Melakhim B 20: Tests of Faith
SEFER MELAKHIM BET: THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS
By Rav Alex
****************************************************************
This weeks
shiurim are dedicated in memory of Israel Koschitzky zt"l, whose
yahrzeit falls on the 19th of Kislev.
May the worldwide dissemination of Torah through the VBM be a fitting
tribute to a man whose lifetime achievements exemplified the love of Eretz
Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.
****************************************************************
Shiur #24: Chapter 20 Tests of Faith
The central question that
underlies the dilemmas and challenges faced by Chizkiyahu is the age old
question of bitachon: Should a person rely upon God or exercise his or
her own initiative, independence and acumen to actively meet and resolve the
situations and struggles of life?
In the story of the
terrifying Assyrian attack on Jerusalem (ch. 18-19), Chizkiyahu was saved solely
by God's power and grace. Chapter 20 presents two scenarios in which Chizkiyahu
acts in contrary directions. In the first, he trusts in God. In the second, he
acts independently, furthering his strategic and diplomatic agenda by consorting
with a foreign power. These stories will offer us a wonderful opportunity to
think about the issue of faith versus self-empowerment.
THE POWER OF PRAYER
In those days Chizkiyahu became ill and was at the point of death. The
prophet Yeshayahu son of Amotz went to him and said, This is what God
says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will
not recover. (20:1)
Sefer Melakhim
offers no information as to the reason or cause of Chizkiyahu's sickness,[1]
only that he is afflicted with a life-threatening skin ailment (v. 7). Yeshayahu
the prophet speaks in God's name, informing Chizkiyahu of his imminent demise
and warning him to prepare for death.[2] And yet, rather than eliciting the
kings acquiescence,
the divine decree merely spurs Chizkiyahu into desperate prayer, as he pleads
before God, stressing his religious commitment:
He turned his face to the wall and prayed to God, saying:
Remember, God, how I have walked before You faithfully
and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your
eyes. And Chizkiyahu wept bitterly. (2-3)
In no time at all Yeshayahu hardly had time to leave the palace grounds God
issues a reprieve, granting the king an additional fifteen years. Through this
story, Chizkiyahu emerges as a powerful symbol of tenacious prayer, an
embodiment of the principle that even after the decree has been issued, after
the die has seemingly been cast, one may still appeal to God. In his faith,
Chizkiyahu challenges the absolutism of prophecy and overturns the divine
sentence.
[Chezekia said] This tradition I have from the house of my ancestor: Even if a
sharp sword rests upon a man's neck he should not desist from prayer.
"Thereupon straightway, Chezekia turned his face to the kir [wall] and prayed
unto the Lord." What is the meaning of 'kir'? R. Simeon b. Lakish said:
[He prayed] from the innermost chambers [kiroth] of his heart
" (Berakhot
10a-b)
Notwithstanding the prophet's
explicit annulment of the fatal decree, the king requests a divine sign as
verification of his promise. Does the king not trust the prophet? Why does he
require further evidence of God's word? Radak explains:
After [Yeshayahu] had pronounced the decree twice You will die;
you shall not live [Chizkiyahu] considered Yeshayahus response, I will
heal you, an attempt to console him after he had witnessed his extensive
weeping. And although he saw the manner in which the boils had become healed, he
did not believe that he would genuinely regain his strength such that he could
go up to the House of the Lord.
Chizkiyahu was unsure whether
the reversal of God's prophecy was truly real. Was the prophet simply trying to
alleviate his distress with kind words?[3] He
needed a direct communication from God. The precise details of the divine sign
elude us,[4]
but Chizkiyahu emerges as a paragon of faith. And yet, his firm trust in God
does not engender human diffidence. Chizkiyahu balances his reliance on God and
his ability to challenge Him.
