Spiritual Renewal
Good evening, guys,
Honestly, this
unit about spiritual renewal does not really broach anything relevant to me.
Therefore, my writing is going to be quite different this time around. I
usually prefer expressing my own ideas about the topics we see in class to
merely copying information from elsewhere, and it is precisely what I wanted to
do with this topic. Unfortunately, as I just mentioned, this topic is not
really one of my preference. In addition, religion is a very sensitive subject,
so it should be dealt with carefully; this topic is connected to it, and on
this occasion, I would like to simply share a very interesting article I found
online. I came across a web site about bible studies, and they talk broadly
about the subject in this article I am sharing with you. You will see different
things about the origins of spiritual renewal, its true meaning, among other
interesting facts.
At the end of
this article, I will also provide you with a link that contains a quiz about
the vocabulary we saw throughout this unit. I hope it will help you brush up on
the hardest words you might have forgotten so it remains fresh for when you
take the exam.
Enjoy it!
Hozekiah: Spiritual Renewal
INTRODUCTION
Spiritual
renewal is often associated with the present concept of "revival." It
was in the nineteenth century that Cotton Mather first used the word to
describe a great awakening in the early Americas. The word derives from the
Latin revivere, "to live again," and was typically used to describe
an old play that was brought back to a new generation of theater audiences. The
concept is closest to the Old Testament idea of renewal or restoration, found
especially in the work of leaders such as Hezekiah and Josiah.
The story of
King Josiah is probably the best illustration of revival in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles
34). Judah had fallen away from God, almost exclusively serving the
idols of surrounding peoples. When the Pentateuch is suddenly rediscovered,
Josiah immediately calls the people back to this covenant, and institutes
sweeping reforms throughout every institution in Israel. Revival was possible
because the lines were so clear-cut. Judah had a past relationship with God it
could return to, with the spiritual and political mechanisms in place to
quickly restore this relationship to a central place in Israelite life. They
rebuilt what had decayed.
The reign of
Hezekiah some 70 years earlier is one example that Josiah was likely aware of.
Through Hezekiah's devout commitment to God, a legacy of devotion was passed
on.
I. CALL FOR
SANCTIFICATION (2 Chron. 28:1-4, 22-27; 29:1-11)
The name Hezekiah in
Hebrew means "God has strengthened." This is appropriate, given the
story of this uncommon king's life and reign. As we will see, he emerges from
the most unlikely background to rule with persistent godliness. The thirteenth
king of Judah since the northern and southern lands of Israel have been
divided, Hezekiah stands in the Gospel of Matthew's lineage of Jesus Christ (Matthew
1:9-10 NKJV). A careful study of Hezekiah's life will show us
why God graced him with a messianic lineage. His commitment to spiritual
renewal in Israel makes him an appropriate predecessor to Christ.
A. A Wicked
Father (28:1-4, 22-27)
24. And Ahaz
gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the
vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord,
and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
25. And in every
several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and
provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.
27. And Ahaz
slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but
they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah
his son reigned in his stead.
Surprisingly,
the reign of Hezekiah begins with a father of unparalleled wickedness. Ahaz
never makes any effort at all to put Yahweh first in his life or in the
administration of the kingdom (v. 1). He boldly serves foreign gods, to the
extent of calling for the manufacturing of Baal idols and the execution of
child sacrifice (vv. 2-3). This means that Hezekiah once had siblings whose
lives were given over to pagan cults, most likely Molech, the god of death. The
ensuing chaos in the land leads Ahaz to make a treaty with Assyria - an
aggressive nation that is quickly becoming a regional empire (v. 16). This
pressure fails to cause Ahaz to turn to Yahweh. Instead, he sacrifices all the
more to the various gods of Damascus in Syria (v. 23). He crosses a sacred
line, however, when he incorporates the Temple's furnishings into these pagan
rituals of worship (v. 24).
What would cause
a man with Ahaz's history in Judah to become so stiff-necked? We are left to
guess. Determined that Yahweh will do them no good, that these other gods are
the saviors of Judah, he closes the Temple completely after ransacking it for
its sacred vessels. This is explicit religious syncretism - utilizing Yahweh's
temple's furnishings in the worship of other gods. For the worshipers of Yahweh
still left, it was a ghastly crime.
