For some of the kings there are only mere paragraphs describing their reign, no matter how long that reign was. Generally they start off with "he followed the ways of the kings of Israel" or "he did evil in the eyes of the Lord." How would you like this to be your legacy recorded for eternity. To continually have this tag line associated with your name, translated into nearly every language around the world, for everyone to read and learn from?
Yet there are other kings that require many paragraphs and even chapters to describe. And they tend to start with "he walked in the ways of the Lord." We see a couple of those kings who started off good but didn't finish the race. These are kings like Uzziah. He wanted to follow God, but something happened... His pride kicked in. Don't we all struggle with this. But to me the warning is that your ministry can and will be diminished if you forget who gave you this ministry in the first place. Then we see other kings like Hezekiah and Josiah who not only walked in the ways of the Lord but encouraged others to as well. Both of these kings have chapters written about them. And very clearly the author is linking God's favor to their devotion to following him and calling others to as well. We see some common themes from both of these kings. For one, they called the nation together to celebrate the feasts God had given them. They were called to remember the past and act in the present. Both kings have chapter dedicated to how they celebrated the passover.
Aren't you and I called to do the same? Aren't we called to remember the past and celebrate in the present? At our church we're invited to do the same each week during our communion service. How can you remember the sacrifice in the past made on your behalf and celebrate in the present today?After a great description of how Hezekiah called people to repentance and offered purification sacrifices and celebrated the passover... we see a small but significant verse. 2 Chron 30:26 records, "There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem." Is this not describing the favor of the Lord? It doesn't say that God gave all the people of Judah new homes and made them happy! Yet it does say there was great joy in Jerusalem! GREAT JOY! Is there great joy abounding in our society today? Are people remembering the past and celebrating this in the present? As I look around I answer no to both of those questions. We are consumed with consuming and getting. When gas prices are rising we're fretting about how we're going to afford to pay our cable TV bill or how we're going to be able to get our nails manicured? But there is not GREAT JOY! Don't you see, great joy is a result of God's favor. It is not a result of getting more stuff. It is a condition of the heart in response to your obedience to God's laws.
In today's society we are not much different than the kings who get a few paragraphs of description. We are putting up our altars to worship the "Baal" of today. We are shopping, consuming, and hoarding all the while worshipping the god of materialism. Sure there are a few "kings" like Uzziah who in our own individual homes are trying to purify the place, but when pride gets in the way we're nearly indistinguishable from the pagan world around us.
A few other significant verses are recorded in relation to Hezekiah's receiving God's favor... 2 Chron 31:20-21 ends with "In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." 2 Chron 32:30b ends with "He succeeded in everything he undertook." Wouldn't this be a great source of joy as well? To know that everything you undertake will result in success? King Uzziah tried in his own way to achieve success only to face downward spiral. The key to true success is what we learn from Hezekiah... seeking God and working wholeheartedly .
Won't you join me today in trying to recover "Great joy" in the land we live in by seeking Him and working wholeheartedly?
