Hezekiah: Reformation

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As most of you know we've been  studying the story of King
Hezekiah. This is the third in a 4 part series, in which we are
attempting to see parallels between the life of the Christian
and the experiences that Judah went through during the time of
Hezekiah.

You will recall that we noted that, when Hezekiah came to the
throne he immediately began a restoration of the worship of
Jehovah. This was probably done under the influence of the
prophet Isaiah. You will recall how the first thing that was
done was to clean the temple of the pagan idols that had been
put there by his father, and to remove the garbage that had
accumulated there during its time of disuse. 

Not only did Hezekiah see to the restoration of the physical
building, but he also restored the services that went on from
day to day in the worship of the Lord.

But Hezekiah was not content with a mere outward cleaning of
things. He felt that there was much more to things than that. He
had a deep conviction that the hearts of the people needed
renewal, so he led out in a great revival.  The people turned
back to the Lord their God following the example of their leader
and there was a tremendous swing back to the Lord. You will
recall that I said that I felt that the key verse of that
chapter was the last one that stated that the Lord worked
mightily to prepare the people in a short time.

Coming to last week, we watched as the scriptures unfolded the
story of  the restoration of the temple services, and how the
people responded with gladness to the call to return to the Lord
their God.  You will remember how  they celebrated Passover with
much joy. 

Not only that, they were so moved by the Holy Spirit working in
their lives that they decided to go another week continuing. the
celebration that they had begun. Only once before had any thing
like this happened in the nation, and that was when the temple
of Solomon was dedicated  to the Lord. You remember how the high
point of this chapter was the verse  that said that the Lord
prepared the people again to do his will in worship  and in
service.  You remember how the revival  began to lead to
reformation as the idols and images were removed from the Holy
City of Jerusalem and thrown into the trash pile

It is at that point that our story continues today, for as we
look at the 31st chapter of 2 Chron. we find the people heading
to their homes,  I'm sure that as the little donkeys, almost
disappear under their loads, headed down the roads following
their masters, that there was many a shouted good-by, or see you
later, or a praise the Lord. I'm sure that the people had been
so brought back to their God that they knew where they stood and
who they worshipped.  In my mind I can hear them and again
repeating,  "This is God's land, and we are God's people. We
must do away with all the heathen gods.  If we repent, God will
bring us deliverance, and will restore our freedom to us."

Yes, the joy of revival that had been begun in the Passover
began to flame into fires of reformation as they began traveling
home. As they passed alters and shrines for pagan gods, they
tore them down, and beat them to pieces before they would travel
on. This happened throughout the land. Even in some areas of
Samaria, the groves, high places and alters of heathen gods were
leveled to the ground and perhaps even sowed with salt. So
determined was the king to see idolatry wiped out that it took
an interesting turn.

You will recall that when the children of Israel were coming out
of the land of Egypt, while they were wondering in the
wilderness for their forty years, that they ran into a place
that was infested with snakes. Many  of the people were snake
bitten, and many died. The plague was so great that Mores, on
the order of God constructed a serpent made out of brass. And
each time that someone got sick from the bite on one of the
vipers, he could look to the brazen serpent and he would be
healed of the poisonous effects of the bite.

We find the story in 2 Kings 18:4.  Evidently this had been kept
in the temple with other artifacts, perhaps it rated some kind
of shrine of its own. But in any case, people began to worship
the serpent, and evidently had for a while.

Hezekiah realized that while this was a valid artifact, it could
not stand in the way of anyone coming to God to worship. So
rather than risk the evil that could come from this object if it
were kept around, he had it melted down.  

As you might can see, it was very exciting time in the land. And
only when the king and his people were satisfied that idolatry
had been rooted out of the land did they settle down to their
usual routine of work and play. 

But back in Jerusalem, thing did not quieten down so suddenly.
There were many needs. The temple services needed to be carried
on. The temple had been re-opened, kind the worship services
restarted, but the priests and Levites were still a little
uneasy about quitting their jobs and coming to the temple to
serve. What if things didn't last? What if this were just a
temporary reformation. What are they going to feed me? How will
my family be provided for?

