Hidden Fires Gather Before Swift Action

Hezekiah inherited a throne tottering toward collapse—enemies ringed Judah like bees, the treasury nearly empty, his father Ahaz having affronted Heaven with mad idolatry. Yet this young king did not temporize. He acted with decisive speed, beginning reforms in his first month, calling the priests to immediate work. Maclaren observes the paradox: such swift action never comes without protracted previous brooding.…