Hezekiah was now king of Judah. He got busy right away during his first month as king. He began repairs on the temple in order to reopen it. Convinced that the reason for their failures was due to not following the commandments of the Lord, he put things right and recruited help. The workers purified the temple, the things used for offerings, and themselves as well. They worshiped God and renewed their covenant with Him. They made burnt offerings and sang praises.
Hezekiah planned to celebrate the Passover all through Judah. He sent out letters and messengers who were not well received at first. Slowly the people began to come to their senses and realized the wisdom of Hezekiah's suggestion. Some people who had not consecrated themselves ate of the Passover which was against the rules. So Hezekiah prayed for them so that God would pardon them because their hearts were in the right place even if they hadn't kept the letter of the law.
Afterward the people smashed the objects for worship of other gods. Hezekiah made sure the priests were given contributions for worship. He wanted them supported by Judah for their work for the Lord, just as it was written in the Law of the Lord. All the offerings were restored, so that Judah was following God's Law. Soon there was such a large heap of offerings that they needed to put them in the storerooms of the temple. Hezekiah did everything to serve God. He prospered for it.
Tomorrow read 2Chronicles 32-35:19
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