Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications

Take Out the Garbage

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2020-11-01

Synopsis: John Weaver uses the story of Hezekiah cleansing the temple in 2 Chronicles 29 to illustrate the need for personal and corporate spiritual cleansing. He compares the filth in the temple to the 'garbage' in our lives—personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage—and emphasizes that revival begins with individuals taking out the garbage, as our bodies are the temple of God.

[John Weaver] Let's open our Bible's day to 2 Chronicles chapter 29. So you'll have 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, then 1 and 2 Chronicles chapter 29. And we're just going to read right off the first three verses. And we will come back and deal with the context just a little bit. The title of the message is, take out the garbage. I think you'll understand. Notice if you would, 2 Chronicles 29 beginning with verse 1.

[John Weaver] Hezekiah began to reign when he was 5 and 20 years old. And he reigned 9 and 20 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them."

[John Weaver] You've heard the phrase, take out the garbage, many times. I have often wondered how many times that sentence, directive, or command has been given to husbands and to sons. It almost seems like it's kind of like an official duty for the husband to take out and to take off the garbage. While normally carrying off the garbage at our house, and I do it most of the time, occasionally Alice gets to do it, but most of the time I do it, I've often wondered, and I've been amazed really, at how it multiplies.

[John Weaver] I think sometimes some type of magical way it reproduces during the night while we sleep. It doesn't matter how often I take it off, there's always more garbage there. And, of course, it's a never-ending battle, and it's kind of an urgent situation because the longer it sits, the more it stinks. And not only does it stink, it'll end up drawing flies and roaches and mice and other critters that you certainly do not want to keep around the house. But can you conceive in your mind or have you ever thought about what a year's worth of garbage would look like under your carport? Or a year's worth of garbage in your yard? Or even worse, a year's worth of garbage in your house?

[John Weaver] Undoubtedly, it would be very devastating to both your physical and your mental condition as well. But what if houses, offices, and church buildings were never cleaned. Think for a minute and contemplate that if the litter was never picked up, the grass was never cut, the leaves were never raped, and folks just simply threw their undesired objects in the yard, thinking that somebody someday would clean it up and they would not necessarily have to. What in the world would our houses, our church buildings, and our offices look like. I want you to remember what I'm going to say because I'm going to come back to this just momentarily. When you think of trash or when you think of garbage, I want you to think, if you would, first of all, of your personal garbage, your family garbage, your friendly garbage, and your enemy garbage.

[John Weaver] Now let me explain some of these. I don't have to explain your personal garbage and your family garbage. Certainly you're quite aware of that. But let me talk about friendly garbage just for a moment. Many of you know that I have classes at our farm and usually the classes are two days. You'd be absolutely astounded and amazed at the garbage that 20 to 25 people can put out in two days time.

[John Weaver] It seems like I carry off each day about a half of a pickup truckload. That would include our garbage, the family garbage, and the friendly garbage as well. But enemy garbage is something else. Most of you know I live behind a big gate. And the truth of the matter is, oftentimes, Alice and I have to pick up at that gate beer bottles, beer cans, soda cans, candy wrappers, and other junk that everybody's just simply thrown out alongside the road.

[John Weaver] And occasionally, most of this is accidental, but occasionally sometimes it may be purposeful. But I have, not close, not too far from the gate, run across a huge dump of trash right in the middle of the road. And of course, I would call the road department because it'd be too much for even me to pick up. And the last time I called the road department, I was talking to the head.

[John Weaver] He said, well, is there any name there? And I said, yes, there's a name here. And I said, not only that, here's a child's homework paper with his name on it. And he says, tell me who the names. and I told him, he said, I'll take care of it. So I don't know what happened, but when I came back through, all the garbage was gone. So maybe he called the man. We had an incident that happened years ago. I was going through the other farm, and there was a creek and a bridge going over the creek, and I happened to look to the right. My father was with me, and I said, Dad, I said, stop, look. I said, someone is throwing a bunch of garbage over in our creek. He stopped the truck. He said, son, go down there and see if there's a name on any of that garbage. Well, I started picking through the garbage and I said, dad, I said, there's not only a name, here's an envelope. That has never been opened and there's a check in it.

[John Weaver] And of course, the check was made out the person who threw the garbage on our property, and he said, bring it to me. And Dad took it and he opened it, and it was a check made to this lady for about 400 bucks. And what had happened, she had bought a lot of fertilizer, and it was supposed to be like 10-10-10, and it turned out to be something like 8-8-10, and they were refunding her the difference. And so Dad called her, and he said, we found a check with your name on it, and from the trash that you had thrown over on our property. Well, she said, I didn't throw that trash over. Dad said, yes, you did, because I've got this check for $400 with your name on it. Well, she said, just drop it in the mail to me. Dad said, no, it doesn't work like that. He said, when you come back and pick up all of your garbage and come to me and apologize, I'll hand you the check.

[John Weaver] And don't ever throw your garbage on my land again. And of course she did and she picked it all up and came back. So I'm just simply saying there is enemy garbage as well. In fact, the interesting thing is I've read about several fatalities that were in relationship to garbage. Just recently, there was one man who shot and killed his neighbor because the neighbor was throwing dog poop in his yard. The neighbor did not have a dog. The man who did the shooting had the dog. The dog was used in the bathroom in his neighbor's yard. So he was just throwing it back, and the man shot him and killed him. And just the last one I read, one, in fact, the man worked with the sheriff's department out in Texas. He was shot and killed because he had thrown clippings in his neighbor's yards as he was cutting the grass. So it's absolutely insane when you think about enemy garbage as well.

