Israel – Page 26 – Praying Pint

3.n. Let it be done with all diligence.”

Ezra 5:6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders. And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”

Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

What a record of God’s mighty hand at work in the restoration of His temple and His people. You can’t help but read this and see His plans and purposes overcoming those in opposition. Can you imagine what was going through the minds of those rebuilding the temple? Here King Cyrus had made a degree and the work started only to have a new King Darius now in place and those in opposition seeking to stop this work by appealing to the King with the intent of just making the King aware of the situation. The work God did to cause Cyrus to issue the decree to rebuild was also caused in Darius.

When I read this I try to imagine what would be going through my mind if I was one of the leaders directing the rebuild. Would I have faith and trust in God to continue in the face of opposition? Would I be strong? Would I believe in what God spoke through the prophets? Would I be afraid or fearful? Would I stay the course? Would I pray to rejoice in what God would do or would I pray in fear of what might happen? Would I easily be swayed by the turn of events?

At the end of these questions I come to the conclusion that it is a daily intentional choice and commitment to believe, honor, serve, follow, obey, and trust in God. This choice lives and breathes life into our heart, mind, and soul as our faith grows and matures in and through time in His word.

3.m. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love

Ezra 5:1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

2 Chronicles 16:9   For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

Psalms 32:8    I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalms 33:18    Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

1 Peter 3:12   For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Psalms 34:15  The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

There are always going to be those in opposition to the work, plans, and purposes of God. They cry foul, make accusations, and try hard to stop this work. God’s word is full of examples of men in opposition. They only succeed when it is in God’s plan and for His purpose. Sometimes it is for our testing so that we know what is in our heart. Other times it is in God’s wrath to the fallen and deliberate hardened heart of those who choose to be neglectful and complacent in their walk with Him.

When we are faced with opposition let our eyes, ears, heart, mind, and soul be focused and trusting in God. Praise and trust in His promises of steadfast love, power, strength, refuge, peace, and rest. Philippians 4:12-13 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We are never alone. God’s eyes are always on us.

3.k. “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Ezra 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 6:9    For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Isaiah 35:3-4    Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Jeremiah 38:4   “for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

The people came together and first built the altar for sacrifice to God. When this was completed they laid the foundation for the temple and people shouted with joy, though some wept, because of this great coming together with one purpose – to honor, glorify, and seek God in building His temple. People of the land heard of this and acted as though they wanted to help build but after being rejected they were malicious in discouraging and frustrating the people.

Not much has changed with mankind. We still see this happening, people with clear direction and leading from God are being criticized, challenged, and blasted from almost every angle. We shouldn’t think this is an attack on us but an attack on God’s plans and purposes. If we give any room to thoughts that these attacks are against us we will certainly become weary, afraid, confused, and without motivation. However, if we see this as God’s plans and purposes being attacked we can take comfort, strength, and courage because the battle is His. We know that He will always accomplish what He speaks and how He leads us in service to Him.

Keep your eyes on the task and do not become sidetracked by those in opposition. God is in control. No one can stop what God has put in place. Remain strong, remain faithful, remain obedient.

3.j. ‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’

Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Jeremiah 29:10 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

Jeremiah 33:7-13 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. “Thus says the LORD: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD: “‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the LORD. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the LORD.

The prophecy of Jeremiah spoke the word of God and I doubt there were many remaining in Babylon from Jerusalem who remembered or were alive at the time of capture. Those who did listen and knew the outcome of God’s wrath upon them, and believed what Jeremiah said had to have their heartbroken. They were able to witness this first hand and more than likely die before seeing the restoration of Jerusalem. Some of these parents certainly spoke of Jeremiah’s prophecy to their children to give them hope, strength, and courage. And to those who believed in what God had said, and were alive at the time of this proclamation from Cyrus, this had to be a very glorious blessing to hear and see the hand of God at work. Can you imagine hearing this and knowing it was foretold to you. All you had to do was believe it your eyes would be open to seeing God at work. Obviously, there were those who did not believe and because of this did not see this as God’s doing but rather because of chance and good fortune.

When we read God’s word there are many both blessings and warnings given to us. Promises of His hand of protection, leading, and peace. Likewise, there are words of wrath, anger, and judgment. Just because we might choose to not believe them does not make them less truthful. How would our lives change if we spent time in His word and believed what we read? Would our thoughts and actions be different? Would we see God’s hand at work more clearly? Would we have a more thankful heart and mind? Would things in this world have less influence? Would our eyes remain focused on honoring Him? Would we consider living in light of Him? Would we be more grateful? Would we seek and desire to hear and see Him?

If we spend more time in His word we will certainly be starting at the right place every day. If we seek to be led by His word we will be starting at the right place every day. It is a personal, intentional, daily choice. We should not take this commitment lightly or the benefits from it without a grateful and thankful heart.

