Read 2 Chronicles 29 and Revelation 17.
This devotional is about 2 Chronicles 29.
The word “priority” describes what is most important, most essential to you. It is a word that dictates what gets done or what must get done if nothing else gets done.
For us Christians, it is easy to say that our priorities are something like God, family, church, work, in that order. But a person’s top priority is really seen more than it is said. In other words, watch what someone does first and most often if you want to see what his priority is.
Here in 2 Chronicles 29, we were introduced to Hezekiah, one of Judah’s best kings. After his introduction in verses 1-2, we see that his priority was reforming Israel’s worship. Verse 3 says, “In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord….” This introduced Hezekiah’s religious reformation of Judah and that reformation started in the very first month of his reign. That shows us that this was the most important thing that Hezekiah wanted to accomplish.
The rest of this chapter of scripture describes how Hezekiah carried out this reformation. It involved:
- consecrating the priests to the Lord (v. 4a, 15a)
- cleansing the temple of idolatry (vv. 4-6,15b-18).
- resuming the aspects of worship required in Moses’s law that previous generations had abandoned (v. 7, 19, 35c).
The priests diligently carried out what Hezekiah commanded them to do and they finished in sixteen days (v. 17), faster than anyone expected (v. 36).When they were finished, Hezekiah organized a “Grand Re-opening” for the Lord’s temple, which was filled with animal sacrifices, music, and bowing before the Lord in worship (vv. 20-30).
After all Hezekiah had done to prioritize worship in Judah, he turned to the people and invited them to join him. In verse 30 we read, “Then Hezekiah said, ‘You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord.’ So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.” This shows us that there were people in Judah who wanted to follow the Lord, but needed godly leadership. Once they received the godly leadership from a king who made worship a priority of his administration, they quickly joined him and gave of themselves willingly to obedience to the Lord. In fact, verse 34 tells us that the people responded so well that there weren’t enough priests ready to handle all that God’s people gave. That’s the response godly people make when leaders prioritize God in their leadership.
People don’t always respond this well to godly leadership, as we see in the way God’s people rejected prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. But, when people consistently reject godly leadership, that’s because they are unbelievers. For those of us who genuinely know the Lord because we believe in Jesus, our normal response to godly leadership will be willing, enthusiastic cooperation.
How do you respond to the leadership of the church? When our pastors and elders start something new–a new prayer meeting, a new class for teaching God’s word, a new church plant, or whatever–are you eager to participate? Are you excited to get involved and willing to contribute your time or some extra money to see if God will work? God’s people respond to godly leadership. Are you responding to the leaders God gave you, taking advantage of everything the church offers for your spiritual growth?