King Hezekiah of Judah
Hezekiah of Judah (with a co-regency beginning around 728 BC) stands out as a reforming king who "did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done" (2 Kings 18:3). He trusted the LORD and proved it by tearing down high places, smashing sacred pillars, and breaking the bronze serpent Moses had made, calling it Nehushtan (2 Kings 18:4). He reopened the temple, sanctified the priests and Levites, and led Judah into a nationwide Passover of uncommon joy (2 Chronicles 29-31; 2 Chronicles 30:26). When Sennacherib's Assyrian army besieged the land, Hezekiah sought Isaiah and prayed that God would act "that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God" (2 Kings 19:19). The LORD answered decisively: the angel of the LORD struck down the invaders and Sennacherib withdrew (2 Kings 19:35-37). Hezekiah also strengthened Jerusalem's defenses and secured its water by channeling the Gihon Spring to the city—known today as Hezekiah's tunnel (2 Chronicles 32:30).
Yet Hezekiah's story also exposes the limits of even a good king. When mortally ill, he heard a prophecy that he was going to die (Isaiah 38:1), but upon praying to God, the LORD replied, "I have heard your prayer… I will add fifteen years to your life" (2 Kings 20:5-6). Afterward, however, envoys from Babylon visited; in pride Hezekiah displayed all his treasures, and Isaiah foretold that Judah's wealth and some of his sons would be carried away to Babylon (2 Kings 20:12-18). Chronicles adds the heart—diagnosis: "Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud"—though he later humbled himself (2 Chronicles 32:25-26). Hezekiah's reign thus instructs us that real deliverance comes from trusting the LORD, not human power, and it points beyond Judah's best monarchs to the greater Son of David whose perfect obedience and unending rule secure lasting salvation for His people (Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 1:1).