A
question arises that relates to the relationship between this story and the
previous one,
Sancheriv's
siege and Jerusalem's miraculous salvation. The siege is dated by Sefer
Melakhim to the fourteenth year of Chizkiyahus reign (18:13). In our story,
Chizkiyahu, a king who reigns twenty-nine years (18:2), gets sick and thereafter
is granted an additional fifteen years. By simple deduction, we may now date
Chizkiyahus illness to his fourteenth year as well. In that case, we may well
follow
Rashi and Abarbanel,[5]
who view Chizkiyahu's illness as a mirroring of the nation facing catastrophe,
and the deliverance of the two as transpiring concurrently. Indeed, each
instance features a desperate king turning to God in prayer and a swift,
miraculous reversal that restores life and the normal order of things.
THE VISIT OF BERODAKH BALADAN[6]
The final episode describes
the visit of a Babylonian ruler:
At that time, Berodakh Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Chizkiyahu
letters and a gift, because he had heard of Chizkiyahus illness.
Chizkiyahu received the envoys and showed them all that was in his
storehousesthe silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oilhis armory
and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in
all his kingdom that Chizkiyahu did not show them. (12-13)
Chizkiyahu's display triggers the prophet's ire. He censures Chizkiyahu
and issues a terrible prophecy of doom and exile:
The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your
predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to
This passage raises many questions. Who is this Babylonian ruler? What is his
interest in coming to see Chizkiyahu? Is this merely a therapeutic visit to a
convalescent monarch or is there more than meets the eye here? Most intriguing
is Yeshayahu's rage as Chizkiyahu displays his royal treasures and national
storehouses? Is a king precluded from exhibiting his wealth? Is this act so dire
as to warrant the first instance of a prediction of the Churban?[7]
BERODAKH AND CHIZKIYAHU'S EXCESSIVE PRIDE
Ralbag suggests that the Babylonian delegation came in response to the
miraculous sign enacted at Chizkiyahu's request, the reversal of the sun.
Yeshayahu became enraged because Chizkiyahu misappropriated the visit to glorify
his own power instead of God:
This was evil in God's
eyes, for he raised himself [lit. his heart] over God. [The Babylonians] came to
enquire about the miracle; it was inappropriate for Chizkiyahu to leverage this
to his self-glorification. Instead, he should have attributed the greatness and
honor to God and have them appreciate God's power.
Ralbag's portrayal of Chizkiyahu as occupied with and guilty of
self-aggrandizement is based on the account in Divrei Ha-yamim.[8]
In those days, Chizkiyahu became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to
God, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.
But Chizkiyahus heart was proud and
he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore Gods wrath was
on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. (Divrei
Ha-yamim II 32:24-5)
Interestingly, while Divrei Ha-yamim fails to mention the visit by
Berodakh's men, these verses establish a causal link between the king's
sickness, his excessive pride and God's condemnation of Jerusalem.
A MILITARY FOCUS
Berodakh Baladan is a historical figure,[9]
and historical records show that he twice attempted to galvanize an
anti-Assyrian coalition to terminate Assyria's regional dominance. It seems
highly possible that this international diplomatic mission was a consultation in
building precisely such a war coalition.[10]
Chizkiyahu's display of his treasury and stores was probably a demonstration of
his ability to mount a military campaign, or conversely, to withstand an
Assyrian onslaught.
In this vein, the midrash suggests that Berodakhs visit was not so much
a result of Chizkiyahu's miraculous recovery, but in response to Israel's
amazing defeat of Sancheriv:
When Chizkiyahu saw the
Babylonian delegates, he became exceedingly conceited [lit. high of heart]. He
showed them the royal treasury and the Holy of Holies, and opened the Ark [of
the Covenant] and pointed to the tablets [of stone] and said: It is with these
that we wage war and achieve victory! (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, 51)
According to this midrash, when the prophet criticizes Chizkiyahu's
pride, his complaint is that Chizkiyahu was downplaying God's role in the
defeat of Assyria and highlighting his own role, accentuating his strength.
Here, the offensive factor is not simple arrogance; it goes deeper than that. In
Chizkiyahu's desire to impress the foreign dignitaries, he sequesters God's
victory and miracles, misappropriating God's power as his own. He is essentially
usurping God.
