"BLESSING OR JUDGEMENT?
NEVER TOO LATE"
(Revival Series 2)
Readings: Draws on 2 Chronicles 29-32
Theme/Thrust:
In view of how we may despair
a) that we might have taken a wrong turn in life sometimes and
b) that our world and society seems beyond hope sometimes,
and ask
1. Should we give up?
2. Is it too late to do anything?
I want today to encourage us, that
Ø the answer is NO, NO and DEFINITELY NO! that
Ø God doesn't give up and
Ø God is always working to draw people to himself.
By means of:
Ø Some introductory thoughts on revival: blessing or judgement? considering God's heart to his people
linking back to “Frogs climbing tower” story to make transition on how
it is never too late, that God can work whatever has gone before using Hezekiah's story to illustrate that, looking at
Ø Hezekiah's heritage and what might have influenced him,
Ø what Hezekiah did about what had gone before and
Ø the changes resulting,
Ø what God was able to accomplish when Hezekiah and the people trusted him.
Introduction - Give Up?
When we feel we keep getting it wrong, like Paul felt at times,
“I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right. I do the things I hate” (Romans 7:15),
Should we give up?
What are we listening to?
Who are we listening to?
The first thing I want us to listen to for few moments, is
God's Heart
We are indeed fortunate, as countless of God's people have been, that God is a redeeming, blessing reviving God.
Why is that? Because God is love!
“This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10).
“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19.
In the Old Testament period, Israel repeatedly forgot God, turned away from him and backslid into idolatry. But God didn't give up on Israel - though he must have been pretty fed up at times…
His heart was revealed by his words through the prophet Isaiah,
“All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people” (Is. 65:2)
But Israel disregarded God's outstretched arms of love [as we can too].
God responded to stubborn, backsliding Israel,
“How can I give you up… For I am God and not man” (Hos. 11:8-9).
From one viewpoint, revival is the manifestation of God to his people, convicting by his awesome presence and by his infinite holiness.
From another viewpoint, revival is God holding out his arms of love and refusing to give up on us.
Again and again during the Old Testament period, God held out his arms to Israel through prophets, righteous kings or leaders whom he raised up to call the nation back to himself.
The greatest revival visitation in history though was Jesus.
“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son” (Jn. 3:16).
God followed up Jesus' ministry with the mighty revival of Pentecost, in which Jesus founded his New Testament church. The church was born in revival fire. It is the nature of the church to experience revival through the Holy Spirit.
The history of the church from Pentecost till today, shows the repeated need for revival.
In the long line of kings that followed Saul and David, most of the kings weren't known as righteous kings.
Once the kingdom split after Solomon disobeyed after a promising start, and let his foreign wives turn his heart from God, God sent prophets to Israel and its kings: Abijah, Jehu, Elijah. Micaiah, Elisha, Hosea, Amos, Joash Obed and an unnamed prophet. But neither the kings nor most of the nation repented. There wasn't one real revival in Israel.
Judah had quite a list of prophets sent to them, before the Babylonian captivity, during and after.
Many of the kings of Judah were more responsive to spiritual things and more faithful to Jehovah.
Five of Judah's kings were especially righteous. They cooperated with and responded to the prophets' call to repentance. Some degree of national revival or reformation was experienced during each of five of these reigns. We are going to look at three, one this morning and two next week.
Please let me repeat, God is a God of revival, a God of love. God desires to visit his people with revival, rather than with judgement.
So like the frog, shut out negative words that give no hope and don't give up. Even when there is judgement, when judgement is humbly accepted, God is always ready to forgive and to restore.
It Is Never Too Late
We experience that in Hezekiah's story [taking him out of sequence]. Let's look at
Hezekiah's Heritage And Inheritance
Hezekiah came to the throne at one of the darkest moments in Judah's history. His father Ahaz was such a failure as a king, so wicked and did so much that was destroying the nation, that he wasn't even buried in the royal tombs. It was a relief to the nation to have him out of the picture.
Ahaz “didn't do what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. He followed the lifestyle and practices of wicked kings of Israel. He participated in the idolatry of the nations around him, offering pagan sacrifices (even some of his sons on a flaming Canaanite altar ((2 Chron. 28:3) and burning incense at the high places of Baal.
Eventually the kings of Israel and Aram defeated him . He still didn’t learn his lesson, looking to Assyria for help and then bribing them to go away. He became more and unfaithful.
He replaced the bronze altar with one modelled on a pagan one in Damascus, finally even shutting the doors of the temple and setting up pagan altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.
The nation of Judah was reduced to disgrace, attacked on all sides.
Thankfully one son of Ahaz survived to become King.
What a hopeless start and situation to face for a young king of 25.
But let's look at what God did do through a young king on fire for God.
