II Chronicles: Hezekiah - Part 1

Hezekiah occupies one of the high spots in Judah's history, and his righteous reign comes at a critical point. His father Ahaz had been extraordinarily wicked and had brought about a time of heavy losses and precipitous decline for Judah. God's judgment was imminent; in fact, it had already begun.

Hezekiah wisely realized his nation's precarious position and the reason for it. At the beginning of his reign, he told the priests and Levites, "Our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him. . . . Therefore the wrath of the LORD was against Judah and Jerusalem. . . . For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this" (II Chronicles 29:6-9). He told these leaders he wanted to return to God so "that His burning anger may turn away" (29:10).

Hezekiah understood accurately. His turning to God, however, was not merely political posturing or self-serving conformity. His desire to follow God was sincere. "He did what was good, right and true before the LORD his God" (31:20), and he did so "with all his heart" (31:21).

Hezekiah was so sensitive to the danger of being under God's anger that he wasted no time in reversing the evil practices of his father and replacing them with righteous practices. "In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD" (29:3). In fact, if 29:17 refers to Hezekiah's reign (as opposed to calendar year), the renewal started on the very first day.

The extent of Hezekiah's changes was comprehensive and plentiful. He assembled the priests and Levites, urging them to consecrate themselves; he then instructed them to consecrate the temple, which had been defiled for years and ultimately closed by his father. They repaired and cleaned the temple structure, removed the unholy objects, and restored the proper utensils.

With the temple properly restored, Hezekiah ordered a notable sin offering to atone for the wickedness of the people. When those who had gathered were thus consecrated, Hezekiah instructed them to bring sacrifices and thank offerings to God. This beginning of revival quickly led to a celebration of the Passover, which was celebrated on a scale not seen since Solomon's day. The joy of the event was so great that the celebration continued an extra week, after which the people scattered throughout the land, tearing down heathen altars and destroying idols.

Hezekiah continued to promote righteousness by re-establishing the structure of the priesthood, by making significant personal contributions for worship, and by restoring the proper means of meeting the priests' needs. He was a leader in revival, as he challenged others to properly follow God also; he interacted with the priests and Levites, the princes of the city, the military leaders, the whole assembly, those who lived throughout the land of Judah, and even the remnant of people who remained in Israel.

The early part of Hezekiah's reign was consumed with renewing the spiritual condition of his nation, and he did so because he was "seeking his God" (31:21). He was so serious about this that he chose "to make a covenant with the LORD God" (29:10). God refers to Hezekiah's kingly actions as "acts of faithfulness" (32:1) and "deeds of devotion" (32:32).

Predictably, this return to God had a positive impact on the nation. An immediate change was the return of joy and singing, something that had been sadly missing. Under God's judgment, Judah had been "an object of terror, of horror, and of hissing" (29:8). With the revival, however, came the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres (29:25), musical instruments and trumpets (29:26), song accompanied by instruments (29:27), singing and trumpets (29:28), praises of joy sung to the LORD (29:30), rejoicing (29:36), great joy, daily praise to God, instruments (30:21), extended celebration (30:23), universal rejoicing (30:25), and great joy (30:26).

Because Hezekiah and the people had "one heart" to follow God (30:12), "their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place" (30:27). God turned back His anger, "so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah" (32:26). Instead, the people were at peace to pursue the religious revival; Hezekiah's reign was free from the overwhelming defeats that had plagued his father. Foreign leaders took note of "the wonder that had happened in the land" (32:31). The military was strengthened, crops and herds prospered, and new cities were built. When battles did come, Hezekiah was victorious (32:22). He "prospered in all that he did" (32:30) and was blessed with incredible wealth as well as great respect at home and abroad (32:23, 27-29).

Hezekiah's story repeatedly reveals the graciousness of God. Conditions in Judah had been so wrong for so long that it had actually become impossible to properly worship God. There were insufficient consecrated priests to manage the offerings the people brought (29:34). The Passover could not be celebrated at the proper time due to the shortage of priests and the time needed to rally the people (30:3). Many of the people did not have enough time for the prescribed purification (30:16). In each case, the people came as close as they could to proper procedures,  while not using the discrepancies as excuses to further delay revival.

Although their worship was technically outside God's parameters, He accepted the sacrifice of a humble and contrite heart, which was more valuable than adherence to external ritual. In spite of Judah's history, God extended grace. He would have done the same even for the remnant of post-captivity Israel. Hezekiah encouraged Israel's people, "If you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons will find compassion. . . . For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him" (30:9).