AGAINST ALLIANCES
These readings are based upon Divrei Ha-yamim's accusation of excessive
pride, but in fact, Sefer Melakhim never lists this as Chizkiyahu's
character flaw. If we read Melakhim alone, what could we propose to
explain Yeshayahu's fierce opposition to Chizkiyahu's alliance with Babylon?
The most obvious answer is to reflect upon the fact that Yeshayahu is a prophet
who repeatedly warns against alliances with foreign governments. Yeshayahu
advises King Achaz against a pact with Assyria; he seeks to thwart Chizkiyahu's
alliance with Egypt. But what is the reason for the prophets disinclination to
form these pacts? What is wrong with alliances?
First, the ally can easily let you down:
Woe
to the obstinate children, declares God, to those who carry out plans that are
not Mine, forming an alliance,
but not by My spirit
who go down to Egypt without consulting
Me; who look for help to Pharaohs protection,
to Egypts shade for refuge. But Pharaohs protection will be to your shame;
Egypts shade will
bring you disgrace. (Yeshayahu 30:1-3)
Second, Israel is simply a small player up against huge imperial forces much
larger than it. Israel would do much better to be firm and be calm, to ride
out the storm. If Israel bets on the wrong alliance, it can be easily
overwhelmed and destroyed:
Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloach
Therefore, God is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters
of the Euphratesthe king of Assyria
with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks,
and swirl through Judah like a flash flood reaching up to the neck. (Yeshayahu
8:6-8)
This may be the easiest explanation of Yeshayahu's gloomy prediction:
all that your
predecessors have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. He
means that the people whom you befriend today are likely to turn against you
tomorrow.
But lastly, in a world in which there is no separation between religion and
state, in which every country has a religious vision and culture, a covenant
with a foreign power generally involves a religious compromise. Chizkiyahu's
father Achaz is good proof for this in that his strategic alliance with Assyria
opened the floodgates to a wholesale adoption of Assryrian religious norms.
Yeshayahu opposes reliance on a foreign power for all these reasons. In
turbulent times, he far prefers the adoption of a more modest profile,
withdrawing from brokering international treaties and meddling.
Sefer Melakhim paints a picture of a faithful, religious
Chizkiyahu. However, maybe precisely due to his propensity to depend upon God,
his diplomatic courtship of a foreign power is misplaced and flawed.
QUESTIONS OF TRUST: THE BOOK OF REMEDIES.
If Yeshayahus reluctance to form alliances with other nations is indeed
warranted, what is the king to do? Should Chizkiyahu never negotiate alliances
with other regional powers? He is, after all, the king; wouldn't his people
expect him to prepare a strategy that would avert yet another invasion by a
superpower like Assyria? Should Chizkiyahu run his foreign policy solely by
turning to God in prayer?
We can reinforce this question with a famous rabbinic reflection upon
Chizkiyahu's successes and mistakes:
King Chizkiyahu did six
things; regarding three [the Rabbis] protested and regarding three they did not:
He dragged his father's remains on a rope-drawn bier, and they did not protest;
He ground down the brazen serpent, and they did not protest; He hid the Book of
Remedies, and they did not protest. [These are the] three things against which
they did protest: He cut off the doors of the sanctuary and sent them to the
king of Assyria, and they protested; He blocked off the waters of the upper
Gichon, and they protested; He intercalated the month of Nisan in Nisan, and
they protested. (Pesachim 55b-56a)
The Rabbis approve of Chizkiyahu's war on idolatry: his defilement of his
father's funeral and his destruction of Moshe's serpent. But how does the Book
of Remedies enter into this list? This book sounds like a compendium of cures.
Why would anyone destroy a medical almanac?
