HOUSE OF 185,000 CORPSES

(II Kings 18, II Chr. 29)

We begin as we will begin all of our biographies…in the beginning.  II Kings 18 opens by saying, “Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, began to reign.”  This might not seem like a lot of information, but in actuality it is.  Hezekiah’s father (Ahaz) was not a good king at all, much less a good man. There is rarely a father and son of so great a contrast as Ahaz and Hezekiah. Both were Kings of Judah, but there is where most of the similarities end.  II Chr. 28:1-4 gives a nice life history of Ahaz, “Ahaz [was] twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.”  These are the loins out of which Hezekiah came…not a very good tree to fall from, but Hezekiah did fall FAAAR AWAY from Ahaz’s tree.

Hezekiah was 25 years old when he began to reign in the darkness of his father’s wake, but fortunately the Bible says “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord…” (II Ki. 18:3).  What did he do?  We only know that he was opposite of his father who worshipped idols and sacrificed his own people to false idols.  Well…when we keep reading in II kings 18:4 it says he “removed the high places, broke the images and idols, cut down the serpent of brass that they had made into an idol, and he trusted in the Lord God of Israel.”  GOOD JOB!

Hezekiah lived at a time when the very existence of Judah was threatened. But Jerusalem was blessed with a righteous king and an outspoken prophet named? Isaiah.  Hezekiah would prove to be one of the best kings of Judah, a man who passionately wanted to please God. Hezekiah ascended the throne when he was only 25 (that’s a year younger than me!), and this young guy begins to reform religion in Judah. He smashes the pagan altars and images that dotted Judah's landscape.  Kind of gives you an idea as to how confident this king really was.   Because of Hezekiah’s zeal to restore God to Israel, “the Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went" (18:7).

A Kingdom Returned to God:

II Chr 29 gives us a parallel account of Hezekiah’s reign.  After he destroyed all the pagan things out of the kingdom of Judah…He restored temple worship.  He repaired the house of the Lord that Solomon had built so long ago II Chr. 29:3). He commanded all the priests and Levites (that were left) to sanctify themselves and the temple, and to "carry out the filth from the holy place" (29:4-5). 

Hezekiah even PREACHED!  The king warned that God was angry with His chosen nation; they had turned their backs on their Creator (29:6). "…Because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.”  He says, “GOD IS UPSET….now straighten UP!”   So…what do you think Judah did?  They gathered together, sanctified themselves and cleaned out the house of God (29:12-15).

About three centuries had gone by since the reign of King David, a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22-amazing how things change). No king since David had set his mind to follow God like Hezekiah, who "did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done" (II Ki. 18:3).

Hezekiah's Passover

Hezekiah's godly attitude (study of the scriptures) and concern for his people is seen when he commanded the first Passover observance of his reign. By the time the priests and Levites had sanctified themselves…and the temple was rid of all pagan items, it was past the time God instructed that His people celebrate the Passover. Hezekiah established an alternate time--a second Passover--in the second month according to God's instructions (Num. 9:9-14).

II Chr. 30:1-4 says, "And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at the regular time, because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly"

King Hezekiah didn’t just keep this little secret to himself….he invited the remnant of the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel to join Judah…and he invited all the southern kingdom to partake of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. "So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came up to Jerusalem . . . Now many people, a very great congregation, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month" (II Chr. 30:10-13).

This was the most exciting time for Israel in the last three centuries!  The people were so happy that  they could serve the Lord again that "the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness" (II Chr. 30:23).  In turn God blessed Hezekiah. "The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went."

Now that the people were back on the Lord’s side, and the Lord was getting back on the people’s side…Hezekiah grew BOLD…BOLDER than any 26 year old I’ve ver known.  He was now ready to face the Assyrians.  You see…Hezekiah’s wicked and evil father turned over the lands of Judah to Assyrian control.  Ahaz was actually winning the battle against the Assyrians!  He would have won…if he Ahaz would have listened to Isaiah, but Ahaz sent a letter to the king of Syria during the battle saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me."   He gave the kingdom of Judah away…he melted down the gold and jewels in the temple and sent the precious gold to Assyria as a gift.  From then on…Judah had to pay tribute (taxes) to Assyria.

But Hezekiah said, “Enough of that…we got the Lord on our side…we got the people worshipping the God of heaven again…we’re getting out from under the hand of the Assyrians. 

II Kings 18:7-8 say, "And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city" This angered the already busy Sennacherib (the king of Assyria during Hezekiah’s time).  So…what do you think Sennacharib is gonna do?

