In our last visit we considered the folly of Hezekiah’s decision described in Isaiah 39 to let visitors from Babylon see all the treasures of his kingdom. Now let’s consider the fact that Manasseh was born to him during those additional 15 years.
Manasseh was 12 years old when Hezekiah died and he took over as king. His reign lasted fifty-five years. In 2 Kings 21:2 and following it says, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites…He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger…Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end – besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
We can’t go back and wonder what would have happened if Hezekiah had accepted the verdict that he was going to die and did what God asked him to do – get his house in order. He didn’t even get his house in order during those extra 15 years God gave him.
Remember, in his prayer for healing he prayed, “The living, the living – they praise you, as I am doing today, fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.” Either he forgot to teach his young son about God’s faithfulness during the 12 years before his death or his son saw inconsistencies in his father’s life that provided an excuse for him to rebel and turn from the God of his father. Something went wrong with tragic outcomes.
