2 Chronicles 29
McGeeCHAPTERS 2932THEME: Revival during Hezekiah’s reignWe come now to the reign of Hezekiah and one of the periods of revival in the nation of Judah. You would think that after the reign of Ahaz there would be no hope for the nation. They were depleted of their resources, they had been defeated in war, they had been betrayed by Assyria, and you would think there would be no help for them from any quarter. However, Hezekiah came to the kingdom for such a time as this, because he is God’s man.
2 Chronicles 29:1
Both the mother and the grandfather are mentioned here, but there is no mention of his father, old Ahaz. Apparently Hezekiah had a godly mother and a godly grandfather, and they influenced this young man.
2 Chronicles 29:2
The Book of 2 Kings has a more succinct account of the revival under Hezekiah. “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth …” (2Ki_18:4-7). When you come down all the list of the twenty-one kings of Judah who followed David, there is none greater than Hezekiah. He is the outstanding one, a man who turned to God. I believe he led in one of the greatest revivals, and there were some great ones. I mentioned that his revival is recorded in 2 Kings. Here in 2 Chronicles, which is written from God’s point of view, four lengthy chapters are devoted to Hezekiah. Evidently God took great delight in Hezekiah. Also Isaiah the prophet has in the center of his book several chapters which are historical and not prophetic. They have to do withyes, you guessed itHezekiah. Three times in the Word of God we are told about this man and the great return to God which he led. In Chronicles we are told the positive things which he did to restore worship. In Kings we are told the negative things he had to do. He had to remove the high places and break the images and had to break in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made because the people were burning incense to it. He had to get rid of that stumbling block. He contemptuously called it “Nehushtan"it was just a piece of brass. There had been one time when the people had looked at the serpent in faith, trusting the promise of God, then the brazen serpent had been the basis of physical salvation for those who were bitten by the poisonous snakes. Now it had become an object of worship. It had become an idol. It was a stumbling block to the people. There are those today who worship the symbol of the cross. They feel that there is some merit in having a cross in their possession. My friend, there would be no merit in it at all. You can make an idol of anythingyou can worship the spigot because it gives you water, you could worship the window because it brings you light, or you could worship the automobile because it transports you. A great many people today worship the television screen; they sit before it for hours each day. May I say to you, there is no merit in objects. The merit is in God, of course; this is written from God’s viewpoint. Now in Chronicles we are given the positive side of Hezekiah’s reforms.
2 Chronicles 29:3
Remember that Ahaz had nailed shut the doors of the temple. Nobody was using it. As soon as Hezekiah began to reign, he opened the doors of the temple. They were open for the first time in a long time. Now Hezekiah tells them to clean everything.
2 Chronicles 29:4
Hezekiah says, “Sanctify now yourselves.” There had to be a return to holy living, to honesty, and to integrity. There had to be a setting-apart for God. That was something that was needed. I think we need the same thing today. We have too much of this homogenized Christianity todaymixing good and bad together.
2 Chronicles 29:6
He places the blame where it belongs. They have brought disaster upon themselves because of their sins.
2 Chronicles 29:8
Now he tells them what is upon his heart.
2 Chronicles 29:20
TEMPLE WORSHIP RESTOREDHezekiah set a good example. He took a public stand for God. I believe this is one of the things that is needed today. God’s people need to take a public stand for God. We need to stand for God in our place of work and in our social gatherings. The priests made an atonement for all Israel with the burnt offerings and sin offering. Music was again brought into the worship in the temple. There was singing and instrumental music as David had organized it. The whole congregation sang praises to God and worshiped Him.