[John Weaver] Now you're going to ask, what does all this talk about garbage have to do with our text and the Bible? Well, I'm going to show you. You see, Hezekiah was a godly king and he was the son of godless Ahaz. It is absolutely fascinating to me to find out how Ahaz, who was so absolutely godless and reprobate, could produce such a godly son as Hezekiah. And what is even more compelling is to find out how godly Hezekiah could produce such an ungodly son as Manasseh. But he did.

[John Weaver] And here's a truth that we need to understand. Godly men do not always produce godly children. Sometimes ungodly men produce godly children. And sometimes godly men produce ungodly children. In other words, depravity is hereditary. Grace is not.

[John Weaver] Now, Hezekiah was 25 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. And we were told in verse 2 about Hezekiah, look at it. The Bible says, and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father had done. Hezekiah not only had the zeal of David, but also the heart of David. He was a man of integrity, and he had a love for God, His law, and His worship. And he began his reign with the restoration of the temple and the worship of the one true and the living God, and by calling his people to repentance and reformation. Now look in verse 3. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. So interestingly, the very first thing that he did was open the temple doors and repair them. So clearly, the temple doors had been shut.

[John Weaver] And as we would even say, boarded up as well. Now, why did he be in his reign by opening the temple doors? And the answer is, because his father Ahaz, who was a wicked vile reprobate, shut the doors of the temple. He did not worship God, and he had no need for God, and he led his people into idolatry. So, in order to set the stage, let me show you about Ahaz.

[John Weaver] Look, if you would, please, in 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24. Look what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and He made Him altars in every corner of Jerusalem." So here's a man that is mutilating the things of God, and he's shutting up the doors of the temple. You see, Ahaz followed the kings of Israel. So if you look in chapter 28, beginning there with verse 2, look at what the Bible says about Ahaz. For he, Ahaz, walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Balaam. Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."

[John Weaver] Ahaz was nothing more than an absolute heathen. So you want to ask yourself this question. What price did the nation pay for having such a wicked, ungodly ruler? Well, God gives us that in very clear terms. So if you look in v. 19, 2 Chronicles 28 and v. 19, the Bible says this, For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, For he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord.

[John Weaver] So as his sin debased them, it also exposed them. It made them naked to their shame, for it exposed them to contempt as a man unclothed. It made them naked to danger, for it exposed them to assaults as a man who is unarmed. So here's a principle. Sin strips men. The price they paid was very great. They paid economically, ecclesiastically, militarily, personally, and nationally. They were made naked in many, many different ways.

[John Weaver] So let me just begin to show you the impact of having such a wicked ruler over the nation. Notice if you would, beginning there with verse 5 of 2 Chronicles 28. Look at it. Wherefore, Lord, has God delivered him that it would be a has, Wherefore, the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away great multitudes of them captives, and brought them to Damascus."

[John Weaver] So, there was a war. Syria has defeated Judah, and a large number of captives have been taken away. It doesn't tell us how many men were killed. It doesn't tell us how many captives were taken. But it just says a great multitude.

[John Weaver] Now watch the rest of verse 5. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. Now can you imagine the economic impact of losing a hundred and twenty thousand men? Can you imagine 120,000 widows, 120,000 orphanless families? Wow. Can you imagine? All the orphans, can you imagine, can you imagine just the slaughter of 120,000 men in one day?

[John Weaver] And we're not talking about Using a bomb, we're not talking about using cannon, we're not talking about using modern firearms. Think about fighting up close personally with swords and with spears and also with bow and arrows. So you're talking about a great devastation upon a nation to lose that many men and have that many widows and have that many children without fathers. So and probably without mothers as well, I'll show you why I said that.

[John Weaver] So look, if you would, please, the Bible goes a little bit farther. It's not just this, but watch verse seven and Zichri. A mighty man of Ephraim slew in Messiah, the king's son, and Azarqam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. So Ahaz has lost his son, he lost the governor, and he lost his friend. Now, watch what happens in verse 8.

[John Weaver] And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. So on top of 120,000 men being killed, now 200,000 women and children are taken captive.

[John Weaver] Now obviously, if you read the rest of the chapter, Oded the prophet said, hey, you can't do this. And finally, the The captives were clothed and were allowed to go back home. But the spoil was not necessarily sent back. So here you have this great devastation. But that's not all. Not only did Syria defeat Judah, not only did Israel defeat Judah. Skip down to verse 17. For again, the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives.

[John Weaver] So now they've lost more people. The Edomites.

[John Weaver] Now look in verse 18, the Philistines also invaded the cities of the low country and of the south of Judah and had taken Beth Shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gedderoth, and Shaco, and the villages thereof, and Timnon, the villages thereof, and Gemezo also in the villages thereof, and they dwelt there. So they not only have lost men and women and great funds, they've also lost villages and towns, and now the Philistines are possessing those villages and towns. Now, this is why the Bible says that the Lord brought Judah low, because of Ahaz. Because Ahaz had made Judah naked.

