Shortly after he became king, my father, our beloved King David, wanted to build a house honoring the reputation of the Eternal God of Israel.

Hezekiah’s first action when he began to reign was reopening and repairing the Eternal’s temple.

When the Passover was finished, all the Israelites who had attended the festival left Jerusalem for the cities of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. There they continued Hezekiah’s zeal by destroying all cultic statues and carved images of Asherah. Having purged the nation of idolatrous symbols like the high places and altars, the Israelites returned to their own homes.