Ahaz sees to it
that this pagan worship takes place all over the city of Jerusalem, then moves
outward with his campaign of sorcery (v. 25). The text stops just short of insinuating
that Ahaz purposefully attempts to anger Yahweh. "High places" were
altars built on cliffs and mountains that were considered sacred space due to
their usage for various forms of worship, including incense and sometimes
sacrifice. These high places were often dedicated to the worship of Yahweh, but
apparently not in Ahaz's lifetime. As a result of his betrayal of the God of
his fathers, including his own father, Jotham, Ahaz's burial is a disgrace.
Though laid to rest in Jerusalem, he will not receive the honor of a burial
with previous kings (v. 27). Judah seeks to forget him entirely, and Hezekiah
is the perfect ruler to help them do so and to move forward with God.
B. The New David
(29:1-11)
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.
10. Now it is in
mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel that his fierce wrath
may turn away from us.
Because Hezekiah
has reached adulthood, his reign will be characterized by getting things
ordered in a hurry. His father long forgotten, in verse 2 Hezekiah is
identified with David - the greatest spiritual and political leader to ever
emerge from the hills of Judah.
The language in
verse 2 is deliberate as usual. Other kings accomplished righteousness before
the Lord in part, or for a historical segment of their reign. Hezekiah,
however, achieves righteousness in full. Everything good about David is found
in Hezekiah. This connection to David is especially important. It was the goal
of every king after David to be identified with David. In fact, even King Herod
in the time of Jesus took pains to identify himself as the new ruler in the
line and spirit of David. We will see that this is an appropriate moniker for
Hezekiah.
A king's first
action is indicative of his priorities. The business of leading a nation is
multifaceted, so we can guess that kings ordered their time with care and
precision, just like leaders today. Therefore, the text wastes no time in
letting us know what Hezekiah is passionate about. He "opened the doors of
the house of the Lord, and repaired them" (v. 3).
These doors will
be very important to Hezekiah's conflict with Sennacherib later on in his reign,
but that is not in view here (2 Kings
18:13-16). Hezekiah breaks with his father by reopening the doors to
God's temple in Jerusalem - the same doors his father had tried to close for
good. This statement rang out to the kingdom of Judah loud and clear. God would
be the national priority again. In the spirit of David, they were to put their
trust in Yahweh.
Hezekiah, like
several kings before him, is passionate about proper order in the Temple. He
does not commence the work of restoration himself, as if he has rights to
administrate the Temple's operation. We know from King Uzziah that this is
dangerous territory (2 Chronicles
26:19). So Hezekiah readies the Levites to take over the Temple once
more (2 Chronicles
29:5). It has been a long time, however, since the house of the Lord
has been open for business. Given that Ahaz reigned sixteen years, many of the
Levites have never served in the Temple, even though they are from the priestly
tribe. Hezekiah, then, leads the charge to get the Levites and the Temple
consecrated. He takes pains to ensure that everything is done according to
God's law. All the while, he keeps his eyes on Judah's history. To Hezekiah,
this history clearly shows that dedication to Yahweh is demanded from Judah.
Therefore, he plans to call the nation back to the covenant (v. 10).
Initially,
making a covenant seems strange. Didn't God forge an eternal covenant with
Israel, and especially with David (2 Samuel
7:15-16)? Yes, so what is needed is not a new covenant, but a
renewed covenant. God's offer to bless Judah still stands; it is still based on
covenant. And this covenant still costs Judah something. It costs unabashed and
singular devotion to Yahweh, the one true God.
II. ATONEMENT
MADE (2 Chron. 29:12-24)
Hezekiah has now
solidified his focus on the Temple. The accomplishments of his dynasty will
therefore be in tandem with the work of the priests and Levites in Jerusalem. This
close relationship is often established by the faithful and successful kings of
Judah. Again, Hezekiah realizes that he cannot effect spiritual renewal in
Judah on his own. It will be a national effort, led by those who care most for
Yahweh and His temple. Such leadership is always communal, and never
individual. It starts with the ruler's heart and extends outward to his
followers.
A. A Period of
Consecration (vv. 12-19)
15. And they
gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the
commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the
Lord.
16. And the
priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and
brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into
the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it out
abroad into the brook Kidron.
17. Now they
began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of
the month came they to the porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of
the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made
an end.
One remarkable
characteristic of the reign of Hezekiah is that he never sacrifices care and
quality for speed, even as he races ahead to make God's temple in Jerusalem
ready for worship. Indeed, the pace of the work was amazing. He has carefully
apportioned the various ethnic groups descended from Levi to accomplish their
respective work on the Temple. But first, they ritually consecrate themselves
in accordance with God's law. These laws are explicitly laid out in Leviticus 21 and Leviticus 22,
which depict the high standard for God's priests. After all, they intercede
with God on behalf of the people. They cannot do so flippantly, but must remain
reverent.
