Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old. When he came to throne, the first thing he did was to repair the house of the Lord, and to restore the worship of the Lord. Chapter 29 tells us how Hezekiah took the lead, gathered the people and gave orders. He reminded his people that they were responsible for what had happened to the house of the Lord (verses 6-7), and therefore they, too, had to be responsible for the repair and restoration of the house of the Lord (verses 5, 11).

Nothing was more important than the proper worship of God, and chapter 29 goes on to describe the restoration of the temple worship in two main sections – the purification of the temple (verses 12-19) and the consecration of the temple and the reestablishment of sacrificial rituals (verses 20-36). The work was also done in accordance with “the word of the Lord” (verses 15-17).

Despite the responsibility of God’s people in repairing and restoring the house of Lord, and Hezekiah’s lead and encouragement in the project, it was clear that they were not expecting the credit. To them, Yahweh was King in Israel, not Hezekiah, because he, too, bowed before the Lord with the assembly (verse 29). To them, it was clear that it was God who allowed the temple to be repaired and the worship reinstituted, because it was accomplished so quickly (verse 36). The people were rejoicing because they were celebrating the rescue of the people of Judah by God, since His hand was in the whole process of repairing and restoration.

To them, it was God who did it, while they played their part in executing the duties. How does it relate to us? Do we recognise God’s sovereignty in all the parts of our lives that require repair and restoration. Do we trust that He can bring about changes that we cannot? Recently, I facilitated a marriage retreat, during a recorded testimony on the topic of the restoration of marriage, the husband asked the wife if she believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and she said, “yes”. His following statement was, “if you believe that Jesus can rise from the dead and save us from our sins, would you not believe that God can save our marriage?”

Yes, our sovereign God is above all and almighty, and we must trust in Him. However, His sovereignty does not mean that we do not have to take responsibility. We have to be obedient to the responsibility he has entrusted to us, whether it is like Hezekiah to lead, like the people to use their hands, or like the couple to work at their marriage. When we are careful and obedient to carry out our God-given responsibilities faithfully, leaving the results to Him, He will be glorified. Then we can praise Him for His grace and mercy in our lives.

Prayer: Dear Lord, you are sovereign, almighty, and ever-present in my life. Help me to carry out my God-given responsibility faithfully, trusting you with the results. May Your name be praise and You be glorified. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.