King Hezekiah

The Psalms of Ascent 120-134: A veil of sadness hung over the city of Jerusalem. There was no singing in the Temple. There was no joy in the streets. The beloved King Hezekiah was dying. He had been a godly ruler and had brought spiritual revival to the country. Idolatry had been put away, and the worship of Jehovah had been encouraged. Some months before, Jerusalem had been under siege by Sennacherib, the Assyrian king. But because of the prayer life of King Hezekiah, G-d had destroyed the Assyrian forces and had kept the nation free. Now Hezekiah was sick, and the prophet Isaiah had the difficult task of telling the king to set his house in order, for he would not survive. The sadness over the sickness of the king was compounded by the fact that he did not have a son to succeed him on the throne. With the death of Hezekiah, the royal lineage of the house of David would come an end. But Hezekiah was a godly king, and he knew how to pray. When news of his impending death reached him, he turned his face to the wall and with tears called upon the G-d who had sustained him through some of the most dramatic moments in history of the kingdom. He reminded the Father of his faithfulness and asked that he might be granted a miracle, He wanted to live. This shows us the Father hears our prayers and loves His faithful students. 2 Kg. 20:5 G-d had granted the godly king another fifteen years to live! As was the custom in the days of he prophets, Hezekiah asked for a sign to prove the word he had received from Isaiah – the sign was the shadow return backward ten degrees (2 Kg. 20:9-10. It is believed from that day forward, to the astonishment of all the world, the length of the year was changed from 360 days to 365 ¼ days. The rabbis wrote that Hezekiah changed the calendar in the fifteen remaining years of his life, adding one month to the calendar every six years. It has also been recorded that the Romans and the Egyptians changed their calendars to account for the lengthened year. Hezekiah composed ten sons to compare with the ten degrees on the sun dial and added to them four songs written by David and one by Solomon to set the total number at fifteen. Those fifteen songs chosen by the recovered Hezekiah are recorded in Psalms 120-134. They are called the ‘Songs of the Degrees.’ So named because of the ten degrees of the sun dial, they are also called the ‘Psalms of Ascent,’ for they were sung by the priesthood as they ascended the fifteen steps of the Temple each year during the Feast of Tabernacles. It is believed these songs also contain five prophetic prayers of a dispersed Israel. 1. There is a prayer for the restoration of the land to the Jews which corresponds with Genesis. 2. There is a prayer for the restoration of the Jews to their land which corresponds with Exodus. 3. There is a prayer for deliverance from tribulation which corresponds with Leviticus. 4. There is a prayer for deliverance from tribulation which corresponds with Numbers. 5. There is a prayer for the coming of the Messiah to establish a kingdom of peace which corresponds with Deuteronomy. These fifteen psalms are compiled in five sets of three psalms each. The first psalm in each group offers a cry of distress; the second psalm declares a trust in the L-rd; and the third psalm promises deliverance, blessing, and peace. Furthermore, these five sets follow an outline given in the five divisions of the Psalms: Ps. 120-122 represent a Genesis period Ps. 123-125 represent a Exodus period. Ps. 126-128 represent a Leviticus period. Ps. 129-131 represent a Numbers period. Ps. 132-134 represent a Deuteronomy period. In so doing, they offer a prophetic overview of the events of the last generation, read and learn.