Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory. 2 Kings 18:5-8 NIV
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, which is translated as, "The more things change, the more they stay the same.". This was certainly true of the kings of Israel and Judah. The more wicked the kings and the people became, the shorter the reigns of the kings. Treachery followed treachery until there were no more kings in Israel and the people were taken into exile under a foreign ruler.
Things were to be different in Judah for several more generations. Judah still occasionally had a godly king, and when that happened, the nation and it's people would prosper. They were saved from the fate of Israel. The king of Assyria was not able to subdue Judah while Hezekiah was king. When Hezekiah died, godliness was forgotten and the kings and the people reverted to their sinful ways. It's hard to keep God in charge when the people perceive that a king would to a much better job.
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