Hezekiah

Hezekiah became king of Judah at twenty-five years old, inheriting a kingdom where his father Ahaz had promoted idol worship and even sacrificed children to Molech. From the first month of his reign, Hezekiah began reversing this spiritual decay. He reopened and cleansed the temple, restored proper worship, and celebrated a Passover so magnificent that nothing like it had been seen since Solomon's time.

Hezekiah's reforms extended throughout the land. He destroyed the high places, broke down the pillars, and even destroyed the bronze serpent Moses had made, which the people had been worshipping. Scripture says, "He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him."

This faith was tested when the Assyrian King Sennacherib invaded Judah, capturing all the fortified cities and besieging Jerusalem. Sennacherib's messenger mocked God and demanded surrender. Hezekiah spread the threatening letter before the Lord in the temple and prayed. Isaiah prophesied that Sennacherib would not enter Jerusalem, and that night the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Sennacherib returned home and was later murdered by his own sons.

When Hezekiah became deathly ill, he prayed and wept, and God added fifteen years to his life. However, he later foolishly showed all his treasures to Babylonian envoys, leading Isaiah to prophesy that everything would one day be carried to Babylon—a prophecy fulfilled a century later.