[John Weaver] He had stripped them of everything. You would tend to think that someone who had been defeated so greatly and so many times, had lost so many people and so much economically, that he would begin to think, hmm, maybe I'm serving the wrong God. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I ought to repent. But that never entered in the mind of Ahaz. But something did enter into his mind. Look in verse 16. At the same time, did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him? He didn't cry out to God, but he did send to the king of Assyria. Skip down to verse 20. The Bible said, And Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. Now watch this. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, but he helped him not." Now, in order to show you the absolute stupidity of Ahaz, I want you to look at verse 23.

[John Weaver] The Bible says,"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, And he said, because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel. Now, it is true that Syria defeated Judah. But what is also true, and I'm going to show it to you in the Bible, the king of Assyria defeated the Syrians. So why in the world is he sacrificing to gods who helped the Syrians against him, but they could not help the Syrians against the Assyrians? So let me show you what I'm talking about. Whole 2 Chronicles. but turn back in your Bibles to 2 Kings 16. 2 Kings 16.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 7. 2 Kings 16 and verse 7. Watch this. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me." Now I want you to watch this next verse carefully. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him, For the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captives to Kerr, and slew Rezin. And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And king Ahaz said to Eurydice the priest, the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

[John Weaver] And Eurydice the priest built an altar, according to all the king Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Uriah the priest made it against the king Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar and the king approached the altar and offered their own. So Ahaz now has taken an altar a copy of it, sent it to Uriah. Uriah just built an altar just like the one that's been found in Damascus. And by the way, remember, the king of Assyria has already defeated the Syrians. And so he's still going to make this altar and he's still going to offer to these gods of Syria.

[John Weaver] Now, skip down to verse 17. Watch what Ahaz did to the house of the Lord. And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases. We're talking about the furniture in the temple. And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the labor from off them and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it and put it upon a pavement of stones. And the cover for the Sabbath that they had built in the house and the kings entered without turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria." Now, Ahaz mutilated, destroyed, and defiled the temple.

[John Weaver] It was of no use to him. So he closed the door, he closed it down, and he allowed the dust and the dirt and the garbage to pile up. And I find something else very interesting. When Ahaz wanted to hire the king of Assyria, what did he do? He raided the silver and the gold in the temple. He stole it. He was a thief. The money did not belong to him.

[John Weaver] It belonged to the Lord. So, he was not just a thief. He was also a blasphemer. It had to be an absolute insult to God and a slap in God's face to take God's money and give it to a reprobate ungodly man. Moreover, he then took and made a room in the temple for the king of Assyria. He would not recognize the one true of the living king, but he's going to recognize the king that is a powerful reprobate.

[John Weaver] It's absolutely insane, but that's exactly what he did. Now, when you get to 2 Chronicles 29 and verse 3, the Bible says he, talking about Hezekiah, he in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. So here's what Hezekiah is faced with. Hezekiah has his work cut out for him, for now he's got to undo everything that his father had done. Wow. His father was a tremendous idolater. His father was a tremendous mutilator of the things of God. And so what Hezekiah does is once he opens the door of the temple and he sees all of the uncleanness and all the filthiness, he then summons the priest and the Levites in order that they may come in and cleanse the temple. So I want you to look beginning there with verse 5.

[John Weaver] Watch if you would, because there are several important points. Watch carefully. And He said unto them, He's talking about the Levites. We'll go back to verse 4. And He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them together to the east street. And He said unto them, Hear me, you Levites. Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify 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 done that which was evil in the 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. And they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore, the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes.

[John Weaver] For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now, it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent, for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, that you should minister unto Him, and burn incense.

[John Weaver] Then the Levites arose, now here's just some of them named, Mahath, the son of Amassi, Jehoel, the son of Azariah, the sons of the Koaphites, and of the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehoel, And then, and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zemmah, and Eden the son of Joah, and the sons of Elisaphon, Shemri, and Jeel, and the sons of Asaph, Zechariah, and Metaniah, and the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shemai, and the sons of Juduth, and Shemai, and Uziel.

[John Weaver] Now watch verse 15, And they gathered their brethren, how many I don't know, and sanctified themselves, and came according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. And the priest..." Watch carefully."...the priest went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord.

[John Weaver] And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad unto the brook Kidron." Now, I want you to look back at verse 5. Note if you would. In verse 5, the king says to the Levites, Hear ye me, Levites, sanctify now yourselves and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. Now, the word filthiness here is a very interesting word.

[John Weaver] It means that which is impure, that which is filthy, that which is unclean, that which is immoral, that which is idolatrous. So he says you get rid of anything and everything that does not belong in the holy place.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in verse 16, and the priests went into the inner part of the house, that would be the holy place and the most holy place, because not all Levites could go in those places. So the priests went in to the holy place and the most holy place to cleanse it and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord under the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad under the brook Hebron.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is this. The cleansing of the holy place and the most holy place took eight days of hard work.

[John Weaver] Now, I do not have any idea how many priests were involved. We know some that may have been named here. We know a lot of the Levites that are named. But there's more that said they gathered their brethren, so we're not told how many. So it took eight full days by numerous priests just to get the filth out of the holy place and the most holy place.

[John Weaver] So look at verse 17. 2 Chronicles 29 verse 17.

[John Weaver] Now, they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify. And on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days. And in the sixteenth day of the first month, they made an end. So it took eight days on the inside and evidently eight days on the outside as well. So, here's what happened.

