The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Revival

  • A Heart for God

    “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”

    Psalm 14:2

    In the life of King Hezekiah, we can read of a hope for someone whose family does not know of God or the things of God. Remember, King Hezekiah was the son of a terrible king of Judah. King Ahaz had not only forsaken God, but also worshiped idols – even sacrificing a son to the false god Molech. He replaced the worship of God with idolatry, and then finally “… and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD …” (2 Chronicles 28:24b); “… and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 28:25b). In spite of all of that, Hezekiah knew God and pleased Him in all that he did. “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done” (2 Chronicles 29:2). Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king and reigned for twenty-nine years. “He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him” (2 Kings 18:5).

    How was Hezekiah able to come to know God, knowing the family into which he was born? Read the following encouraging verse: “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). One has to seek God.

    We can read many of the things that Hezekiah did as king of Judah revealing the process to seek and find God. We can recognize that King Hezekiah took the time to seek God’s Word so he would know what God required to reestablish the relationship that had been severed by the previous bad kings. See where King Hezekiah began. In the first month of the first year of King Hezekiah’s reign, he “opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them” (2 Chronicles 29:3). His kingship began the right way. He then called the Levites together. “And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place” (2 Chronicles 29:5). They had to begin by cleaning themselves, and then the house of the Lord (the Temple).

    King Hezekiah acknowledged something very important. “For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs” (2 Chronicles 29:6). He recognized that the people had turned away from God, doing evil. Not only did he recognize the sin of the nation, Judah, but he also recognized God’s chastisement upon His people (see 2 Chronicles 29:8-9). What was in King Hezekiah’s heart? “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” (2 Chronicles 29:10). Hezekiah had to have his heart right before God.

    Hezekiah then gave direction to the Levites. After declaring what needed to be done, the work began. The Temple was cleansed (2 Chronicles 29:11-19). They restored the service in the Temple and the relationship with God. “And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped” (2 Chronicles 29:29). When it was done God’s way, the people could worship God. After this, King Hezekiah sent letters to all of Judah, calling them to keep the Passover. Hezekiah led the people by example when he brought great offerings into the house of the Lord (see 2 Chronicles 30).

    Once they reestablished the service to the Lord, and the relationship was restored, they had work to do. They removed all of those high places where King Hezekiah’s father worshiped and even broke down all of those images the people worshiped. “Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all…” (2 Chronicles 31:1). They had to eliminate. The period of King Hezekiah’s reign has been called the greatest revival Judah experienced.

    Read what God did for Hezekiah for seeking Him with all of his heart. “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:21). God made King Hezekiah to prosper.

    Who does not seek after God? “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4).

    What should we do? “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psalm 63:1).

    Also read the following: “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God” (Psalm 14:2). God knows when someone seeks after Him, for He is watching and waiting! Just as King Hezekiah sought God early, we should, too. “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17).

    Have you sought God, desiring your heart to be right before Him, cleaning your life and eliminating all things contrary to God?

    How to be Saved

  • An Example to Follow

    “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

    Proverbs 14:12

    Why do we not see a great revival in our day?

    There is a great revival recorded in the Bible (see 2 Kings 22 – 23:28 and 2 Chronicles 34-35).

    Notice what we see about young King Josiah in Second Chronicles. “For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images” (2 Chronicles 34:3). While Josiah was yet young, he began to seek after God, and then he began to purge the land of the false gods and religious practices. Read what this entailed: “3. … he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. 4. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. 5. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6. And so did he in the cities …” (2 Chronicles 34:3-6). Not only did he break the idols and groves down, but he also broke them in pieces “and made dust of them.” They were utterly destroyed. Especially recognize that those things had to be eliminated (purged from the land). This is very important because the land had to be purged before reformations could begin.

    While working on repairing the Temple, they found the book of the Law. Shaphan, the scribe, returned to the king and told him what the high priest had found. “… And Shaphan read it before the king” (2 Kings 22:10). What did the king do? “And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes” (2 Kings 22:11). Read what King Josiah understood once he heard the words of the book of the Law, “… for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us” (2 Kings 22:13b). The king recognized just how far from God the nation was living. He not only sought God, but he acknowledged the sin of this people and even their father’s before them. 

    King Josiah was a good king. Not only did he remove the wicked things from the land, but he also humbled himself before God when he heard the Law read. Although Josiah led one final revival in Judah, where the people sought God, they had forsaken God long enough that there was only room for discipline. God saw the people living in a continual state of wickedness. We can read of God’s longsuffering and extension of Judah’s kingdom because of King Josiah’s repentance and reforms (see 2 Kings 22:11-20). One thing significant thing we should understand is the importance of reading God’s Word. Once King Josiah heard God’s Word read, he understood and knew what God had expected from His people – and just how far they had fallen short.

    We should also recognize that that time of renewal was not enough – for as soon as King Josiah died, the people reverted back to their idolatrous practices. See one important thing that they had forgotten: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). When the people chose to do what they wanted over faithfully obeying God’s commands, they lost their kingdom, riches, land, and many people died (Babylon besieged them and took many captive).

    Now what should we learn from this example?

    It was good for Josiah to seek God early in his life. “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17). Just as Josiah removed and eliminated all of the old ways of their lives, utterly destroying them, understand what each person is to do once they have trusted in Christ: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians must remove all of the ways of their life before Christ and begin anew. It is very important to read the Bible. Reading God’s Word will bring that same repentance in our hearts and lives today. We too, must do as King Josiah did – depart from evil and do what is right.

    Until we go back and read God’s Word, recognizing just how far from God our nation has gone, we will never understand what must be done to correct our problems. There has been no such time of national repentance (as in the days of King Josiah) in many years. Instead, the wickedness has become engrained in our society. Because of this, we should expect God’s judgment to fall upon us at any time.

    Have you prayed that you would be faithful to read God’s Word learning to depart from evil and choose to do what is right?