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Prophets and Kings
thanksgiving; and as the great meeting drew to a close, it was evident
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that God had wrought marvelously in the conversion of backsliding
Judah and in stemming the tide of idolatry which threatened to sweep
all before it. The solemn warnings of the prophets had not been uttered
in vain. “There was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of
Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in
Jerusalem.”
Verse 26
.
The time had come for the return of the worshipers to their homes.
“The priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice
was heard, and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, even
unto heaven.”
Verse 27
. God had accepted those who with broken
hearts had confessed their sins and with resolute purpose had turned
to Him for forgiveness and help.
There now remained an important work in which those who were
returning to their homes must take an active part, and the accomplish-
ment of this work bore evidence to the genuineness of the reformation
wrought. The record reads: “All Israel that were present went out to
the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the
groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah
and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly
destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man
to his possession, into their own cities.”
2 Chronicles 31:1
.
Hezekiah and his associates instituted various reforms for the
upbuilding of the spiritual and temporal interests of the kingdom.
“Throughout all Judah” the king “wrought that which was good and
right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he
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began, ... he did it with all his heart, and prospered.” “He trusted in
the Lord God of Israel, ... and departed not from following Him, but
kept His commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses. And the
Lord was with him; and he prospered.”
Verses 20, 21
;
2 Kings 18:5-7
.
The reign of Hezekiah was characterized by a series of remarkable
providences which revealed to the surrounding nations that the God of
Israel was with His people. The success of the Assyrians in capturing
Samaria and in scattering the shattered remnant of the ten tribes among
the nations, during the earlier portion of his reign, was leading many
to question the power of the God of the Hebrews. Emboldened by their
successes, the Ninevites had long since set aside the message of Jonah
and had become defiant in their opposition to the purposes of Heaven.