Preached Sunday, January 28, 2018: Hezekiah—Ruler in The Revival; 2 Chronicles 31:11-21

Theme: In true revival, the resources given for God’s work are handled with faithfulness and reverence toward Him.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

^[1]There are a lot of advantages, I believe, to preaching through sections of the Bible slowly and carefully and completely. One of them is that, in doing so, we encounter instructions from God’s word that we might not have paid attention to otherwise.

That’s certainly true this morning. We have been carefully considering the story of the great revival that occurred under the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah—as that story is told to us in 2 Chronicles 31. From it, we have most recently been learning about some of the characteristics of a true spiritual revival from God. And as we examine the last half of Chapter 31, we come upon a subject that, to my recollection, is hardly ever mentioned in a Sunday morning church service. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon in it.

But it is an essential characteristic of true revival that we very much need to talk about.

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Now; to encounter this passage as we should, we need to go backward just a bit in 2 Chronicles 31. As we learned a few weeks ago, this chapter shows us that true revival is not just emotional. It is active and practical. And one of the actions we read about had to do with giving.

As the people began to be moved upon by the Holy Spirit, godly King Hezekiah set forth this specific instruction to them:

Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord (2 Chronicles 31:4).

The people of Judah and of Israel had been neglecting the tithes that God required of them in His holy law; and as a result, the priesthood was unable to function. But God worked mightily through Hezekiah’s exhortation, and the people repented and got into action. As verse 5 tells us;

As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything (v. 5).

This was a tremendous response from the people of God. The Bible tells us that it took four months for the people to bring in all the tithes and offerings to the house of God that they had been neglecting. It was, in fact, being brought in such great quantities that it was gathered up in heaps! The king rejoiced in the response of the people. And look at what we’re told in verse 10;

And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance” (v. 10).

The people tithed and offered faithfully, just as God had required of them to do. And the supply for the work of God came in with such great abundance that the priests and the Levites—the servants of the house of God—hardly knew what to do with it all.

And it’s then—if I may put it boldly—that they were faced with a very great test. Would they prove faithful to God in the use of this great abundance, or would they not?

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This touches upon a subject that is very personal to me. How a church or a ministry organization handles the precious offerings that the people of God entrust to it is a very, very serious thing. And sadly, I have had many friends and family members who have been completely turned off from church, completely resentful toward ministers, and completely closed -minded to the life-changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because of the mishandling, misappropriation, and misapplication of ministry funds.

You know the stories, don’t you? It may even be that you have been a victim in one of those kinds of stories. And to me, it is horrifying to think of the damage that has been done to people through this kind of unfaithfulness on the part of church leaders in this matter.

Now; I hasten to say a few things. First, this is one of the reasons why I have always been careful to instruct our church leaders that I should not be involved in the handling of the church’s offerings. I don’t believe it’s my business or proper place, as a teaching pastor in a church, to be involved in the handling of the church’s funds. What’s more, I also am confident that our church’s leadership is the handling the offerings entrusted to it with faithfulness and integrity. Every year, the leadership team puts together a budget that the church family approves; and the leadership faithfully distribute the funds entrusted to it in accordance with that budget.

But it’s important that we always make sure that we handle those funds with integrity and diligence and faithfulness; and that we do so in the sight of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. This is His church; and that’s the way He does things. In John 8:29, He spoke of His heavenly Father and said, “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). What’s more, just before going to the cross for us, He prayed to the Father and was able to say, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Our Master always conducted Himself with faithfulness and integrity in the sight of His Father; and He always did what He was supposed to do with the things and duties that the Father entrusted to Him. And as His followers, we must always do as He did.

Sadly, however, this has not always been done in churches. And it has brought great shame and embarrassment to the cause of Christ in the world. This is particularly so, it seems, in occasions that are often called “revivals”. Great spiritual passions arise, and great movements of generosity fall upon people, and they give abundantly, and a rich supply for the work of the gospel comes into the hands of ministry leaders. But as has often happened, a so-called ‘revival’ is cut short, or ends up turning people away, because those resources and supplies—the sacred and holy offerings of the people of God—end up being used in an ungodly and unaccountable way.