Rashi (Pesachim 56a) explains that the Book of Remedies gave a
means of immediate healing to any ailing person and it was hidden away due to
the fact that people's hearts were not subdued regarding the sick and they were
healed immediately. Maimonides was flabbergasted at this interpretation:
How nonsensical is this argument and how deluded! It ascribes a degree of
foolishness to Chizkiyahu (and to the Sages who supported his efforts) the like
of which one should only attribute to the basest of the masses. According to
their confused and idiotic reasoning, if a person is hungry and turns to bread
and consumes it, thus becoming healed from that great sickness of hunger,
shall we say that he has lost his faith in God? Only fools would say that! For
just as I thank God when I eat for that which He provided me to relieve my
hunger and to sustain and preserve me, so, too, will I thank Him for providing
me with a remedy which heals sickness. (Rambam, Commentary to the Mishna,
Pesachim ch. 4)
Rambam is
suggesting that medicine is no more an affront to God than food. God has given
man the power to utilize medicine to cure disease no less than to relieve hunger
by eating.
And yet, the conclusion of the mishna quoted above states that the Rabbis
disapproved of Chizkiyahu's rerouting of the Shiloach, because he should have
relied upon God (Rashi). But how can we accept this? Should Chizkiyahu not have
fortified his city to the best of his ability? Again, we return to our central
question: When is it legitimate to exercise human initiative and when is it more
appropriate to rely upon God?
One suggestion might be to limit ones reliance upon God to circumstances in
which one has no influence in Chizkiyahus case, the Assyrian attack and his
sickness. But then, why did Yeshayahu censure Chizkiyahus overtures to
Berodakh?
The Gemara recounts another fascinating exchange between Chizkiyahu and
Yeshayahu, which highlights this tension:
In those days,
Chizkiyahu became mortally sick. Yeshayahu the prophet, son of Amotz, came to
him
[Chizkiyahu] said to him: Why have I been punished so harshly?
[Yeshayahu] replied: Because you did not try to have children. He said: The
reason was because I saw by the Divine Spirit that the children issuing from me
would not be virtuous. He said to him: What have you to do with the secrets of
the All-Merciful? You should have done what you were commanded, and let the Holy
One, blessed be He, do that which pleases Him. (Berakhot 10a)
Chizkiyahu's sickness is attributed here to his unwillingness to have a family.[11]
Chizkiyahu refrains from having children out of fear that his children will
follow a sinful path. The prophets response You should have done what you
were commanded, and let the Holy One, blessed be He, do that which pleases Him
implies that man is fundamentally empowered to make his own decisions.
IN CONCLUSION
We leave Chizkiyahu with a series of fascinating reflections. This monarch took
an idolatrous kingdom and turned it around, rededicating the Temple and
cleansing the country of idolatry. Furthermore, he makes every attempt to unify
the kingdom, persuading the northern tribes to join him in Jerusalem.
Archaeologists document a huge expansion of Jerusalem during Chizkiyahu's reign,
possibly a migration of exiles from the north.
But Chizkiyahu faces a most formidable enemy Ashur. Here, as his strategies
fail and the Assyrian war machine closes in on Jerusalem, he has no one to trust
but God. The citys miraculous salvation and Chizkiyahu's unexpected recovery
from his illness both underscore God's role in history and the remarkable effect
of reliance on the Almighty. But should man always rely upon God? Chizkiyahu is
excoriated for exploring an alliance with Babylon, thereby gaining some traction
against Assyria. We raised three possible explanations for Chizkiyahu's crime:
(1) His haughty demeanor he rides the wave of God's victory and attributes
divine power to himself; (2) all alliances are problematic they are
unreliable, unpredictable and frequently necessitate future compromises that may
have dire idolatrous ramifications; and (3) his reliance upon a foreign power
demonstrates a lack of faith in God.
We discussed the question whether Chizkiyahu should be relying on God
exclusively or, alternatively, pursuing his own national agenda. Here, we saw
that in several instances, Chizkiyahu seems to be the man who must initiate
rather than merely follow God. In this manner, the question remains open.
In the final analysis, Chizkiyahu is a man of great faith who, despite his
faults, leaves a legacy as one of the greatest of the Judean kings.
