“If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn.” —C.S. Lewis
Hezekiah faced a terrible mess. Among other things, his father had not only filled the land with idolatry “on the hills, and under every green tree” (2 Chron 28:4), but had utterly decimated the house of the Lord. He “took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord” (v 21) to pay the Assyrians for military help (which came to nothing). Then, in utter disdain, he “gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the Lord” (v 24). But Hezekiah, “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them” (29:3). That’s good, to give free access to the building. And the next important task? To “carry out the rubbish” (v 5). This was priestly work! But notice the king’s words to the priests and Levites he assembled in the East Square: “Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers.” There might be some rubbish in the priests and Levites that needed to be removed before the removing of rubbish by the priests and Levites! Notice the indictment that follows. “Our fathers have trespassed…done evil…forsaken Him,…turned their faces away…and turned their backs on Him…shut up the doors…put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings” (vv 6-7). Hezekiah certainly didn’t hold back! He recognized that all the damage done to the nation could be traced to the damage done to their relationship with God. “Therefore the wrath of the Lord fell…and He has given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to jeering…because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity” (vv 8-9). But, as we will see, King Hezekiah has a plan!