The Promise

King Hezekiah Repairs the Damage

Picture: King Hezekiah Repairs the Damage 2TC 167.1

Hezekiah came to the throne determined to save Judah from the fate that was overtaking the northern kingdom. The prophets offered no halfway measures. Judah could avoid the threatened judgments only by a genuine reformation. 2TC 167.2

No sooner had Hezekiah ascended the throne than he began to plan and execute. He determined first to restore the temple services and solicited the cooperation of priests and Levites who had remained true. “Our fathers have trespassed,” he confessed, “and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him.” “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.” 2 Chronicles 29:6, 10. 2TC 167.3

The king reviewed the situation—the closed temple and the suspended services; idol worship practiced in the streets of the city and throughout the kingdom; the apostasy of multitudes who might have remained true if the leaders had set a right example; and the decline of the kingdom and loss of prestige among the surrounding nations. Soon the northern kingdom would fall completely into the hands of the Assyrians and be ruined. This fate would come to Judah as well, unless God would work mightily through His chosen representatives. 2TC 168.1

Hezekiah appealed to the priests to unite with him in bringing about reform. “Do not be negligent now,” he exhorted them, “for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him.” “Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers.” Verses 11, 5. 2TC 168.2

The priests began at once. Enlisting the cooperation of others, they put heart and soul into cleansing and sanctifying the temple. Remarkably soon, they were able to report their task completed. They had repaired the temple doors and thrown them open, assembled and put in place the sacred vessels, and made everything ready for reestablishing the sanctuary services. 2TC 168.3

In the first service held at the reopened temple, the rulers of the city united with King Hezekiah and the priests in seeking forgiveness for the sins of the nation. On the altar the priests placed sin offerings “to make an atonement for all Israel.” Once more the temple courts echoed with praise. The songs of David and Asaph were sung with joy, as the worshipers realized that they were being delivered from the bondage of sin and apostasy. “Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.” Verses 24, 36. 2TC 168.4

God had prepared the hearts of Judah’s chief men to lead out in a determined reform movement, in order to stop the apostasy. The kingdom of Israel had rejected his messages, but in Judah a good remnant remained, and to these the prophets continued to appeal. Hear Isaiah urging, “Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.” Isaiah 31:6. Hear Micah declaring with confidence, “I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.” Micah 7:9. 2TC 168.5

These and similar messages had brought hope to many in the dark years when the temple doors remained closed. Now, as the leaders began a reform, a multitude of the people, weary of the slavery of sin, were ready to respond. 2TC 169.1

Those who sought forgiveness had wonderful encouragement from Scripture. “When you return to the Lord your God,” Moses had said, “and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.” Deuteronomy 4:30, 31. 2TC 169.2

And at the dedication of the temple Solomon had prayed, “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel.” 1 Kings 8:33, 34. By night the Lord had appeared to Solomon to tell him that He would show mercy to those who would worship there: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. These promises met abundant fulfillment during the reformation under Hezekiah. 2TC 169.3

Celebrating the Passover

In his zeal to make the temple services a real blessing, Hezekiah determined to gather the Israelites together for the Passover feast. For many years the Passover had not been observed as a national festival. The division of the kingdom after Solomon’s reign had made this seem unachievable. But the stirring messages of the prophets were having their effect. Royal messengers heralded the invitation to the Passover at Jerusalem “from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun.” The bearers of the invitation were usually repulsed; nevertheless some “humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 30:10, 11. 2TC 169.4

In Judah the response was widespread, for God gave “them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders”—a command in accord with the will of God as revealed through His prophets. Verse 12. 2TC 170.1

The desecrated streets of the city were cleared of the shrines to idols placed there during the reign of Ahaz. The people observed the Passover and spent the week in offering peace offerings and in learning what God would have them do. Those who had prepared their hearts to seek God found pardon. A great gladness swept the multitude. “The Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments.” All were united in their desire to praise Him. Verse 21. 2TC 170.2

The seven days of the feast passed all too quickly, and the worshipers determined to spend another seven days in learning the way of the Lord more fully. The teaching priests continued their instruction from the book of the law. Daily the people assembled to offer praise and thanksgiving. And as the great meeting drew to a close, it was evident that God had worked marvelously to convert backsliding Judah. “There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.” Verse 26. 2TC 170.3

The Reformation Spreads

The time had come for the worshipers to return to their homes. God had accepted the broken-hearted who had confessed their sins and resolutely turned to Him for forgiveness and help. 2TC 170.4

There was still an important work in which those who were returning to their homes must take part, and its accomplishment showed that the reformation was genuine: “Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.” 2 Chronicles 31:1. 2TC 170.5

“Throughout all Judah” the king “did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began ..., he did it with all his heart. So he prospered.” Verses 20, 21. 2TC 171.1

The Assyrians’ success in scattering the remnant of the ten tribes among the nations was leading many to question the power of the God of the Hebrews. Made bold by their successes, Nineveh’s inhabitants had long since set aside the message of Jonah and had become defiant in their opposition to Heaven. A few years after the fall of Samaria the victorious armies reappeared in Palestine, directing their forces against the walled cities of Judah. But they withdrew for a while because of difficulties in other parts of their realm. Not until near the close of Hezekiah’s reign would the world see whether the gods of the heathen would finally prevail. 2TC 171.2