2 Kings 18:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a general account of Hezekiah’s reign. If we compare his age with his father’s, it seems he was born when his father was only about eleven or twelve years old. In this way, God’s providence arranged matters so Hezekiah would be grown and ready for leadership when his father’s guilt had reached its full measure.

The main thing we see first is Hezekiah’s deep godliness. That is especially remarkable because his father, Ahaz, was very wicked, one of Judah’s worst kings. Yet Hezekiah became one of its best kings. This reminds us that whatever good is found in anyone does not come from human nature, but from grace, free and sovereign grace, which can take what is wild by nature and graft it into the good olive tree (Romans 11:24). It also shows that God’s grace can overcome the hardest obstacles and worst disadvantages.

Ahaz likely gave his son a bad education as well as a bad example. Urijah the priest may have had some influence over him, and his servants and companions were probably devoted to idolatry. Even so, Hezekiah became notably good. When God’s grace chooses to work, nothing can stop it.

He was a true son of David, who had many wayward descendants. He “did what was right,” just as David his ancestor had done, the king with whom God had made the covenant, and so Hezekiah shared in the blessings of that covenant (2 Kings 18:3). Some earlier kings had also done what was right, but not like David (2 Kings 14:3). They did not love God’s commands or hold fast to them as David did. Hezekiah, however, was like a second David, with the same love for God’s word and God’s house. We should not panic and assume that virtue always keeps declining. Bad times and bad leaders do not mean things must always get worse. After many evil kings, God raised up one who was like David himself.

He was also a bold reformer of his kingdom, and he began right away. As we read in 2 Chronicles 29:3, he started as soon as he came to the throne and wasted no time. He found the kingdom deeply corrupted and the people very superstitious in all things. They had long been that way, but the last reign had made things much worse. Under the influence of his wicked father, the land had been flooded with idolatry. Hezekiah’s heart rose against this evil, likely even while his father was still alive, as Paul’s spirit was stirred in Athens. So as soon as he had power, he set himself to remove idolatry (2 Kings 18:4), even though he knew the people were strongly attached to it.

The images and sacred poles were openly idolatrous and came from pagan worship. He broke them and destroyed them. Even though his own father had set them up and favored them, Hezekiah would not protect them. We must never dishonor God in order to honor our earthly parents.

The high places were different. Sometimes prophets had used them on special occasions, and earlier good kings had tolerated them. Still, they were an insult to the temple and a violation of the law, which required worship at the place God chose. They also stood outside the priests’ oversight and made room for false worship. So Hezekiah, who used God’s word as his rule and not the example of earlier kings, removed them. He made a law to tear down the shrines, shelters, and altars there, and to stop their use, and that law was carried out firmly. It is likely that the severe judgments then falling on the kingdom of Israel because of idolatry made Hezekiah more determined, and the people more willing to agree. It is good when our neighbors’ troubles become our warning.

He also destroyed the bronze serpent. That serpent had been given by God, yet because people had turned it into an idol, Hezekiah broke it to pieces. The Israelites had brought it with them into Canaan, though we are not told where they had placed it. It seems it had been carefully preserved as a memorial of God’s kindness to their fathers in the wilderness and as a lasting witness to the truth of that story (Numbers 21:9). It could also encourage the sick to seek healing from God and penitent sinners to seek mercy from him.

But over time, when people began to worship the creature more than the Creator, some were drawn into burning incense to the bronze serpent. They were not worshiping images borrowed from the nations around them, but they were still misusing something God himself had once appointed, because it had been helpful to them. In his zeal for God’s honor, Hezekiah not only forbade this worship, but also made sure the object could never be abused again. He showed the people that it was only Nehushtan, just a piece of bronze, and therefore a foolish and wicked thing to burn incense to it. Then he broke it to pieces, or, as Bishop Patrick explains it, ground it to powder and scattered it in the air so that no fragment remained. If anyone thinks this lowered the honor of the bronze serpent, they will see that its true honor was more than restored in John 3:14, where Jesus uses it as a type of himself. Good things are better given up than kept when people turn them into idols.

In this, Hezekiah was unique (2 Kings 18:5). None of the kings of Judah were like him, before or after. He stood out in two ways in his reform. First, he had courage and trust in God. To destroy idolatry was dangerous, because it could offend his subjects and stir rebellion. Yet he trusted the Lord God of Israel to uphold him and keep him safe. A strong belief that God is able to protect and reward us helps make us sincere, bold, and steady in duty, as Hezekiah was. When he came to the throne, his kingdom was surrounded by enemies, but he did not look for help from foreign powers, as his father had done. He trusted the God of Israel to be Israel’s keeper.

Second, he showed firmness and perseverance. In this too, no one was like him, because he clung to the Lord with a fixed purpose and never turned away from following him (2 Kings 18:6). Some of his predecessors began well but later fell away. He, like Caleb, followed the Lord fully. He did not merely remove idolatry. He also kept God’s commandments and made it his constant aim to do his duty in every area.

Then comes his great prosperity (2 Kings 18:7, 8). He was with God, and God was with him. Because he enjoyed God’s special presence, he succeeded wherever he went. He had remarkable success in his wars, his building projects, and especially in his reform work, which went forward with less trouble than he might have expected. Those who do God’s work with an eye to his glory and confidence in his strength may expect him to bless it with success. Truth is great, and it will prevail.

Seeing this success, he threw off the yoke of the king of Assyria, which his father had shamefully accepted.

This is called a rebellion by the king of Assyria, but it was really a claim to the rightful authority of Hezekiah’s crown. Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, had no right to give that authority away. Even if this bold move may have been unwise so soon, it does not seem unjust. Once Hezekiah had removed the idol worship brought in by the nations, he could also throw off their oppressive rule. The surest path to freedom is to serve God.

He also made a strong attack on the Philistines, and struck them all the way to Gaza, including the country villages and the fortified city, the watchtower settlements, and the fortified towns. In this way he recovered places the Philistines had taken during his father’s reign (2 Chronicles 28:18). After clearing out the corruption his father had introduced, he could rightly expect to win back what his father had lost. Isaiah also spoke about Hezekiah’s victories over the Philistines (Isaiah 14:28 and following).