He watched the flames licking the sides of the stones as the children leaped across the flames. Their shrieks were drowned out by the celebratory music.
"Rejoice, my son! Now we will be blessed! We will have victory over our enemies. And, you will sit on the throne someday!"
"Long life and health to my son!"
His Dad was drunk, or maybe under the influence of some other substance. His eyes were red and wild.
The boy stared.
This wasn't a fun game. His siblings were terrified. Couldn't his Dad see that? They would carry the scars the rest of their lives if they even survived this ritual. But, the sight of his siblings silently screaming in the flames would be forever etched in their brother's mind. Closing his eyes didn't help. He tried to run, but his Father grabbed him, seemingly unaware of the terror in his eyes.
As he grew into a man, he often went for long walks, dreaming of the day he would become king. He secretly planned for the day he would decree the idols to be torn down. The cruel rituals stopped! The worship of pagan gods - could he, would he have the power to outlaw it all?
"They are nothing!" he muttered and spit on the ground.
Sometimes he would hear the old prophet, Isaiah preaching.
"Don't listen to him!" his Dad would say. "He always has bad news. He's just a grumpy old man."
But, the crowned prince didn't find him grumpy. He understood. Isaiah was putting words to the passions buried deep in his own soul. As time went on he began to view Isaiah as his father.
"God is my salvation! My hope is in Him. I can trust Him." the prince repeated to himself what he heard Isaiah preach. "I won't trust in Egypt, or Assyria, or anyone else. God is greater than all of them!"
He often wandered past a huge brass serpent on a pole. People would bow to it before passing by. Some even brought offerings, or their sick children, hoping they would be healed by looking at the image. "It's just an old piece of brass!" the prince would mutter. But, he didn't say anything. He couldn't, yet. "Moses gave us this serpent to worship." the king explained. "The serpent saved the lives of the people who were bit by poisonous snakes! It has healing power."
When the prince asked Isaiah about the snake on a stick, he explained the story a little differently. "God is the one with the power. Trusting and obeying God is what healed the people. Not the serpent. The serpent has no power."
The crowned prince studied hard and listened well to his teachers. He quietly began preparations for when he would sit on the throne. "The first thing I will do is fix the temple and open the doors again." he decided. "Or, maybe destroying the idols and high places should happen first." he wondered.
It wasn't long and he heard the frantic cry. His father, the King was dead. Hezekiah was King of Judah! He sat on the throne of David. The crown was placed on his head. Now was the time he had been longing for since that dreadful day so many years ago.
"I have a new name for the brass serpent!" He decreed. "Let's call it 'Nehushtan'" he ordered. "Nehushtan?" the people wondered. "That means a piece of brass."
"Yes!" the king agreed.
"And, I could use brass to make toilet seats for my royal bathroom, so break it down and make something more useful out of it!"
Some people gasped in horror at his irreverence. Would he be struck with leprosy for his rebellion?
King Hezekiah called for the priests. "Open the doors of the temple!" he commanded. A few priests showed up. Not nearly enough for the work of restoring the priestly roles. Many of them were not pure. However, there were Levites scattered around his jurisdiction who had hearts for God. So, it was decided that the Levites could join their brethren as much as possible, doing the Lord's work.
Some have suggested that Hezekiah was preparing for the opening of the temple before he even became king. Why do they think that? Because II Chronicles 29:3 says it was in the very first month of his reign that the house of God was opened and the priests sanctified. The new king was wasting no time.
He longed to celebrate Passover that first year, but there was not enough time to prepare. Happily, there was a clause in the law for just such a situation and they were able to celebrate the Passover and Unleavened Bread in the second month. The Feast was so meaningful and inspiring that a great revival spread throughout Jerusalem and beyond.
The king shared his heart with his people. II Chronicles 29:9 suggests, and historical accounts written by the Assyrians hint, that some of Hezekiah's own family members had been captured by King Sennacherib, King of Assyria. Maybe even his wife and daughters. His siblings were gone, by the hand of his own father. His wife and children were gone by the hand of the king of Assyria. He had nothing left to lose. And no one left to hope in, but God.
"'It is in my heart to make a covenant with the God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons (he addressed the Priests and Levites) the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him.." (II Chronicles 30:10)
They found the songs of David and Asaph and sang them once again. They carefully recorded the proverbs of Solomon (Proverbs 25:1) and as they purified themselves, and as they humbled themselves, and as they worshiped, a great thing happened in the hearts of the people.
They softened.
A great thing happened and their eyes were opened.
And, suddenly the king didn't even have to tell them what they should do. They themselves became disgusted with the idols around them. Archeologists have found ruins from this time period. Idols were torn down and replaced with toilets! Altars were destroyed and used as building stones for a nearby wall.
"It is nothing!" Hezekiah had said. "They have no power."
"Trust God! Our only hope is in Him!"
And, the people believed him. And, the people believed in God. And, He answered their prayers.
II Kings 18:5-6 says this about Hezekiah:
He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
For he clave to the LORD and departed not from following him,
Great Kings reigned over Judah before and after him.
What about King David who reigned many years before him? Or, the young King Josiah who reigned many years after? There was a great revival in His time also.
But, somehow, neither of these kings, whose hearts were very much for God, trusted God quite like King Hezekiah.