[John Weaver] Hezekiah says to the priests and to the Levites, take the garbage out. Get the garbage out. Get rid of anything and everything that's going to defile the temple. Once the priests and the Levites had cleansed the temple, they began then to offer the sacrifices. And the people began to praise the Lord. And God sent a great awakening. He sent a great revival. If you look in verse 36, the last verse in 2 Chronicles 29, And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people, for the thing was done suddenly. And so you will find that after this revival or in this revival, they went out through all the land. They broke down every altar that was false, every image that was false, any and everything they just simply destroyed. And the real true worship of God was restored. So let me just make this point. The first step in any revival. The first step in any reformation is to take the garbage out, get rid of the garbage. Get rid of anything that is unclean, anything that defiles.

[John Weaver] Now, in the Old Testament, you had an external building. You had, first of all, the tabernacle. Then you had the temple. In the New Testament, we do not have an external building. We still have a temple. Let me show you. I want you to turn. Whole Second Chronicles. But turn in your Bibles, first of all, the first Corinthians, Chapter three, first Corinthians, Chapter three. And notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 16, I'm going to come back to these verses, but I want you to see them. First Corinthians, Chapter three. Look, if you would please, at verse 16. First Corinthians three, verse 16. Look what God says. Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Now, stop and let verse 16 sink in. Know you not that you are the temple of God? and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.

[John Weaver] Now, he said, if any man defile this temple, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

[John Weaver] Now look in 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6, beginning there with verse 19. Again, 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19. What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's."

[John Weaver] Now again he said, what? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

[John Weaver] Now if you would turn right over to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians chapter two, let's be in reading their reverse 20. He's talking about the Christians now and he says and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. In whom all the building fitly framed together growth into an holy temple and the Lord. and whom you also are building together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. Now, note if you would, in verse 21, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, before I go any further, I want to give you a brief Greek lesson. It's a vocab lesson. There are basically two Greek words that are used in the New Testament for temple. The first word is here on. Their Greek word here on simply refers. To the whole of the sacred enclosure. When we use the word temple. We would be speaking about all the buildings that are connected to and associated with that temple, including the balconies, the porticoes, the porches, the courts. You'll have to remember, and the temple had a court of the women, had a court of the Gentiles, court of the men.

[John Weaver] Not everybody, not anybody could just waltz into the holy place or the most holy place. There were places for people, Those holy places were reserved for the priests and the Levites, so the general populace could not just simply waltz into the temple.

[John Weaver] Now, when you stop and think about the New Testament, you will find that many of these porches were used by our Lord and by His disciples. For instance, in John 10 and verse 23, the Bible says, and Jesus, walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Now, he was on the porch, but the porch is part of the temple. And you remember, our Lord overthrew the money changers. The money changers were not in the holy place. They certainly were not in the most holy place. They were out in the porches and porticos. So in Mark 11, verses 15 and 16, The Bible says, And they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and would not suffer any man should carry any vessel through the temple. In other words, they were outside on the porches, in the balconies, in the courts, but not in the temple. But all those porches and And porticoes and courts were considered part of the temple.

[John Weaver] And so our Lord then took a scourge of small cords and drove them out. So when you think of the word here, Ron, you're thinking about the temple as a whole. I could say the White House. And if you've ever seen pictures of the White House, you know, there's porches, there's balconies, there's all kinds of things around, but it's just talking about the White House as a whole. So that's what the word here on is. It just deals with simply the temple as a whole. The second Greek word is the word naos. Now the word naos always refers to the holy place, the holy place and the most holy place. You remember in the holy place there was a table of showbread.

[John Weaver] And of course, the Bible teaches in John Chapter 6 how Jesus Christ is the bread of life. So Jesus Christ then is our nourishment. Also in the holy place, you had the lampstand. And of course, that speaks of the fact that Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. And you will find that in John chapter 8, John chapter 9, John chapter 12, where Jesus Christ is a true light of the world. And then, of course, in the most holy place, you had the mercy seat.

[John Weaver] That is where the atonement was made. That is where the high priest went in once a year and sprinkled blood upon the mercy seat. It was that most holy place from which God spoke. It was that mercy seat where God revealed Himself as the God of mercy and as the God of grace.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and let me ask you a question. And I'm going to ask you to turn to 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 6, and Ephesians 2 one more time, because I want to read this to you. Out of these two Greek words, hieron, which this simply refers to the temple in general, and naos, which refers to the most holy place, which word do you think is used in these texts? Let me read it to you. Look in v. 16. I Corinthians 3. Know you not that you are the naos of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the naos of God, him shall God destroy. For the naos of God is holy, which naos you are. Then if you'll look in I Corinthians 6 at v. 19. What? Know you not that your body is the naos of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?

[John Weaver] For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are His." Then if you'll look in Ephesians chapter 2, again, look if you would please, beginning there with verse 20. He says, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, and whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into a holy naos in the Lord, and whom you also are builted together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit." Wow! Has it ever sunk into your mind that your body is the temple of God.

[John Weaver] Let me ask some questions. Here are some excellent questions. First of all, do you want revival? Do you desire more intimate fellowship with God? Do you want God's blessings poured out upon you? Do you want your prayers answered? Do you want power with God and power with man? Do you want to see victory over the evil ones? Do you desire to see His Kingdom come? Do you want God to manifest Himself in power? Do you want the nations to know that they are mere men and there is only one true and living God who has revealed Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you desire to see the wicked overthrown and the righteous exalted? Do you desire to see God honored and glorified? And if you answered yes, Then take out the garbage. Take out the garbage.

