2 Chronicles 29:16 - "So the priests went in to
the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing
which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the
house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron
valley."
In First Chronicles 29 Hezekiah had just become king of Judah. His father, Ahaz, was king before him, and we're told that Ahaz "Did not do right in the sight of the Lord." During his reign he involved himself so much in the worship of false gods that he was even sacrificing his children in fire before them. On top of that, he took the utensils from the house of the Lord and cut them in pieces, and it says he "closed the doors of the house of the Lord." He basically shut down the temple, disbanded the priests and the Levites, and encouraged worship of false gods by setting up alters to them "in every corner of Jerusalem."
However, when Ahaz died his son Hezekiah became king in his place. Hezekiah, we're told, did right in the sight of the Lord. In fact in 2 Kings 18 it says that "He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered."
The first thing that Hezekiah did when he was appointed king was reopen and repair the doors of the temple. He then reestablished the priesthood and appointed the Levites for the temple service, as the Lord had command Moses. He corrected everything that his fathers had corrupted. After the Levites had come back into the temple service they entered into the temple and cleaned out any unclean or unholy thing that had been put there.
As I was reading through this chapter this morning verse 16 stood out to me. "So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron valley."
Just thinking about this in a devotional aspect, "the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it." In the New Testament our bodies are called "the temple of the Holy Spirit." Only the priests were allowed in the inner sanctuary. God is the only one who knows what's going on inside us, and He knows everything that goes on inside of us. Every thought, every desire, He knows it even better than we do.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 - "But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God."
Since God is the only one who knows our inner being, we are to let Him examine us, and ask Him to reveal to us any unclean thing. 2 Corinthians 10 tells us that we're to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. So we're to examine ourselves, but this also means that we are not to judge one another.
"So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord." Only the priests were allowed in the inner sanctuary, but everyone was allowed in the outer court. When the Lord reveals some unclean thing to us about ourselves, we're to bring it to light. We are told in James chapter 5 to confess our sins one to another.
As far as the unclean things are concerned, we need to take our inner sin and confess it, both before God and man. Take the unclean things from the inner sanctuary and put them in the outer court. And once the unclean things were placed in the outer court, "Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron valley." Any unclean thing was disposed of in the Kidron valley, outside the city. It was done away with, never to be seen again.
1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
In First Chronicles 29 Hezekiah had just become king of Judah. His father, Ahaz, was king before him, and we're told that Ahaz "Did not do right in the sight of the Lord." During his reign he involved himself so much in the worship of false gods that he was even sacrificing his children in fire before them. On top of that, he took the utensils from the house of the Lord and cut them in pieces, and it says he "closed the doors of the house of the Lord." He basically shut down the temple, disbanded the priests and the Levites, and encouraged worship of false gods by setting up alters to them "in every corner of Jerusalem."
However, when Ahaz died his son Hezekiah became king in his place. Hezekiah, we're told, did right in the sight of the Lord. In fact in 2 Kings 18 it says that "He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered."
The first thing that Hezekiah did when he was appointed king was reopen and repair the doors of the temple. He then reestablished the priesthood and appointed the Levites for the temple service, as the Lord had command Moses. He corrected everything that his fathers had corrupted. After the Levites had come back into the temple service they entered into the temple and cleaned out any unclean or unholy thing that had been put there.
As I was reading through this chapter this morning verse 16 stood out to me. "So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron valley."
Just thinking about this in a devotional aspect, "the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it." In the New Testament our bodies are called "the temple of the Holy Spirit." Only the priests were allowed in the inner sanctuary. God is the only one who knows what's going on inside us, and He knows everything that goes on inside of us. Every thought, every desire, He knows it even better than we do.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 - "But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God."
Since God is the only one who knows our inner being, we are to let Him examine us, and ask Him to reveal to us any unclean thing. 2 Corinthians 10 tells us that we're to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. So we're to examine ourselves, but this also means that we are not to judge one another.
"So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord." Only the priests were allowed in the inner sanctuary, but everyone was allowed in the outer court. When the Lord reveals some unclean thing to us about ourselves, we're to bring it to light. We are told in James chapter 5 to confess our sins one to another.
As far as the unclean things are concerned, we need to take our inner sin and confess it, both before God and man. Take the unclean things from the inner sanctuary and put them in the outer court. And once the unclean things were placed in the outer court, "Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron valley." Any unclean thing was disposed of in the Kidron valley, outside the city. It was done away with, never to be seen again.
1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
No comments:
Post a Comment