2 Chronicles 31:20-21
Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah, and he did what was good, right, and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in keeping with the law and the commandments to seek his God [inquiring of and yearning for Him], he did with all his heart, and he prospered.
In 2 Chronicles chapters 29-31 we see that Hezekiah’s’ greatest focus was on his worship to God and his personal response during his worship. In the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopens the temple for worship which had been closed during the reign of his evil father. He immediately calls all the people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the seven day celebration of Passover. This important religious festival had not been observed for many years. The joy is so great that the celebration is extended an additional seven days. The people respond by returning to their homes and destroying the idols and shrines that have polluted the land.
When we think about the depth of theology that is wrapped up in these chapters we learn so much about the weight of God’s jealously and how he wants all the glory for himself and how he is determined to get all of the glory for himself.
God directs everything in his sovereignty and for his own purpose and after years of not receiving the Glory because of Hezekiah’s evil father Ahaz God appoints him to the throne to become king over the great Assyrian empire. And immediately he reopens the temple for worship. This is not a surprise to God, this is not an accident, this is not luck but rather this is divinely planned out because God loves his people so much that he knows that the safest place for them spiritually is to be in his presence worshiping him because he knows its “for their own good” to worship him. And the other thing about this is that the joy is so great that the celebration is extended for another seven days of praise and worship to Emmanuel. We learn that: God is jealous for his worship, that worship is good, worship will bring joy, being in the presence of God will make you want to STAY there, but the most important thing that I think we take from this is: worship is for our good spiritually. These people started out with a small celebration but then it was extended for another seven days, so my question for myself is: how does worshiping God change me? These people where changed so much in the presence and adoration of God that they couldn’t leave, their souls needed to stay and bathe in the glory of God because they where thirsty for him. It wasn’t just some passive religious moment that they where going to out of obligation but rather it was what they NEEDED.
Today I repent because I need to desire worship like that, I need to stop worrying about my problems and the things that I feel like should be better and focus on my eternal worship of Jesus. Its not about the job, its about Jesus. Its not about the wife & kids, its about Jesus. Its not about being ‘happy’ its about Jesus because when I am in him worshiping then I will find joy because worshiping him is for my own good…..
Be Blessed
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