Gain from the Pain

 Read 2 Chronicles 33. 

After some 29 years of wonderful and godly leadership from Hezekiah, his son Manasseh became Judah's next king.  Manasseh systematically reversed the spiritual reforms of his father.    He turned from worshiping the LORD to installing every false and evil way. 

1. He not only built altars to the Baals but also to the fertility goddess, Asherah.  When people turn to false worship, moral values are soon lost.

2. He built altars to the "host of heaven".  Astrology and worship of the movement of stars and planets has always been condemned by God as evil (Deuteronomy 4:19).  It is a system that looks to the creation for life guidance rather than the Creator.

3. He led the nation into human sacrifices, including his own sons.

4. He used fortune-telling, omens, sorcery, mediums, and wizards.  These are not amusements for video games, role playing, fantasies of escape, and advice seeking.  They are in fact satanic and rooted in everything that is against the God of heaven.

5. He even carved an idol and set it up as a god.  A piece of inanimate wood that he fashioned became something to which he bowed and paid homage. 

All of these actions resulted in God's anger and judgment.  The Assyrians humiliated him and took him captive.  He lost everything. 

"And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers" (v.12).  God heard his prayer.  "Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God" (v.13b).  The personal and national restoration began. 

It took the pain of loss and distress to turn his heart from going his own way to surrendering to God's way.  Isaiah described this behavior as true of everyone and the reason the Messiah died on the cross.  "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) 

Restoration begins when a person turns from their sin to embrace God's forgiveness.

 

When your world is Threatened

 Read 2 Chronicles 32. 

When our world is threatened we discover the source of our true trust. 

The king of Assyria had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and then thought that Judah would be no problem.  His tactics included marching into the land with his strong army and then terrifying the city with belittling messages.  The messages he sent attacked the foundations of their trust.  Judah trusted in the LORD and in the leadership of King Hezekiah. 

Sennacherib's powerful forces had handled all others in their path.  However, his fatal mistake with Judah was to think the God of heaven was just one of many faith options. 

When someone states, "We all worship the same God", they make the mistake of Sennacherib. 

The tactic did scare the people.  The threat was real.  Hezekiah did two things that all of us should do when our foundations are under attack:

1. He prepared.  There were things he could do.  At the first word of trouble, he took immediate defensive actions.

2. He prayed.  There were things he could not do.  He found his prayer partner and cried out to God for help. 

In response, God sent an angel to fight for them.  The Assyrian army experienced supernatural defeat.  Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons.  Hezekiah's experienced peace and blessings. 

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright."  (Psalm 20:7-8)

 

What your Giving says about you

 Read 2 Chronicles 31. 

Someone once said that we are never more like God than when we give.  In one of the most well-known of all Bible verses, John 3:16 begins with the words, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." 

King Hezekiah led the nation to restore the worship and celebration of the LORD.  The Temple and those who ministered had been marginalized and ignored for a long time.  But now the Temple had been cleaned up and the ministers were back to work again.  However, in order for the ministry to be sustained resources were essential. 

Hezekiah led the people in giving on multiple levels.   They presented the required sacrifices for worship.  They began tithing of all their income.  They practiced generosity with freewill offerings over and above their tithe (v.14). 

The result was abundance for God's house and God's servants (v.10).  The King and the people prospered as a result. 

Too many Christians have never been taught and do not realize that there is a direct connection between a person's spiritual maturity and their financial giving.  Tithing (a tenth) has always been a base standard, before and after the law (Genesis 14, Hebrews 7).  Offerings of generosity are over and above that standard. 

It is our responsibility to make sure that both the place where we worship and those who serve us are well provided for accordingly.

The price of Unity

 Read 2 Chronicles 30. 

In his continuing efforts to restore the nation spiritually, King Hezekiah organized the first celebration of Passover in long time.  He had a heart for those who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel.  They had alienated themselves from worshiping at the Temple.  Not since the kingdom divided after the reign of Solomon had the nation come together for Passover. 

In a kind gesture, he sent out invitations for the northern tribes to come and join in the celebration.  Note that his message was not only to come, but he included a strong exhortation for them to make this a time of repentance and return to the LORD.  "For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him." 

