We will learn in today's reading that Hezekiah instituted other reforms in the land, including the removal of the high places. This is something the kings before him should have done, yet not even the godly kings undertook this task. These hilltop altars had been used in the past for bringing offerings and sacrifices to the Lord but these were not to be used any longer once the temple---a central location of worship---was built. Having these remote altars allowed people to go about religion in their own way, being separated from the main body of believers, and this led to worshiping the right God but in the wrong ways and in some cases it led to worshiping false gods at those altars.
Hezekiah removes the hilltop altars along with heathen religious sites that have cropped up in the land. "He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)" (2 Kings 18:4) The word "Nehushtan" is believed to mean "Bronze Serpent".
We first heard about this bronze serpent in Numbers 21. Moses was leading the people on their way to the promised land at that time and they became impatient on the journey and spoke out against him and against the Lord, claiming that the Lord was using Moses to lead them into the wilderness to kill them with hunger and thirst. They spoke out against the food the Lord was providing for them, stating that they hated it, and as a result of their accusations and their ingratitude the Lord "sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died". (Numbers 21:6)
When this judgment came upon them, they began to repent. They went to Moses and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord and they asked Moses to intercede for them with the Lord so He would not destroy them. In response the Lord ordered Moses to fashion a snake out of bronze and place it on a pole. Then, when anyone was bitten by a snake, they could look at the snake (in faith that the Lord would heal them) and be healed of their snake bite.
We don't know what kind of snakes these were; various experts have proposed various species for the type of snakes prevalent in the region at that time that were capable of producing the burning deadly bite described in the book of Numbers. But the object the Lord commanded Moses to make was never intended to be used as an object of worship. It was intended to make them look to the Lord in faith for their healing. Keeping this object to commemorate the healing they received in the book of Numbers is not sinful in itself but over the centuries, as idolatry crept into the land, they began to regard the bronze snake as something with magical powers. Instead of considering it simply as a symbol of the Lord's healing of their ancestors, they began treating it as a talisman. They were burning incense to it as if it could do anything for them, forgetting that the only reason their ancestors were healed by looking upon it was that they were trusting in God to heal them of their snakebites.
Why did looking upon the bronze snake produce healing in Numbers 21? The snakebites were judgment for their blasphemous allegations against the Lord, so it's important to note that bronze is used as a symbol for judgment in the Scriptures. (The feet of the Lord Jesus have the appearance of bronze in the book of Revelation, for example, when He speaks of the judgment that's about to fall upon the earth.) The connection between bronze and judgment is almost certainly why the Lord said the snake had to be fashioned of bronze. Fashioning it out of a softer metal would have been easier. Carving it out of wood would have been easier. But the Lord said it must be bronze because bronze symbolized judgment and because lifting the bronze snake up on a pole signified the removing of His judgment from them for this incident of faithlessness. If they looked up at the bronze snake on the pole, by faith they received healing from their snake bites. By faith they received the removal of His judgment from them. This is why the Lord Jesus compared His crucifixion to the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness. (John 3:14-15) The Lord Jesus, who took our judgment upon Himself, was lifted up on the cross and we look to Him in faith for salvation. In trusting in what He did on the cross for us, we receive the removal of God's judgment that was upon us for our sins.
As we move on in our study of Hezekiah tomorrow we will find him ordering Passover to be observed. Evidently this sacred holiday, among others, fell by the wayside during his father's reign. Hezekiah is a man of faith and he is encouraging his people to be men and women of faith. They are all about to be faced with a terrifying threat from a formidable enemy soon---a threat that could mean the extinction of their people and of their nation---and it is only by faith that this disaster is diverted.
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