EZEKIAS or Hezekiah is one of the most prominent kings of Judah. He inherited the difficult task of dealing with his father’s submission to the all powerful Assyria. His subsequent rebellion against the king of Assyria was not successful and the price of peace was a heavy one:- 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. It was paid by gathering together all the gold and silver that could be found, even stripping the Temple doors of its precious metal. His defeat was accompanied by an act of abject submission to Assyria’s king, in which he said: “I have done wrong … whatever you impose on me I will bear”. Hezekiah was, however, a religious reformer and cleansed the rural sanctuaries from idolatry under the influence of Isaiah the prophet. Bishop John Davies