Giving is great when comprehension of grace is deep!
Hezekiah ascended to the Throne after a couple of decades of serious spiritual decay. Here’s the historical record…
- Uzziah is greatly blessed…until pride in accomplishments removes God from the throne of his heart and he seats himself in God’s place.
- The legendary King dies with the mark of God’s curse upon him and a son ascends to the throne. In personal piety, Jotham follows the Law of the Lord. But in practice, the King neither prioritizes worship no stirs the heart of his people to turn from idolatrous practices. His reign looks good in the performance side, but bad on the eternal plane.
- Then the wheels fall off! Along comes sixteen downgrade years under the influence of Ahaz. He not only ignores true worship at the Temple of the Lord, but he actually institutes idols into the routine of his life. He takes it beyond the pale of our imagination. He sacrifices his very own children LITERALLY on the fires of pagan idols! When times got tough, he raided the House of the Lord and gave its sacred properties as a bribe to God’s enemies. “In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord…” 2 Chron. 28:22
The canvas is set, displaying the darkened skyline of ultimate decadence and an unbridgeable chasm of departure from the Lord – enter Hezekiah.
He immediately sets out to return the heart of his people to the Lord. Both properties and people are consecrated again. Blood is shed and blood is applied as formerly defiled places and people are cleansed. The praise band cranks up its instruments and the worship team raises up their voices. “And they sang praise with gladness, and they bowed and worshiped. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.” 2 Chron. 29:36 God had prepared carefully what His people were about to do spontaneously. The people had just witnessed the incineration of (in today’s dollars) a $22,750 offering! And the worship had only just begun…
By week’s end, the people of God, so enormously moved by the covering and restoring grace of God, gave offerings totaling $7,700,000. As they watched that entire gift rise to heaven in consuming smoke, they sang, they prayed, and they rejoiced. Giving is great when comprehension of grace is deep!
0 comments:
Post a Comment