DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: JUNE 4 GOD ADDED FIFTEEN YEARS TO KING HEZEKIAH (2) SCRIPTURE: 2 Chro. 28: 2 – 4, 19; 29: 25 – 30
In the opening of our devotional yesterday about God adding fifteen years to King Hezekiah’s years, we were told that the King neither achieves that feat because he was a King nor because he knew how to pray. He achieved it by recounting his contributions to the general being of Israel and the true religious worship of his subjects. Today’s devotional will point out some of what King Hezekiah did, which attracted God’s change of mind towards his death. The thrust of this devotional is that, if we do what King Hezekiah did, our prayers on things will be answered by God since He is a rewarder of faithfulness and uprightness.
Before King Hezekiah ascended into the throne, King Ahaz had, through his great apostasy, taken Israelites away from God. Someone wrote that “Under his leadership, the nation was united in wickedness and spiritual decline” (2 Chro. 28: 2 – 4, 19). The Bible said when King Hezekiah came on board, he did what was right before the Lord, according to all his father David had done” as seen in (2 Chro. 29: 2).
( 1).King Hezekiah ordered the Levites as well as the priests to sanctify themselves.
(2). He ordered the Levites and the Priests to cleanse the Temple of all the idols King Ahaz brought into it (2 Chro. 29: 3 – 6).
(3). He restored sacrifices to the altars as the Lord gave commandments to Israelites, and positioned musicians at the Temple (2 Chro. 29: 25 – 30).
(4). He ordered all the rulers and people of Israel into the Temple, made them repent of their sins and offered sins and burnt offerings.
(5). He organised 14 days of joyful feats (Thanksgiving Offerings); for the Lord so to bring back God’s glory to the land of Israel (2 Chro. 30: 21 – 23).
(6). About 70 bulls, 100 rams, 200 lambs were killed for burnt offerings. For the consecration of the people and articles of the Temple, 600 bulls and 3000 sheep were killed.
It was recorded how the people of Israel all went out to the cities and broke sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images and threw down all the high places and the strange altars from North to the South, East and to the West of the land of Judah (2 Chro. 31: 1).
By so doing, King Hezekiah removed illegitimate worship from all Israel and thereafter, proper worship was reinstated.At the time of his short prayers, King Hezekiah, no doubt, pointed out all these glorious restoration works he initiated as a King. God knows he was not lying. God listened and saw that Hezekiah was justified. The present world needs somebody like King Hezekiah who will open his mouth and tell God to heal our lands. You reading this devotional, will you remember the good works you did for the restoration of holiness, uprightness and holy worship into the House of God? God wants you to cry out against the rebellious spirits of our present generation. King Hezekiah greatly instituted organs of “Caring Ministry” which is the heart beat of God for human beings. This will be seen in the next series.
PRAYER:
FATHER GOD, bring to us, in this generation, Kings like Hezekiah to return the world back to you. We need revivals as well as Spiritual Reformation in these our days in Jesus name.
bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch