2 Kings 20

2 Kings 20:1

6. Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery (20:1-11)20:1-7 The events of chapter 20 are generally believed to have taken place earlier, probably in the early part of chapter 18, during the first invasion of Sennacherib (see v. 6). When Hezekiah was taken seriously ill, Isaiah told him to set his house in order because death was imminent. The king prayed earnestly for recovery and was granted fifteen additional years of life. Whitcomb comments: What would I do with the remainder of my life if God told me that I had just 15 years to live? What did Hezekiah do with those years? The Bible does not say, for the last event recorded of his reign was the destruction of Sennacherib’s army, in 701 B.C. (which probably occurred less than a year after his sickness). It has been suggested that one reason why God prolonged his life was that he had no male heir to the throne (2Ki_21:1 states that Manasseh was only twelve when he began to reign). However, it is probable that Manasseh was a coregent with his father for nearly ten years, because otherwise it would be impossible to fit the 55 years of his reign into this period of Judah’s history, working back from the fixed dates of the Babylonian Captivity. 20:8-11 As a sign that Hezekiah would be healed and would return to the temple to worship, God caused the shadow . . . on the sundial (or steps, NASB) of Ahaz to go back ten degrees. (Chronologically, verse 7 follows verses 8-11.) From 2Ch_32:31 we conclude that it was a supernatural event, the news of which reached as far as Babylon. The Babylonians worshiped the heavenly bodies and they would certainly notice any irregularities. Word spread quickly that it was on Hezekiah’s behalf that this great miracle had taken place.

2 Kings 20:12

7. Hezekiah’s Foolish Pride (20:12-21)20:12-18 The king of Babylon, Berodach-Baladan, sent congratulations to Hezekiah on his recovery. Doubtless his real purpose was to strengthen his ties with Judah against Assyria. Hezekiah foolishly showed the messengers from Babylon all . . . his treasures. (From 2Ch_32:31 we learn that God was testing him through this situation to know what was in his heart. The answer: PRIDE!) Isaiah rebuked him for this and prophesied that Judah would be taken into captivity by Babylon and that some of Hezekiah’s own sons would be eunuchs (officials, NASB) in the palace of the Babylonian king. Before these treasures ended up in Babylon, many of them would first go to Assyria as part of the tribute that Hezekiah paid to Sennacherib when the Assyrians invaded Palestine shortly after Hezekiah’s recovery (2Ki_18:13-16). 20:19 Hezekiah submitted to God’s decree and acknowledged its leniency. “For he said, ‘Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?’” (RSV). 20:20, 21 Hezekiah built a pool and a tunnel by which water could be brought . . . into Jerusalem from a well outside the city. Such a hidden source would be especially valuable in a time of siege. It is still possible to wade through Hezekiah’s tunnel from the Spring of Gihon to the Pool of Siloam. In 1880 an inscription made by Hezekiah’s workers in the ancient prong-shaped Semitic script was found. It was removed to a museum in Turkey, which was then ruling Palestine as part of the old Ottoman Empire. The ministry of Micah ended at this time.