What an uplifting reading for today…Hezekiah's reforms. He started off really well. His early reforms were done quickly too.
"In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them."
Application for today: Open the doors of our hearts to welcome Him.
Hezekiah restored proper worship and religious observance. He
invited all the people of Israel, including the northern tribes. Most
refused, but some joined in the spiritual renewal. That is so true
today. When spiritual leaders seek to restore proper worship and
observances (God's Holy Days - feast days and festivals) only some will join in.
But even though there may be only a few, God will honor that! And, as
in the days of Hezekiah, there will be great joy for those few!
Application for today: Restore proper worship of Him, honor His Holy Days.
The priests purified the sanctuary and removed
everything unclean and then consecrated it. Remember King Ahaz had
brought in pagan gods, altars, and high places. If we apply this type
of reform to today, how would it look in our churches?
Application for today: Purify our lives. Remove anything in our lives that pull us away from God. Repent of our sins.
What would be the pagan influences that have infiltrated our
churches today? If we look at the ways of The Way (the early followers
of Jesus), it looks much, much different from the ways we worship today.
Read the book of Acts to see how the early followers of Jesus worshiped
Him. Read also pages 265-268 in the book These Last Days for how worship will look in the Millennium.
Hezekiah ordered sin offerings for the kingdom, the
sanctuary, and for Judah. When the offerings were finished, singing to
the Lord began and the whole assembly bowed in worship.
Application for today: Pray that God will forgive our specific sins (blatant and subtle
ones, outward ones and inner ones) and to forgive those sins that we
may not be aware of. Then rejoice that we have already been forgiven.
We don't have to offer those animal sacrifices for sin. Jesus took care
of that!
Then Hezekiah did something very significant. He reinstituted
observance of Passover. The people responded with great enthusiasm, so
much so that they celebrated for an additional week. Sounds like a
modern day crusade or revival. "There was great joy in Jerusalem."
Application for today: Start our own spiritual revival. Remember His Days. Then rejoice!
When the celebration was over, the people were motivated to go
out into the towns of Judah. They smashed the sacred stones and cut
down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the
altars…ALL of them. What a testimony to revival! Couldn't we do that
today? What would be some examples of sacred stones and high places?
Application for today: Clean up our own lives and witness to those around us.
The king set the standard, the people followed. What a concept! Spiritual leaders leading spiritually!
The
people brought so many freewill offerings (above and beyond the ten
percent tax tithe) that the offerings were distributed to fellow priests
according to divisions and even given to males three years old who
would later enter temple service. Unbelievable!
Hezekiah listened to the Lord and obeyed. The result…major spiritual reform and renewal.
What
would happen to our churches today if a spirit of reform and renewal
swept our country, or our church denominations, or our local churches,
or individuals? We can't depend on our spiritual leaders alone. You
know it ultimately comes down to the individual; will we be willing to
institute reform and renewal in our own lives?
Read carefully the last paragraph in today's reading - 2 Chron. 31:20,21.
Application
for today: When we do what is right in the eyes of God, when we are
faithful to Him, when we are obedient to the Lord and His commands, when
we seek the Lord and work wholeheartedly for Him, we WILL prosper, And
that's a promise!
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