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HEZEKIAH,

OXCI.

HEZEKIAH.

vy HEZEKIAH was now king
\ kag) §2| of Judah. He was son
RY) (| of Ahaz, but he was not
£%| like his father; Hezekiah
was a holy man. When
he began to reign, the kingdom of
Judah was in a sad state. The holy
temple of God was shut up; idol
altars were in all the high places;
incense was burnt to new gods, and
sacrifices offered to them, and not
to the Lord, the true God. Ahaz
had done this; but Hezekiah be-
gan to undo it all directly, for he
knew it was his duty, as king, to
teach and command the people to
serve God. So first, Hezekiah
called together the priests and the
Levites, because it was their busi-
ness to take care of God’s temple
and service, and of the holy things.
He spoke very solemnly to the
priests and Levites, and yet very
affectionately, like a kind father.
Rulers and governors ought always
to be kind and affectionate to those
they are set over. They must be
strict, but they may be gentle and
loving too. It is best to do all
things in love.

Hezekiah said, “Hear what I am
going to tell you. Our fathers for-
sook God, and worshipped idols,
and shut up the holy temples, and
burnt no incense, and offered no
sacrifices to God. All this has
made Him angry,and He has sent
trouble and sorrow upon Judah, to
punish His people for their sin.
Now let us return to God, and serve

 
  

 

 

Him with all our hearts. You are
the priests of the Lord. He has
chosen you to. offer sacrifices to
Him, and to burn incense. Now
then, arise and serve Him. Put
away these idols, and let us make a
covenant with our God, and then
we shall have His blessing, and His
anger will be turned away.” ‘The
priests and Levites attended to what
their good king said, and willingly
obeyed him. They went directly to
the house of God, and cleansed it,
and took away all the idolatrous
things, and destroyed them. Among
these things was the brazen serpent
which Moses had made in the wil-
derness. The people honored this
serpent, and burnt incense to It
There are people now, in Christian
countries as foolish as the people of
Judah. The Roman Catholics bow
down before crucifixes, and give
them honor which belongs only to
God. Thus they disobey the com-
mandment which says, “ Thou shalt
not make any graven images; thou
shalt not bow down to them, nor
worship them.” Hezekiah com-
manded the brazen serpent to be ta-
ken away ; and he broke it in pieces,
to show the people it was only a piece
of brass without power to help them.

Then the Leyites brought back
the holy vessels which Ahaz had
taken away, and put them in the
temple again. All was now ready;
the temple was cleansed, the altars,
and the tables, and the shew-bread,
and the holy things, were in their