King Hezekiah was the 13th king of Judah who assumed the throne of Judah at the young age of 25 and reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:2).  He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to everything that his ancestor David had done. As a reformer, Hezekiah was most concerned with present obedience to the ways of the Lord.  While Judah was filled with visual reminders of the people’s lack of trust in God, Hezekiah boldly did a cleanup—altars, idols and pagan places of worship were destroyed. Even the bronze serpent Moses made in the wilderness was not spared because it ceased to point the people to God but instead had become an idol.  The Temple in Jerusalem, which had been shut by Hezekiah’s father, was cleaned out and reopened. The Passover Feast was reinstated and there was great revival in Judah.

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Let us break the key verse to understand and see how it was practically implemented:

 

• And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God

In cleansing the temple, providing sacrifices, placing the priests and Levites order, taking care of them,

 

• and in the law and in the commandments;

in the observation of all the laws, statutes, and judgments of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial:

 

• to seek his God;

by serving and worshiping him, giving all the glory and honor: 

 

• he did it with all his heart;

in the most cordial, sincere, and upright manner:

 

• and prospered;

he succeeded in all he undertook, God being with him and blessed him in his civil and religious concerns.

As we see from the above, Hezekiah was a very good king even though his father was very wicked. Under the reign of Hezekiah, the people prospered, and it was a time of national blessings and great joy.  Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.  There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.  He remained faithful to the Lord in everything and he carefully obeyed all the commandments the Lord had given Moses.  (2 Kings 18:5-6).

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The priests had not been supported by the government during the wicked kings’ reigns.  Hezekiah organized the priests and resumed the work of the Temple according to the plan originally set up by David.  Hezekiah reinstated the practice of tithing.  The people responded immediately and generously.  God’s work needs the support of God’s people.  Generosity makes our giving delightful to us and to God (2 Corinthians 8 – 9).

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Because Hezekiah did “what is pleasing to God,” he led the people of Judah in spiritual renewal.  His actions serve as a model of renewal for us:

 

1. He remembered God’s compassion (2chr. 30:9)

2. He kept going despite ridicule (2chr. 30:10)

3. He aggressively removed evil influences from his life (2chr. 30:14,2chr. 31:1)

4. He interceded for the people, asking the Lord’s pardon (2chr. 30:15-20)

5. He was open to freedom in worship (2chr. 30:23)

6. He contributed generously to God’s work (2chr. 31:3)​​

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If any of these are lacking in our lives, let us consider how can it be applied and renew our commitment to God.

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Thought: “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:6 - NLT).