Camp Devotions - Day Nine

 2 Chronicles 29:5-19 (NASB)

⁵  Then he said to them, "Listen to me, O Levites. Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out from the holy place.
⁶  "For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and have turned their backs.
⁷  "They have also shut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
⁸  "Therefore the wrath of the LORD was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.
⁹  "For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
¹⁰  "Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.
¹¹  "My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense."
¹²  Then the Levites arose: Mahath, the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of the Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;
¹³  and from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
¹⁴  and from the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
¹⁵  They assembled their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in to cleanse the house of the LORD, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD.
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.
¹⁷  Now they began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the LORD. Then they consecrated the house of the LORD in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
¹⁸  Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed the whole house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all of its utensils.
¹⁹  "Moreover, all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD."  

King Hezekiah's father was wicked. He sacrificed to idols, burned incense to pagan gods, and shut the doors of the Temple and kept it closed during his reign. He defiled the Temple with items used in his idolatry.  He also sacrificed some of his own sons in fire as an act of idolatry. He dishonored God on several fronts. His wicked reign lasted for sixteen years. God judged Ahaz and when he died the people did not even bury him in the tombs of the kings of Israel. 

Hezekiah did not follow in the footsteps of his father. His first day as monarch he ordered the priest to cleanse the temple. Picture the dirt built up there during the reign of Ahaz. For eight straight days the priests cleansed the temple. Removing every spec of dirt and the idolatrous abominable things Ahaz stored there. 

Next, the priests took another eight days to consecrate the Temple and prepared the utensils, the altar of burnt offerings, and the table of shewbread. They finished the whole task in sixteen straight days. That  is how Hezekiah began his reign as king. He turned the nation back to God. 

We need a cleansing today. A cleansing of our own hearts. Sin creeps in sometimes unnoticed. At other times we blatantly and willfully choose sin over sanctification. When is the last time we did a thorough cleansing of the temple of our hearts? Confession and repentance of things like apathy, loving other things more than God, prayerlessness, neglect of Bible study and meditation, love grown cold, disobedience, compromise, and bitterness. On any given Sunday pews are packed with people engaged in fornication, pornography, telling of lies, idolatry, slander, unforgiveness, broken relationships, profanity, dabbling in addictive behaviors, and much more. 

We ask God for many things. For His help, healing, provision, and even forgiveness. When do we repent? Can you remember the last time you really repented or saw someone else doing so in tears in a worship service? We would do well to heed the truth in [Ps 66:18]. 

Like a person breaking the law at the exact moment a law enforcement officer arrives on the scene, the guilt of the crime overshadows the comfort and protection such officers provide. Lies are told and excuses given for breaking the law. Some criminals even try to run and hide hoping to avoid being arrested. The people of God do the same things when we break God's laws. Little comfort is found in His presence. Only conviction of our guilt. Instead of taking responsibility for our behavior and cleansing the temple of our hearts token prayers are offered for forgiveness with the full intention of going right back to the forbidden behavior. Godis avoided in such times like Adam and Eve tried to hide from God in the Garden of Eden after they sinned.  Sinners gripped in shame and condemnation make it hard to worship. We think of Him as an angry tyrant, demanding, impatient, harsh and unforgiving. Read the truth of [Ps 103:11-12].

Few take cleansing the temple as seriously as Hezekiah did. On his first day on the throne, he ordered the temple cleansed. It took over two weeks to do it properly. What would happen if we took one day to ask God to search every nook, cranny and crevice of our hearts and minds to uncover any wickedness that offends Him? What if we used that same day to take an honest evaluation of how we use our time, how we entertain ourselves, how we spend our money, and evaluated the true spiritual condition of our lives? What if we took that day to discard all wickedness? 

Now picture that same thing happening in the lives of people all over the congregation. A truly consecrated and cleansed church. Imagine the freedom of people fleeing from secret sins. Finding deliverance from sinful bondage. Suppose that cleansed church gathered for public worship. God would be pleased and honored. What might He do in those days of a cleansed church?

The journey to prepare for God's intended move is not an easy one. It is a journey of self-discovery and many times what God allows us to find in ourselves is not pretty. It takes courage to face the truth and follow in repentance. It takes diligent effort to cleanse the temple. It is painful sometimes to face the truth. To look beneath the surface of our outward behavior to the interior of our souls. It is easier to skim the surface and go on about our merry way. Skimming the surface may not please God if there are issues hidden underneath. 

It is time for a cleansing in our lives like Hezekiah ordered in the temple. Do we dare ask God to reveal the sinful areas in our lives? Do we plead for the Holy Spirit to turn the spotlight on every hidden area that offends Him? He desires more than cleansing the external behavior. He desires to cleanse the interior motivations and ambitions as well.

• Start by asking God to show if there be any wicked way in you. The challenge is not to rush through this time. 
• Repent of the sinful things God reveals to you. 
• Plead with God to give you a desire to hate sin but love holiness. 
• Are there any sins for which you need to go to someone to make right?
• Accept God's forgiveness [I Jn 1:9] and reject the devil's condemnation. [Rom 8:1]