[John Weaver] That means we have to get rid of all of our impurities, defilements, immoralities, idolatries and anything that would make our lives unclean and unusable. You remember when I started this message, I spoke about personal garbage, family garbage, friendly garbage, enemy garbage. Let me remind you about personal garbage. Your personal garbage is that which is in your heart and mind and desires. You know what your personal garbage is. I may not know.

[John Weaver] But it could be your pride. It could be wicked thoughts, it could be wicked desires, it could be anything. David said in Psalm 66 and verse 18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Just the mere regarding of it, the mere holding in esteem is enough to make God not hear us when we pray. So we have a lot of personal garbage, and it's true that that garbage has to be taken out.

[John Weaver] It has to be dealt with. And no one else can clean out your mind. No one else can clean out your thinking. No one else can clean out your desires. You have personal garbage. Your family garbage refers to the stains and the sins and the rebellions and the unkindness and the incivility that you've allowed to destroy your relationship with your families. I know of families that will not even speak to each other. I know of fathers who will not speak to their sons and sons who will not speak to their fathers. I've known brothers and sisters who would not speak to each other.

[John Weaver] I was preaching in one church many years back, and I noticed on the second row to my right sat an older man on the edge of the second pew right up against the aisle. And on my left side, there was an older woman sitting in that second pew, right up against the aisle on that side. And finally, after preaching two or three days, I looked at the pastor and I said, something's wrong with that man and woman.

[John Weaver] I said, they won't even look at each other. They won't even speak to each other. Who are they? And he looked at me and said, well, they're brother and sister. So they haven't spoken to each other in 10 years. So they fell out over family inheritance. And I said, and you have allowed them to come to this church without disciplining them. I said, this is insane. This is insane. But everybody has family garbage. Everybody has family garbage. You may not can correct the entire family, but as far as your part, you can straighten it out.

[John Weaver] You can make right whatever needs to be made right. Talk about friendly garbage. The friendly garbage refers to those sins. And those little foxes. between you and your friends. You remember that passage in the Song of Solomon? It says, little foxes spoil the vines. It doesn't have to be a great big fox. It doesn't have to be a great big sin. But it's things that go on between you and your friends that may be questionable, may not be right. Sometimes it may be downright sin. But the thing is you need to make it right. I've thought about things in the last several weeks.

[John Weaver] Now, I probably hadn't thought about it since I was a young man or teenager. And I had friends tell me things that I didn't need to know and I didn't need to hear. They weren't downright ugly. Some of them were, but most of it was not. But it was just useless and worthless. And I thought to myself, why in the world would I tell someone something like this just to boggle their mind and trouble their mind and make them think on things they should not even be thinking upon? But you know, friends oftentimes say things to friends that probably should not even be said at all.

[John Weaver] So there's friendly garbage that needs to be taken care of. And then, of course, there's enemy garbage. And the enemy garbage relates to bitterness and resentfulness, unkindness and spitefulness that you hold toward those who have wronged you or those whom you despise. You get upset very quickly with those with whom you deem are opposed to you. Bitterness not only defiles you, it defiles others as well. You know, the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 15, looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, listen now, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. You is singular. Many happens to be plural. So bitterness starts with one individual, but extends to a multitude. I think one of the greatest remedies for enemy garbage is to learn to pray for your enemies. Like our Lord said, pray for those who despitefully use you and hate you.

[John Weaver] I have men that have done me wrong in times past. And I can honestly say that I pray for them. I pray that God will put them in a position where he can use them and bless them. And you know, the truth of the matter is, I have no bitterness in my heart toward them. I have no resentment toward them. And I would never, by the grace of God, allow myself to be hateful toward them and hate them in the sense that all that does is embitter me and makes me unusable. So I found that one of the easiest ways To get rid of enemy garbage is really learn to pray for your enemies. Pray for them by name. Ask God to give them repentance. Ask God to use them. Ask God to place them in a position where He can bless them. And obviously, you can get rid of that enemy garbage.

[John Weaver] Now, David prayed in Psalm 138 verse 7, and he said, Revive me. Have you ever stopped to think about this? that revival starts with individuals. You say, what we need is a national revival. You cannot have a national revival without individual revival. Or what we need is an ecclesiastical revival. You cannot have an ecclesiastical revival without individual revival. Or what we need is a family revival. You cannot have a family revival without individual revival. Individuals make up the family, the church, and the nations.

[John Weaver] Everyone in this room can quote Chronicles 7.14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. So let me put it to you very plainly. It does you no good to humble yourself and pray and seek His face unless you're willing to take the garbage out of the sanctuary. Unless you're willing to turn from your wicked ways. Unless you're willing to cleanse the temple.

[John Weaver] Get rid of everything that defiles. Get rid of everything that is impure. There will never be a personal, family, ecclesiastical, or national revival until we take the garbage out. That is why 2 Chronicles 29 is so appropriate for us today. Every major revival began with a cleansing.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications. Listen to this. The first one is, as a priest, you are responsible for the most holy place. Do you know what the Bible says in Revelation 1 and verse 6? talking about Jesus Christ, and hath made us kings and priests unto God His Father, to Whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. He hath made us kings and priests. So as priests then, we have the duty and the responsibility to clean out the sanctuary. To cleanse the temple. What? Know you not that your body is the naos of the Holy Ghost. What? Know you not that ye are the naos of God? God has made us priests. We are responsible to clean out the temple. You cannot defile it. If you defile it, God is not going to use you. God is not going to bless you.

