"Now in the time of his distress
King Ahaz became increasingly
unfaithful to the LORD." 2 Chronicles 28:22
Hezekiah found the root
Dealing with your problems effectively
When Hezekiah became king over Judah, he promoted a great revival in Judah and managed to transform the nation from great distress to great success. The approach he took to achieve this is remarkable, and sets a good example of how we can deal with our problems effectively.
Hezekiah became a king at the age of 25, following the death of his father, King Ahaz.
His father Ahaz was a terrible king, who reigned 16 years in Judah. Wicked Ahaz set himself against all the policies of his forefathers. He reintroduced Baal worship; revived Moloch worship; and burned his own sons as a sacrifice to these gods in fire! He did those things in the hope of finding help from the gods. "But it helped him not." Poor Ahaz.
Syria and Israel attacked him from the north; Edomites from the east; and Philistines from the west. And Judah was brought very low because of Ahaz.
Following Ahaz's death, his son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Hezekiah inherited all the troubles left by his father. He became king over a disorganized nation that was under the heavy burden of taxes to Assyria. Many of the nation's women and children had been taken into captivity. There was a general feeling of shame, despair and demoralization throughout the country. Things couldn't get much worse.
But as soon as Hezekiah took the kingdom he began to make immediate changes. What changes? A new plan for the economy? A peace treaty with the enemy nations? Tax reform? A new project for Jerusalem's health care system? No!
Let's look at what he did and how he did it.
"In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them." (2 Chr 29:3)
Years earlier, his father Ahaz had "...shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem." (2 Chr 28:24) So the first thing Hezekiah did as soon as he became king, was to open up the doors of the House of the Lord and repair them.
In other words, when Hezekiah became a king and saw the widespread misery and shame all over the country, he stopped to think about why all that was happening. He began to search for the reason behind that situation. He began to trace the roots of the problem. And what did he discover?
Hezekiah found out that the root of all those problems lay in the fact that worship to God had been discontinued throughout the land. He noticed that the people were not seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, anymore. On the contrary, they were worshipping other gods and sacrificing to them on the altars that had been set up in every corner of Jerusalem!
So he immediately took action to open the Temple of God and repair it, so the people could burn incense (their prayers) and offer sacrifices, thus restoring their relationship with God.
In the same way, we ought to consider our lives. Look at your problems. What is the reason behind them? How far down can you trace the root of your problems? What caused them? Why did they start?
Hezekiah knew that to change the miserable situation of his country he had to deal with it at root level. If you want to change a situation in your life, you must do the same. Find the root of your problem first, then deal with it.
You'll probably notice, as Hezekiah did, that the root of your problem comes from some fault or gap in your relationship with God. Deal with it at this level, and the rest will take care of itself.
Quote:
"Deal with it at this level, and the rest will take care of itself."
Hezekiah found the root
Dealing with your problems effectively
When Hezekiah became king over Judah, he promoted a great revival in Judah and managed to transform the nation from great distress to great success. The approach he took to achieve this is remarkable, and sets a good example of how we can deal with our problems effectively.Hezekiah became a king at the age of 25, following the death of his father, King Ahaz.
His father Ahaz was a terrible king, who reigned 16 years in Judah. Wicked Ahaz set himself against all the policies of his forefathers. He reintroduced Baal worship; revived Moloch worship; and burned his own sons as a sacrifice to these gods in fire! He did those things in the hope of finding help from the gods. "But it helped him not." Poor Ahaz.
Syria and Israel attacked him from the north; Edomites from the east; and Philistines from the west. And Judah was brought very low because of Ahaz.
Following Ahaz's death, his son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Hezekiah inherited all the troubles left by his father. He became king over a disorganized nation that was under the heavy burden of taxes to Assyria. Many of the nation's women and children had been taken into captivity. There was a general feeling of shame, despair and demoralization throughout the country. Things couldn't get much worse.
But as soon as Hezekiah took the kingdom he began to make immediate changes. What changes? A new plan for the economy? A peace treaty with the enemy nations? Tax reform? A new project for Jerusalem's health care system? No!
Let's look at what he did and how he did it.
"In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them." (2 Chr 29:3)
Years earlier, his father Ahaz had "...shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem." (2 Chr 28:24) So the first thing Hezekiah did as soon as he became king, was to open up the doors of the House of the Lord and repair them.
In other words, when Hezekiah became a king and saw the widespread misery and shame all over the country, he stopped to think about why all that was happening. He began to search for the reason behind that situation. He began to trace the roots of the problem. And what did he discover?
Hezekiah found out that the root of all those problems lay in the fact that worship to God had been discontinued throughout the land. He noticed that the people were not seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, anymore. On the contrary, they were worshipping other gods and sacrificing to them on the altars that had been set up in every corner of Jerusalem!
So he immediately took action to open the Temple of God and repair it, so the people could burn incense (their prayers) and offer sacrifices, thus restoring their relationship with God.
In the same way, we ought to consider our lives. Look at your problems. What is the reason behind them? How far down can you trace the root of your problems? What caused them? Why did they start?
Hezekiah knew that to change the miserable situation of his country he had to deal with it at root level. If you want to change a situation in your life, you must do the same. Find the root of your problem first, then deal with it.
You'll probably notice, as Hezekiah did, that the root of your problem comes from some fault or gap in your relationship with God. Deal with it at this level, and the rest will take care of itself.
Quote:
"Deal with it at this level, and the rest will take care of itself."
Pr. Renato Cardoso
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