Reading: II Chronicles 28 – 30
And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, 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. 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 (II Chr. 29:4-6).
Today’s reading once again showcases the marked inconsistency of the Godly natures of Judah’s kings. First, we read of Ahaz, who ascended to the throne of David at the age of 20, following the death of his father, Jotham. Jotham had been a godly king, and much of Judah had thrived under his rule (II Chr. 27:6). There were those in the kingdom, however, that had still clung to the corruption of the not-so-distant past (27:2), and the behavior of Ahaz upon becoming king made it clear that he was more influenced by the ways of his peers than he was by the teachings of his father. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel (II Chr. 28:2-3).
For 16 years, Ahaz exploited the nation of Judah and actively crusaded against the Lord. The worse Judah’s situation became, the more openly Ahaz defied God. By the end of his reign the Temple had been stripped of its valuables and the doors had been sealed (28:24). In any way possible, Ahaz had sought to cut his people off from God. At the end of 16 years Ahaz died, and His son Hezekiah became king of Judah.
Hezekiah was everything his father was not. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them (29:2-3). Whereas Ahaz had been bent on destruction, Hezekiah was determined to lead Judah in a spiritual revival. He acknowledged the atrocities committed by his father and immediately set out to repair the damage to the Temple and refocus the people’s attention on God. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written (30:5).
The constant interspersal of Godless kings in the midst of righteous and semi-righteous kings took a profound toll on the southern kingdom of Judah. Each time an evil king came into power, the people seemed to make an effortless switch into idolatry, and even though they often answered the call of revival from the righteous kings, many of them were unwilling to completely give up their new ways. They began to view the Lord as a God amongst gods; as if He were just another option that they could chose to serve at their convenience. As a nation, Judah was in deep spiritual trouble.
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (Rev. 3:15-16).
Thought for Today: While original sin has forced us to live in an imperfect world where we must choose between God and the world, no other person’s, or even group of people’s, wrong choices can negate our right one.
Christ Portrayed: By King Hezekiah who offered an intercessory prayer for every one That prepareth his heart to seek God (II Chr. 30:18-19). Jesus Christ our King, now seated at the right hand of God, intercedes in prayer for all who continue to seek Him (Rom. 8:34). Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (Col. 3:1).
Word Studies: 28:3 Hinnom (Gehenna – translated as “hell” in the New Testament); 28:10 keep under = make slaves; 28:15 shod them = gave them sandals;
Pray For Staff: Gilbert Palafox • Government Officials: Sen. Jerry Moran (KS), • Country: Norway (5,085,582) Northern Europe • Major Languages: Norwegian, Sami, Finnish • Religious Freedom • 85.7% Evangelical Lutheran; 1% Other Pentecostal; 1% Roman Catholic; 2.4% Other Christian; 1.8% Muslim; 8.1% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Ask the Lord to bring our nation to repentance (I Kings 8:33-36).
Optional Reading I Corinthians 16.