[John Weaver] And the first step in any awakening is to take out the garbage, get rid of it. The second application is this. It is your responsibility to ask the great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, to open your eyes and reveal to you all the garbage that's in your mind and heart. You remember the Bible says in Jeremiah 17, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? But the Bible says in verse 10, I the Lord know the heart. You see, the truth of the matter is, our hearts can deceive us, but our Lord knows the heart absolutely perfectly. And He can reveal it to us. You remember what David prayed in Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24? He prayed, search me, O God, I know my heart. Try me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Have you ever asked God to search you? Have you ever asked God to open your eyes and reveal to you things that you need to repent of, things that you need to clean up, things that you need to get out of your life, get the garbage out?

[John Weaver] Wow. David said, search me, O God, and know my heart. The third one is this. The best place to begin is with one's self. Don't worry about others. You know, it would do me absolutely no good to say, wow, if I could just get Joshua right, everything would be ok. Joshua's not my problem. I am my problem. Ok? I can't blame it on Steve. I can't blame it on Gary. I can't blame it on James. No, no. It's me. You follow that?

[John Weaver] What was that old song? It's me, it's me, O Lord sending in the eager prayer? Yeah. You see, the fact of the matter is this. Listen, we oftentimes worry about things and are concerned over things over which we have absolutely no control. How many of you can control President Trump? How many of you can control Congress? How many can control the judicial system? How many can control Russia or China? Nobody. But we can control ourselves.

[John Weaver] We can make sure the garbage is out of our lives. We can work on number one. So, if we want the blessings of God, if we want God to turn this thing around, we need to learn to take out the garbage. Because our bodies are the temple of God. What? Know you not that your body is the temple, the naos of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.

[John Weaver] We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Lord, impress upon our minds the absolute necessity and urgency of taking out the garbage. Lord, the longer it stays in our lives, the more it stinks. And the more it stinks, the more critters and the more sins that it draws. Help us, Lord, to do that which is right Give us repentance. Give us, Lord, a determination that we are going to live holily and righteously, godly and obediently by Your infinite grace and mercy. We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Take Out the Garbage

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	11520180187104
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-11-01
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments	79

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Let's open our Bibles today to 2 Chronicles chapter 29. So you'll have 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, then 1 and 2 Chronicles chapter 29. And we're just going to read right off the first three verses. And we will come back and deal with the context just a little bit. The title of the message is, "Take Out the Garbage." I think you'll understand. Notice if you would, 2 Chronicles 29 beginning with verse 1.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 29:1-3

"Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them."

Introduction: The Ubiquity of Garbage

Weaver introduces the concept of garbage, noting how it multiplies and stinks, and asks listeners to consider personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage.

You've heard the phrase, "take out the garbage," many times. I have often wondered how many times that sentence, directive, or command has been given to husbands and to sons. It almost seems like it's kind of like an official duty for the husband to take out and to take off the garbage. While normally carrying off the garbage at our house, and I do it most of the time, occasionally Alice gets to do it, but most of the time I do it, I've often wondered, and I've been amazed really, at how it multiplies. I think sometimes some type of magical way it reproduces during the night while we sleep. It doesn't matter how often I take it off, there's always more garbage there. And, of course, it's a never-ending battle, and it's kind of an urgent situation because the longer it sits, the more it stinks. And not only does it stink, it'll end up drawing flies and roaches and mice and other critters that you certainly do not want to keep around the house. But can you conceive in your mind or have you ever thought about what a year's worth of garbage would look like under your carport? Or a year's worth of garbage in your yard? Or even worse, a year's worth of garbage in your house?

Undoubtedly, it would be very devastating to both your physical and your mental condition as well. But what if houses, offices, and church buildings were never cleaned. Think for a minute and contemplate that if the litter was never picked up, the grass was never cut, the leaves were never raked, and folks just simply threw their undesired objects in the yard, thinking that somebody someday would clean it up and they would not necessarily have to. What in the world would our houses, our church buildings, and our offices look like. I want you to remember what I'm going to say because I'm going to come back to this just momentarily. When you think of trash or when you think of garbage, I want you to think, if you would, first of all, of your personal garbage, your family garbage, your friendly garbage, and your enemy garbage.

Now let me explain some of these. I don't have to explain your personal garbage and your family garbage. Certainly you're quite aware of that. But let me talk about friendly garbage just for a moment. Many of you know that I have classes at our farm and usually the classes are two days. You'd be absolutely astounded and amazed at the garbage that 20 to 25 people can put out in two days time.

Hezekiah's Righteous Beginning

Hezekiah, son of wicked Ahaz, begins his reign by opening and repairing the temple doors, demonstrating his zeal for God.

And here's a truth that we need to understand. Godly men do not always produce godly children. Sometimes ungodly men produce godly children. And sometimes godly men produce ungodly children. In other words, depravity is hereditary. Grace is not.

