The victorious life of King David (which engendered an unbroken royal lineage that led to the emergence of Christ on earth) gave birth to a golden era in the reign of King Solomon.
It is recorded both in scripture, and many other sources, that at no other time before or after in Israel's history had there been so much abundance, wealth and peace, as in the time of Solomon.
He was reputed to be the wisest king that ever lived, and his admirers spanned the entire known world and it's great and established Kingdoms.
However, it is far less widely acknowledged in historical and academic circles, that Israel witnessed a second golden era of abundance, prosperity and peace. This happened in the time of King Hezekiah of Judah in 2 Chronicles 29-32.
Coming on the heels of a nasty regime of crass rebellion against God and His laws, commands and edicts, Hezekiah's reign was an unlikely harbinger of another period of glorious splendour comparable to that of King Solomon.
King Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, was arguably the most rebellious, wicked, stubborn and irredeemable monarch in the entire history of ancient Israel's occupation of the promised land. Only King Ahab of Northern Israel (the husband of Jezebel) begins to approach the heights of insanity that could besiege the mind of any individual to wreak such devastating violence against the sanctity of divine reverence. (See 2 Chronicles 28)
King Hezekiah took the helm of leadership at the age of 25, and is recorded to have reigned 29 years as king of Judah. His emergence as a pious progeny of a rebellious predecessor mirrored the emergence of King Asa, the son of Abijah, and great grandson of King Solomon.
Hezekiah began his reign with a solid display of leadership. He took responsibility, on behalf of his predecessors, for the decline in the fortunes of Judah. He went on to encourage the mostly young crew of Levites and priests and directed them towards re-consecrating the temple after leading it's reopening.
The next step taken was a consecration of the King and all his subjects. Hezekiah recognized very early in his reign that authority came only from God, and quickly set about putting his kingdom in right standing with the Almighty, according to the specific directions in the law of Moses.
Not being sufficiently experienced in the normal activities of temple work, talk less of as massive a renaissance as what took place, the novice Levites and priests made a lot of mistakes. Strangely however, they were not penalized by God, as Hezekiah took responsibility, by proclaiming (truthfully) that what mattered most in God's service is the heart, and by praying for their healing.
Hezekiah had a vision. This became apparent in the deliberate steps he took to gather together as many of the children of Israel as he could to observe and celebrate the passover feast.
To be continued
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