Hezekiah

Hezekiah did some amazing things to turn the Jewish people around and lead them back to Hashem. For this, G-d was with him for most of his reign, until the 14th year of his reign when G-d allowed Assyria to attack. Hezekiah was forced to submit to the King of Assyria and pay him taxes. Hezekiah decides he doesn't want to use his money to pay taxes to the King of Assyria and has a brilliant idea. He decides to take gold from the Beit Hamikdash, the same Beit Hamikdash he had re-established and re-furbished early on in his reign, and use that gold to pay the King of Assyria.

When I learned this I was just shocked. It was clear to Hezekiah that G-d was with him for most of his reign, and when Assyria invaded it should have been an extremely clear message that G-d was upset with him and no longer with him. Why would he then decide it'd be a good idea to anger G-d? There is no doubt that Hezekiah knew G-d was in control of everything. With such a clear knowledge of G-d, how does one do anything that would jeopardize their relationship with G-d if they knew it meant life or death?

Maybe there's a lesson here. Perhaps it is saying that even someone who feels like they have the strongest relationship with G-d has the capability to screw up. Humans are humans, no matter how clear G-d is in our lives.

That's just a thought. But quite honestly, I'm okay just thinking Hezekiah was a complete idiot.