Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 29-30.

When I think of Hezekiah, I normally think of Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah, or of Hezekiah’s sickness and healing, and sometimes I think about the visit from the emissaries from Babylon.  I am not sure I have ever thought about how he cleansed the temple after his father’s death.  He started by bringing the priests and Levites together to rededicate themselves.  Once they had consecrated the temple, he gathered the city officials of Jerusalem, and then the people of Jerusalem and got them involved with worshiping the Lord once more.  As soon as the enthusiasm for the Lord had caught on with the people of Jerusalem, Hezekiah planned a Passover celebration, even though it was too late to do it at its assigned time.  By doing so, Hezekiah maintained the enthusiasm and momentum he had gained by acting as soon as he became king.  This is an important lesson for us when we are acting for the Lord, we must keep things moving forward, not rest on our laurels.  Actually, the example of the way in which Hezekiah, and those working with him, kept things moving forward started sooner.  When Hezekiah called on the people to start offering sacrifices there were not enough consecrated priests to skin all of the offering being brought.  So, the Levites pitched in and helped with that task.  There is one other important lesson in this passage.  When the messengers Hezekiah sent out to invite people from the northern tribes, which were not technically under Hezekiah’s rule, to announce the Passover celebration, they were laughed at and mocked.  Nevertheless they carried the message, and some people responded.  Likewise, we need to continue to carry God’s message, even when we are laughed at and mocked.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.