Hezekiah made a good start as the king. He exalted God. It's striking to see that he had the "filth" cleaned out of the temple. We don't know how much time had passed since the temple was appropriately consecrated, maintained, and used. But some time had passed. Somehow things weren't pristine the way they were supposed to be.
Have you ever had this happen to you? I clean up my garage and my basement once in a while. I'm always amazed at how much work it is. It seems only yesterday that I put things tidily on the shelves, swept the floor, and left everything in very good order. Now look at it! There are broken things lying around, nothing is where it belongs, the shelves seem full and there's no space anywhere. It's dirty, cobwebby, and generally the kind of place you want to avoid. What happened? Neglect, that's what. So I clean it up and tell myself that I will keep it clean and tidy. Three or four months later...all over again. And our lives, or worship are like this. Want another example? Have you ever gone on a diet? Have you ever quit smoking? The average overweight person by the end of his life has lost hundreds and hundreds of pounds. Smokers quit smoking dozens of times. It's amazing how that can happen. But before we point fingers, let's realize that faithful people quit believing and faithless people start believing every day, many times a day. On one level, one person can be brought to faith countless times in a day as he realizes the redemption the Lord has poured out. for him. On another level, of course, like the continual presence of the temple in Jerusalem, the salvation of the Lord has always been there for those who believe.
Hezekiah started out well. He saw the rubble. He had the rubble cleaned up. He had the temple consecrated and began the sacrifices God had appointed. Like Hezekiah, we can make a good start as well. We can clear out the rubble, bringing ourselves in repentance to our Lord, seeking the forgiveness which he has promised, the forgiveness which he has purchased for us. Are we going to keep that basement of our life clean? Doubtful. But our Lord has given forgiveness for that as well. We can come to him, dirty basement and all, asking for his cleansing work day by day.
May the Lord work faith in our hearts.
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