{"id":64316,"date":"2019-10-13T18:32:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T15:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64316"},"modified":"2023-05-07T09:43:15","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T06:43:15","slug":"hezekiah-greater-than-david-himself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hezekiah-greater-than-david-himself\/","title":{"rendered":"Hezekiah – Greater Than David Himself?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[834,375,898,400],"acf":{"old_id":"64316","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34250,"related_cahpter":"327","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"As for us - even if we think we don\u2019t rate at all, we might possess some trait that shines above all else","content":"

Finally, the Kingdom of Judah has a ruler who \u201cdid what was pleasing to the LORD, just as his father David had done\u201d (II Kings 18:3). What did Hezekiah do to warrant this description?<\/span><\/p>\n

First and foremost, \u201che abolished the shrines\u2026\u201d (vs. 4). Those local shrines had been a thorn in the side of Judaean religious life since just one generation after Solomon built the Holy Temple: the people of Judah \u201cdid what was displeasing to the Lord\u2026 built for themselves shrines\u2026\u201d (I Kings 14:22-23) in a drastic rejection of the longing for a central place of worship that David modeled; the divine approval rating of every later king takes into account their continued existence. (See e.g. I Kings 22:43-44, II Kings 12:3-4, and more). Those kings who allowed the people to worship at backyard shrines \u2013 even if it was God they worshipped \u2013 could not possibly be said to measure up to David.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there are other measures of righteousness \u2013 and of comparison to David. National religious guidance is only one element of a king\u2019s spiritual life; we read on a more personal level that Hezekiah \u201ctrusted only in the LORD\u201d (v. 5) and \u201cclung to the Lord\u201d (v. 6) And since God requires more of any Jew than general \u201ctrust\u201d and \u201cclinging,\u201d we further find that this king \u201ckept the commandments that the Lord had given to Moses\u201d (ibid.) Ultimately, \u201cthere was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those before him\u201d (v. 5).<\/span><\/p>\n

But wait \u2013 didn\u2019t we just read that Hezekiah was like David? How does that comparison fit with the assertion that he was unique among (greater than) all predecessors and successors?<\/span><\/p>\n

Some commentators assert that indeed, Hezekiah surpassed David \u2013 because David sinned (see I Kings 15:5) and Hezekiah never did. Odd, since the Talmud asserts (Berachot 10a) \u2013 and so do some of the same commentators \u2013 that Hezekiah did sin, by refusing to marry and produce children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Others maintain David\u2019s superiority, either by emphasizing the mention of <\/span>kings of Judah<\/em> <\/span>(David and Solomon ruled a united Jewish kingdom, not Judah, and so they are excluded from the comparison) or by applying the comparison only to the specific trait just mentioned: trust in God. As Malbim points out regarding the latter approach, Josiah is also described as greater than all who came before him \u2013 specifically regarding repentance (23:25). We might argue then that general comparisons are beside the point: each king who followed in God\u2019s ways did so in his own way, and each stands out as a unique role model.<\/span><\/p>\n

The specific judgments behind the prophet\u2019s comparisons ultimately belong solely to God \u2013 but their mention reminds us of our vast potential: even if we sin, our sin might not rate in comparison to others\u2019; and even if we think we generally don\u2019t rate at all, we might possess (and hone) some trait that shines above all else \u2013 for all we know, even above the beloved King David himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: King Hezekiah on a 17th century painting by unknown artist in the choir of Sankta Maria kyrka in \u00c5hus, Sweden \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64317,"id":64317,"title":"2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus","filename":"2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hezekiah-greater-than-david-himself\/2kings18-hezekiah-ahus\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings18-hezekiah-ahus","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64316,"date":"2019-10-13 15:32:39","modified":"2023-01-25 05:43:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":800,"height":1153,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus-208x300.jpg","medium-width":208,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus-710x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":710,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus-710x1024.jpg","large-width":710,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1153,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1153,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1153,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-Hezekiah-\u00c5hus-291x420.jpg","home_baner-width":291,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Hezekiah - 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