Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

INTRODUCTION
The Godhead had given the human race a free will and it seemed that most people would use their free will to follow Lucifer in his rebellion. The Godhead had entered into an agreement with Lucifer after he was sentenced to the Lake of Fire that limited their interaction with humanity.

The Holy Spirit would not enter the project until the atonement by Jesus was finished in the future. This made it difficult for the Godhead to prove their righteousness and left them with two options:

1. Using prophets to influence the people to do the right thing.

2. Strike people with judgment and sickness to get them to repent.

The Godhead knew there would be different rounds in the battle with Lucifer – most of which he would win – until the atonement was made by Jesus.

They thought back to the 600 million people killed by Noah’s flood to halt Lucifer’s attempt to pollute the human race. Lucifer was able to convince the descendants of Noah to worship idols.¹

The goal of the Godhead was to maintain the southern kingdom of Judah until Jesus was incarnated in human form onto the battlefield. But since they had given man a free will, the Godhead was using the virtual time run to see if it was going to work out.

The last screenshot of the virtual time run showed the reprobate Ahaz being lowered into the grave. The Godhead was filled with great hope that his son, Hezekiah, would bring Judah back from the brink of destruction since he had been taught by his mother and tutors about the Lord.

HEZEKIAH
Hezekiah was 25 years old when he was crowned king of Judah and inherited a mess from his reprobate father.

• The seaport of Eloth on the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba that his great- grandfather Uzziah secured for Judah, and served as an important trading center for almost 70 years, was now under the control of Syria.

• The Edomites had attacked Judah and taken many slaves.

• The army was depleted when 120,000 men died in battle with Israel.

• The Philistines took six cities and the villages around them so that the Jews living there were under occupation.

GREAT NEED TO REPENT
Hezekiah knew that Judah was a shadow of its former self. The nation was doomed without some sort of supernatural intervention. Repentance was the key to unlocking the solution he sought.

The Bible does not tell us if Hezekiah turned to God as a last resort or if he genuinely loved God and wanted to worship him. Regardless of his motivation, Hezekiah had only been king for one month when he turned to the Lord and began the restoration of Judah. 2 Chronicles 29:1-3

Hezekiah was educated in the commandments given to Moses, and thus he was not only trying to worship God, but to live according to the commandments found in the five books of Moses. 2 Kings 18:5-6

HEZEKIAH TOOK THE LEAD
Urijah had been the high priest during the reign of Ahaz; he turned from following God to becoming an idol worshiper controlled by Lucifer. 2 Kings 16:10-12

Hezekiah led the charge of repentance since the high priest was corrupted. He appealed to the priests and Levites to come back to God. Unlike his predecessors, he wanted to go further and made a new covenant with the Lord so that the heavenly wrath ended and mercy would be offered to the people of Judah. 2 Chronicles 29:4-11

Hezekiah got a positive response from the Levitical leadership and the priests began to cleanse the temple of the pagan material that Ahaz and his cronies had introduced. verses 15-19

THE GREAT REDEDICATION
When Hezekiah was told that the temple and its grounds had been cleansed, he appointed a day and rose early for the rededication. Also present were his cabinet ministers, other royals, and people from Jerusalem. Musicians and singers had practiced and it was a wonderful day for sacrifice and worship. verses 20-30

REACHING OUT TO ISRAEL
The Godhead made a final attempt to reach the people of Israel and bring them to repentance when Hezekiah invited the nine northern tribes to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 30:1-5

Hoshea was the final king of Israel and he was not walking with the Lord. It is noteworthy that Hezekiah bypassed Hoshea in sending his messengers directly to the people of Israel, inviting them to repent and worship. verses 6-9

A number of the people accepted the invitation, but others mocked the messengers from Jerusalem. verses 10-11

God moved upon the hearts of the people of Judah and they were given the gift of repentance. verses 12

THE GREAT PASSOVER
Hezekiah showed great political insight for such a young king in letting the people remove the pagan altars that were set up throughout Jerusalem. He could have ordered them removed, but counted on the revival of the Lord to change the hearts of the people so that they would do it themselves. verses 13-14

Hezekiah and the people were spectators to the offering on the altar in the temple carried out by the priests. There was plenty of food for the throngs of people that had come to Jerusalem.

The Passover lasted seven days and Hezekiah extended it an additional seven days as the presence of the Lord was felt in Jerusalem as the twelve tribes worshiped in unity. Joy replaced the old feuds as the wars between Judah and Israel were forgotten.

The King of Peace came to Jerusalem and those who were sick received supernatural healing from the Lord. verses 15-27

FINAL DESTRUCTION OF THE HIGH PLACES
Hezekiah wisely knew that it would cause resentment and resistance from the idol worshiping people if he began the return to the Lord by sending out soldiers to destroy the high places.

He waited upon God to change the hearts of the people and then they went all over Judah and Israel destroying the detestable groves where so many men, women and children had been sacrificed to the demon gods. 2 Chronicles 31:1-2

1. The third and fourth generation walked away from the Lord.