Once they have
consecrated themselves and their garments, the consecration of the Temple
itself begins. They work from the inside out, moving into the dilapidated inner
court to make it ready to serve God and the people of Judah again. We can
imagine the emotion of the priests' duty, walking into the Temple, some of them
perhaps for the first time. Disgustingly, they find the Temple full of unclean
things, all of which they haul to the Kidron Valley, probably for ceremonial
burning or to drown in the Kidron River. The work takes sixteen days: washing,
praying, singing, and cleaning. After the work is done, they joyfully report
their progress to Hezekiah, who wants to know everything. They explain each
facet of the cleansing with him, ensuring that everything has been done
properly and in order. This purification even included the utensils for
sacrifice - forks, bowls, bread plates, and the like. Unsurprisingly, they
mention wicked old Ahaz in their explanation to Hezekiah. They have undone all
that he did, providing a new day for Hezekiah and the kingdom of Judah. Without
Hezekiah's bold willingness to break from his father, spiritual renewal would
not have been possible.
B. Yom Kippur
(vv. 20-24)
20. Then
Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up
to the house of the Lord.
21. And they
brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats,
for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And
he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the
Lord.
24. And the
priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the
altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the
burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
The festival of
Yom Kippur represents the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, yet Hezekiah
realizes the nation has failed to celebrate it during the reign of Ahaz his
father. The holiday means "Day of Atonement," and it refers to a
single sacrifice which God accepts to atone for the sins of the entire nation.
This sacrifice does not preclude individuals who come on a regular basis to
honor God with the first fruits of their livestock and crops. It is of a
corporate nature, meant to enact God's peace upon the entire kingdom.
From what we
know, King Hezekiah has kept his plan secretive. He plods along in the
reconsecration of the Temple, and surely the people expect some kind of
celebration at its grand reopening. Hezekiah, however, knows that too much is
at stake to simply open the doors and stand back. He takes the lead in
reinstating this important holiday into Judah's national and spiritual life by
creating an elaborate program. However, it will be a slightly different kind of
Yom Kippur, in that Hezekiah brings seven of each of the sacrifices before the
Lord.
The number seven represents
the number of God's completion. Through this act of atonement, Hezekiah
proclaims that God is completely restoring Judah to her covenant with Him. The
emphasis is on the word "all Israel" (v. 24), foreshadowing the
restoration of the divided kingdom. Remember, Israel has been separated from
and in conflict with Judah for thirteen Judean kings now. Hezekiah boldly makes
the sacrifice for the United Kingdom, signifying an important day in the
future.
III. WORSHIP
RESTORED (2 Chron. 29:25-31, 35-36; 30:1-27)
The text has
built tension by keeping the reader wondering what will come next. Will the
nation respond to Hezekiah's leadership? After all, in some respects he is
unproven. He has yet to lead them into battle or to preside over an economic
boom period. He has focused on getting God's temple back into shape. Even an
elaborately staged ceremony of dedication to Yahweh does not mean the people will
cease following the gods of Ahaz - gods they have grown used to over the years.
Hezekiah's daring leadership shows its true colors when the people respond with
overwhelming affirmation to his sweeping spiritual reforms.
A. Order in the
Temple (29:25-31, 35-36)
31. Then
Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord,
come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord.
And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as
were of a free heart burnt offerings.
35. And also the
burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the
drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the
Lord was set in order.
36. And Hezekiah
rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing
was done suddenly.
After the
sacrifices are completed, the heartfelt celebration begins (vv. 25-30).
Hezekiah has stationed skilled musicians in the places appointed by King David
himself. Obeying the prophets of old, the psalms of David are
reintroduced to the nation. The people once again learn the story of Israel
through David's psalms. They learn about the character and attributes of God.
Equally important, they learn the heart of David, which is a template for
God-honoring service.
In a final burnt
offering, Hezekiah gives the nod and the choir erupts into rapturous praise. In
response, the nation gathered there fall on their faces before God. This
continues for the entire sacrifice, perhaps fifteen minutes of overwhelming
jubilance before the Lord. Now Hezekiah will open the floodgates for the people
to express their individual praise to Yahweh, saying, "Come near and bring
sacrifices and thank offerings" (v. 31).
