April 27 Reading: II Kings 20-22 Commentary
Below is our II Kings 20-22 commentary from our Beginning to End Bible reading program. You can find an email link at the end of this page to share your thoughts or comments with us.
Key Verse(s):
“Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day’ “ (II Kings 21:12-15).
II Kings 20 – God Extends Hezekiah’s Life
Hezekiah was regarded as one of most godly kings of Judah. His faith was strong and allowed him to trust God to overcome King Sennacherib and the Assyrian army (II Kings 19). However, later in life, the testing of his faith became personal.
In short, Hezekiah became sick. It was so bad that he was nearing death. In fact, Isaiah the prophet actually came to him and said, “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live” (v. 1). If you received that word from a prophet who had been right before, you would probably believe it.
However, Hezekiah responded in an interesting way. Instead of giving up, he prayed. He wept and poured out his heart to God saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight” (v. 3).
His prayer must have touched the heart of God. Because before Isaiah had left the palace courtyard, God told him to return to Hezekiah and tell him that God had heard his prayer and had granted that his life be extended 15 years (vv. 4-6).
And to confirm the announcement, God provided a miraculous sign to Hezekiah that proved his word would come true. He forced the shadow on a sundial to go backwards ten degrees (vv. 8-11).
Babylon Sends Envoys
At some point during the final years of Hezekiah’s life, he hosted an envoy of officials from Babylon. The king of Babylon had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and sent him a letter and a gift (v. 12). While there, Hezekiah showed them hospitality. He also showed them all his treasures, weapons, silver and gold – “There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them” (v. 13).
The prophet Isaiah came to inquire about these men, who they were and where they’d come from. Hezekiah told him they were from Babylon and that there was nothing he had not shown them in his kingdom (vv. 14-15).
To this, Isaiah had some news for the king. It doesn’t read like a direct judgment of a sin Hezekiah committed for showing these men around. Rather, it’s more like a pronouncement of something God had already set in motion and the time for it was coming soon:
“Hear the word of the Lord: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon’ “ (vv. 16-18).
Hezekiah received this news well saying, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” (v. 19). He thought this because he concluded at least there would be peace during his lifetime (v. 19).
II Kings 21 – Manasseh: King of Judah
Hezekiah was a godly king. However, his parenting skills may have been lacking. That is because after he died, his son Manasseh became king and undid everything his father had done.
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem….And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel” (v. 1).
At 55 years in length, Manasseh’s reign was the longest of any king of the divided kingdom era. It would be an error though to assume his length of reign equated to God’s blessing. God blessed Judah despite the wickedness of Manasseh’s reign.
How did Manasseh plunge the nation back into wickedness? We are told he:
1. Rebuilt all the high places, altars of Baal and wooden images his father had torn down (v. 3).
2. Built altars to “all the host of heaven” in the temple (vv. 4-5).
3. Practiced child sacrifice, soothsaying and witchcraft (v. 6).
4. Set a carved image of Asherah (the Canaanite goddess of fertility) in the temple (v. 7).
5. “Shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another” (v. 16).
In essence, these verses give a clear picture of Manasseh: “..Manasseh seduced them [the people] to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel” (v. 9) and “…he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols” (v. 11).
God’s Judgment on Manasseh and Judah
God’s longsuffering had been evident towards Judah. The Southern Kingdom had outlasted the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the inhabitants of which were now in captivity in Assyria. However, Manasseh’s wickedness and the people’s willingness to follow him was essentially the final straw that led to the end of the Judah as well.
Because of Manasseh’s sin, God said through his servants the prophets:
“Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day’ “ (vv. 12-15).
God was still going to be faithful to the covenant he made with David (see II Sam. 7). However, for a time, the people would know the consequences of their sin by being taken captive by an enemy nation. The political entity of Judah would soon end and all God’s people would be exiled to a foreign land.
Ironically, Manasseh repented at the end of his life. That is documented in II Chron. 33:12-16. His repentance was too late though to stop God’s judgment. And it came too late to have any influence on his son Amon who succeeded him on the throne.
Amon: King of Judah
“Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem…And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. He forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord” (vv. 19-22).
Amon’s reign was short-lived. His own servants conspired against him and killed him in his own house (v. 23). The people executed those who had conspired against Amon and placed his son Josiah on the throne (v. 24).
II Kings 22 – Josiah and the Book of the Law
What prompts a child to reject the example of their parents? Usually some experience or influence has to alter their perception of how they see the world. As we’ve seen in the line of kings, this deviation from the previous generation’s lifestyle and faith can go either way – from godly to evil or from evil to godly.
In the case of Josiah, it went from evil to godly. His father (Amon) and grandfather (Manasseh) had been wicked kings. But when Josiah came to the throne at eight years of age (v. 1), he chose a different path: “…he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem…And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (v. 2). So evidently, he had some godly influencers in his life at a young age that turned his heart to the Lord and led his national religious reforms (II Chron. 34).
An Amazing and Terrifying Discovery
A little over half-way through his reign (in the 18th year), Josiah began extensive repairs to the temple. The money for this project came from the offerings people brought to the temple. Josiah’s scribe Shaphan went to give the king’s instructions to Hilkiah the high priest on what must be done (vv. 3-7).
Upon arrival, Hilkiah had interesting news for Shaphan. He told Josiah’s scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord” (v. 8). More than likely, he had found all or part of the Pentateuch which had either been lost or hidden for some time during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon. He gave it to Shaphan who read it and then took it to the king and read it before him (v. 10).
The words of the law must have stung Josiah. Upon hearing the reading of the Word, he tore his clothes. He knew the news was not good for the nation.
The Lord’s Verdict
Immediately, Josiah commanded his officers, including Hilkiah the priest, to consult the Lord on behalf of the people. Based on what he’d heard, he knew that “great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us” (v. 13).
Hilkiah and the other officials went to a prophetess named Huldah who lived in Second Quarter of Jerusalem (v. 14). She heard what had happened and that the king wanted to know the mind of the Lord. She responded to them by saying that God was indeed going to “bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants” because the people had forsaken the Lord and worshipped other gods (vv. 16-17).
However, there was some good news for Josiah. Through Halduh, God told the king this:
“‘…because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,’ says the Lord. ‘Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place'” (vv. 19-20).
What would Josiah do with this news in hand? The judgment had been given and God was not turning back from it. That didn’t phase Josiah. He would lead one of the greatest spiritual reforms ever in the history of Judah.
Questions to Consider:
Our time on this earth is short and our days limited. So give every day maximum attention and live life to the fullest for God’s glory.
How would your life change if you knew when you were going to die? Hezekiah was granted a reprieve from death (II Kings 19), but he was also told how long he then had to live. If that happened to you, what would you do differently? Would it change how you approached each day of your life?
Josiah’s heart was tender to the things of the Lord. It wasn’t hardened by the things of this world or the influence of his family. His eyes were fixed on the Lord and he didn’t turn to the right or the left. What gets in your way and alters your spiritual fervor?
What other points would you want to know about in our II Kings 20-22 commentary? Email us here with questions or comments.