Have you ever noticed that except for one silly mistake we would remember Hezekiah as the most majestic of all the Bible kings?
He ascended to the throne in a time of terrible depravity and singlehandedly inspired the people to honest repentance. His reinstitution of temple service is one of the truly beautiful stories of Scripture. His response to the horrifying threat of Sennecharib's Assyria is one of the Bible's pure examples of faith.
There was so much about this man that was good, but his one failure came after he wouldn't accept that God can make "everything beautiful in its time", even death. God allowed Hezekiah to negotiate with Him over the timing of his death and it was after that extension of life that Hezekiah, sadly, failed.
The Babylonians come wanting to know how a defeated nation became an empire in less than one generation.. Hezekiah had a chance to witness for his God but instead showed them so much gold that they came back and took it all in less than 100 years. How sad.
You can get more information on this concept in our series:
#975 Divine Negotiations #905 Bible Kings #957 The Rest of the Story
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