II Chronicles 29-31
Rewind. We get another look at the reign of Hezekiah, this time from the Chronicler’s perspective. Here we see that, right out of the gate, in his first month as king, Hezekiah initiates a complete 180-degree reversal from the practices of his faithless father, Ahaz, who had shut up the Temple and devoted himself to idolatry, including sacrificing his own sons to false gods. Hezekiah’s reforms are extensive, beginning with the total cleansing, consecration, and rededication of the Temple (II Ch. 29) and proceeding to the observance of the Passover (II Ch. 30) and on to the destruction of centers of idol worship throughout Judah and even Israel (II Ch. 31:1).
Here is a man dedicated to the LORD, a man of faith, and of faithfulness. Is he perfect? No, but he is at least pointed in the right direction, and the LORD shows him favor. We would do well to learn from Hezekiah’s example.
As individuals we may not be able to direct the policies or practices of an entire nation like Hezekiah. We may not even have much influence within a town, for that matter. But we each have some sphere of influence, even if that sphere includes only one person, oneself. So here’s the question: Within your sphere of influence, is there anything on which you need to do a 180?