Open the Doors

We've talked a lot through Chronicles about generations, about what gets handed down, and about those things we've had to decide

It stops with me.

    Today's reading might be one of the best pictures of that yet. Ahaz completely turns away from God. He worships idols, trusts everyone except God, strips the temple, and eventually shuts the temple doors. Then his son Hezekiah becomes king. And one of the very first things he does is Open the doors.

       I love that.

  Hezekiah grew up in the middle of his father's mess. He saw what his father did. He inherited the consequences of decisions he didn't make.

But he didn't have to continue them.

         I've had to learn that in my own life.

  There are things I was handed that I didn't choose. Things I learned that I've had to unlearn. Things that were normal around me that God had to show me weren't supposed to be normal. I can't go back and change any of that. But I get to decide what happens with what is in my hands now.

    Ahaz closed the doors but Hezekiah opened them. And then came the cleanup. It took them sixteen days to cleanse the temple.

     That stood out to me too.

Opening the door happened quickly. Cleaning out everything that had accumulated took time. I've been there. Cleaning out the piles of junk, it takes time. That's a pretty accurate picture of healing and breaking generational patterns. There have been moments when I knew immediately, “This stops with me.”

     But actually cleaning it out? Learning a different way? Letting God deal with things that had been there for years? That takes time. The decision can happen in a moment but Restoration is a process.

     Then Hezekiah restores worship. And I immediately thought back to what we read earlier in Chronicles. David had carefully prepared the priests, musicians, worshippers, and gatekeepers. Generations were given something precious to carry.

   But Eventually they stopped.

They stopped worshipping.

They stopped guarding.

They neglected what had been handed to them until the doors were literally closed.

       Now another generation is rebuilding it.

That's why what we're doing today matters. We're not only living for ourselves. Somebody is coming behind us.

   Then Hezekiah sends invitations throughout the land calling people to Come back to God.

Some people laugh at the messengers But some come. And I think that's another lesson I need as someone who spends so much of life pouring into people. I can send the invitation but I can't make somebody accept it.

I can teach.

I can preach.

I can pray.

I can make room at the table.

I can tell people about Jesus.

I can raise my children to know Him.

I can open the doors as wide as I possibly can.

    But they still have to decide whether they're coming through them. And the people who do come aren't all perfectly prepared. Some haven't followed all the ceremonial requirements for Passover. So Hezekiah prays for them, May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God.

                          And God hears him.

And There's that word again.

Seek.

Apparently it's still on the test. ❤️

    These people didn't have everything perfect.

But They were coming back. And by the end of chapter 30, the people who came to worship for seven days decide they want to stay another seven.

                             Think about that.

Chapter 28 ends with closed doors.

Chapter 30 has people who don't want to leave.

   So What changed?

Somebody decided to open the doors again.

    I want to be that kind of builder. Not someone who spends all my time angry about who closed the doors before me. Someone willing to open them. Someone who Cleans out what doesn't belong and Restores what was neglected.

                  Make room.

And invite people back to Jesus.

    I can't change what was handed to me. But I can change what I hand down.

Love Pastor Mandy 

Daily reading 2 Chronicles 28-30

MandiesDandies / Ark of Hope