“Like the blind man, if you can’t see Jesus in the New Testament, go and soak a while in the Old!” —D.W.G.
We’ve come to the last chapter of Hezekiah’s earthly sojourn, his extra 15 years drawing to a close. Seven verses encapsulate his life (2 Chron 32:27-33). First are recorded the material blessings he accumulated under God’s beneficent hand. “Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks. Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property” (vv 27- 29). None of it, of course, would make it to the next world. Second, we’re reminded of his project to bring water from the Gihon artesian spring, meaning “bursting forth.” “This same Hezekiah also…brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David” (v 30). It’s given as a prime example of the fact that “Hezekiah prospered in all his works.” Interestingly, his contemporary, Isaiah, would describe this waterway and the Siloam pool (meaning “sent”) as a picture of the Messiah, the Sent One. The Lord said, “These people refused the waters of Shiloah that flow softly” (Isa 8:6), placing their trust instead in Gentile kings. Therefore “the waters of the River, strong and mighty—the king of Assyria and all his glory” (v 7), for example, would sweep them away in a flood. The Pool of Siloam, linked to Immanuel (v 8), our meek and humble Lord, is the lowest place within the old city of Jerusalem. “Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (2 Chron 32:32).