But Israel was so given over to idolatry and false worship that his invitation had no value to them.  Indeed, his offer was ridiculed.  However, that was not true of everyone.  Some did come.  And, even though a few of the ceremonial details were not exactly followed, Hezekiah stepped in with words of grace. 

Unity is a beautiful thing to behold and enjoy.  Jesus prayed for his followers to be one and to love one another. 

Spiritual unity is not based upon a call for corporate organization.  It has a personal price.  It means coming in repentance of sin and acceptance of God's plan.  Jesus conducted an interesting conversation with a woman who flinched because of gender, racial and religious differences.  But the real issue was this, "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."  (John 4:23)  That personal turning in faith to Jesus opened the door for fellowship, worship, and unity with other believers.

 

 

4 Steps to Spiritual Restoration

 Read 2 Chronicles 29. 

The ungodly Ahaz died and his son, Hezekiah, became the next king of Judah.  The royal lineage of David and the Messiah continued.  Though he was raised by a father who did not obey the LORD, Hezekiah did.  His father had stopped all worship of God and substituted it with objects of his own making.  The new king loved the LORD and used his position to restore the spiritual life of the nation. 

The Temple had been misused and, evidently, boarded up for years.  The sacrifices, worship and celebrations prescribed by God were no longer practiced.  The Levites had been marginalized and had not been able to fulfill their responsibilities.  There was much work to be done. 

How does one restore a spiritual life that has been corrupted by sin?

1. Internal Consecrating.

There was an intentional work of separating themselves from sin and giving themselves wholly to God.  Purifying their lives and work before the LORD was a sacred responsibility that must come first before they may effectively serve and please God.

2. External Cleansing.

This required the distasteful tasks of cleaning out the filth that lurked behind closed doors.  Ungodly and impure things had been allowed in the Temple and stored there.

3. Sacrificial Giving.

Sacrifices were made as sin offerings for atonement of what had taken place in the past.  Burnt offerings wafted sweet smelling aromas up to God.  Thank offerings were made to celebrate that God had given them a new beginning.  Peace offerings symbolized that reconciliation with God had taken place.

4. Joyful Singing.  

With instruments and voices, the songs of David and Asaph (The Psalms) resounded loudly in praise and worship to the God of heaven. 

"Thus the service of the house of the LORD was restored." (v.35b) 

For the believer in Jesus, our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  "Since we have these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)

How to get out of the Hole

 Read 2 Chronicles 28. 

Will Rogers once said, "When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!" 

This would have been helpful advice for King Ahaz.  At twenty years of age, he wanted to run his own life.  For some inexplicable reason, he thought he knew how to run his life and lead his nation better than the God who created him and gave him his position.  He not only forsook the LORD but then made his own gods.  He worshiped and sacrificed to pieces of metal that he had fashioned. 

God put increasing pressure upon the king to turn his heart back.  Despite defeat, enormous loss, and humiliation, Ahaz hardened his heart.  "In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD" (v.22).  Spiritually, he just kept digging the hole deeper and deeper.  

It is interesting to read that even those in the northern kingdom of Israel, who indeed were far from God themselves, acknowledged their sin and guilt.  Though there is no record of repentance toward the LORD, they at least understood their accountability to Him and treated Judah with kindness and mercy. 

God's intent in disciplining us is to call us to stop going our own way and turn back to Him.  He is gracious and merciful to forgive.  As a wonderful father with his children, He wants a relationship with us. 

"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD.  But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2)

What it means to be a Focused Follower

 Read 2 Chronicles 27. 

Jotham proved to be a good ruler for the southern kingdom of Judah.  His many construction projects enhanced the nation.  His military defeat of the Ammonites added to Judah's power and financial strength.  But at the core of his success and achievements was his spiritual discipline. 

"And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD..." (v.2)

"So, Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God." (v.6) 

The word "ordered" (ESV) or "prepared" (KJV) in Hebrew has to do with determination and being fixed, or focused.  He was determined to live his life with a strong sense of accountability to God.  Such living requires moment by moment personal discipline. 

There is no discipleship without spiritual discipline. 

Being a follower of Christ is more than a one-time decision for salvation.  There is a daily dealing with life and the faithful use of the all that God has given to us. 

The beginning of the personal work that is required is seen in the words of the Apostle Paul: "take every thought captive to obey Christ".  (2 Corinthians 10:5b)