RE-OPENING CLOSED DOORS!

RE-OPENING CLOSED DOORS!

2 Chron 29:1-7

29:1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.

4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

5 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.

6 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.

7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.

           King Ahaz (possessor) was now dead and his son, Hezekiah (strengthened of Jehovah) began to reign at age twenty five. Unlike the general opinion of our youth, Hezekiah had a desire to reverse the evil ways of his father. Almost casually, the Bible informs us that his mother’s name was Abijah (worshipper). I find the meaning of the names of this family more than interesting! So, Hezekiah was the son of a father whose focus was possessions and a mother who was a worshipper.

           Restoring worship was Hezekiah’s first order of business. He started this repair in the first month of his first year! He directed the priests to clean up the Temple and it took eight days of hard labor to remove all the filth and rubbish. I wonder how long it would take to clean up our churches if we could only see the dirt. Not only was the Temple abandoned and polluted but the lamp had gone out. This was a direct violation of God’s command.

Lev 24:2-3

2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.

           Our culture is polluted, our God has been abandoned and our lamp has been put out. Our churches now provide amusement instead of light. Our government oppresses the righteous and exalts the wicked. Our elders have been marginalized as irrelevant and our youth seem unconcerned. We need a Hezekiah (one strengthened of the Lord) to act quickly. The results or revived worship will heal our land.

2 Chron 29:26-29

26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.

28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.

Dear Lord, awaken a champion in our days and strengthen him. Put in his heart a desire to purify our worship and our culture. Give us a bit of revival … and if not … come quickly because the world has become nearly uninhabitable for your children. AMEN