Oh God, open our eyes to Your word and lead us on paths that glorify and honor You.

3.h. Within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

2 Chronicles 33:9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.

2 Kings 23:26   Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.

Proverbs 29:12   If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.

Ezekiel 16:45-47    Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

James 4:10     Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5-6   Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Psalms 50:15   and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

When God speaks and we don’t listen the outcome is bad. When God speaks and we reject what He is telling us the outcome is bad. When we choose to “not listen” and to “reject” what He says there is something in our heart and mind that is sideways. Somewhere in our heart and mind we have chosen self and what the world has to offer over God and His leading for our life. We find the chase to find purpose and meaning never satisfying or meeting our expectations for contentment, gratification, fulfillment, happiness, peace, joy, and rest.

Anything we temporarily allow or choose to allow to replace Gods working in our life will deafen our ears and blind our eyes and harden our heart and stiffen our neck. Each step down these paths will set these choices like concrete and you might not find how you have wasted precious time apart from God. You may not see the worldly fulfilling is sucking eternal life from your soul.

When we do not seek ownership of our possessions, plans, but yield them to God’s purposes, and humbly seek and desire to serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey Him we find our eyes see more of His handiwork, our ears hear more of His leading, and our heart is soft to absorb His word and our mind is fixed on Him.

3.f. On what are you trusting?

2 Chronicles 32:9 After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’”

And his servants said still more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.

Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Contempt for God. Disregard for God. Speaking against God. Disrespect toward God. These are the actions of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Mocking God and His followers come from deep in a heart that has chosen to reject God and the testimonies of His creation. Having power, influence, money, success, and a means to take what you want will occupy an empty and void heart. Pride, greed, and arrogance will capture the mind, harden the heart, and deafen the ears to a point where eternity in Hell is your permanent future destination. There is no redemption from Hell. The choice of where we spend eternity is made while we live in these earthly bodies. We don’t get a second chance once we are dead. Our fate is determined by our heart, mind, and soul choice to either yield humbly before and to God, serving, following, honoring, obeying, and trusting Him, or by a choice to harden our heart, deafen our ears, and blind our eyes to Him and His worthiness of honor, glory, praise, worship, obedience, and trust.

Hezekiah and Isaiah, the prophet, were living day after day with the taunts from Sennacherib. They heard and saw the effects this had on the people of Jerusalem. The doubts, worry, anxiousness, and faint-hearted effects were all evident from this constant reproach from the king of Assyria and his army. The people of Jerusalem had to have heard of all of the victories of this king, and it certainly did not help to have it repeated day after day by that very king. They prayed and cried out to God because of this merciless, boastful, and arrogant king. And like that, an angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 warriors. Overnight they were dead at the hand fo God. Overnight judgment was made, the verdict declared, and the sentence carried out on this king and his mighty men. Overnight the great distress, worry, and fear were taken away and replaced with joy, peace, and rest. Such things are possible for God. There is no limit to what He can do. We will do well to live in humble service honoring, glorifying, worshiping, following, trusting, obeying, and relying on Jesus Christ.

3.d. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.

2 Chronicles 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.

And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, division by division, each according to his service, the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to minister in the gates of the camp of the Lord and to give thanks and praise. The contribution of the king from his own possessions was for the burnt offerings: the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts, as it is written in the Law of the Lord. And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. Azariah the chief priest, who was of the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.”

Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. And they faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the dedicated things. The chief officer in charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with Shimei his brother as second, while Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers assisting Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the chief officer of the house of God. And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to apportion the contribution reserved for the Lord and the most holy offerings. Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah were faithfully assisting him in the cities of the priests, to distribute the portions to their brothers, old and young alike, by divisions, except those enrolled by genealogy, males from three years old and upward—all who entered the house of the Lord as the duty of each day required—for their service according to their offices, by their divisions. The enrollment of the priests was according to their fathers’ houses; that of the Levites from twenty years old and upward was according to their offices, by their divisions. They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. And for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of common land belonging to their cities, there were men in the several cities who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone among the Levites who was enrolled.

Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

Leviticus 27:30 “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.

Numbers 18:8-21 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.

