Resolutions are often made in the new year. “I’m going to lose that weight.” “I’m not going to gossip anymore.” “I will be nicer to my brother.” We’ve all made those resolutions. How many of those have you kept? I know my record isn’t that good.
Hezekiah did the same thing, but he kept his resolution. Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he became king. He inherited a kingdom that was humbled by God (2 Chronicles 28:19) from his father, Ahaz. 2 Chronicles 28:1 says about Ahaz: “…he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” He did numerous things that distanced himself from the faith of his father, David. He made idols for his people to worship. He sacrificed to false gods. He dismantled the temple of the Lord.
Enter Hezekiah.
The nation of Israel was in disarray when Hezekiah became king. Israel needed a fresh start. Hezekiah was resolute to return the kingdom he led back to God. It started in Hezekiah’s heart. 2 Chronicles 29:2 says “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.” Hezekiah was a Man of God, just like his grandfather, David. It appears that one of the first things that Hezekiah did to bring his nation back to God was to “remove all of the defilement from the sanctuary”. (2 Chronicles 29:5) The restoration of the nation started with purging the filth from where God resided. Ahaz had closed down and locked up the temple. Nobody came in. When Hezekiah opened up the temple again, I picture big, heavy, beautiful doors opening up to enormous, dark space filled with dust, cobwebs, and critters. In order for it to be restored to the beauty it was intended to be for God to reside there, it had to be spotless, immaculate and free from all of the debris and filth that had made it’s home there.
If you trust that God Almighty, the one who knit together Heaven and Earth, put on flesh and died on the cross to save you from your sins, the Holy Spirit resides in a temple in you. 1 Corinthians 6:19 clearly states “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you…”
I had to clean something out of my temple that has been there for a long time. There is one movie that I have loved ever since it came out when I was a senior in high school. There’s a bunch of funny scenes, awkward family moments and situations that you hope would never happen to you or your family. But, there is also garbage in the movie that I’ve always overlooked. There is language and other items that go against the life scripture instructs us to lead. I recently handed the DVD to my son and asked him to put it in the garbage. He knows it’s been a favorite of mine. When he asked me why I was getting rid of it I told him my thought process. I asked myself that if I invited Christ over to watch a movie, would I put that movie in the DVD player? The answer was absolutely not! Therefore, I got rid of it. I cleaned my temple.
Therefore the question must be asked… “What condition is your temple in?” Are there cobwebs that need to be cleared out? Is there a bunch of garbage on the floor? Is it prepared for the King? It could be a DVD that should get tossed in the trash. It could be an app on your device that shouldn’t be there. Is it how you talk about others when they’re not there? No scrap is to small for the temple trash. Start today to restore the temple that is in you.
