PROCLAMATION
“In
everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to
the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” 2 Chronicles 31:21 (NIV)
EXPLANATION
When the
unfaithful King Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah succeeded him as king of Judah. (2
Chronicles 28:27) Hezekiah did that
which was right in the eyes of The Lord God just as King David had done. (2
Chronicles 29:1-2) He reopened the doors
of the temple and repaired them. Then he
ordered the priests and the Levites to consecrate themselves and the temple,
and to remove all of the defilement from the sanctuary. (2 Chronicles
29:3-5) When this was done, he ordered
them to offer a sacrifice of atonement. (2 Chronicles 29:20-36) King Hezekiah then sent word to all of Judah
and Israel, inviting them to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles
30:1-12) A very large crowd gathered in
Jerusalem and they celebrated the Passover for fourteen days. There was great joy among the people for
nothing like this had happened since the days of King Solomon. (Chronicles 30:13-27) After the celebration, Hezekiah ordered that
all of the monuments of idolatry throughout the land be destroyed. (2
Chronicles 31:1) Then he assigned the
priests and Levites to divisions in order to perform their duties throughout
the country. He then asked to people to
give of their firstfruits to support the work of The Lord and he contributed
from his own possessions. (2 Chronicles 31:2-6)
The response of the people was so great that they had to build new
storerooms in the temple. (2 Chronicles 31:7-12)
APPLICATION
We will all
be known by that which we do. Since we
know that The Lord God is righteous, we should do that which is righteous, and
we will be known as a child of God. (1 John 2:29) If we love Him, then we should keep His
commandments and obey His words. (John 14:15 and 14:21) We should not only be hearers, readers, and
speakers of The Word of God, but we should also be doers of His Holy Word.
(James 1:22) Our behavior and our
lifestyle should also reflect our belief in The Lord God. While none of us is perfect, we could all do
better, and all of us should pray for a closer walk with The Lord.
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