[1]
Divrei
Ha-yamim II 32:25
indicates that Chizkiyahu's arrogance or excessive pride was the cause of God's
ire. We shall discuss this idea in a wider sense later in this shiur.
[2]
There are
three other instances in Sefer Melakhim in which kings approach prophets
with the question: Will I recover from this sickness? In each case, the
prophet announces the demise of the royal concerned: Yerovam's son (Melakhim
I 14:1-18); Achazya (Melakhim II 1:2-4); and Ben-Hadad (Melakhim
II 8:9-10).
[3]
This is
precisely what Elisha did to Ben-Hadad, II Kings 8:10.
[4]
Two major
questions may be asked regarding Chizkiyahus sign. First, what are the the
steps of Achaz, and how does the sun or shade function upon them? Josephus and
the Septuagint suggested that we are dealing with a shadow on a flight of steps.
Rashi, following the Targum Yonatan suggests that it is a sundial. Yigael Yadin
pointed to ancient Egyptian shadow clocks that were built using steps and
shadows, thereby uniting the two explanations. Daat Mikra features an
illustration of Yadin's shadow clock.
Second, why
would Chizkiyahu request a test with such far-reaching cosmic implications?
Midrashim relate to the Achaz connection with a claim that the sun set ten
hours early on the day of Achaz's funeral to ensure that he was buried in
disgrace and that now, through Chizkiyahus sign, that time was being restored
(Rashi and Ralbag to 20:11). The Ralbag, however, refuses to accept an
alteration in the laws of physics: We
have not seen miracles of this sort even with Moses
a miracle in the orbit of
the sun itself! (Note that Ralbag lived 1288-1344, predating Copernicus and
Galileo.) Thus, Ralbag proposes that what transpired was a sudden shift in the
shade, created by a cloud cover, not a shift in the orbit or rotation of the
earth itself.
[5] Radak, based
on the verse I will save you from the hand of Ashur and this city
I will
protect (20:6), dates the illness to the time of the siege. Ralbag asserts that
the story postdates the retreat of Assyria. Rashi and Abarbanel, following
Seder Olam (ch. 23), explain that the third day on which Chizkiyahu was
healed coincided with the night of the Assyrian retreat. Miracle was
superimposed on miracle. Even if this timeline is unlikely, the biblical tie-in
in those days certainly furnishes a linkage between the two stories of
reprieve and deliverance.
[6]
Here the name
is Berodakh. In Yeshayahu (39:1) it is written as Merodakh probably a
hebraicization of Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon.
[7]
An additional instance can be found in
Yirmiyahu 26:18, quoting Mikha 3:12.
[8]
Others
identify his arrogance in his responses to Yeshayahu in ch. 20 see Bamidbar
Rabba 20:6.
[9]
Berodakh was
a Babylonian rebel who united the Chaldean tribes to resist and overthrow
Assyrian dominance. His revolt succeeded, and from 722-711 BCE he ruled
Babylonia and sought to galvanize a broad resistance to crush Assyria entirely.
However, Sargon fought back against Berodakh's allies and prevented the rise of
an anti-Assyrian coalition. After Sargon's death in 705 BCE, Berodakh once again
felt that his time had come, but Sancheriv conquered Babylonia in 703 BCE and
Berodakh lost his power. Scholars debate whether this delegation to Chizkiyahu
should be dated to the period of 711 BCE or to the later attempt in 705-703 BCE,
but the visit by Berodakh's men seems highly plausible.
[10]
See Y. Elitzur, Israel and
the Bible (Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 1999) pgs 201-209 [Hebrew].
[11]
There is some
contextual support for this claim, as Chizkiyahu's son and heir is Menasheh, who
ascends the throne at age 12 (see 21:2). Chizkiyahu seems to have fathered
Menasheh after this episode, and no children of his are recorded prior to his
illness.
This website is constantly being improved. We would appreciate hearing from you. Questions and comments on the classes are welcome, as is help in tagging, categorizing, and creating brief summaries of the classes. Thank you for being part of the Torat Har Etzion community!