With such a heritage though,
What Other Influences Were There On Hezekiah?
“In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord” (Isaiah 6:1).
That was the year 740 BCE, the year of Hezekiah's birth.
God called Isaiah and made him his prophet.
Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and was related to the royal family. He was keenly observant of all that that was happening in the palace and in the nation.
Isaiah was God's prophet in God's place at God's time.
Scripture doesn't record what the Godly influences were that prepared Hezekiah for his great role.
It is sad that some good kings were followed by wicked sons as happened with Hezekiah and Manasseh. Someone or something corrupted them and led them astray.
It's good though that it happened the other way around too, as in Hezekiah's case, that there were good influences on them.
Could it not be that God used Isaiah in a hidden but strategic role?
Isaiah had unusual access to the palace. He was the eloquent prophet of the nation.
It seems very likely that Isaiah became a counsellor-pastor to the young king, such that they would've talked often about how Hezekiah could turn the nation back to God once he became king.
(Most revivals have their roots in long periods of behind-the-scenes intercessory prayer.)
Isaiah and Hezekiah must've prayed together again and again as Ahaz became more apostate and as God sent judgement upon Judah because of the sins of Ahaz of the people. The nation was reeling from one attack after another by the surrounding nations.
Would it be too late for Hezekiah to act? Would the nation be destroyed before he became king?
But it seems that Hezekiah had prayed much over plans ready. Hezekiah could hardly wait to begin working for a national revival. His father Ahaz, may not even have been buried when
Hezekiah Started His Reformation
Hezekiah got right into it…
On the first day of the first month of his reign, he ordered the temple doors unlocked and the repairs begun.
He called the priests and Levites together and charged them with returning the temple to its holy state. He told them,
“Our ancestors were unfaithful to the Lord our God and did what was displeasing to him. They abandoned him and turned their backs on the place where he dwells. They closed the doors of the Temple, let the lamps go out, and failed to burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the Temple of the God of Israel. Because of this the Lord has been angry with Judah and Jerusalem, and what he has done to them has shocked and frightened everyone. You know this very well... I have now decided to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that he will no longer be angry with us” (2 Chronicles 7,8, 10).
The priest consecrated themselves and started to obey Hezekiah's command “following the word of the Lord” (2 Chron. 29:15).
How did Hezekiah get the word of the Lord? Probably through Isaiah.
For eight days they did nothing but purge the temple carrying out everything unclean. For eight more days they cleaned and consecrated the temple itself and all its sacred vessels. Then they reported to Hezekiah.
This was the day Hezekiah had been waiting for.
Early in the morning the next day, the young king led the procession to the temple, sacrificial animals ready and immediately ordered full temple worship to begin. The people brought more sacrifices than there were priests to complete the sacrifices, so the Levites helped.
An Invitation To Revival
Hezekiah was so thrilled that he then sent out letters to all of Judah and to all the Jews who survived in Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover.
Hezekiah's intention was to reunite the kingdom.
Some of the people were so backslidden that they scorned and ridiculed the couriers who brought the invitation, but many humbled themselves and came to seek the Lord in repentance.
In general, the people were so excited that they joined in the revival-reformation. They went round Jerusalem clearing out street by street, all the incense altars that Ahab had built.
Then they held a Passover such as hadn't been held for over a century.
Thousands of animals were killed.
The people were so fired up, so revived, so blessed that they all wanted to clean up the nation from idolatry, which they did smashing sacred stones, cutting down Asherah poles and destroying the high places and alters throughout Judah.
Then Hezekiah reorganised the priests and Levites for their ministry as they had served in David's time. Special storerooms were built for the tithes and offerings.
According to Ezra, the probable author of Chronicles,
“King Hezekiah did what was right and what was pleasing to the Lord his God. He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God” (2 Chron. 32:7-8).
Victory In The Night
Hezekiah wasn't exempt from his share of trouble…
After all the revival and national reformation God brought through Hezekiah, Senacherib, the Assyrian king, came to attack little Judah.
Hezekiah immediately began to strengthen the fortifications of Jerusalem, appointed officers over the people, and convened a national assembly.
“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him,” Hezekiah told them, “for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chron. 32:7-8).
Sennacherib sent his officers to shout threats and insults to the people, the king, and to God.
Hezekiah and Isaiah united in prayer. Sennacherib sent a further letter insulting Hezekiah and the Lord Jehovah. Hezekiah went to the temple and again poured out his heart to God.
That very night God sent His avenging angel. In the morning all Hezekiah and his people found were the bodies of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Sennacherib went back home in disgrace, and when he went into the temple of his own god to pray, two of his sons assassinated him.
Hezekiah's revival was characteristic of Old Testament revivals.
Yet God can revive us again today!
Lord, send revival fire again.