And these problems were real. But not to worry, for the king
seeing the need, made a special call. Not only did he make a
call, but he showed that he believed in what he was doing by
participating himself. Hezekiah gave a tithe of all that he had
to the service of the temple, then called for all of  his people
to do the same, so that the priests and Levites could be free
care of in the way that the Lord wanted them cared for.

2 Chr 31:4  "Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in
Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites,
that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD."

2 Chr 31:5  "As soon as the commandment was circulated, the
children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain
and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field;
and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything."

2 Chr 31:6  "And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in
the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also
the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD
their God they laid in heaps."

Here we see reformation not only bringing dedication, but it
also brings generosity.

The original plan was returned to. We find, incidentally in
Numbers 18:6ff what God's plan was.	

That plan of God was important because it freed religious
leaders to be able to do the work of the Lord without having to
worry about where every meal was coming from.

And the people brought abundantly. Heaps and heaps it tells us. 
Just like at the time that the first tabernacle was made, when
Moses had the people bring gifts to the Lord of the spoils of
Egypt. But Moses, as you recall, had to tell the people to stop
bringing things, because there was more than enough.

This time is not different. For 4 months offerings pour in.
Wheat, barley grape juice, olive oil, silver, gold, incense,
spices, jewels, sheep, goats, linen and on and on. It poured in.
So much came in that there were literally heaps of treasures
around the temple, so that Hezekiah had to build store rooms to
hold all of the blessings that the people had blessed the Lord
with.

Now these things were not Just to sit around in storerooms and
gather dust.  No way. They were for the support of the temple
services and for the Support of the priests and Levites who were
serving the Lord in the temple. And because of these gifts, the
service of the Lord prospered.

The chapter is summed up in vs. 21, "And in every work that he
began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in
the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart,
to he prospered."

Again I ask, What does this portion of the story of King
Hezekiah have to do with us today?

Again I note 4 points. 

First true revival grows into reformation. 

Second, reformation is not just an outward show.

Third, reformation may mean reexamining some of our sacred cows.

Fourth, Reformation brings blessing and those blessings flow
back to the Lord's work.

First, the revival grows into reformation. We see repentance and
some revival in Ch. 29. There is also a little reform. In ch.
30, we see revival taking place in a great way, with the nation
seeking to renew her ways with the Lord. But revival alone is
not enough.

Second, Reformation is not just a passing fad.  It is something
that changes the life. It is conceivable that the people could 
have come to the Passover, and had a jolly time and gone right
back to their idols and worshipped them. But in order for the
revival to bring lasting change there needed to be reformation.
If we were putting it in modern terms we might say that revival
is an admission of guilt, and reformation is changing to
repenting of the act that caused the guilt.

Now some might think that strange, but have you ever confessed a
fault or sin and found out that act confession brought freedom
from the feelings and stresses that you had been feeling?

But that is only temporary unless something is done to bring
about a permanent change. You can take medicine to stop the pain
in a strained back, but unless you quit straining that back you
will be continuing to have pain, and doubt it will get worse and
worse. 

So for any change, and lasting good to come out of revival there
needs to also be reformation. They go hand in hand for the
Christian. But you will be surprised at those who want to spend
all their lives in revival, but never do any reforming. And on
the other hand are those who are always reforming, but have
never experienced revival. No. They work together for the
edification of the Christian. 

But you know something? There are those who do not want either
revival or reformation. And there are some people that do not
want to tear down their idols. And believe me, we all have them,
somewhere. We all have things that we worship. Maybe we know
what they are. Perhaps they are something we haven't yet been
shown by the Spirit. But as we experience revival we will come
to see those things that we bowed down to in past times as
detracting us from following our Lord, and we will tear them
down and leave them in the dust.

But one thing I am sure of. We need revival and reformation. We
need to be filled with the Spirit of God so that we may do the
works he would have us to do.

Third, reformation means reexamining some of our sacred cows. 
This is something that might make you a little uncomfortable. I
know that it bothers me. Remember when we talked about Hezekiah
destroying the serpent? It was something which had a good use,
but became gradually to be used for the wrong things. Now did
the serpent change?  Did the metal and wood that comprised that
beast somehow become different? Of course not. There was no
change in the object physically. Now let me draw the parallel.

