Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Hezekiah is about to die after being judged by the Lord, but He cries out to God, and his life is extended; after his death, his son and grandson do evil.
King Hezekiah of Judah (in Jerusalem) is sick and near death, and Isaiah the prophet tells him to set his house in order because he will die. However, "he [turns] his face toward the wall and prays to the Lord." He asks the Lord to remember how he walked before him in truth and did what was right in His sight. Then, he weeps bitterly. Before Isaiah has gone out to the middle court, the word of the Lord comes to him and tells him to tell the king that He has heard his prayer and seen his tears and will hear him, and that He will add fifteen years to his life and deliver the city from the Assyrians and defend it Himself for His own sake and David's. Isaiah tells Hezekiah to lay figs on his boil, and he recovers. Hezekiah then asks for a sign from the Lord, and Isaiah says the sign will be that the shadow will go backward ten degrees. Then, Isaiah cries out to the Lord, and the shadow goes down ten degrees on the sundial. Then, the king of Babylon sends letters and presents to the king, and Hezekiah shows him all his treasures. Then, Isaiah returns and tells him that because he did this, all the treasures in his house and all his fathers have accumulated will be carried away to Babylon, along with his descendants, and they will be eunuchs in the king's house. Hezekiah strangely says it is a good word, because "will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?" And Hezekiah dies and Manasseh reigns in his place.
Manasseh is twelve when he becomes king and reigns 55 years. He does evil by rebuilding the high places Hezekiah had destroyed, raising up altars for Baal, and making a wooden image like Ahab did. He also worships "all the host of heaven and [serves] them." He even builds altars in the Lord's house for the host of heaven. It says he makes his son pass through the fire, practices soothsaying and witchcraft, and consults spiritists and mediums. He seduces Israel to do more evil than the nations around them. The Lord speaks to the prophets and says that He will bring calamity on Jerusalem and Judah that will cause men's ears (who hear it) to tingle. He will wipe Jerusalem like a dish, "turning it upside down." He will forsake his inheritance and give them into the hands of their enemies, and they will become a victim for their plunderers. Manasseh also shed innocent blood in Jerusalem. Then, he dies and is buried in his own house, and his son Amon reigns in his place. He reigns only two years and also does evil. His servants conspire against him and kill him in his own house. Then, the people of the land execute his conspirators and make his son, Josiah, king in his place.
Thoughts/discussion questions:
Throughout the Bible, we see that when the kings prospered, they became lax in their morals and began to stray from the Lord; God knows it is often trials that bring us closer to Him.