From Generation To Generation

II Chronicles 29:1–10

“Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the 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 sanctuary. 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 Him. They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; He has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our 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.”

God delights in us no matter what, our sins give Him grief but His love in Christ endures forever (Psa 136:2). Finally, a good king enters the scene, just as much as there is no guarantee that the next generation will follow God, a latter generation may, in spite of the disobedience of the former. King Hezekiah “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done (v. 2).” Ultimately we are responsible to God for ourselves. “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son (Eze 18:20).” Gotquestions.Org tells us that each of us is responsible for our own sins, and we must bear the punishment for our own sins. “We cannot share our guilt with another, nor can another be held responsible for our transgressions.” There is, however, one exception to this otherwise established just rule, and it applies to all of us. “One man bore the sins of others and paid the penalty for them so sinners could become completely righteous and pure in the sight of God. That man is Jesus Christ, who came into the world to exchange His perfection for our sin.” “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (II Cor 5:21).” For this very reason we celebrate His earthly birth, indeed as His mother sang in proclamation, God’s “mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation (Luke 1:50)!”