In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them. 2 Chronicles 29:3
Young King Hezekiah, devout and earnest, ascended to Israel’s throne after the death of his idolatrous father, Ahaz. The citizens rejoiced because the new king had the heart of his ancestor, David, and not that of his father.
The first thing Hezekiah did was open the temple and repair its doors. This act set the tone for his reign. God first. Led by their godly ruler, the nation repented of their sins and committed to serving God. That meant doing away with idols and living a holy life.
What a great beginning! No to sin and the neglect of spiritual things. Yes to giving God first place.
After Hezekiah
repaired the temple doors, revival swept across Israel. Leaders who had
followed the previous king into idol worship confessed their sins, rid their
homes of false gods and committed to living in obedience to God.
One of the ways we can repair the gates of our lives is to come back to the cross.
The act of painting blood on the lintel and the doorposts of
their houses concluded Israel’s 400 year sojourn in Egypt. All other homes,
including Pharaoh’s, lost their firstborn son on the night God sent the
destroyer. Households under the sign of the cross were protected.
Crosses today are made of gold, silver and
costly woods. The first cross consisted of blood on the warped rough wood of a
peasant’s door. Jesus’ cross was made from wood of the cheapest quality. The
best was reserved for palace furnishings not for crucifixions.
The cross, the symbol of Christianity, is
disdained by some who prefer a tidy version of the gospel. Without the cross
there is no gospel, nothing to save us from our sins. Paul preached “Jesus
Christ and Him crucified” (I Cor. 2:2).
Behind blood-stained doors Israelite
families ate their final meals in the land of their bondage. The next morning more
than a million men, women and children struck out on a journey to the Promised
Land. Their first sweet day of freedom.
Every journey with Christ
begins at the cross, the doorway to Heaven. God used the stark ugliness of the
cross to display the beauty of His mercy. There’s no getting over it or around
it, all must go through the cross to experience forgiveness of sins.
“. . . God forbid that I should glory, save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (Gal. 6:14).
Are the doors of your life in disrepair? Has Bible reading and prayer taken a backseat? Has the cross diminished in value? It’s time to repair the doors, set them solidly on the hinges of our lives. Time to get familiar with the squeak of the prayer closet door because that door determines the future.
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