26 April | EVERYONE
“In the first year of his reign, in the first month, [Hezekiah] opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, and said to them: ‘Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.’” 2 Chronicles 29:3-5
The tragedy of human beings is to live apart from God. From the entrance of sin into the world, man and woman took possession of the life that the Lord had entrusted to them and chose their own path of rebellion and death. The biblical story is the story of God's search for man. The Creator calls, and the creature flees and hides in the shadows of its pride and spirit of independence.
In the time of the Hebrew kings, the situation was no different. Many times, leaders and people hid from God behind a liturgy and ceremonies that they had established to live only a religion of appearances. But from time to time, God raised up priests and kings who understood the true nature of the spiritual life, and returned to the essence of what really matters. One of those kings was Hezekiah.
In the first year of his reign, he had the house of the Lord repaired, called the priests together, and announced to them that he wished to promote a revival among the people. And that this spiritual renewal should begin with the priesthood. But the most impressive thing was that he had the right understanding about the sad reality of sin. He said: “For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him” (2 Chronicles 29:6).
Notice the expressions: "they have trespassed," "they have forsaken Him," "have turned their faces away," and "turned their backs on Him." And what was the result? “They have done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God.”
What an extraordinary vision! It was not enough to reform only the exterior, but the heart and the attitudes of the spirit. This is the revival and reformation that is worth having! This entails, of course, real repentance.
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Genuine repentance implies a change of outlook, as a result of which a general change of attitude and behavior is experienced. Take some time to think about it.