August, 1939
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
307
he be not cleansed according: to th e purification of th e sanctu ary. 20 And the Lord hearkened to Heze- kiah, and healed the people. 21 - And th e children of Isra e l th a t w ere present a t Jeru salem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days w ith g reat gladness; and th e L evites and th e priests praised th e Lord day by day: singing w ith loud in strum en ts unto the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spake com fortably unto all the Levites th a t ta u g h t th e good know ledge of th e L o rd : and th ey did eat th rough out th e feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and m aking confession to th e Lord God of th eir fath ers. LESSON T E X T : 2 Chron. 30:13-22. GOLDEN T E X T : «Turn us again , O God, and cause th y .face to shine; and we shall be saved*’ (P sa . 8 0 :3 ). DEVOTIONAL READ ING : P sa. 118:24-29. Outline and Exposition L R emembering the L oru (13-16) H EZEKIAH had come to the God, and he desired to recall them, as well as those left in Israel, to true wor ship. Chapter 29 of 2 Chronicles reveals his efforts to get rid of idolatry in the nation, to cleanse the house of the Lord, and thus to establish proper worship of -God. After stirring up his own nation, he made a proclamation throughout all Israel inviting the people to join in keeping the feast of the passover at Jerusalem. In answer to his invitation, many from different tribes of the northern kingdom gathered at Jerusalem at the set time to “keep the feast of unleavened bread” (v. 13). This was the feast c&mmemo- rating the people’s beginning as the spe cial nation representing God upon earth, and it reminded the nation of their de pendence upon God. After the idolatrous altars had been destroyed and cast into the brook Kid- ron, the passover was killed according to the law »of 'Moses, in spite Of the fact that there were priests and Levites who had not as yet sanctified them selves. Many of them were “ashamed," or not ready, because they had not yet fulfilled all of Hezekiah’s commands. But they went about the task as Moses had commanded, bringing the burnt of ferings into the house of the Lord and sprinkling the blood before the altar. Thus they recognized God’s ownership of themselves and of all they had. and proclaimed that they were what they were as a nation because God had de livered them from the land of Egypt. H. R elying on the L ord (17-20) A multitude of the people had not cleansed themselves according to the law, and yet they ate the passover other wise than it was prescribed. Ordinarily this practice would have brought judg ment upon them. While ignorance of the law excuses no one, nevertheless Hezekiah knew there was a sincere de sire in the hearts of all to please the Lord. They had turned from their idolatry, they had recognized that the God of Hezekiah was their God, and they
God. God made him what he was, a king honored by the Lord and blessed to his nation. This is God’s purpose for every individual who will allow Him to have His way. The “accident of birth” need hinder no one from wholly follow« ing the Lord. Points and Problems 1. This week’s lesson in 2 Chronicles 30:13-22 is a remarkable description of the turning of a disobedient people back to honor and obey the true God whom they had all but forgotten. This “great passover” of King Hezekiah’s marks an important milestone in the history of the chosen nation. But the expert his torian inquires after casual factors. How can we explain this great turning back to God? The answer in large part must be found in verse 12, which unfortunately was not included in the printed lesson: “(Hie hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king.” Revivals cannot be worked up from beneath. They come down from above through the “hand of God.” And the reason the church today is not ex periencing generally the great seasons of revival she needs is that modernistic leaders have been teaching men to look to themselves for help instead of to God. It is true that we have a very solemn responsibility in these matters,' which cannot be escaped, but the first duty of this responsibility is trust in the power and grace of God, not in our own powers. A humanistic church is a dead church spiritually. 2. “And the priests and the Levites were ashamed” (v. 15). The doings of these so-called spiritual leaders had wrought confusion and tragedy in Israel, but now under the hand of God they become “ashamed” of their leadership. They “sanctified themselves,” separated themselves from the false go BLACKBOARD LESSON had gathered from the northern tribes to keep this feast unto the Lord. Hezekiah therefore prayed for them, say ing, "The good Lord pardon every one . . . ” He offered no excuse for them, nor did he condone their failure; he had nothing to offer the Lord Save his appeal to pure grape. “And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.” God looks upon the inner state rather than the outward perform ance of religious rites; there may be exact performance of all the law re quires and yet no heart worship. God saw the desire of this people and, knowing their hearts were right with Him, He could forgive the trespass and accept the worship. in. R eceiving from the L ord (21, 22) The manifestation of the grace of God brought joy and gladness to all hearts, and they kept the feast for the seven appointed days. The Levites and the priests led the people in praise to God day by day, and thus brought glory and honor to the Lord. It is useless to offer worship unto God unless there be such a heart conformity to Him that His grace is recognized and His honor mani fested. It is not “Whoso offereth sacri fice,’’.but “Whoso offereth praise” that glorifies God (Psa. 50:23). Then Hezekiah spake “comfortably” to the L e v ite s ; that is, he warmed and cheered their hearts, as they taught the knowledge of the Lord to the people. These Levites were skilled in the serv ice of the Lord and presented acceptable worship with the burnt offering, and the peace offering, after the trespass and sin offerings had been presented. Once the sin question is settled, the way is opened for true worship. We must recognize something of the value of the sacrifice of our’Lord as the Lamb of God before our worship will be ac ceptable to God. The seven days of the feast ended with the people’s “giving thanks” to the Lord God of their fathers, as the Revised Version margin reads (2 Chron. 30:22). So great was the gladness and enthu siasm that the feast was continued for another seven days, with Hezekiah pro viding the sacrifices for all the people. Hezekiah was one of the best kings in Judah, in spite of his having Ahaz. one of the worst, as his father. And Heze kiah stands out as a •king who really remembered God, because he rose above the power of heredity and yielded to throne of Judah at a time when his people were not living according to the commandment of their x
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter