In 2 Chronicles 29-31 there is a story of King Hezekiah restoring Israel to a heart of worship. The result was a cleansing of the temple and a 7 day feast that turned into a worship session that lasted for 2 full weeks! But what really jumped out at me about this story is what takes place in 2 Chronicles 31:1.
"Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession."
Several kings of Israel made it their first act to go through their kingdom and remove and/or destroy the altars and images to false gods. However, Hezekiah went about this in a different way. This revival started with a corporate worship gathering, which was extended an entire week! The move of God on the hearts of the people was personal to them. This was not a decree from a king to pull down idols.
After a week of worship it was their first act to go and pull down the idols themselves. This is the kind of leader I want to be. This is the kind of revival I want to see. That God would move so powerful that people would go out and clean up their lives themselves rather than always waiting for the pastors to do it for them!
What am I doing to make sure those I lead are learning the importance of taking responsibility for their own lives and hearts? If I am constantly doing all the cleaning myself, am I still an effective leader?
God, help me to lead well. Help me to lead by example, train, and then release those I lead.
Amen.
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