Now, Hezekiah was 25 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. And we were told in verse 2 about Hezekiah, look at it. The Bible says, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father had done." Hezekiah not only had the zeal of David, but also the heart of David. He was a man of integrity, and he had a love for God, His law, and His worship. And he began his reign with the restoration of the temple and the worship of the one true and the living God, and by calling his people to repentance and reformation. Now look in verse 3. "He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them." So interestingly, the very first thing that he did was open the temple doors and repair them. So clearly, the temple doors had been shut.

And as we would even say, boarded up as well. Now, why did he begin his reign by opening the temple doors? And the answer is, because his father Ahaz, who was a wicked vile reprobate, shut the doors of the temple. He did not worship God, and he had no need for God, and he led his people into idolatry. So, in order to set the stage, let me show you about Ahaz.

The Wickedness of Ahaz

Ahaz shut the temple doors, practiced idolatry, and led Judah into sin, resulting in national devastation.

Look, if you would, please, in 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24. Look what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:24

"And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem."

So here's a man that is mutilating the things of God, and he's shutting up the doors of the temple. You see, Ahaz followed the kings of Israel. So if you look in chapter 28, beginning there with verse 2, look at what the Bible says about Ahaz. "For he, Ahaz, walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:2-4

Ahaz was nothing more than an absolute heathen. So you want to ask yourself this question. What price did the nation pay for having such a wicked, ungodly ruler? Well, God gives us that in very clear terms. So if you look in verse 19, 2 Chronicles 28 and verse 19, the Bible says this, "For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord."

So as his sin debased them, it also exposed them. It made them naked to their shame, for it exposed them to contempt as a man unclothed. It made them naked to danger, for it exposed them to assaults as a man who is unarmed. So here's a principle. Sin strips men. The price they paid was very great. They paid economically, ecclesiastically, militarily, personally, and nationally. They were made naked in many, many different ways.

So let me just begin to show you the impact of having such a wicked ruler over the nation. Notice if you would, beginning there with verse 5 of 2 Chronicles 28. Look at it. "Wherefore, the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away great multitudes of them captives, and brought them to Damascus."

So, there was a war. Syria has defeated Judah, and a large number of captives have been taken away. It doesn't tell us how many men were killed. It doesn't tell us how many captives were taken. But it just says a great multitude.

Now watch the rest of verse 5. "And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers." Now can you imagine the economic impact of losing a hundred and twenty thousand men? Can you imagine 120,000 widows, 120,000 orphanless families? Wow. Can you imagine? All the orphans, can you imagine, can you imagine just the slaughter of 120,000 men in one day?

And we're not talking about using a bomb, we're not talking about using cannon, we're not talking about using modern firearms. Think about fighting up close personally with swords and with spears and also with bow and arrows. So you're talking about a great devastation upon a nation to lose that many men and have that many widows and have that many children without fathers. So and probably without mothers as well, I'll show you why I said that.

So look, if you would, please, the Bible goes a little bit farther. It's not just this, but watch verse 7. "And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah, the king's son, and Azrikam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king." So Ahaz has lost his son, he lost the governor, and he lost his friend. Now, watch what happens in verse 8. "And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria." So on top of 120,000 men being killed, now 200,000 women and children are taken captive.

Now obviously, if you read the rest of the chapter, Oded the prophet said, "Hey, you can't do this." And finally, the captives were clothed and were allowed to go back home. But the spoil was not necessarily sent back. So here you have this great devastation. But that's not all. Not only did Syria defeat Judah, not only did Israel defeat Judah. Skip down to verse 17. "For again, the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives."

So now they've lost more people. The Edomites. Now look in verse 18, "The Philistines also invaded the cities of the low country and of the south of Judah and had taken Beth Shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho, and the villages thereof, and Timnah, the villages thereof, and Gimzo also in the villages thereof, and they dwelt there." So they not only have lost men and women and great funds, they've also lost villages and towns, and now the Philistines are possessing those villages and towns. Now, this is why the Bible says that the Lord brought Judah low, because of Ahaz. Because Ahaz had made Judah naked. He had stripped them of everything. You would tend to think that someone who had been defeated so greatly and so many times, had lost so many people and so much economically, that he would begin to think, "Hmm, maybe I'm serving the wrong God. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I ought to repent." But that never entered in the mind of Ahaz. But something did enter into his mind. Look in verse 16. "At the same time, did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him?" He didn't cry out to God, but he did send to the king of Assyria. Skip down to verse 20. The Bible said, "And Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. Now watch this. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, but he helped him not." Now, in order to show you the absolute stupidity of Ahaz, I want you to look at verse 23.

The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:23

"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel."

Now, it is true that Syria defeated Judah. But what is also true, and I'm going to show it to you in the Bible, the king of Assyria defeated the Syrians. So why in the world is he sacrificing to gods who helped the Syrians against him, but they could not help the Syrians against the Assyrians? So let me show you what I'm talking about. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn back in your Bibles to 2 Kings 16. 2 Kings 16.

The Consequences of Ahaz's Sin

Because of Ahaz, Judah suffered military defeats, loss of life, captivity, and economic ruin.

The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:23

"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel."

Ahaz's Foolish Idolatry

Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, and desecrated the temple.

He had stripped them of everything. You would tend to think that someone who had been defeated so greatly and so many times, had lost so many people and so much economically, that he would begin to think, "Hmm, maybe I'm serving the wrong God. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I ought to repent." But that never entered in the mind of Ahaz. But something did enter into his mind. Look in verse 16. "At the same time, did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him?" He didn't cry out to God, but he did send to the king of Assyria. Skip down to verse 20. The Bible said, "And Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. Now watch this. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, but he helped him not." Now, in order to show you the absolute stupidity of Ahaz, I want you to look at verse 23.

