Hezekiah biography

Following the death of King Ahaz, his son Hezekiah ascended the throne in Jerusalem. The new monarch introduced comprehensive religious reform and introduced substantial policy changes.

Hezekiah renewed the full-scale worship of the Israelite God following a lengthy period in which idol-worship had taken root in the city: "He abolished the shrines and smashed the pillars and cut down the sacred post.

He also broke into pieces the bronze serpent which Moses had made, for until that time the Israelites had been offering sacrifices to it "(2 Kings 18:4). At the same time he renewed the tradition of the Passover pilgrimage in its full scope, and for the first time since the kingdom had split, under Rehoboam son of Solomon, the remnants of the tribes of Israel, those who had not gone into the Assyrian exile, were invited to take part in the most sumptuous festival which had been seen for many generations.

Hezekiah took advantage of the festival to consolidate his relig