HEZEKIAH-REVIVAL FOLLOWED IDOLATRY. 2 chron 29

King Ahaz was treacherous, evil, rotten to the core, in that ‘He took the treasure from the house of the Lord, and gave it as a tribute to the (heathen ) king of Assyria. (28:21) ‘In the time of distress, he became still more unfaithful to the Lord - this same King Ahaz.’

The following verse tells that ‘He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who defeated him. Ahaz collected the utensils of the house of the Lord and (defaced them ) cutting them to pieces. ‘ His wickedness grew for ‘ He shut up the doors of the Lord’s temple, (stifling the spirit of worship) the holy place and the Holy of Holies ( where atonement was made as blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat) and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. (v24 )

‘In each city of Judah he made high place ( abominable to our Lord ) to burn incense to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers.’ What a background for the young prince Hezekiah to succeed to the throne on the death of the villainous father. Could he survive? Could the young Prince acquire a godly heritage after his father bequeathed the devilish worship of idols and high places? How would you fare? Or I?

Yes, he did survive, for his godly mother was Abijah, ‘My God is King’ and his grandfather Zechariah ’ the Lord has remembered.’ The heavenly Father sovereignly reversed the national ungodliness, establishing a young ruler in righteousness. Thank God for their joint influence. My mother and grandfather moulded my young life after my father’s passing.

Hezekiah’s name ( Jehovah has made strong) gives the clue to his character, for the Lord is his strength. ‘He began to reign when he was twenty five years old, and he reigned twenty nine years in Jerusalem.’ (v1) King David was his role model, ‘For he did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his fore-father had done.’ Hundreds of years had passed, but he knew His bible well; and shaped his life in view of that.

We should mould our lives according to the men and women of his Holy Word. We have had the privilege during the last 50 years of giving hospitality to some of the mighty teachers of God’s Word, from English, chinese, Indian<Indonesian and other nationalities. They taught us much rich truth, an example to us and our six children. .

Hezekiah wasted no time, for ‘In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he o[pened the doors of the house of the Lord )which his father had closed ) and repaired them.’ (v3) No longer would the way be barred into the house of worship. How the peoole would thank our God for such immediate action from the new monarch. The Communist regime barred many churches from God’s people, and used them for Museum or storehouse facilities.

The priests and Levites had drifted from the performance of their God-fearing duties and idly waited for change. Their king mobilised them as ’He brought them together in the quare on the east, so thawt th3e first rays of the rising sun would remind them that a new day of ’crowning their Lord as King’ had begun. Hezekiah lion-heartedly stirred the professional leaders to a new life of holiness. We look to our priests, pastors,, elders and deacons to set standards of pure worship.

Notice the practical call that Hezekiah gave to the Levites, ’ Hear me. Now sanctify ( that is, purify and make free from sin ) yourselves and the house of the Lord the God of your fathers , and carryout the filth from the holy place. ’ (v5) Let us never fear to use the word ’sactify’, for it leads to great blessing for the Lord’s people. The inside of the house of the Lord would be filthy, a home for rodents, vermin, insects; a shame for God’s people. ’Get rid of the contaminated. Every polluted thing must go.’ And it did.

How would such a call affect our homes and churches? A dying man requested Pastor Tham Kwok Wah, Singapore, to burn all his idols, that is, all that displaced the holy God from his throne. We watched the fire reduce the idols to ashes, while the newly-converted one stood clean, forgiven before his new God. What television programmes, relaxation hours, videos, literature, internet, alcohol or drugs in your home should be dumped on the blaze; and your heart washed in the precious blood of the Lamb? The king told them why it should be so!

Hezekiah put the blame where it belonged. ’Our fathers have trespassed, and done what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs. ’ Truth was open and not compromised. He persisted, ’ They have closed the doors of the porch ( denying seekers access ), put out the lamps ( when the fire of God should never be extinguished ) and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the place holy to the God of Israel.’ The nation ceased to pray, and denied the offerings to atone for their sin, thus grieving the loving God.

‘God is angry with the wicked every day’ the Scripture reminds us. In this case, ’ The wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to be a terror and a cause of trembling, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as you see with your own eyes.’ (vv7,8) God’s wrath is an attribute, part of His holy nature; and is consistent with a living God. They would actually observe a righteous Father‘s horrendous judgments.

Worse than that, ‘ Lo, our fathers have fallen with the sword ( the ultimate price for evil ), our sons, our daughters , and our wives are in captivity for this.’ (v9) Family life had been crushed. Special relationships had vanished. Our lives are a counterpart of this when we have been guilty of departing from the living God. However, we must return to our beloved Lord.

Hezekiah had a heart experience, essential for each one as he said, ’Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, that His fierce anger may turn away from us.’ The Lord searches for the one who loves Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. In this case, the king was the spiritual head, calling the religious leaders to respond to their God. Recently in Zambia, the President called the nation to repentance and confession to counter corruption and the immoral living, reflected in the HIVAIDS crisis. When the entire, national soccer team was lost in a plane crash, he personally conducted the national service; his prayer for the families and for the nation touched many lives. God still has his Josephs and His Daniels. Is the Lord challenging you to lead in spiritual matters?

He gave a firm, stirring challenge to the spiritual select few, addressing them as ‘ My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has called you to stand in His Presence, to serve Him, to be His ministers and burn incense to Him.’ He reminded them of the high calling, to which the Lord had summoned them. This will resume in the following study.