Government projects are notorious for dragging on. So it’s not surprising that King Joash’s taxpayer funded renovation project gets off to a bad start, even though it’s a plan to restore a national monument as well as something far greater: the centre of worship of Almighty God.
Was the problem honesty?
Read More stewardship, offeringIn this brief account of Uzziah’s downfall from pride we see three ways in which pride manifests itself.
The first way is in Uzziah’s overestimation of his own value. He felt that the offering of incense should be a privilege to which he was entitled. Surely God would be more honoured by the offering of a king as great as he was, rather than that of incense offered by a mere priest.
Read More being defensive, intimidation, pride
It couldn’t have been easy. All around him people were living without regard to God and his commands. They had instead given in to the practices of the pagan nations around them and worshipped the pagan gods. Perhaps it was easier. Perhaps it was more fun. Ever since Aaron and the golden calf – which they worshipped while God was giving Moses the ten commandments! – people preferred the pagan rituals.
Read More commitment, obedienceThe decisions made in the first days set the trajectory for a new leader and send a signal to all. Hezekiah’s priorities were proclaimed in the first month of his reign. He opened and restored the doors to the temple and called on the priests and Levites to make it functional once again.
Read More reform, leadership, faithfulness, directionChange expert John Kotter claims that major transformation initiatives most often fail because the critical first step in the process is skipped or executed poorly. The first step is “Establishing a sense of urgency.” (1) In other words, get people’s attention. Make them see why it is in their best interests to commit to the change.
Read More transformationThe people of Judah were living in perilous times. The northern kingdom was occupied territory and many had been uprooted and relocated far away. The south was a vassal state of Assyria, and the people there had only to look north to see how things could get gravely worse.
Read More leadership, character, difficult timesRead Reflect What a breath of fresh air – a story in the Book of Chronicles that ends well! As I write this I too am faced with a ‘Sennacherib situation’—something that threatens one’s very existence, essence and well-being. How many times do we feel we don’t deserve such a difficult situation because, like Hezekiah, […]
Read More trust, faithRead Reflect Answered prayers, healing, health, wealth and fame. God made Hezekiah extremely rich (v 29a) and a resounding success – “In fact, everything he did was successful!” (v 30b) Hezekiah ‘had it all,’ it seems. So everyone thought; but God doesn’t stop there. For God, ‘the matter of the heart is the heart of […]
Read More repentance, pride, successRead Reflect Hailing from a subregion of the world that has had its share of horrible political upheavals and atrocious civil wars, I recall my shock when one local missionary I was traveling with, upon hearing me cursorily mentioning the name of a particular military dictator, actually say something to this effect: “I hope he […]
Read More restoration, forgiveness, repentance, sin, grace“How many times do I have to tell you?” seems to be a standard question in the parenting manual of many families. Parents have their challenges with ‘repeat offenders,’ and often struggle to find enforcable boundaries for their children.
Read More restoration, downfall, destruction