2 Kings 18:2
Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
Hezekiah son of Ahaz and father of Manasseh began as king of Judah at twenty-five and reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem, his mother being Abi, shortened from Abijah, the daughter of Zachariah. His reign stands at the head of the account of the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes were swept away, within the closing history running to the Babylonian captivity. He was one of Judah's best kings and one of its two decided reformers with Josiah, good and devoted in contrast with his father Ahaz, one of its worst kings. He was righteous, upright and godly, trusting in the Lord, cleaving to Him, so that the Lord was with him and prospered him. His story shows that God befriends His people in trouble and delivers those who trust and call upon Him, as in spreading the threatening letter before the Lord in prayer.
Identity and Historical Setting
The verse opens the reign of Hezekiah as king of Judah, noting that he was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne and that he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother is named as Abi, the daughter of Zachariah, Abi being the shortened form of Abijah. He was the son of Ahaz, and in turn the good father of Manasseh.
It stands at the beginning of the account of the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes had been swept away. More particularly it belongs to 2 Kings 18-20, the closing portion of the continuous history running from 1 Kings 22 to 2 Kings 20. In that arrangement the books of Kings give a fuller history of Israel than of Judah, while the Chronicles give a fuller history of Judah than of Israel. It belongs to the biblical account of the Assyrian invasion of Palestine and the siege of Jerusalem in Hezekiah's reign, events for which an Assyrian cylinder supplies a confirmatory account.
It introduces Hezekiah within the closing eight-chapter record that runs from the breakup of Samaria to the Babylonian captivity of Judah. That record proceeds through Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Of those eight chapters, five are given to the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah.
Character, Reign and Lessons
The verse opens the record of one of Judah's best kings, a good king whose reign was marked by remarkable experiences and who stands as one of Judah's two decided reformers. He is grouped with Josiah as two good and devoted men of God notwithstanding their mistakes, in sharp contrast with his own father Ahaz, who was one of Judah's worst kings. He was righteous, upright and godly, with a previous upright and godly life behind him when the surrounding account begins. He is an example of living faithfully despite adverse circumstances as the son of Ahaz, for he trusted in the Lord, clave to Him, and the Lord was with him and prospered him.
In that surrounding account his destruction of the bronze serpent stands as a meritorious deed, because the people had been burning incense to it, but he treated it as a mere piece of brass and ended its idolatrous use. His very name, meaning strength of God, indicates the piety of his mother who gave it to him. His weeping sore when told he must die and his deep sorrow at the prospect of death were entirely consistent with his righteous character and do not prove impiety. Peace of mind in view of death is no sure test of piety, since a righteous man dreaded death while the wicked may have no bands in death. His reign is remembered as a mild and prosperous period before the final rejection of God, in which his goodness seemed to hold back the impending judgment, though the people did not all return fully to God.
His mistake exalted man, aroused the cupidity of Babylon, and brought captivity upon his own seed, and after his mistake the wicked Manasseh was born. Yet even to Manasseh came the mercy of God, and as the good father of Manasseh he was followed by a son who was permitted to reign almost twice as long as his own twenty-nine years. His story shows that God is a friend to His people when they are in trouble and delivers those who trust Him when they call on Him. His spreading of the threatening letter before the Lord in prayer gives a pattern for spreading letters and troubles before God, and children must learn faith, self-denial and trust now in order not to be overwhelmed in the coming time of trouble.