I suggest that this morning’s passage teaches us about a very important and often-neglected characteristic of true revival. It’s that, in a true revival, not only are the hearts of the people changed with respect to giving but so also are the hearts of the ministry leaders with respect to receiving. To put it another way, in a true spiritual awakening from God, the resources given for God’s work are handled with faithfulness and reverence toward Him.

May God use this passage to awaken that faithfulness and reverence in all of us—the leadership of this church as well as the church family at large.

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Now then; let’s see how this passage teaches this to us. First, look at verses 11-13. It’s there that we see how this great ‘revival’ under Hezekiah impacted the matter of the tithes and offerings of the people …

1. BY A FAITHFUL AND ACCOUNTABLE PRESERVATION.

Great amounts of supply had been brought in. It was an amazing abundance. The priest and the Levites—serving in the temple—didn’t need to worry about their provision any longer. And it could have been very tempting to be careless with it all.

But this passage goes on to tell us what those leaders—also impacted by the revival—actually did. We’re told;

Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things … (vv. 11-12a).

The “they” that are mentioned here are most likely the priests and Levites who had just reported to the king about the abundant supply that had been brought to them—rejoicing as they all did together that the supply was more than sufficient. But that supply was not permitted to sit and go to waste—as an ‘abundance’ is often allowed to do. Instead, as the king commanded them, storage rooms in the temple were prepared; and this great abundance was brought in and preserved. Do you notice what it says at the beginning of verse 12? We’re told that they did this “faithfully”. These were “offerings”, “tithes” and “dedicated things”—sacred and holy; because they were given to God and for His cause. And the priests and the Levites acted with a ‘faithfulness’ that was appropriate to what those things were.

And this all wasn’t done in a reckless way. It was done in a way that was truly ‘accountable’. It didn’t all fall into one person’s hands. Rather, there was a systematic and orderly manner to the handling and preservation of these precious offerings. We’re told;

Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next (v. 12b).

It wasn’t all entrusted to the care of just one man. It was under the care of two—two reliable brothers who were able to hold one another accountable. What’s more, the handling was further made accountable to others beyond just those two brothers; because as verse 13 tells us,

Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God (v. 13).

Look at the chain of accountability! It wasn’t just entrusted to the king alone, but also to the Chief Priest Azariah. Not just one chief leader—but two. And under them were the ruling overseers, Cononiah the Levite and Shimei his brother. Not just one overseer—but two. And under their oversight, further overseers were appointed—10 in number.

In looking into this further, I made an interesting discovery. In another great revival movement in the Old Testament—at the time when the scribe Ezra brought the displaced priesthood back to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity—another generous support of riches for the temple was brought along with them. And Ezra 8:24 tells us who it was that he weighed out all this rich supply and entrusted it to:

I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them (Ezra 8:24).

Isn’t that interesting? Ten administrators under two overseers. I wonder if Ezra learned that pattern of accountability from King Hezekiah. And while we have our Bible open to Ezra 8, look at what godly Ezra told those twelve leaders in verses 28-29;

And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord” (Ezra 8:28-29).

He told them that not only are they themselves holy—that is, consecrated and set-apart unto God’s use—but so was the riches entrusted to them. It all must be preserved and stored up in a faithful and accountable way.

I don’t necessarily believe that we are required to follow the same pattern of accountability in our church. We don’t need to appoint a ‘two-over-two-over-ten’ system of accountable leaders. But I do believe this teaches us that the sacred tithes and offerings that are given in our church must be brought in and preserved with that same sort of faithfulness and accountability and careful reverence. I think here of what the apostle Paul once wrote to the Corinthian believers about a large offering that they had collected and were going to hand over to his care:

But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you (2 Corinthians 8:16-22).

‘Providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men’! What care was taken!—lest, in any way, things might appear to have been mishandled; thus protecting the honor and reputation of the gospel of Jesus Christ before the watching world!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; I believe this is a characteristic of true revival—that the resources that the people of God give to His cause are properly preserved with a renewed sense of faithfulness and accountability in God’s sight.

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But it was not enough that those precious tithes and offerings and dedicated things, back in Hezekiah’s day, were simply preserved. They weren’t to be collected and stored in the storehouses in order to be hoarded and held on to; but rather, to be put to use in the way that God—to whom they were given—had commanded.