Jerusalem Showdown

The Assyrians were the dominant power of that day…and when Hezekiah refused to submit to that great power, Assyria's King Sennacherib invaded the borders of Judah, stormed its fortified cities, and set the stage for a showdown at Jerusalem. Now….Hezekiah seems to be losing faith in where his faith is supposed to be…in GOD!  With the Assyrian forces on Jerusalem’s doorstep, Hezekiah tries to buy his way out of war. Hezekiah (somewhat like his father) sends a message to the Assyrian king saying: "I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay" (II Ki. 18:14). 

You know what Sennacherib’s demands were?  300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold, or about 11 tons of silver and 1 ton of gold. According to some it would be valued today at nearly $40 million. Hezekiah gave him more than he demanded. He presented him with all the silver from the temple (that had just  been restored!). He even stripped the gold from the doors and pillars of the temple! (II Ki. 18:15-16). Starting to sound like his old man a little to me?

Now…Sennacherib (king of Assyria) wasn’t no fool either.  He sees and knows that if Jerusalem can yield this much treasure…then what else could be behind door number one.  Sennacherib broke his agreement with King Hezekiah and surrounded Judah's capital city of Jersualem.

It’s interesting that this massive army of Assyria didn’t attack Jerusalem right then, but they stayed their hand.  Sennacherib sent a loudmouthed man named Rabshakeh to the walls of Jerusalem with army.  First, Rabshekah sent a nasty message to Hezekiah to try to rattle him, but then he just opened his mouth and started talking to the people of Jerusalem.  Read what he says with me in II Kings 18:28-35-------READ---- PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE, but the people kept their peace.

Hezekiah is visibly shaken by the thought of the impending attack, the words of Rabshakeh, and the breaking of Sennacherib’s vow.  So…we find Hezekiah covered in sackcloth and ash praying in the house of the Lord at the beginning of II Kings 19.  He prays for his people….and he prays for the Lord’s holy name to be avenged from the blasphemy of Rabshakeh and the Assyrians.  AND YOU KNOW WHAT?   The Lord heard his prayer.  Isaiah shows up and says, “Don’t be afraid about what Rabshakeh has said or the king of Assyria because they’re both gonna get theirs.” (19:7)

"And it came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses--all dead" (verse 35).

The stunned Assyrians retreated before this demonstration of God's power. The mighty Sennacherib went away in humiliation and defeat. "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword . . . Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place" (19:36-37). Sennacherib came to a sad end, assassinated by two of his sons while worshiping a false god. God had spared His people and the kingdom of Judah in the face of apparently overwhelming odds.

Hezekiah's Death Averted

But the drama’s not over yet!  God again intervened in Hezekiah's life. Not long after Sennacherib's demise, king Hezekaih grew deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah came to him and advised, "Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live" (II Ki. 20:1)). Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly. He pleaded with God to save him: "Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight" (20:3).  But, before Isaiah had even left the palace, God answered the king's prayer. He instructed Isaiah to tell him: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you . . . And I will add to your days fifteen years" (20:5-6).

Although taking heart, Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign. The prophet offered him a choice of miracles: "Shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?" Hezekiah, asked that the shadow go backward. On a nearby sundial (that his evil father had built), the sun's shadow moved backward 10 degrees (II Ki. 20:8-11).
God had performed another mighty miracle. He healed Hezekiah, extended his life and caused the sun's shadow to reverse its course.

Hezekiah Shows his Weakness

BUT…knowing that the Lord had done this thing for him…Hezekiah's "heart was lifted up" (II Chr. 32:25). He began to drift farther and farther away from God. So God withdrew from Hezekiah "in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart" (II Chr. 32:31).Hezekiah had momentarily forgot God!  He was so proud of all the wealth that had come to him because of the Lord’s great miracle that he boasted to the Babylonian messengers that came to him of how much wealth he had. Hezekiah's pride brought more problems on his kingdom. God warned him that the same Babylonian nation that had sent its friendly messengers of peace that day would ultimately threaten and destroy Judah (II Kings 20:14)

However, "Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah" (II Chr. 32:25-26). God spared Hezekiah's kingdom for another century until his wicked offspring took it into captivity.

Passing of a Faithful King

GOOD OL’ HEZEKIAH!  He "trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah . . . He held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses" (II Ki. 18:5-6). When he died his countrymen "buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death" (II Chr. 32:33).

God's mercy is always available to people with a penitent attitude. Hezekiah's life proves this is true. The key to an honorable life now, and ultimately eternal life, is to humble ourselves before God and obey Him and His laws.