Monday 08 October 2007
- Bible Book:
- 2 Kings
"In the third year of King Hoshea son of Elah of Israel, Hezekiah son of King Ahaz of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem... He did what was right in the sight of the LORD just as his ancestor David had done". (v.1-3)
Background
This rather difficult passage tells of a time when the land wasdivided into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah in thesouth, with Jerusalem as its capital. Hezekiah was one of the mosthighly regarded of the kings of Judah because of his religious andpolitical reforms, which are described in some detail in verses 5to 8. His relatively long reign (29 years) would be seen by many asvindication of his faithfulness to God.
It is likely that Hezekiah's reforms were not solely motivated byreligious considerations. The kingdom faced a serious threat fromthe expanding Assyrian empire, and by unifying the people andsecuring the borders they would be stronger in the face of theenemy.
In the verses omitted from our reading, we are told how the King ofAssyria, Sennacherib, conquered Israel and then attacked Judah.Having captured several cities, he then sent officials to try topersuade Hezekiah to surrender.
When the passage resumes, one of these officials, the 'Rabshakeh'(a senior military officer) boasts of Assyria's past conquests andmakes an appeal to the people to abandon Hezekiah' cause. But theyare not convinced, and remain silent and loyal to their king.
To Ponder
Hezekiah's reforms may not have been entirelyselfless. Do you ever find yourself doing the right thing, but formixed motives?
To what extent should we remain loyal to those inpositions of leadership, even if they are flawed individuals?