2 Kings 20:1-21

In this chapter we have the account of the last days of Hezekiah. From a severe sickness he was delivered in answer to prayer and by the intervention of the prophet. He again manifested weakness during the Babylonians visit, by showing them all the treasures of his house. For this he was rebuked by Isaiah, who prophesied that the things they had seen the visitors would ultimately bear away.

At the close of the chapter we have a brief incidental glimpse of the home administration of the king, but we are referred to the Book of Chronicles for particulars. This reign is in very many respects most remarkable, coming as it did in the midst of days so full of darkness, and so terribly characterized by corruption. Everything seemed to be against Hezekiah, and yet perhaps in his loyalty we may see the protesting reaction of the son from a father which does sometimes manifest itself in the life of a man brought under such influence as that of Isaiah.

At least, the story reveals how much one man, seriously loyal to truth, may accomplish in the midst of the most adverse and difficult circumstances.