Corona Devo 1059

Ever been asked to save a sinking ship?  

Ever "inherited" a difficult situation?  Someone or something tanked and everything fell apart...but now it's our job to pick up the pieces.    

Where do we start?  How do we start?  When do we start?

~~~

King Hezekiah inherited a bad situation.  His dad, Ahaz had been a king that did just about everything wrong that a king could do, and God was not happy about it:

Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king... He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David had done. (2) Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. (3) He offered sacrifices in the valley... even sacrificing his own sons in the fire.  In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites...

(21) Ahaz took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, .... (24) The king took the various articles from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s Temple so that no one could worship there, and he set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem. (25) He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.  

(27) Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.  ~2 Chronicles 28:1-3, 21, 24-25, 27

~~~

Poor Hezekiah.  Where to start?  How to start?  When to start?

This isn't a trick question. The answer is: just start.

Hezekiah got right to work.

(2) He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.  

(3) In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them. (4) He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple. (5) He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. (6) Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned the Lord and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. (7) They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

(8) “That is why the Lord’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem....  (10) But now I will make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 

(11) My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.”   ~2 Chronicles 29:2-8, 10-11

Hezekiah got right down to it.  He was in the middle of brokenness, of rampant sin, of people who had been led-astray...but Hezekiah knew where to start, and he made haste in doing so.  

Look around at our world: our races, our politics and ourselves---we are in the middle of brokenness, of rampant sin, of people led-astray...but every verse in the Bible tells us how to start, and our heart will tell us where.  And I hope we already know the answer to "when": 

(12) Then these Levites got right to work...(15) These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the Lord, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work. (16) The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley.

(17) They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year, and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the Lord’s Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days.  ~2 Chronicles 29:12, 15-17  

Slowly, purposefully, in pursuit of holiness, and with the end-goal of bringing glory to God... these Levites got right to work (2 Chronicles 29:12).  

They worked steadily forward in their task and how did they know what to do?  They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work.  How do we know where to start and how to move from disaster to order?  They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work. 

We can do that today.

The people restoring God's Temple were not doing the bare-minimum to get by, they (seemed to) think of everything, and then sought to attend to it accordingly---so that God might be glorified.

I don't want to do the bare-minimum today.  God deserves more from us.  May we seek-every-angle and attend-to-the-details today---so that God might be glorified.   

Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: “We have cleansed the entire Temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils. (19) We have also recovered all the items discarded by King Ahaz when he was unfaithful and closed the Temple. They are now in front of the altar of the Lord, purified and ready for use.”...

(35) So the Temple of the Lord was restored to service. (36) And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly.  ~2 Chronicles 29:18-19, 35-36

Hezekiah inherited a mess, but he knew that the key to starting a project in God's name is (simply) to start.   And that's what he did.  They worked full-steam-ahead for the Lord, and they accomplished more than a renovated Temple.  While their efforts did allow people to reenter the Temple...their work (more importantly) allowed a reentry of worship into the hearts and lives of God's people.  

There can be no better return on our earthly investments.  

~~~

Facing a difficult task or a sinking ship today?  Where do we start?  How do we start?  When do we start?

This isn't a trick question. The answer is: just start.

Let's get right to work today (2 Chronicles 29:12). 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com