It’s Time To Take Out The Trash

When faced with crisis, the first thing we usually do is the last thing we really should do. But this wasn’t the case with King Hezekiah.

The first thing Hezekiah did wasn’t to look at how he could secure his borders or throw off the Assyrian threat. Instead he looked to God and to God’s Temple, which had been neglected and desecrated, from his predecessors.

So he had the priests cleanse themselves along with the Temple.

“Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.” (2 Chronicles 29:5 NKJV)

How does this Old Testament story relate believers in Jesus Christ?

Levites were priests tasked by God to take care of the Temple. But with the Temple shut down they were ceremonially unclean and couldn’t perform their duties.

To sanctify means to separate oneself to the service of God.

Believers are today’s priests tasked by God to offer up spiritual sacrifices through faith in Jesus Christ.

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV)

It was in the Temple where sacrifices were made because it was the place where the Lord dwelt amongst His people. It was therefore to be kept free from everything contrary to the worship of God, anything that would defile.

Today God’s Temple is within every believer.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV)

So what Hezekiah tasked the Levites to do back in his day is what the Lord tasks us with today, and that is to sanctify ourselves and remove everything that defiles us in the sight of God.

It’s time we therefore took out the trash.