2 Chronicles 29:1 says, Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. Hezekiah reigned for twenty-five years, starting from when he was twenty-five years old. He had a fairly long reign. Verse two adds, And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of God as had David, who is referred to as his father, but Hezekiah was just a descendant of David and not his actual son. We are all the children of God as followers of Christ and not just a far-removed descendant. Verse three continues, He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them. From his first day as king, he reopened the house of God, or temple, and repaired its walls. From our first day as Christians, we need to repair our relationship with God, since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It had been David's desire to build the temple, even though he wasn't allowed to, and Hezekiah was like David in wanting the temple of God to be there to worship God in. Verse four states, And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, Hezekiah brought the priests and Levites back to perform their duties. If we have strayed away from God as Christians, we need to return to Him and begin to once again do what He has called us to do. Verse five adds, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. Hezekiah then told the Levites to sanctify themselves then sanctify the temple and to carry the filthiness out of it. Of course, the Levites should have already been doing this, but probably had stopped out of fear. We as Christians must sanctify, or set aside, our bodies, or life, to the use and glory of God, and remove any filthiness from them. We should not need the government to call on us to do this nor should we allow fear of the government to stop us from doing what God has called us to do. Verse six continues, For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs. Hezekiah told the Levites that their fathers had turned away from the temple, God's house, and had done what was evil in His sight. These were the religious leaders of God's chosen people, and Hezekiah should not have needed to tell them this. As Christians, we should never need anyone to tell us that we are out of God's will, but if we recognize that those who are leaders in the church are out of God's will, we need to tell them so. Verse seven says, Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Again, since a lot of what Hezekiah was talking about not being done, the closing of the doors and not burning offerings in the holy place were the responsibility of the priests and Levites, they should have known this, because they had abandoned their calling. I believe the Holy Spirit will let us know if we have abandoned our spiritual calling and will call us to return to it, and if He does, we need to listen to His call to return to do so. Verse eight adds, Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. Hezekiah said that when the people of Judah turned away from God, He removed His protective hand from them, and they had been defeated and looked down on by the rest of the world. If those who call themselves Christians are following the ways of the world instead of God's ways, the people of world are going to look down on us and laugh at us, which they often do today. Verse nine continues, For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Hezekiah reminded them that their fathers had died by the sword and that their wives and sons and daughters had been taken away captive. If we begin to turn away from God as His people, we may find our witness for Him killed and our families taken captive by sin as well. Every Christian should set a good example for those who are close to them, especially fathers for their wives and children. Verse ten states, Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. Hezekiah said it was in his heart to establish a covenant relationship with God. I had first thought that he would be reestablishing a covenant relationship with God, but we do not have that covenant relationship with Him until we personally establish it by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, just as Hezekiah had to personally establish a covenant relationship with God then. If we do, then we will never have to face God as a wrathful Judge. Verse eleven adds, My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense. Hezekiah called the Levites his sons, but they were just those chosen by God to serve Him. We are not the spiritual sons and daughters of anyone except God, and He will call us to do what He needs us to do. Like the Levites needed to remember their calling was from God, we need to remember what God has called us to do as individuals and as His people collectively.
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