Hezekiah

Also known as: Hezekiah king of Judah / king Hezekiah · Family: Judah · Role: king of Judah · First appears: Isaiah 36

Hezekiah, king of Judah, faced Sennacherib when the Assyrian king sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem with a great army. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah returned to him distressed and reported Rabshakeh’s words, after which Hezekiah sent Eliakim, Shebna, and the elders of the priests to Isaiah. He prayed to God against Sennacherib, and Isaiah sent God’s response to him.

In those days, Hezekiah was sick unto death, and Isaiah told him to set his house in order. He turned to God in prayer and wept; God heard him, added fifteen years to his life, promised to deliver him and Jerusalem from Assyria, and confirmed the promise by moving the sundial shadow ten degrees backward. With Isaiah’s prescribed fig poultice, Hezekiah recovered. “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,”

After his recovery, Merodachbaladan sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, who showed the visitors his treasures, weapons, and possessions. Isaiah then delivered God’s judgment that Hezekiah’s stored wealth would be carried to Babylon and that his sons would be taken away to serve in the Babylonian king’s palace. Hezekiah was the son of David and the father of Manasseh; later, during his days, he feared God and sought Him, and Micah was not put to death for prophesying judgment.