By: Dale Weckbacher
2 Chronicles 31:20-21
Thus
Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and
faithful before the Lord his God. 21 And
every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in
accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all
his heart, and prospered.
(ESV)
At the young age of 25, Hezekiah began his reign as King of
Judah and during his reign, he created a legacy of one that did what was right
in the eyes of the Lord (2 Chronicles 29:1-2).
His father, Ahaz, was his predecessor who due to his practice of
idolatry, suffered a devastating defeat from the king of Syria. Because of this defeat, The King of Syria
took a great number of the people of Israel, along with Ahaz captive (2 Chronicles 28:5). Instead of turning to
the Lord for Help in his time of distress, Ahaz became even more faithless to
the Lord (2 Chronicles 28:22). Instead
Ahaz turned to the gods of Syria who had defeated Israel, believing that since
these gods helped the Syrians, they would help Israel too (2 Chronicles28:22-23).
Whereas Ahaz shut the doors to the Temple and installed high
places in every city of Judah to make offerings to the gods of Syria (2 Chronicles 28:24), His son Hezekiah opened and repaired the Temple doors (2 Chronicles 29:3). Hezekiah also had the
Temple cleansed (2 Chronicles 29:3-19), restored Temple worship (2 Chronicles29:20-36), and most importantly restored celebration of the Passover (2 Chronicles 30). This restoration back to
what made Israel great changed what was defeat at the hands of the Syrians
during the time of Ahaz to a time of victory under the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles32:20-23). Hezekiah led the nation of
Israel in a humble return to God through prayer in fulfillment of the promise
made by God in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Our modern culture comes with many fabulous conveniences
that enrich our lives. Ordinary people
can write a blog posting about Hezekiah’s leading a restoration back to God on
a blog viewed by people all over the world.
We have instantaneous communication with people through social media,
texting, and email. However, these
modern conveniences have not replaced the need of humbling to God in our
lives. We need a full restoration as in
the time of Hezekiah by,
1)
Opening our hearts to receive from God (2 Chronicles 29:3-19) – Hezekiah opened the doors to the Temple that his father
had closed. In the New Covenant we who
have allowed Jesus into our hearts are now the Temple in which God dwells. However, just as Hezekiah opened the doors of
the Temple, we must open the doors to our hearts to receive what God wants to
teach us. Fortunately, God has made
provision for this by giving us his instruction manual, the Bible. While most evangelical or Pentecostal churches
believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Bible, the content of the
preaching in many of these churches says something else. In many of these churches the Bible is no
longer front and center in the teaching and replaced by anecdotal stories, pop
psychology, managerial techniques, tips for living, the latest prophecy or word
of knowledge or whatever idea the pastor or teacher threw together. (1) The Bible
2)
Faithfull practicing spiritual disciplines (2 Chronicles 29:20-36) – In restoring Temple Worship, Hezekiah was returning the
Nation of Israel to the spiritual disciplines outlined in the book of
Leviticus. New Years is a time of
resolutions about exercise, diet, etc.
However, for spiritual restoration to occur, we must become disciplined
in practicing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, Bible study,
worship, and service. (2) It is the consistent practice of these
spiritual disciplines that empowers God’s people in the work of restoration for
just as in the time of Hezekiah, there will be attacks by the enemy in an
effort to derail our work of restoration.
3)
Publicly living for Christ and sharing the
Gospel when the opportunity comes (2 Chronicles 30:1-27) – The celebration of
the Passover served as a constant reminder to the Israelites of how God
miraculously delivered them from Egyptian bondage. It also served as a public demonstration to
the rest of the world of their faith in God.
Our lives, like the Jewish celebration of the Passover serve as a public
demonstration of God’s delivering power in a person’s life.
4)
Organizing evangelistic outreaches (2 Chronicles31:1-21) – While the church depends upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit, God
expects His church to function with some organization. Part of Hezekiah’s restoration was
organization of the priests to take down the sites of pagan worship in Israel
as well as restoration of the offering of the sacrifices required by law. The great commission of Jesus is to take the
Gospel to the world (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:16-20). While the work of saving someone is God’s
responsibility, God expects the church to organize efforts bringing the Gospel
to the lost of the world.
Our modern culture is in desperate need of spiritual
restoration. However, the type of
restoration needed is not something possible by our efforts and only possible
through the work of the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6). Instead of turning to the gods of those we
believe are successful as Ahaz did, we must humble ourselves to God by opening
our hearts to Him, practicing spiritual disciplines, publicly living for Christ
by what we say and how we live, and organizing to present the message of the
Gospel to the lost for this will bring about lasting restoration.
1. Dahlfred, Karl. Is the Bible Alone Really
Enough for Christian Life and Faith? www.dahlfred.com. [Online]
Greanings from the Field, January 11, 2016. [Cited: December 30, 2017.] https://www.dahlfred.com/index.php/blogs/gleanings-from-the-field/817-is-the-bible-sufficient-for-the-christian-life.
2. Daniels, Dharius.
5 Spiritual Disciplines that Will Change Your Life. www.crosswalk.com. [Online]
Crosswalk.com, January 9, 2015. [Cited: December 3, 2017.]
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/5-spiritual-disciplines-that-will-change-your-life.html.
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