Good Monday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
So, I have a question to begin our time together today: Are you a “CHAIN BREAKER”? A ‘chain breaker’ is someone who courageously breaks the chains of generational dysfunction which has been passed to them in their family heritage. I know of several people who are the first in their family who are NOT an alcoholic, they are breaking the chains of alcoholism! I know some who have broken the chain of living on welfare and they are working hard at their jobs to take full responsibility financially for their families.
Today, come with me again back into the Bible and let’s watch as a young man named Hezekiah proves to the people of Jerusalem that he is a CHAIN BREAKER!
In 715bc prince Hezekiah assumed the throne of the southern kingdom of Judah and began his 29 year reign as King in Jerusalem. His father King Ahaz had been a wicked, evil man totally opposed to God, God’s truth, God’s purposes and God’s people. Ahaz had actually shut and locked the doors of the great Temple in Jerusalem and insisted the people worship man made idols he had built on every street corner in Jerusalem and in all the towns and villages of Judah! (2 Chronicles 28:24,25)
At the death of Ahaz, Hezekiah became king of Judah and his first act as King was a ‘chain breaking’ act! The record says: “In the first month of the first year of his reign, King Hezekiah opened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them.” (2 Chronicles 29:3) It was a new day in Jerusalem and we can imagine there was great joy throughout the city as a new King was ushering in a spiritual renewal, a return to honoring Almighty God, the God of Israel and breaking the stranglehold of his father King Ahaz’ wickedness.
Chain breaking is not only a one time, momentary decision, ask any former alcoholic or drug addict or porn addict or gambling addict. That one decision to STOP bad behavior, to BREAK the chains, must be supported by a strategic plan to STAY clean and RESIST any temptation for returning to the bondage of the past. Hezekiah did that in Jerusalem in his very first month as King!
The record says: “Hezekiah brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the Temple square on the east side and said, ‘Listen to me Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the Temple. Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook Him. They turned their faces away from the LORD’s dwelling place and turned their backs on God. They also shut the doors of the Temple and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the Temple of the LORD our God. Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 29:4-8)
This very powerful statement begins a roadmap to CHAIN BREAKING, do you see it? Hezekiah very clearly outlines the WHY of the disaster all around them. No general statements, but a very specific description of exactly WHAT sinful, wrong things which were done and by WHOM they were done, and the end RESULT of their sinful behavior! Hezekiah knew it was his father King Ahaz, and many others of that generation, who worked together to shut the Temple, and build idols and outlaw the worship of God.
There’s a very important lesson here for ‘chain breakers’ of our day my friends. If you’re going to break the strongholds of the dark kingdom in your family, you must clearly identify exactly what those strongholds are; who allowed them to become strongholds and how it happened.
With whom, when and how did the alcoholism begin? When, where, how did the pornography addictions begin? Who and when were the first ones to use the drugs? The apostle Paul wrote a powerful warning about this: “Do not give the devil a foothold… and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” (Ephesians 4:27&30)
King Ahaz had turned away from the God honoring leadership his father King Jotham had provided Jerusalem and the people of Judah. Through a wide range of attitudes and actions, which we looked at over the past few days, Ahaz invited the strong influence of the dark kingdom in Jerusalem and finally shut the doors on worship of God replacing it with worship of the idols of wicked nations around Israel! Rejection of what was right, embrace of what was wrong invited a foothold of evil to become a strangling stronghold that nearly destroyed Judah!
Now Hezekiah, with determination and a clear path to purity, is rooting out the evil by breaking the chains of his father Ahaz, and REPENTING before God for the sins of the previous generation! Learn it well my friends, if you want to be a chain breaker or teach your kids & grandkids how to be chain breakers.
Do you see Hezekiah not only open the Temple again but instructed the priests to clean it out of anything that defiled that magnificent, holy place. Ahaz, you’ll recall, had taken out and broken to pieces, furniture and other things used in worship of Holy God in that Temple. Ahaz had also brought wicked idols into the Temple of God. Oh my, this was going to be a major cleansing and restoration project if the wicked chains were to be broken.
But there’s more! King Hezekiah continued in his commissioning of these Levites and priests who would do the work of helping him break the evil chains: “This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity. Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him and serve Him…” (2 Chronicles 29:8-11)
Hezekiah made it clear they were living with some of the painful consequences of the evil behavior of their parents. Now look closely my friends, you and I were raised in the shadow of our parents as they were raised in the shadow of their parents. So, are you living with some of the consequences of two or three generations that preceded you? God’s justice was fair and holy.
Hezekiah also made it clear that after the cleansing work would come a time of renewing a covenant with Holy God that would re-establish their commitment to live God honoring lives as chain breakers.
It’s not difficult for us to imagine this scene, is it my friends? On what we know today as the Temple mount, this gathering of several hundred men were receiving the long awaited news that it was a new day with a new king in Jerusalem.
It was time to aggressively break the strongholds of the wicked past; cleanse out everything of wickedness, and re-establish their covenant with God.
It was time to get to work… and they did!
And tomorrow we’ll watch to see what happened in Jerusalem! For today, look closely at your family, the business where you work, your school or community, even your church.
Is there some ‘chain breaking’ which needs to take place? Are you someone God is raising up to be a ‘chain breaker’ and can you now discern from God what specific steps you should take?
Here’s a song to help us contemplate all this and let’s meet back here tomorrow to see what God did with Hezekiah’s men in their ‘chain breaking’.
Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 29:1-11.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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