Verse 31 gives
us a glimpse into the communal nature of sacrifices. That is, they were meant
to be eaten by the family, tribe, or the community which brought them. We
sometimes have this idea that the sacrifice is only about the death of the
animal. This is a part of God's plan for atonement, but the sacrifice is
equally about the consumption of the animal. Through eating the
animal together, a group remembered the goodness of Yahweh who had nourished
them. They also remembered the covenant they had with God and with one another
as the people of God, since they ate as one from the same animal.
The sacrifices
brought by the people were too much for the freshly trained priests to handle.
As a result, the Levites put in overtime as an emergency consecration service
was held for unconsecrated priests (v. 34). Verse 35 provides a key insight to
spiritual renewal. The text does not say that worship in the Temple simply
recommenced. Instead, it emphasizes the priestly order ("the service of
the house of the Lord") which allowed the Temple to be reestablished in
the first place. This shows us that order in God's house tends to flow from the
top down. Hezekiah chooses to become a righteous king, so righteousness has a
way of filtering downward to the priests through the king's faithfulness.
The last verse
in the chapter marvels that Hezekiah is able to get so much done so fast, and
clearly attributes this success to God. Yet God would likely not have
overridden Hezekiah had he been lazy. It is the urgency of Hezekiah that God
uses for His glory. He embodies the maxim that motivated Dr. Martin Luther King
- "the fierce urgency of now."
5. So they
established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba
even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of
Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it
was written.
13. And there
assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the
second month, a very great congregation.
14. And they
arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for
incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron.
15. Then they
killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests
and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the
burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.
25. And all the
congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the
congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the
land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.
26. So there was
great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of
Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.
27. Then the
priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard,
and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.
After the Temple
is gloriously reestablished, Hezekiah moves onto the daily business of
governing. However, he maintains his sense of priorities. In his first recorded
royal edict, he issues an invitation to the entire kingdom, including the
northern land of Israel, to reconstitute the Passover celebration (v. 1). This
is an especially bold move since the official time for Passover has already
expired. Hezekiah had hoped that the nation could be ready at the appointed
time, but his plans prove overly ambitious. There are simply not enough
consecrated priests to serve the people at the first of the year (v. 3). But
Hezekiah refuses to let his dream sit still for the remainder of the year. He
lays out a plan to celebrate the festival that year anyway, so the proclamation
goes out "from Beersheba . . . to Dan" (v. 5).
Hezekiah's edict
is especially meaningful to the northern kingdom of Israel. By this time,
Assyria has sacked Israel and led many of its inhabitants into exile.
Nonetheless, there are some that remain, and these Hezekiah invites to return
to the God of the patriarchs. Unfortunately, some of the regions of the
northern kingdom are hostile to Hezekiah's edict. They probably wondered what
there was to celebrate, as they had already been defeated by the pagan
Assyrians (v. 10). How could God help them now? Nonetheless, some Israelites
make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem (v. 11), while all of Judah attends (v. 12).
The "very
great" (v. 13) crowd that gathers once again has some work cut out for
them, for some unofficial altars have emerged around the city. It is only when
these are destroyed that the Passover lamb can be sacrificed and the festival
celebrated.
Once again,
Hezekiah's dedication to God's order results in a well-run festival centered on
the Temple. For those citizens who are unconsecrated, the Levites are ready to
step in and make their sacrifice for them (v. 17). But there are simply too
many sacrifices to keep up. As a result, Hezekiah offers a prayer to God that
the physically unconsecrated will be forgiven if their hearts are consecrated
(vv. 18-19). God hears (v. 20), and the festival is full of such meaning,
rejoicing, and worship that the entire assembly agrees to extend it another
week (v. 23). These are agricultural people with much to attend to back home,
but they are caught up in the moment.
In response,
Hezekiah blesses the assembly with an enormous donation from his royal
treasury, providing food for the second week of Passover (v. 24). Because of
this, everyone is reminded of Solomon and David (v. 26), and the people are
tremendously blessed before God (v. 27).
CONCLUSION
The reign of
Hezekiah proves the tremendous work that goes into spiritual renewal for a
corporate body of people. He approaches every aspect of the nation's
spirituality with intentionality and care. He gets the right people in place.
He centers on the right biblical texts. In so doing, Hezekiah is allowed to see
some of the greatest miracles God performs for the divided kingdom. He also
stands as an example for us of the cost and the benefits of spiritual renewal.
Stanly Santos
Reference: http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/hezekiah-spiritual-renewal-11636183.html
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