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The Hezekiah and the Zadokian Calling

The Background was the high priest during the time of and . He and his sons were instrumental in David being placed back on the throne after the ordeal with . He is a righteous man of G-D and a prophet. He aided David in dividing the cohanim and the l’viim into their divisions. He anointed Solomon king over and is the high priest during Solomon’s reign. His sons continued to be the high priests for generations following. What about Hezekiah?

2 Chronicles 28:27 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of , but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

Hezekiah’s father Ahaz was so evil; he was not buried with the kings of Israel. This is the example that Hezekiah had growing up, but he was sheltered and raised up by the L-RD.

The Executive Order Hezekiah is 25 years old when he takes the throne and scripture says that he did right in the sight of the L-RD as his father David had done. Hezekiah’s first act as king is to open the doors to the temple and bring in the priests and the . There he tells them to become consecrated unto the L-RD and to sanctify themselves and the temple so that it can again be used for the service of the L-RD. He tells them that they have been chosen by G-D to stand and minister, so do not be weak hearted or faint, but to stand courageous and to begin the eradication of all defilement from the house of Ad-nai.

The Sanctification After 16 days the temple and its utensils have been purified and are ready to be used in worship. Hezekiah and all of his officials go into the temple and the priests and Levites begin to sacrifice the offerings for sin to atone for the nation. As they begin to offer the burnt offerings the Levites begin to play the instruments of David and the priests blow the trumpets and Hezekiah and his officials bowed before the L-RD in worship and praise. When this was finished, Hezekiah invited the assembly of Jerusalem to bring their offerings before the L-RD as well. (At this time not all of the priests had consecrated themselves, but the Levites had) So the service in temple was restored.

The Invitation The Passover had been missed due to the sanctification and rededication of the temple, so Hezekiah consults with the priests and officials and he makes a decision to celebrate the Passover a month late to honor the L-RD. His heart was so after the things of the L-RD that he was willing to get in trouble to honor Him. He sends messengers throughout Israel proclaiming the celebration of the feast of the L-RD in Jerusalem at the temple. The majority of the nation scorns and ridicules the couriers, but nevertheless many of the people do come to the feast. When the people arrive in Jerusalem, they tear down the alters of incense to the baals. On the 14th day of the 2nd month, the priests and the Levites are stricken with guilt and they sanctify themselves according to Torah and they begin to slaughter the Passover. Almost everyone who had come to the feast was unclean and had not sanctified themselves before the L-RD; therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover for the people.

The Miracle According to Torah, you are not to eat the Passover if you are unclean. The people at the feast were unclean yet they ate the Passover anyways because their hearts were after the L-RD. Hezekiah then prays before the L-RD in the hearing of the people, that HE would pardon everyone who has set his heart upon serving HIM, even if he is not clean according to Torah. Here is where the miracle takes place…The L-RD accepts Hezekiah’s prayer and pardons the people for celebrating the Passover late and for eating it in an unclean state before HIM. They then celebrate the Passover for an additional 7 days in great rejoicing before the L-RD. Scripture says that since the time of Solomon, nothing like this had been seen. At the end of the 14 days the priests and Levites stand to bless the people and scripture says that the L-RD heard them, for their prayer had reached heaven. After this all of the people go throughout Israel and Judah and destroy all of the places of idol worship, and then they return to their homes.

The Follow-Up Following this amazing time before the L-RD, Hezekiah sets the priests and Levites into their divisions again as David his father, and Zadok the priest had prescribed. From this point forward during the reign of Hezekiah, the temple service is maintained. Tithes and offerings are brought by the people and the priests and Levites are serving the L-RD and being fed by their portions assigned to them from Torah. , descendant of Zadok and the high priest tells the king that the people are bringing so much that they do not have enough place to store it. Azariah proclaims that the L-RD has blessed the people with abundance and it as overflowed to the priesthood. Everything that Hezekiah did was blessing the L-RD and the people. Scripture says, “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he 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.” (:20-21)

The Anointing and the Call What was Hezekiah’s secret and why did he prosper so greatly? Why did Zadok’s descendants continue to be high priests? Hezekiah’s desire first and foremost was to obey and honor G-D with all he had. Had he been raised in things of the L-RD? NO! His father was so evil he couldn’t be buried with the kings of Israel. It was supernatural…He had been called for such a time as this. There was an anointing on Hezekiah’s life that the L- RD had placed there, but Hezekiah had to accept it and use it for the L-RD. Because Hezekiah walked in the ways of Torah, the L-RD blessed him every which way he turned. Hezekiah walked in reckless abandon before the L-RD as David did. Nothing deterred him from reestablishing the house of the L-RD to its proper place. He enforced the ways of Torah upon the people and the L-RD blessed them immensely because of it. There was so much blessing that the priests were letting their portions go to waste because they had no room to store it. What about Zadok and the call on his family? Throughout the Old Testament Zadok and his descendants are talked about as being the righteous remnant of the priesthood. In the L-RD says that the descendants of Zadok are those who remained pure before HIM even when the entire nation had gone astray, and that they are to be the only ones that come near to HIM to minister before HIM in the temple. The Zadokites are the consecrated priests who have remained as such before the L-RD and will offer up the fat and blood offerings before HIM.

This Generation There is a generation of Elijah, and that generation must walk before the L-RD in the anointing and calling of Hezekiah. They must consecrate themselves as Zadokites before the L-RD. This generation will eradicate the defilement from them and consecrate themselves before the L-RD. They will remove the profane from amongst the holy and they will walk in the blessing, power, and anointing of G-D. This is a generation that will see the forgiveness of the L-RD because their hearts are after HIM and they will see the glory of the L-RD fill the temple. Also, this generation must be dedicated to the L-RD as Zadokite priests, priests who will walk in the ways of Torah and not turn from them even when the entire nation around them has. They must be priests who will remain consecrated to the L-RD in the midst of the profane so that they can offer up the “blood” and “fat” that the L-RD desires. This generation of Zadokite priests are those that will be called by name to minister to the L-RD because they have remained holy in and through HIM. This is our call and this is our time. Rise up and take your place before the L-RD as Kings and Priests.