There are many things that are good that can be used for bad
purposes. We know that. There's nothing inherently evil in a
piece of wood, but when that is taken and made into a bow and
arrow, or a club, it becomes something less desirable. Another
example. Does anyone here drink water? Is it good for us?  It it
dangerous? Can it kill us? Of course.

Here's where it gets sticky. And please understand what I am
saying. There are fine things that can bring about our salvation
and that of others, which if worshipped above God become Idols
no less than did the red hot Molechs that infants were offered
to. We must never forget that our salvation is from and of
Christ, and what else we have been given is only to enhance that
relationship that each of us should have. Let's look closely at
our brazen serpents.

Fourth, Reformation brings blessings, and blessings are returned
to God.  As the nation turned back to it's God, their generosity
towards His work was greater.  I want to draw a parallel in the
last verse of ch 31. The word tells us that  Hezekiah, in the
service of the Lord, in the laws, in the commandments and in
seeking the Lord, did all these things with all of his heart.
The parallel is 'So he prospered.' 

There have always been those who  have attempted to get by with
a good show You know what I mean. The person who does what needs
to be done to look good. Perhaps we all have a touch of that in
our hearts. But that was not the way of Hezekiah. He could have
been like some of his forefathers who initiated reform, but
never followed through. He could have been like those who got  
started in one part of the land but never followed through with
it. He could have been the kind that made a lot of noise about
following the will of the Lord and then ignore him. But the word
tells us that in the service of the Lord he did all things with
all of his heart. He could say with David his father, ''I was
glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the
Lord"

The word tells us that the king followed the laws of the Lord
with all his heart  Again he could say with his father David
those words we find in Ps 119:97-104.

Also in seeking the Lord, he was diligent with all of his heart.
He could probably say with his friend, Isaiah 26:8  Yes, in the
way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You; The
desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of
You.

9  With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my
spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments
are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness.

Now today I am not going to propose that if you follow the Lord
you will get rich. If that is what you want to hear in this
church you are going to be disappointed. If you want to hear
that there will be no more troubles in your life if you do the
will of the Lord, you are listening to the wrong preacher. But
if you want to know that if you follow the will of the Lord that
you will prosper, stay with me. Just one thing. We must
recognize that there are kinds of prosperity. There is material
prosperity, physical prosperity, spiritual prosperity, and even
psychological prosperity.

If I were to offer you only one of these which would you choose?
Which would you place last?  I'm not saying that Hezekiah didn't
have wealth -- he did. But I want to point out that he had more
than that. He was given another 15 years to his life by the Lord
when he prayed to him. That sounds like prosperity to me. He
seemed to have no doubts that the Lord was his keeper and
guardian. That brings psychological prosperity. He knew that
Jehovah was his God and Master And that brought him spiritual
prosperity. The material 7 prosperity was merely a result of the
other things.

But while I do believe that God blesses those who trust Him now,
 a time is coming when his possessions must be turned to the
work of the Lord, or they will be more of a stumbling to him
than a blessing. And as we will see later on, a misuse of the
possessions that we are given can cause our down fall. But as we
begin to look to the next chapter for next time, we will find
that there is a dark rain cloud over Hezekaih's party. He has
enjoyed the blessings of the Lord, but persecution is on the way
for we read in 2 Chron 34:1 that "Sennacherib, king of Assyria
came into the land and began to besiege the armed cities, and
thought to take them for himself."  Sennacherib, the cruelest of
the cruel. The mightiest power of that time, coming against the
small nation of Judah.

I want you to read that story this week, and next time we will
have the most inspiring story of them all.

But from the story that we have gone over today I would ask you
to remember one thing. That if we as Christians and followers of
the Lord seek after the ways of God with all of our hearts that
we too will prosper. We may not become rich, but we will have
peace. We may not become famous, but we will have a sense of who
and whose we are. And we may not be rulers down here, but one
day we will be sons and daughters of God, now in name, but then
in reality, as we live in the new Jerusalem.

Today I leave you with one question.  Are you willing to give up
the idols that stand between you and the worship of the true God?