2 Chronicles 29:3-36
True worship is at the heart of covenant restoration. Hezekiah reversed all of the spiritual bankruptcy and severed all ties with Assyria. He begins with opening the doors of the Temple (verse 3) because Ahaz had shut off the doors of the Temple (28:24). He destroyed all the foreign cults that had been installed since the time of Ahaz’s subservience to his Assyrian overlords (2 Kings 18:3-7). At the heart of the worship of Israel is the worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. Since Temple worship has been defiled and stopped by Ahaz, the Temple is thus unclean; and the first task to restore worship is the consecration of the Temple. The task must be performed by the priests and Levites, who were themselves in need of consecration.
God is a holy God and nothing unclean can stand before His presence. The heavenly angelic beings exalt God in heaven by saying “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). They worshiped what they saw and they saw a holy God. We must worship Him in the splendor of holiness as the Psalmist sings “worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!” (Psalm 96:9). In the Old Testament dispensation, God tells Moses to instruct the priests and the people of Israel about the way He should be worshipped. He is a holy God and He requires his people to be holy. The people and the place of worship must be consecrated before it is acceptable for worship.
Christ has fulfilled the Law and because of Christ’s righteousness those who are in Christ are encouraged to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). While Christ is our access to the presence of God, we are commanded to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). The writer of Hebrews admonishes us to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord. I would like to suggest ways to practice in growing in holiness that will lead to worship.
Practice an awareness of the presence of God in our daily life, particularly in meditating His word and in prayer. We can cultivate a habit of having a short break even in the midst of our activities to pray for things that we encounter.
Practice an awareness of our sins daily. The more we grow in holiness the more we are sensible to the slightest sin and it should bring us to confession and repentance.
Receiving the day as a gift of life from God with thanksgiving and joyful heart. God wills that we enjoy his basic provisions, for he is the one who provides them. It is a way to honor God as the giver.
Take time to ponder on how you cultivate practices in your life to grow in holiness which will
prepare you to worship God.