Hezekiah as King
As we
learned when we studied 2 Kings 18, Hezekiah is considered one of the greatest
kings of Judah. Sure, he might not
measure up quite as high as David, but he certainly has incredible success in
his day. This is even truer when we
consider the rule of Ahaz before him.
Not only did Hezekiah follow God, he had to overturn the momentum of the
horrible worship of Canaanite, Ammorite, and Syrian gods that Ahaz had
initiated. What makes it even more
difficult is that Ahaz was his father.
I will
say that as I have gone through the study of the works of the chronicler that
this is one concept that has legitimately impressed me about the good kings of
Judah. The good ones always had bad examples
come before them. But these weren’t just
high ranking officials. The good kings
had to actively go against the ways of their fathers. It wasn’t just “following God” to these good
kings. It was going against the “family
way.” Granted, you can make a strong
case for the fact that in being obedient to God they were actually going “with
the family” in that David was their ancestor.
But I can only imagine how difficult it would be for a king to actively
countermand the practices established by the kings before them – even their
father.
Reform
Speaking
of reform, in the first year of Hezekiah’s rule he reopens the doors to the
temple. Hezekiah doesn’t waste any
time. He starts reform right away once
his father is off the scene and the right to rule is his own.
As
Hezekiah begins his reform, he begins with the Levites and the priests. He tells them in no uncertain terms that
their fathers have neglected the worship of God. They have not burned sacrifices. They have shut the doors. They have turned away from the God. In reforming the practice of the land,
Hezekiah begins with those who are guilty and calls them to task. He holds the priests accountable and expects
change.
What a
profound witness, isn’t it? Here is a
brave leader. I can only imagine the
courage that it took to stand before the leaders of the temple and call them to
task. Yet, it is an effective ministry
practice.
The
Levites and the priests respond.
Hezekiah’s challenge is met. They
cleanse the temple. They bring out all
of the filth from the practice of the worship of foreign gods. They consecrate the space. They report back to Hezekiah and inform him
that the worship of God in the temple is ready to resume.
Hezekiah Restores Worship
At this
point, Hezekiah takes a serious turn. He
now has a course of action. The first
thing that Hezekiah does is to gather a sacrifice before the Lord. He gathers the animals. He gathers the leaders. He makes the sacrifice happen as it should
have been happening all along.
But,
notice where Hezekiah starts. The first
sacrifice that is offered up in the restored temple is a sin offering. The people are guilty of offending God
through their ways. Hezekiah knows
it. He knows that their relationship
with God cannot go forward unless the sinfulness of the people is atoned. The relationship cannot go forward unless the
people acknowledge their guilt before the presence of the Lord.
What an
incredible testimony of how to do things the right way. They recognize their sin before the Lord as a
foundation. What a humble place to
begin! As we see in all of the godly
kings, humbleness before the Lord is a trait that is common. That doesn’t mean they are perfectly humble;
but they are humble before the Lord.
After the
burnt offerings for the sin offering were made, Hezekiah brings forth the thank
offerings. With their sin atoned,
thankfulness is a great place to turn.
The people no doubt realize that they have done enough to cause God to
forsake them and to be just in doing so should He have desired to forsake them. Rather than forsake the people, God receives
their sacrifice and forgives them. They
have much for which they can be thankful.
Don’t we all!
As a
final note with respect to this chapter, notice that the people recognize God’s
provision for them. They recognize that
God had even provided for the sacrifices.
The reopening of the temple had come together quite quickly, and the
people were grateful that God had provided for it to come together
quickly. The people are thankful indeed
at their restored relationship with the Lord.
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