2 Chronicles 32:24-33

2 Chronicles 32:24–33✞: Hezekiah’s Pride, Success and Death

Passage

This passage echoes a passage in 2 Kings 20:1–11✞ (which I blogged about here), but there’s a nuance given here in Chronicles that isn’t given in Kings. The difference comes in the first paragraph:

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the LORD’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.

verses 24–26✞, emphasis added

The part about Hezekiah’s heart becoming proud wasn’t mentioned in Kings, nor the LORD’s wrath falling on Judah because of it.

The rest of the passage gives some highlights from Hezekiah’s reign, which are mostly positive, but, again, with a nuance provided in Chronicles that wasn’t provided in Kings:

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. ²⁸ He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. ²⁹ He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.

³⁰ It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. ³¹ But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

verses 27–31✞, emphasis added

Thoughts

One thing that I found out when I was blogging about this in Kings is that this illness of Hezekiah’s is actually a flashback, occurring before the Assyrians invade Judah. So perhaps the amount of success the Assyrians had in the last passage invading Judah can, at least in part, be attributed to the LORD’s wrath against Hezekiah and Judah, mentioned in verse 25 above?

In the mirroring passage in 2 Kings 20:12–21✞ (for which I blogged here) there is no mention of God “leaving” Hezekiah to test him with the Babylonians – similarly, however, when Hezekiah is confronted by Isaiah about this, his response in Kings (which is not mentioned here in Chronicles) reads, to my ears, as somewhat uncaring: “‘The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,’ Hezekiah replied. For he thought, ‘Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?’” So the approaches by the author(s) of Kings and Chronicles are different: Kings cares more about Hezekiah’s response, while Chronicles cares more about God’s role in the matter.

An interesting point, in addition to this, is to see Hezekiah’s short-sightedness in not worrying about the Babylonians. “Who cares what I’m showing the Babylonians,” he thinks, “when it’s the Assyrians we have to worry about!” Little did he know, however, is that the Assyrians would eventually be defeated by the Babylonians – and the Babylonians, in turn, would conquer his own nation of Judah!

Not that his short-sightedness is what worries the author(s) of Kings or Chronicles, though; how could Hezekiah know which nation is going to be the next dominant power in the world? That’s God’s domain. No, I think Hezekiah’s problem is pride: he’s not just being friendly to the Babylonians, he’s showing off. “Look at all the stuff I’ve got!” he’s saying. “What a great king I am!” Overall, Hezekiah had good moments and bad moments, but this particular moment—in which God was testing him—was a bad one.

I wonder if I’m similar to Hezekiah? Am I only faithful to God when my life is going well?