“Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Chronicles 32:5 Mean?
Hezekiah's preparation for Sennacherib's invasion combines spiritual faith with practical action. He rebuilds broken walls, raises them to tower height, constructs a second outer wall, repairs the Millo (a fortified terrace structure in the City of David), and manufactures weapons and shields. The phrase "he strengthened himself" introduces all of this — Hezekiah's faith doesn't prevent him from preparing.
The detail about building "another wall without" — a second wall outside the first — represents significant engineering and labor. This is the broad wall archaeologists have discovered in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter, a massive structure 23 feet thick. Hezekiah didn't just repair; he expanded the city's defenses.
This verse illustrates a balanced theology of trust and action. Hezekiah prays and also builds walls. He trusts God and also manufactures shields. These aren't contradictions — they're complementary responses. Faith doesn't mean passivity, and preparation doesn't mean faithlessness.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Do you tend toward all-prayer-no-action, all-action-no-prayer, or a balance? What shapes that tendency?
- 2.How does Hezekiah's example challenge the false choice between trusting God and taking practical steps?
- 3.What practical preparation might be an expression of your faith rather than a contradiction of it?
- 4.Where in your life are you praying but not building — or building but not praying?
Devotional
Hezekiah does something that many people think faith should prevent: he prepares. He builds walls, makes weapons, repairs fortifications. And then he prays. He does both — the practical and the spiritual — without treating them as contradictions.
This is one of the most healthy models of faith in Scripture. Hezekiah doesn't sit in the Temple praying while Sennacherib's army approaches, refusing to prepare because "God will handle it." And he doesn't build walls while ignoring God, trusting only in military engineering. He does both. The walls go up and the prayers go up simultaneously.
There's a false dichotomy many people live with: either you trust God, or you take practical action. Either you pray about your health or you go to the doctor. Either you have faith about your finances or you make a budget. Hezekiah demolishes this false choice. Trusting God and taking practical steps aren't competing approaches — they're partners.
The phrase "he strengthened himself" is important. The preparation itself was an act of faith — not a replacement for it. Building the walls was part of how Hezekiah trusted God, not evidence that he didn't. What practical preparation might God be asking you to make as an expression of your faith, not a contradiction of it?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he set captains of war over the people,.... To teach them the exercises of war, to lead them on against the enemy,…
The breaches in the wall of Jerusalem were not entirely due to the old hostility of Joash (marginal reference); but may…
Raised it up to the towers - He built the wall up to the height of the towers, or, having built the wall, he raised…
Here is, I. The formidable design of Sennacherib against Hezekiah's kingdom, and the vigorous attempt he made upon it.…
Also he strengthened himself R.V. And he took courage. Cp. 2Ch 1:1 (note).
broken R.V. broken down; cp. 2Ch 25:23…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture