Hezekiah Part 2
A New King and the East Street
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. (Daniel 4:37)
Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. (Ecclesiastes 4:13)
To replace an old and foolish king, one must be wise beyond one’s years. So, a youth of 25 years of age is expected to rule a land covered with idolatry and sin of all kinds. This is an impossible task, unless you have divine intervention, and the good Lord still had mercy on His people, for He gave them a proper child in Hezekiah. Under his mother’s tutelage he learned the word of God. He reflected on God’s righteousness, and was led of the Spirit of God, for God had chosen him to deliver Judah from their sins. However, Hezekiah was still just a man, and as a man, he was a child of Adam; and therefore had the imperfections in him, for he had the sin dna of Adam that we all have. But this did not stop Jehovah from working through him and by him, for the Spirit of God is mighty in deeds and works. Idolatry was the dominant sin of the land, causing the temple of Solomon to be desecrated and in a state of disrepair. Every imaginable evil of man lurked in it’s hallowed halls and rooms. There were heathen altars and idols placed from the courtyard to the most holy place. Hezekiah, at the age of 25, came to the throne, and from the text of 2 Chronicles 29, it appears that Hezekiah’s first decisions and words were from a heart that was for Jehovah. He was prepared to stand with God even if he stood alone in the realm of men. But the good Lord was with him, and he trusted in God as David his father had done. 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)
He could reflect on the psalms of David as a new king. He might have turned to Psalm 64 and read 1-10.
<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. (Psalm 64:1)
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: (Psalm 64:2)
Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: (Psalm 64:3)
That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. (Psalm 64:4)
They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? (Psalm 64:5)
They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. (Psalm 64:6)
But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. (Psalm 64:7)
So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. (Psalm 64:8)
And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. (Psalm 64:9)
The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory. (Psalm 64:10)
Hezekiah would gain courage by reading this psalm. On the very first day of the first month, and in the first year of his reign Hezekiah spoke out of his heart to the Levites, who were responsible for the spiritual well-being of the nation. Both young and old were to be guided by the priests of Jehovah in the path of righteousness. At one time the psalms of David were sung daily in the Temple that Solomon had built for the habitation of God’s glory. The sons of Asaph would sing while the chief musicians would play, and the glorious harmony of spiritual well-being would ascend up to God. One must realize that God’s word is not only print on a page, but it is a living testimony of the Almighty God and His glory. One must respect the Word of God, and find joy of the spirit in the music of the heart; singing with spiritual melody unto the Lord. But now, the glory of God had departed in the days of Uzziah for it was marked by the death of Uzziah, and with a great earthquake, and by the vision of Isaiah the prophet. ( Isaiah 6)
The glory of God had departed, and what was once the residence of the glory of God, the Temple, was now covered with cloud of darkness. This was in direct relationship to the heart of Uzziah the king before his death, and the hearts of the people. Uzziah the king had trespassed against God when he went into the holy place with a censer and strange fire. He, being a king, had no authority to do the divine work of the priests.
And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. (2 Chronicles 26:14)
And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong. (2 Chronicles 26:15)
¶ But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.(2 Chronicles 26:16)
And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: (2 Chronicles 26:17)
And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. (2 Chronicles 26:18)
Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. (2 Chronicles 26:19)
And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. (2 Chronicles 26:20)
And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. (2 Chronicles 26:21)
God smote Uzziah with leprosy all the days of his life. The last recorded action of this king was that he was wroth in the house of God, and there was no mention of his ever repenting of his evil deeds. We remember Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron who also took strange fire in their censers into the Tabernacle of God, and God smote them in the Tabernacle where they stood because they had sinned against Him and rebelled against His word. Their dead carcasses witnessed to their unfaithfulness as priests of the Most High God. Yet, with King Uzziah, God made him endure leprosy for his sin in the Temple. For it pertaineth not unto him to offer up incense unto the Lord, this was the dominion and responsibility of the Levitical priesthood. His leprosy was a witness of his sin, and all Judah was aware of the divine punishment placed upon their king. For he lived in a several house, meaning apart and separated from the rest of the nation, until the day of his death. His death occured approxiamtely 772 to 760 B.C., so that when Hezekiah came to the throne it had only been about 34 years since Uzziah’s death. So the fact and remembrance of the great earthquake and Uzziah’s death was well known in the kingdom.
The king had the responsibility of the welfare of the kingdom, but the priests and the Levites had the responsibility of the spiritual welfare of the people. As the sons of Aaron, the Levites had the responsibility of ministering in the Temple, and offering up the sacrificial offerings for both themselves and for the people, to the God of heaven. It was no place for any king to intrude in the rights of the levitical priesthood.
So in the very beginning of his reign, the priests and the Levites were gathered into the east street where Hezekiah began by exhorting them to sanctify themselves before they could begin to sanctify the Temple.
He gathered the Levites together on the East street. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, (2 Chronicles 29:4) This street was the approach to God’s house, the Temple of the Lord built by Solomon. This young king, Hezekiah, gathered this group of Levites so that they could look at the wickedness that had been cast over the Temple of God. In this, they see their own sin right before them. Is this not where we must begin? It is our sin that we must deal with, not another’s. Hezekiah brings them to the point of their sin before God. He tells them first to sanctify themselves; set themselves apart for God’s service, and not for the service of heathen gods. Only then will they be able to go into the sanctuary of God and cleanse it from all the idolatry of Ahaz.
Hezekiah took the location of the ‘east street’ to emphasize the severity of the condition of the house of God. The east street was the approach to the temple, all sacrifices, and offerings had to be brought through this street, and approached from the east, and then brought into the Temple. This is a shadow of the Lord Jesus approaching Herod’s temple in Jerusalem. In His day, He was there to cleanse the temple. As Christ overturned the tables of the money changers, and drove out the corrupt offerings, He said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. (John 2:16) The Lord Jesus Christ was criticized by the Pharisees and they sought to kill Him, but He passed through their midst; for His time had not yet come. In the days of the Tabernacle, the entrance to the Tabernacle faced the east. And so, in prophecy, when the Lord comes in final judgment upon the nations, He will come as lightning out of the east. So this ‘east street’ has significant meaning for the Levites. It was definitely not a road sign, but a hallowed road that led to the worship of God. What a place to examine one’s heart. And it worked! They sanctified themselves, and obeyed the decree of the king and cleansed the Temple, beginning at the Holy Place, the most inner sanctuary of God Almighty. For there was the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy-Seat, and the cherubims of glory overshadowing; however, there had been no blood applied for a long time on the Mercy-Seat. There had not been a Passover for a very long time, and yet, God honored the heart of the king. The Temple was cleansed, the Levites were sanctified, and now Hezekiah gathered the rulers of the people. Spiritual things must be set right first before the rulers can be influenced in the things of God. When the world sees an unfaithful church they identify with it, for it does not condemn their sin. If one sees a church for the glory of God, then one identifies with the Supreme Being that is God in Jesus Christ.
Not only did Hezekiah command them to be sanctified, but reflected on the sin that had so easily beset and overtaken them. But what is this sanctification? It is a clean heart before God. Not only is our outward man to stand for God’s righteousness, but that which is not seen. The inward man must stand for the righteousness of God without hypocrisy. Let a man examine himself and therefore be cleansed before God, before he takes on the service of God. As Hezekiah had frailties, we also as the servants of Christ have frailties, but God is able to overcome all our imperfections. For nothing is impossible for the Spirit of God. And Hezekiah . . 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) So being cleansed from their sins, and having a holy unction from the Spirit of God, they began to perform the work of God of cleansing the Temple.
The Levites had been called into God’s service in the days of Moses and Aaron. God was their portion in the land. It was their inheritance to serve God. They as a tribe had no physical or material inheritance in the land. Their portion was the Lord God Himself, and their work was to serve Him, and Him alone. This began with the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and continued to the construction of Solomon’s Temple, and it was still their responsibility in the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah desired that they would restore levitical order, and godly worship to the Temple that was once filled with the glory of God, but which now sat in ruin. In a spiritual sense, the building was still present, but there was no glory in it’s hallowed halls. A reflection of the mind and heart of the people of Judah. For all had turned their backs on the God of glory. Hezekiah reminds the sons of Levi of this in 2 Chronicles, 29:6
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)
Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. (2 Chronicles 29:7)
The Levites looked upon their new king that he was truly sent by God; for their last king Ahaz, had taken them down into the depths of the darkest hole of sin by betraying the God of heaven in the worship of heathen idols. The world will recognize faithfulness in the child of God, they might resent it, but they will know His presence. They might persecute them, but they will never extinguish the fire of God’s Spirit in their hearts. Some may even muse and try to understand why one is so faithful, but unless the Spirit of God opens the eyes of the heart, one cannot understand the child of God. The children of God, or as the Scripture says the sons of God, walk in a different light with a different spirit then the children of the world. Hezekiah, therefore, walked by a different spirit then the people of Judah.
