On the one hand, the question for this post seems silly to ask.
Especially for those of us who believe the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments.
But sometimes the world gets so bleak that even the most stoic believer might find this question in their thoughts, even if ever so briefly.
When this happens to us, it is important that we turn to the Bible to find encouragement from our Creator.
2 Chronicles 29:1-19 provides just such encouragement.
How Do We Know God Is At Work?
An Example From 2 Chronicles 29:1-19
Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. [1]
Using 2 Chronicles 28:19-27, describe Hezekiah’s father Ahaz.
How is Hezekiah different from his father Ahaz?
Based on the opening verses of 2 Chronicles 29, who had the greatest influence on Hezekiah?
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.[2]
Why is Hezekiah so swift to take this action? (See 2 Chronicles 28:24-25)
4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east 5 and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place.[3]
Who does Hezekiah speak to first? Why?
Based on verse five alone, what does consecrate mean?
6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. 7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.[4]
How had the previous generations before Hezekiah been unfaithful to the Lord?
8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, 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.[5]
How do 2 Chronicles 28:5-8 and 16-18 support Hezekiah’s statement?
10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.” [6]
Why is Hezekiah taking these actions with the priests and Levites?
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.[7]
How did the Levites respond to Hezekiah?
16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron.[8]
How does this section affirm that the priests and Levites started cleansing the temple “by the words of the Lord”? (See 1 Chronicles 28:11-19)
17 They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.[9]
How long did it take the priests and Levites to cleanse the temple?
What does this reveal about the condition the temple was in?
How does this also reveal the previous generation’s heart towards the Lord?
18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.” [10]
Describe the faithfulness of the Levites and priests in completing the task given them by King Hezekiah.
How Do We Know God Is At Work?
An Example From 2 Chronicles 29:1-19 | Application
During Hezekiah’s childhood, his father, King Ahaz,turned away from God, and the nation of Judah suffered the consequences as revealed in 2 Chronicles 28.
But then Hezekiah immediately set about turning the nation back to God when he became King of Judah.
How is it possible for a child of an ungodly father to be known for doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord? (2 Chronicles 29:2)
Who in your life has influenced you toward God? How?
If you’re in a challenging season right now, how does this passage encourage you that God is still at work?
Or if you’re in a season of celebration, how did God work to bring this about?
How do you help others know God is at work in their lives, whether times are good or difficult?
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. [11]
Warmly,
Barbara Lynn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:1–2.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:3.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:3–5.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:6–7.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:8–9.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:10–11.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:12–15.
[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:16.
[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:17.
[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Ch 29:18–19.
[11] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Heb 13:20–21.