Malachi 3:8-10 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Giving to the Lord and willing to give to His work, purpose, and plans are our privilege. Giving our meager offering to the Creator of all there is seems a bit meaningless on the surface. What can we give that we weren’t given first by Him? David put it like this; “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” God does care for us. He protects us. He has plans and purposes for us. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

This same God has asked us to give back to Him of our first and best. He has given us the opportunity to choose to freely to obey to do this out of our reverence and humble service to Him. He does not take it from us saying “that is Mine give it back” rather He blesses us with so much more than we can imagine and it seems through these blessings a man’s true heart, mind, and soul are tested. We choose deep in our heart to follow and obey Jesus Christ. We choose deep in our heart and soul to honor and glorify Him in our thoughts and actions. We choose deep in our heart, soul, and mind to trust and rely on Him for what we have and need. We have a battle in our heart and mind for these choices. The battle between “it is mine and I am going to keep it and get more of it and trust in it” and “it has been given to me by God for His plans and purposes and I have purposed in my heart to hear Him speak and lead me in how to freely use it for His honor and glory. Set your heart to be a cheerful giver, thankful giver, frequent giver, and one who finds great satisfaction in generosity.

3.a. That he may turn again to the remnant of you

2 Chronicles 30:1 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

Zechariah 1:3-4    Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 11:7    For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice.  Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

Jeremiah 44:16    “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.

When you read God’s word do you look for warnings or just promises of blessings? They both go hand in hand. We are blessed when we commit to God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are blessed when we commit to honor, serve, glorify, worship, praise, follow, trust and obey Jesus Christ. God’s word speaks warnings and blessings but requires us to read it and want to hear it speak into our heart and mind. We get to choose if we hear it and allow it to permeate our heart and mind.

Time and time again we read of a generation of people and nations that either no longer seek God or they commit anew to seek and serve Him with humble heart and mind. Hezekiah saw the evil actions of Ahaz and what power the King had in leading people toward or away from God. He chose to commit to lead the people back to true worship of and commitment to God.

We need to be mindful of how easy it is to be lead away from God when our commitment is lukewarm. When we are lukewarm we seem to have an outward appearance of commitment but our ears are closed and our hunger and thirst for His speaking into and leading our lives is only with our lips and not with our heart and mind.

God knows and as well we know if our heart is being filled with an appetite and hunger for Him. We do well to examine our heart and what is residing in it. Commitment to honoring and living for Jesus Christ requires us to place Him first and always be mindful of our sinful nature and wandering away from Him. Staying in His word with a desire to be blameless and holy for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ will keep the door to our heart and mind open to hear Him speak and lead.

3. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 29:1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

Ezra 10:3     Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.

Nehemiah 9:38    “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing

Jeremiah 34:15   You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,

Jeremiah 50:5    They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

2 Kings 23:3    And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 6:8    But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Fathers do not determine the walk of their children when they are grown. Fathers can do everything right and their child, when an adult, can take paths in their life that totally contrary to God and how they were raised. Likewise, the fatter can do absolutely everything wrong and their child, when an adult, can take paths totally in line with God and now how they were raised. Of course, the child can follow in their father’s footsteps as well for good or evil.

We see this over and over again throughout scripture. We wonder why or how this happens. We don’t have to look far to see it all around us and in our family or the family of friends. Individually we make an intentional choice to honor, serve, follow, glorify, trust and obey Jesus Christ or we make an intentional choice not too. We choose to seek God and His word or not. We choose to deny self or not. We choose to grow and mature in the gospel of Jesus Christ or not. We choose how much activity we allow into our life that may interfere with our walk with Jesus Christ. We choose how generous we will be. We choose if we will allow ourself to be wronged and if we will forgive, and if we will be united with our body of believers. We choose how we will spend our time. We choose what we allow ourselves to think about. We choose what we will say and how we will say it. We choose every moment of every day whom we will follow.

We read scripture today on those who chose and committed to desire, seek and follow after God. Be one who intentionally chooses to place God first and subject everything else to that commitment.

2.y. Because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 27:1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord and did much building on the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents of silver, and 10,000 cors of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 17:3-6    The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,  but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.  Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.  His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD

2 Chronicles 12:12    And when he humbled himself the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah.

Ezra 7:10    For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Having God with us, guiding us, leading us, and helping us for good does not happen by chance or good luck. It does not happen because we earned it as if God is in debt to us and owes us something. He created us for His glory and honor and praise. In this creation, He gave us (mankind) a free will to honor and glorify Him. He allowed His creation to choose to do this, or not. Not only did He create us but He also revealed Himself to us through creation, angels, prophets, works of miracles, His written word, and His Son Jesus Christ. We have been given free will to choose to honor, glorify, follow, serve, trust, and obey Him. He has given us words to live by so that in our life this side of eternity we demonstrate our love for Him as creator and worthy of all honor and praise. He has given us precious promises too. He is steadfast in His love toward us. He blesses us and disciplines us with righteousness.

Mankind, we, were created for His honor and glory. We are created to bring honor and glory to Him alone. We are created to worship and praise Him above all else. He gave us His written word so that through it we might gain wisdom, understanding, knowledge of Him and His purpose and plans and continually grow in this so that our honor and glory of Him consume and directs our every thought, word, and action.

He is worthy of so much more than lukewarm lip service from us.