So, what do we need to know about Hezekiah? Well, he was not like his father! And that is a good thing! Ahaz was a bad king of Judah. It says in chapter 28 verse 1 “he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord as his father David has done.”
Then comes Hezekiah! At 25 he begins to reign and look at verse 1 and 2 – “and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done.”
How could they be so different? A granddad and a mom influenced this son to follow God! Though Zechariah was old and had influenced others – king Uzziah. His influence carried on from generation to generation! Just a word to grandparents – Don’t give up! Your influence will remain!
So Hezekiah begins his reign at age 25 and the first thing he does is repair and restore the house of the Lord! Verse3 says in the first year and first month he opens the doors of the house of the Lord and repairs them!
His first priority was to get right with God! How do you do that? He calls the priest and Levites – those who were responsible for keeping the house of the Lord open and functioning.
In verse 5 Hezekiah says, Listen up! You people who are responsible for the spiritual upkeep! Clean out the Temple! Is that what he called them to hear? No. First they were to Sanctify themselves then sanctify the house of the Lord!
Next Hezekiah calls out his dad and the others who allowed the downfall of their nation and names their sins!
a. Shut the doors - Broken relationship with God!
b. Put out the light – no teaching of godly principles
c. Stopped burning incense – no communion and prayer to God!
So as v. 8 says the wrath of God falls on them. Now Hezekiah is speaking of physical death and captivity but it is also spiritual!
And for restoration to take place Hezekiah knew there needed to be a heart change! V. 10 God had placed in Hezekiah’s heart the need to make a new covenant with God that would include the whole nation, not just the king!
He calls the priests and Levites to hear the call of God to a. stand before him; b, serve Him; c. minister to Him; d. commune with Him!
Look what happened in v. 15. They gathered together (one heart – one mind – one purpose) and sanctified themselves! They have a “new” purpose, right? No, they were called back the their old purpose but with a fresh wind blowing!
So what did these priests do? They cleansed the house of the Lord! But look how they did it! They started where? The inner most part – the Holy place! They did not start on the outside just to make it look better they started on the inner most part so there would be lasting impact! Look what they did! They got rid of the debris – all the stuff that didn’t belong there.
Then they carried it out to the Brook Kidron! They made it public what had happened and were willing to show everyone what had polluted the Temple!
So what does this have to do with us today? Everything!
I believe the current condition of our nation is the condition of Ahaz! I believe that we have shut the doors of the house of the Lord by saying you don’t have to follow Jesus, you just have to be a good person!
We have put out the light of truth! There is no such thing as truth – it’s all relative! What is truth to you may not be truth to me!
We have stopped needing to pray without ceasing!
Now I’m not getting on the world. They are just being themselves. What I am doing is challenging the church!
1. We are the Temple of God 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
2. The condition of the nation is a reflection of the condition
of the church!
3. We have shut the doors, put out the light and stopped
praying!
4. We need heart transformation with a new commitment to
follow God!
5. We need to hear His call for us today – stand before Him,
serve Him, minister to Him and worship Him
6. We need to surrender to His purpose!
7. We must get rid of the debris in His holy place through
confession of sin (publicly) and restoration by
repentance to His way alone!
Discussion:
1. What gave Hezekiah the resolve to make these needed changes? Where do you see our nation compared to Ahaz and Hezekiah?
2. What is the condition of the church today? Are changes needed? If so what changes?
3. Who do you see as responsible for our condition as a nation/the church (Politicians/institutions/clergy/you)?
4. Do you think an unwillingness to confess hidden sin is part of the problem?
5. What debris clutters your inner holy place?