Are You a Just a Piece of China?

2 Kings 18, 2 Chron 29-31, Psalms 48

Hezekiah is now king and what a great testimony he had:
18:5-6 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments...

Clave...such a descriptive word. Makes me picture someone clinging onto someone and refusing to let go. Almost like when someone is clutching onto someone when their life is danger.

When Hezekiah began to reign he knew it was time to "clean house."
29:5 And he said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, santify now yourselves and santify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed, and on that which was evil in othe eyes of the LORD our God and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.

Our bodies are the temple of the LORD and this pictures what I should always be doing to my temple---cleaning house and carrying out the "filthiness". I think I would be more sober about sinning if I would look at my sin as rotten, putrified filth. I think of some of the houses we treat in our pest control business--eck! pure filthiness. How did they get that way? Neglect over time. Ignoring a mess here and there--becoming oblivious to the mess around them that they "adapt" to it. It really is quite disgusting. Abba, help me to cleanse every little "dirty" sin before my temple becomes overrun with "filthiness".
As I was reading, I realize the importance of cleansing the temple. Santification--set apart for another purpose. It wasn't made clean just for the sake of being clean--it was cleaned so it could be used for the LORD. A clean living Christian is of no use if he's not doing for the LORD. It's like the china in my cabinet. Sure it's clean (well there might be some dust on them now) but it's usefulness is not as great as my normal dinnerware. The china is nice to look at, but my normal dinnerware is sanctified! Help me not to just cross my t's, dot my i's and look the part, but also to be USED for the part. Help me to be more of a soul winner and a help to people.

God used Hezekiah to see a great revival wrought in Judah---even in Jerusalem too. They sang in Psalms...
48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.