ELEMENTS of WORSHIP in a TRUE SPIRITUAL REVIVAL!
May 11
Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles Chapters 28-30
ELEMENTS of WORSHIP in a TRUE SPIRITUAL REVIVAL!
"The Levites stood with the instruments
of David, and the priests with the trumpets. Then Hezekiah commanded them to
offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song
of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David
king of Israel. So all the assembly worshiped,
the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the
burnt offering was finished. And when they had finished offering, the king and
all who were present with him bowed and
worshiped." (2 Chron. 29:26-29)
The worship
at the temple in Jerusalem had reached the lowest point when Hezekiah became
the king at the age of 25 (29:1). He reigned from 715–686 BC, and is best known
for enacting religious and political reforms, including the removal of
idolatrous practices and centers, the restoration of temple worship, and the
resumption of nationwide observance of the Passover (2 Chr. 29–31). In fact, this
marks the beginning of the most extended
account of any revival in biblical history (29:1–31:21), with the exception
of the one which started on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) many centuries later.
In order to
bring about this revival, Hezekiah cleansed the temple (29:3-19) and restored
the worship in the way God had commanded David in I Chronicles 25 and
thereafter divinely instituted through the commandment of two prophets: Gad (I
Sam 22:5) and Nathan (II Sam 12:1).
Let us note
the elements of worship that resulted in this amazing spiritual revival:
- All the musical instruments that deemed appropriate for temple worship during David’s time (see 1 Chr. 25:1, 3, 5, 6) were made available (29:25).
- The priests and Levites were stationed in their appropriate places as appointed in the time of David (29:26).
- The priests and Levites sang and played the musical instruments while the burnt offering was being offered (29:27).
- All the people present (including the king) bowed their heads in worship and thanksgiving (29:28-30).
- All the worshippers rejoiced because of the suddenness of the revival and how God had prepared the people for worship in this manner (29:36).
As we can
note from this incident, an indispensable part of the worship was the singing
of praises and playing of instruments (even loudly, 30:21). The musicians, the
priests, and the people all joined in with joyous celebration singing the
praises of the Lord. This has been true of the worship of God throughout the
ages.
Hezekiah’s
formula for revival was simple: sanctification,
sacrifice and song. He started with the priests and Levites (the worship
leaders), which transcended to the people (worshippers) as they sanctified the temple, offered the sacrifices, and sang the song of the Lord. We also need
to sanctify our bodies, which are the
temples of the living God (2 Cor. 6:16), through the cleansing by the blood of
Christ (1 John 1:9), the Lamb of God (John 1:29). We should then offer the sacrifices of praise that is
the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name (Heb. 13:15). This will be
done when we sing and praise God with joy
and gladness (Psalms 100:1-2).
When this
happens, revival will surely take place and it will happen suddenly as it
happened during the time of Hezekiah (v. 36). This is simply how we return to
the ways of the Lord (Jer. 6:16).
"Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" (Psalms 85:4-6)