I emphasize that the world will recognize the faithfulness in a child of God; they can resent it, they can persecute it, or they can muse and try to understand this faithfulness. We must realize, as the children of God, that the Holy Spirit can use us for His pleasure, and not for our own pleasure and desires. If we deliver a message like Micaiah to an Ahab-world, we should expect the same result. Micaiah was sent back to prison and fed bread and water of affliction. (1 Kings 22) We have been brought up in a world that exalts men of all standing. Even the Church is a place of the exaltation of man without any humility. Why was Moses called the meekest man on earth? Because God needed a man with a humble spirit and a contrite heart. Was Moses a great man in the eyes of the Lord? No — Moses was a good and faithful servant. No matter what we do or say for His glory, God is no respecter of persons; however, He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.
It is quite evident that Hezekiah in his younger years was seeking and found God Almighty. What about some of Hezekiah’s words?
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.
Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. (2 Chronicles 29:6,7)
Hezekiah began with the history of their fathers, that they had trespassed and done that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, they had forsaken Him, and turned their backs to the Temple of His habitation. Hezekiah brings these things before them, that they may deal with them individually and collectively. John reminds us that if we, the children of God, confess our sins that He, the Lord of glory, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Notice that in our day, how the word ‘sin’ is removed from our vocabulary and replaced with the words error, failure, or mistakes. How fitting this is in an evil society. Man does not like to admit that he, himself, is sin; and that he needs a Redeemer to redeem him from his sin, and this Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ. In a crowded room begin a conversation about sin, see how many suddenly leave your presence, and go about their own way. The heart of man never changes, as it was in the days of Hezekiah, it is the same today. After Hezekiah rehearses the transgressions of their fathers, he gives the results of their trespasses.
Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. (2 Chronicles 29:8, 9)
Hezekiah recognized the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem. It was God who had delivered them to trouble and astonishment. This was a witness of God’s divine action against their sin. They recognized this; yet, in our age we, as a people, have been taught by unregenerate men that God is not capable of judging man in these ways. Yet, how many young men have died in wars, how many have succumbed to illnesses of all kinds, how many have their possessions and their livelihoods taken away by the movement of God’s creation for His purpose and will. We need to remind the world that for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. This applies to both individuals and to nations. If one sows to the flesh, he will reap the works of the flesh. If one sows to the spirit, he will reap the works of the spirit.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:7,8)
You have often heard the world’s ‘dumb down’ version of this verse, ‘what goes around, comes around.’ Even in their ignorance of God, they know that there is a recompense of reward for sin. Hezekiah knew it in his day, and it has not changed in our day.
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.
My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense. (2 Chronicles 29:10, 11)
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. The king offers a solution to their dilemma, Hezekiah out of his heart desires to make a covenant with God Almighty. This covenant was initiated by Hezekiah and not by God. It is the first covenant in Scripture proposed by man to God. All other recorded covenants were offered by the Almighty God to man. But now, this king, this man of God reaches out to God with a covenant that God might turn away His fierce wrath from them. What love and compassion he had for his people. He proposed such a thing that he would make a covenant for their deliverance. What wisdom from a 25 year old king; uniting the people together for the Lord God of their fathers. This reminds us of Isaiah 55.
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55: 6-9)
Hezekiah joined with the Levites in this covenant. He addressed the Levites as my sons. Does not this sound like Paul’s address to Timothy. Hezekiah is establishing a close relationship with the Levites, although many of them were older in age, he addressed them all as, my sons. Then speaking as a father to them he said, be not now negligent. In the New Testament in the 2nd epistle of Paul to Timothy, chapter 1, verse 13 we read: Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. As Paul reflects to Timothy, as a loving father to a son, so Hezekiah spoke to the Levites before him. This is the spirit of this godly king.
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him . . . (2 Chronicles 16:9) Amen.
© Copyright 2015, Michael Haigh
Hezekiah 3 to follow
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)