After a long list of bad kings, we finally have a decent king. We are introduced to Chezkiahu saying: he became king over Yehuda in the 30th rule of Hoshea. He was 25 when he became king. He ruled for 29 years. Finally in his introduction we are told that his mther was Avi Bat Zechora. This is a completely normal introduction for a king.
Then it goes on and it tells us his actions. He did good in the eyes of Hashem. This is something new from the past kings. Then it goes to say that he did so good-he removed the Bamot, Mitzevot, Ashirot, and copper serpent-all the things that Bnei Yisrael used to worship other gods. Chezkiyahu followed the Mitzvot. Chezkiyahu was doing great. Chezkiyahu had his faith and trust in Hahsem- he followed the Miztvot and he worshipped Hashem. He rebelled against Ashur, and he stopped paying taxes to Ashur.
Chezkiyahu's action were great. He was doing everything amazingly. Following everything Hashem wanted. Then he has one problem. In his 14th year of ruling, he tried to make an alliance with Ashur. Hashem had told past kings and he should have learned that the king needs to put his faith and trust in Hashem that He will save them if they run into trouble. He failed to learn from this. Not only did he make the alliance, but in order to give a gift to keep the alliance with Ashur he gave the king treasures. These treasures were not just regular gold he had lying around. These gifts he gave to the king of Ashur were all from the Beit Hamikdash.
Hashem has a great response to Chezkiyahu's good actions. Hashem was with Chezkiyahu and helped his be victorious over enemies. This was prompted by the fact that Chezkiyahu had bettered the worship towards Hashem. For his bad actions Hashem had punished him. He brought Ashur to attack and conquer Yehuda. These bad responses were prompted by the immorality of the people.
In these Perakim we see that the response of Hashem is mainly because of the people. We see that a leader can't change the nation. In the past perakim with the terrible kings we see that it is the leaders fault that the people are sinning. Here we are proved wrong. Chezkiyahu had done so much to try to rekindle the relationship with Hashem. The people had still refused to be moral. Chezkiyahu had made one mistake but the reason of attack was merely the peoples' immoral actions.
As children, we are taught to be a leader of people. That we shouldn't just follow other people, we should stand out and be the one to lead others. A person should be a leader, it is a smarter choice to become a leader than a follower. As a leader you will have followers. From these Perakim I learn that it you cannot just be a leader. Leading people does not always have a positive response. A better life choice would be not just a leader, but an inspiration and a role model. You can lead people but still not teach them morals. It is better to be sure that you are inspiring and teaching people than just leading a group that will get you no where.
Although I'm not totally sure what you are saying here, I like how you address the negative aspects of being a leader. Although we learn in school and are told all the time that we need to step up and be leaders, that is not the most important thing. We can't just be leaders. We must have a clear vision of what is right and wrong. We must know where we are leading our followers. We must inspire others to do what is right and become better Jews. We learned this week that our actions could hasten the arrival of Mashiach. If we can become leaders who influence others to follow the Mitzvot and the Torah then we can contribute to the coming of Mashiach as well.
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