Worship Does Not Have Multiple Choice Options
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘In everything that <Hezekiah> undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.’ (2 Chronicles 31:21)
Hezekiah was King of Judah, and after his predecessor King Ahaz had pushed God and the worship of Him out of the way in favor for pagan gods, Hezekiah restored the worship of God, reconsecrated the Temple and removed the altars his father set up for the pagan gods. The Jewish people were likely confused through this process; their leaders first followed God and His Law, then they didn’t and followed several sets of rules depending on the ‘flavor-of-the-week’ god of choice. Who and whose laws and precepts to obey and follow? Likely it was the one that favored their opinions, perhaps even picking different gods to worship depending on the season, their mood – they followed whatever and wherever their feelings took them to.
King Hezekiah, though, stopped the nonsense and led Judah and his people (and Israel to some degree) back to God, where His rules are the only one that are needed. Obeying God is not based on subjective feelings but objective facts. God’s Word is static and solid, it doesn’t change for the sake of opinions but is firm, predicable, and consistent. The people responded favorably to Hezekiah, finding that having God in the forefront as their foundation was better than having the multiple choice of many gods. After God defeated Sennacherib, the Assyrian who besieged Jerusalem, it gave the people great confidence in God and by extension Hezekiah, and it also drew the respect of other nations neighboring Judah and Israel for demonstrating their fortitude.
We cannot have multiple opinions on which god we serve, or which version of the law we will follow. We need to come together as a nation, follow Jesus as our Lord, His Word the Bible as the definitive word of our Spiritual Law. Quit trying to mold God into what you what Him to be but allow Him to mold you into what you need to be for Him. One God, one set of rules, set as our firm foundation is what we need.
