And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
The verse stands in the history that runs from the beginning of the reign of Joash to the Babylonian captivity, within the historical record of Judah's kings. Its parallel account in 2 Kings gives fuller information about the same events, and it is plain to understand without detailed explanation. Such history provides the setting for biblical events and spiritual lessons in connection with God's revelation culminating in Christ.
The verse records the triumph of Hezekiah as one of the good, great, youthful reform-kings of God's people. He followed Ahaz, began doing right at only twenty-five years old, and is said to have reigned twenty-five years. His history belongs among the most thrilling, admired, story-like accounts of the triumphs of youth in the Bible, showing that young men in the past stood high and accomplished great things.
Hezekiah was the son of the bad father Ahaz, like Asa before him. He is described as having a bad grandfather Jotham and as brought up amid corrupt surroundings where evil beliefs and practices held the people strongly under his father and grandfather, proving that a bad environment does not make a person bad. His mother Abijah, called Abi, was pious, as shown by naming her son Hezekiah, meaning strength of God.
To do what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father had done means he lived in a way pleasing to God in line with David's example. It means acting for God's glory and taking a course that pleased the Lord while Judah was engaged in idolatry, and doing his duty. His right-doing restored the true religion after the temple had been forsaken and the people had worshiped idols, reviving the ancient worship of the true God and bringing the priests and Levites back to their temple service. In the first year of his reign he restored the priests to their proper places and ordered repairs to be made in the house of the Lord, beginning by opening the temple, clearing out the accumulated rubbish of years, and re-establishing worship, a work requiring ability and determination.
The chapter is an example of a king taking an active role in a national religious revival, with the king and prophet working together in the affairs of the nation. He sent letters by messengers from city to city throughout the northern kingdom inviting the people everywhere to forsake their idols, return to the true God, and come to a great religious festival at Jerusalem. Though some mocked, others came to a fourteen-day Passover feast with many sacrifices and great gladness, the greatest revival since Solomon. Afterward under his direction the people went through the city breaking down idols, cutting down groves, and destroying high places and altars.
The verse gives a concrete example showing how God works out His principles in human lives under the truth that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong for those whose heart is perfect toward Him and who long to do His will. Doing duty brought blessing, and his faithful service is connected with God hearing prayer and fighting for him. Even with that right course and many good reforms he made one of the greatest mistakes. God gave him the privilege of preaching the gospel to Babylon when its ambassadors came to inquire of the wonder done in the land, but instead of showing them the great treasures of God's grace, mercy, and power he showed them the material wealth of the kingdom, arousing their covetousness and cupidity and resulting in the end in the complete destruction and despoiling of Jerusalem.
The verse stands in the history that runs from the beginning of the reign of Joash to the Babylonian captivity, within the historical record of Judah's kings. Its parallel account in 2 Kings gives fuller information about the same events, and it is plain to understand without detailed explanation. Such history provides the setting for biblical events and spiritual lessons in connection with God's revelation culminating in Christ.
The verse records the triumph of Hezekiah as one of the good, great, youthful reform-kings of God's people. He followed Ahaz, began doing right at only twenty-five years old, and is said to have reigned twenty-five years. His history belongs among the most thrilling, admired, story-like accounts of the triumphs of youth in the Bible, showing that young men in the past stood high and accomplished great things.
Hezekiah was the son of the bad father Ahaz, like Asa before him. He is described as having a bad grandfather Jotham and as brought up amid corrupt surroundings where evil beliefs and practices held the people strongly under his father and grandfather, proving that a bad environment does not make a person bad. His mother Abijah, called Abi, was pious, as shown by naming her son Hezekiah, meaning strength of God.
To do what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father had done means he lived in a way pleasing to God in line with David's example. It means acting for God's glory and taking a course that pleased the Lord while Judah was engaged in idolatry, and doing his duty. His right-doing restored the true religion after the temple had been forsaken and the people had worshiped idols, reviving the ancient worship of the true God and bringing the priests and Levites back to their temple service. In the first year of his reign he restored the priests to their proper places and ordered repairs to be made in the house of the Lord, beginning by opening the temple, clearing out the accumulated rubbish of years, and re-establishing worship, a work requiring ability and determination.
The chapter is an example of a king taking an active role in a national religious revival, with the king and prophet working together in the affairs of the nation. He sent letters by messengers from city to city throughout the northern kingdom inviting the people everywhere to forsake their idols, return to the true God, and come to a great religious festival at Jerusalem. Though some mocked, others came to a fourteen-day Passover feast with many sacrifices and great gladness, the greatest revival since Solomon. Afterward under his direction the people went through the city breaking down idols, cutting down groves, and destroying high places and altars.
The verse gives a concrete example showing how God works out His principles in human lives under the truth that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong for those whose heart is perfect toward Him and who long to do His will. Doing duty brought blessing, and his faithful service is connected with God hearing prayer and fighting for him. Even with that right course and many good reforms he made one of the greatest mistakes. God gave him the privilege of preaching the gospel to Babylon when its ambassadors came to inquire of the wonder done in the land, but instead of showing them the great treasures of God's grace, mercy, and power he showed them the material wealth of the kingdom, arousing their covetousness and cupidity and resulting in the end in the complete destruction and despoiling of Jerusalem.