives too.
At this point, I could imagine whatever bodyaches Hezekiah and his men had. Hezekiah probably had so many sleepless nights cleaning Israel. Getting rid of the mess that his father Ahaz is no walk in the park. Throwing them away into the brook Kidron was no easy task either. I could imagine Hezekiah and all the people involved probably had to get a long warm bath too. Hezekiah probably needed a lot of rest days soon enough after this marvelous feat was done. Later, Hezekiah even reminds people that God forgives even the most heinous sins. I could imagine that was probably what came into Manasseh’s mind after his captivity. Interestingly, Manasseh reversed the reforms of his father Hezekiah, and later repented like Rehoboam did, after a state of calamity.
The great revival of the Passover can be described. This time the feast went from seven days to 14 days. Dr. John F. MacArthur points out that there’s a pointing to God’s salvation and deliverance of the faithful. I could imagine the people were pointed to their need for salvation. The Passover is a shadow of things to come. Christmas practically points to the One who takes away the sins of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christmas would then go to Holy Week and Easter Sunday. MacArthur even presented a sermon called the Second Christmas, which talks about Jesus’ return to establish the Millennial Kingdom after the Great Tribulation.
There was a really great revival. Solomon fell into severe backsliding and the nation fell into apostasy because of it. Rehoboam wasn’t even a good administrator though he later repented. Abijah wasn’t outstanding and maybe that’s why he died prematurely. Most of the kings that succeeded Solomon in Judah weren’t good. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was so full of idolatry for 215 (or more) years. It was a period of leading back to a great revival. Why a great ruin happened after Hezekiah, that’s something I can’t pinpoint. Hezekiah was replaced by Manasseh, whose sins would so greatly affect Judah that Jeremiah 15:5 still remembers the sins of the person. The effects of the sin of Manasseh went on.
2 Chronicles 31 rights about Hezekiah organizing the priests. I could imagine the difficulty. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are very hard books to read. Reading through them, it’s best to slow down and ask one’s self, “Can I fulfill all this?” I could even think that I may have entered forbidden areas and ended up getting leprosy or even died as a result. The rules of the Old Testament ceremonial law are very rigid. A very strict implementation was done in all of this. Now, it was time for Hezekiah to also restore support. The tithes and offerings are meant to support the priests and Levities. Today, some Christians believe in giving a tenth of their income as a New Testament tithe. However, any real tithing was really 23% of the income annually. There was more than monetary tithe but a tenth of all one’s own. That’s why I stopped believing in tithing for the New Testament though giving 10% of one’s income is a good practice. It’s because pastors are only receiving money but not any other tithes. A parishioner gives 10% of his inventory and the pastor today will say, “Well, that’s an offering!” That’s why I prefer to talk about joyful giving.
The storehouse was to be restored as well. The storehouse was meant to store supplies for the Levites. Today, the only storehouse there is the needs of the pastors like the warehouses and stockrooms that hold their supplies. You may also include the refrigerator in today’s standards. Maybe, I can’t really call it storehouse tithing because most people only pay 10% of their income, if they could. As mentioned earlier, a man may give 10% of food inventory but it’s hardly considered a tithe. The pastor doesn’t even ask if it was 10% or not. Now, back on topic, the storerooms had to be restored. In today’s church, we definitely have to repair the storage rooms and get rid of the old broken refrigerators. Broken refrigerators can’t be used to store food for the church. In their time, I think these storehouses were designed in such a way that food could be kept for long periods. Serious repair was needed so the Levities would have their supplies met.
There’s also the farmlands or the 48 Levitical cities in Joshua 21. I could imagine that these were used for regular support. I think one reason why I think preaching about tithing in the New Testament is funny is because we have no Levitical farmlands. A person gives 10% of his inventory of rice and the pastor tells the accountant, “Write it down as a donation.” The tithes only show up in the accounting worksheet in financial format. That’s why I prefer to talk about joyful giving in the New Testament. In the New Testament, all giving is done to support missions. Sure, I can give 10% of my salary per month. However, I’m not giving 10% of my inventory per month. I’m not giving 10% of my food storage per month. Today, we have joyful giving which ultimately is superior to tithing. It’s because joyful giving is all about giving for the LORD’s work whether it’s 10% or higher Some may be at a lower point but they may end up being able to give 10% or higher by the grace of God.
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