By Toni Ford
We can learn so much from the life and leadership of King Hezekiah. The name “Hezekiah” means “the Lord strengthens,” which was appropriately needed for all the nations that tried to attack King Hezekiah and his people. Although King Hezekiah was not perfect, he sought to obey the Lord and please Him. One of the first actions he took when becoming king was to remove the high places and put an end to idol worship all across the land. Hezekiah also restored temple worship and encouraged people all across Judah and Israel to come to the temple in Jerusalem and worship the Lord.
Hezekiah’s life and ministry are recorded in three different books of the Bible: Kings, Chronicles and Isaiah. One of my favorite teachings on King Hezekiah is found in the 29th chapter of 2 Chronicles. Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king, and one of the first things we are told about Hezekiah is that “he did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.”
Within the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah begins to reopen the Temple. As I was reading this chapter, I realized the same steps King Hezekiah took to repair and rebuild the Temple are the same steps I need to take on a regular basis when it comes to checking the health of my soul and my relationship with the Lord. I love how the Word of God is so applicable both in the natural and in the spiritual areas of our lives. Plus, scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit within us!
Hezekiah took these steps to reopen the Temple, and today I ask myself if any of these steps need to be taken in my own life to renew and refresh my Temple where He lives today.
Reopen and repair. 2 Chronicles 29:3 says, “In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them.” As King Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple, the first thing he saw were the “issues” that needed to be dealt with. Once he recognized those issues, Hezekiah could begin the process of repairing those issues. In our spiritual lives, we must do the same – first recognize our issues and then begin to repair them. Psalm 139: 23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” This is a great prayer to pray when asking God to reveal areas in our lives that need changing or adjusting.
Remove and purify. 2 Chronicles 29:5 says, “Purify yourselves and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.” Part of purifying is the act of removing. Hezekiah knew that in order to repair the Temple, it would mean removing items and perhaps even people that had once been a part of the Temple. No longer were those things pure, and they needed to be removed. The same principle applies to each of us, spiritually. There are times we need a “reset.” This means we need to purify our lives of things that are no longer beneficial to us – physically, mentally and spiritually.
Worship and present offerings. 2 Chronicles 29:11 says, “The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.” Once Hezekiah reopened the Temple and it had been repaired and purified, he knew to immediately offer up sacrifices of praise and worship to the Lord. All honor and glory were given to the Lord! We should follow Hezekiah’s lead by worshipping the Lord and thanking Him for caring enough, to show us areas in our own lives that need repairing all for the purpose of making us healthier in Christ!
Lord, thank you for loving us and caring for us and for always desiring the best for us. Please open our eyes to ways we can make our Temples better, stronger and healthier. Lord, above all else, we need You!
If you would like me to join you in prayer please email me at tonif77@gmail.com. I would love to pray for you!