And so; as we read on, we discover that another important aspect of true revival is that those resources are managed …

2. THROUGH A FAITHFUL AND ACCOUNTABLE DISTRIBUTION.

For this, a different set of leaders was appointed. Verse 14 tells us,

Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things (v. 15).

Kore was ‘the keeper of the East Gate’—that is, a gate to the city. He was essentially a guard; and not just any guard, but a very serious and important one with a proven track-record of reliability. To him was entrusted the enormous responsibility of the distribution of that which was given to God and preserved in the storehouses.

And what’s more, as verse 15 tells us, he didn’t do this job alone;

And under him were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in the cities of the priests, to distribute allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small (v. 15).

These names aren’t unimportant. Verse four tells us that these offerings, tithes and devoted things were for the necessary support of the priesthood and the Levites; and all so that the work of the temple—the house of God—could be done. And these associate distributors were hand-picked men; trustworthy and reliable and faithful to make sure that everything got to every person that it was supposed to with equity—”the great as well as the small”.

It seems to me, though, that it wasn’t just the priesthood and the Levites in religious duty that were cared for. This distribution would have included all the workers who faithfully worked in the support service of the temple. Verses 16-18 tell us;

Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they sanctified themselves in holiness (vv. 16-18).

All the priests whose qualifications could be properly traced in the genealogies were cared for along with their families; and so were the Levites who served along with their families; and so were those who served the cause of the house of God in other ways. To put it in modern terms, all the salaries were covered and all the bills were paid.

And to show how thorough this all was, we read this in verse 19;

Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites (v. 19).

Not all of the priests lived in Jerusalem around the temple. Some, while not on duty, lived in some of the Levitical cities and worked in the common-lands around those cities. And so, these appointed distributors from the storehouses also designated managers who made sure that God’s servants were faithfully supported everywhere throughout the land—even those who lived out in ‘the boonies’!

This too is an essential element of revival. Not only do the people of God give faithfully, and not only does the leadership gather up and preserve what is given faithfully, but it is all distributed responsibly to those to whom it needs to go out, in order for the work of the kingdom of God to be done as it should. You probably know that some businesses nowadays are hesitant to do work for churches; because churches often have a poor reputation of paying their bills. In a true revival, that sort of dishonorable behavior comes to an end. Churches and ministries, in such times, end up having the best reputations in town for being honest and forthright in paying their debts.

This all may sound self-serving for me to say as a pastor. But it’s not. The Bible clearly teaches; that “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). And that’s not just true of the paid church staff. It’s true of all who, in some way, do business with a church. The leaders of a church and of Christian ministries must—before God—make sure that all the salaries are faithfully covered and the bills are all paid; using the supply that God has provided them, and trusting Him to provide more as the supply is faithfully and obediently used. As Paul put it to Pastor Timothy;

For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18).

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So; those are at least two observations we can make from this passage. First, in times of revival—when it comes to the sacred tithes and offerings that are given to a church—it is all administered with a faithful and accountable preservation, and also through a faithful and accountable distribution.

But as we read the last two verses, I believe we see a third thing. And that is that it is all done …

3. WITH A FAITHFUL AND ACCOUNTABLE HEART.

These last two verses may be a concluding comment on the whole of King Hezekiah’s reign in a time of revival. But I think that they also help us to understand the underlying attitude with which even the sacred tithes and offerings were handled;

Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered (vv. 20-21).

The way that the tithes and offerings were carefully received and stored up, and then were responsibly and faithfully distributed, was all done—not just under the watchful eye of man—but most of all under the watchful eye of God. God was allowed, if you will, to check the books regularly. And when such things are done faithfully under the eye of a watching God, we can be sure that they will also be found to be honest in the eyes of a watching world.

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Dear brothers and sisters; let’s pray for our leaders in this church family. Let’s ask God to guide them so that the resources of our church—the sacred and holy tithes and offerings that are faithfully given in reverent love to our Lord—are handled in such a way as to be pleasing to our Lord and Master. And let’s also make sure that we ourselves—individually—are handling what God gives us in such a way as to be worthy of having those prayers answered. May our Lord, as a result, see fit to abundantly provide our church with all that it needs to do the work He gives us to do. As our Lord Jesus Himself has said;

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? (Luke 16:10-12).

And may we do this—always—in such a way as to adorn the gospel before the watching world.

That’s an essential characteristic of true revival.

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