Hezekiah

All quotations are taken from the New King James Version

Hezekiah

The cycle of the kings is repetitive. The good kings tend to do similar things; the rascals do too. There was a pattern to their behaviour: the bad kings abandoned what was important to God - His word, His house, and His people, while the better kings invested their reign in reversing their predecessors’ wickedness. In this final article, we will examine one of the great reforming kings, Hezekiah. ‘He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done’, 2 Chr. 29. 2. Hezekiah was not perfect but is one of the finest of the kings. It is good to see the order in which Hezekiah worked in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 and 30:

  1. He restored the temple, 29. 3-19.
  2. He resumed temple worship, 29. 20-36.
  3. He remembered the Passover, chapter 30.

1. To achieve anything for God we must remove all obstacles in our life to God working effectively. These could include:

  • Sinful behaviour: God will not give the blessing He longs for us if there is known, habitual, unconfessed sin in our lives. ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear’, Ps. 66. 18. Sin must be confessed and removed with the determination that it will not recur. God is faithful, ‘Ifwe confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’, 1 John 1. 9.
  • Time-wasting behaviour: How many of us spend too much time ‘doom-scrolling’ on our phones? ‘Harmless’ distractions can rob us of hours of time, ‘All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful’, 1 Cor. 6. 12.
  • Super-spiritual behaviour: It is possible that we are so busy going to conferences, camps, young-people’s weekends and gospel outreaches, that we don’t spend the time we should nurturing our own relationship with God. We need to be careful that we aren’t too busy to spend time on our own in the word of God and in prayer. We should also not be ‘forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another’, Heb. 10. 25. The fellowship of God’s people is more important in these ‘last: days’ than ever before. However, in ‘your room’, Matt. 6. 6, is where you experience God. JACK HUNTER used to tell us to ‘read your own Bible, get to know your own God!’ Therefore, ‘let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us’, Heb. 12. 1.

2. Having removed what shouldn’t be there, Hezekiah can introduce something positive: worship. There is no real biblical definition of worship. It is an acknowledgement of God, His nature, attributes and claims, expressed in praise, thankfulness, and action. Old Testament worship was visible and audible, ‘Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!’ Ps. 150. 3-6. The New Testament doesn’t mention music; it is not forbidden in the church, but accompaniment should not be the focus, ‘The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth’, John 4. 23. Worship is not prescribed by legal dictate; it comes from an understanding of truth. Worship is not an expression of emotion or feelings, rather an expression of what I know of God:

  1. in His character, ‘Give to the Lord the glory due His name’, Ps. 96. 8.
  2. in His actions, ‘Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously’, Isa. 12. 5 ESV.

‘What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?’ Ps. 116. 12. What is the acceptable response? ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service’, Rom. 12. 1. Worship involves sacrifice - not of animals being offered, but of a life laid down for the Lord.

3. With worship comes rejoicing. The Passover was a celebration in the Jewish calendar, when they recalled the great redemption from Egypt, that the nation had known. Many gathered in Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles chapter 30. There was ‘great gladness’, v. 21, praise, and singing. They ‘rejoiced’, v. 25, and there was ‘great joy’, v. 26. To top it all off, ‘theirvoice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven’, v. 27. God loves to hear His people’s praise and worship, ‘Whoever offers praise glorifies Me’, Ps. 50. 23. Isn’t that our chief desire? It makes Him rejoice; it also makes us glad!