The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:23

"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel."

And let's begin reading there with verse 7. 2 Kings 16 and verse 7. Watch this.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 16:7-10

"So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me."

Now I want you to watch this next verse carefully.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 16:7-10

"And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him, for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captives to Kir, and slew Rezin. And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And king Ahaz said to Urijah the priest, the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof."

"And Urijah the priest built an altar, according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar and the king approached the altar and offered thereon." So Ahaz now has taken an altar, a copy of it, sent it to Urijah. Urijah just built an altar just like the one that's been found in Damascus. And by the way, remember, the king of Assyria has already defeated the Syrians. And so he's still going to make this altar and he's still going to offer to these gods of Syria.

Now, skip down to verse 17. Watch what Ahaz did to the house of the Lord. "And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria." Now, Ahaz mutilated, destroyed, and defiled the temple. It was of no use to him. So he closed the door, he closed it down, and he allowed the dust and the dirt and the garbage to pile up. And I find something else very interesting. When Ahaz wanted to hire the king of Assyria, what did he do? He raided the silver and the gold in the temple. He stole it. He was a thief. The money did not belong to him.

It belonged to the Lord. So, he was not just a thief. He was also a blasphemer. It had to be an absolute insult to God and a slap in God's face to take God's money and give it to a reprobate ungodly man. Moreover, he then took and made a room in the temple for the king of Assyria. He would not recognize the one true and the living King, but he's going to recognize the king that is a powerful reprobate. It's absolutely insane, but that's exactly what he did. Now, when you get to 2 Chronicles 29 and verse 3, the Bible says he, talking about Hezekiah, "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them." So here's what Hezekiah is faced with. Hezekiah has his work cut out for him, for now he's got to undo everything that his father had done. Wow. His father was a tremendous idolater. His father was a tremendous mutilator of the things of God. And so what Hezekiah does is once he opens the door of the temple and he sees all of the uncleanness and all the filthiness, he then summons the priests and the Levites in order that they may come in and cleanse the temple. So I want you to look beginning there with verse 5.

Watch if you would, because there are several important points. Watch carefully. "And he said unto them," he's talking about the Levites. We'll go back to verse 4. "And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them together to the east street. And he said unto them, Hear me, you Levites. Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify 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 done that which was evil in the 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. And they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore, the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes."

Hezekiah Commands Temple Cleansing

Hezekiah orders the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves and carry out the filthiness from the temple.

It's absolutely insane, but that's exactly what he did. Now, when you get to 2 Chronicles 29 and verse 3, the Bible says he, talking about Hezekiah, "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them." So here's what Hezekiah is faced with. Hezekiah has his work cut out for him, for now he's got to undo everything that his father had done. Wow. His father was a tremendous idolater. His father was a tremendous mutilator of the things of God. And so what Hezekiah does is once he opens the door of the temple and he sees all of the uncleanness and all the filthiness, he then summons the priests and the Levites in order that they may come in and cleanse the temple. So I want you to look beginning there with verse 5.

"For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now, it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent, for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, that you should minister unto Him, and burn incense." Then the Levites arose, now here's just some of them named, Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah; and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel.

Now watch verse 15, "And they gathered their brethren," how many I don't know, "and sanctified themselves, and came according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. And the priests..." Watch carefully. "...the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord." "And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad unto the brook Kidron." Now, I want you to look back at verse 5. Note if you would. In verse 5, the king says to the Levites, "Hear ye me, Levites, sanctify now yourselves and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place." Now, the word filthiness here is a very interesting word.

The Cleansing Process

The priests and Levites cleanse the temple over sixteen days, removing all uncleanness.

It means that which is impure, that which is filthy, that which is unclean, that which is immoral, that which is idolatrous. So he says you get rid of anything and everything that does not belong in the holy place. Now, if you look in verse 16, "And the priests went into the inner part of the house," that would be the holy place and the most holy place, because not all Levites could go in those places. So the priests went in to the holy place and the most holy place to cleanse it and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad unto the brook Kidron.

Now, the interesting thing is this. The cleansing of the holy place and the most holy place took eight days of hard work. Now, I do not have any idea how many priests were involved. We know some that may have been named here. We know a lot of the Levites that are named. But there's more that said they gathered their brethren, so we're not told how many. So it took eight full days by numerous priests just to get the filth out of the holy place and the most holy place.

So look at verse 17. 2 Chronicles 29 verse 17.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 29:17

"Now, they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify. And on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days. And in the sixteenth day of the first month, they made an end."

So it took eight days on the inside and evidently eight days on the outside as well. So, here's what happened.

Hezekiah says to the priests and to the Levites, "Take the garbage out. Get the garbage out. Get rid of anything and everything that's going to defile the temple." Once the priests and the Levites had cleansed the temple, they began then to offer the sacrifices. And the people began to praise the Lord. And God sent a great awakening. He sent a great revival. If you look in verse 36, the last verse in 2 Chronicles 29,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 29:36

"And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people, for the thing was done suddenly."

And so you will find that after this revival or in this revival, they went out through all the land. They broke down every altar that was false, every image that was false, any and everything they just simply destroyed. And the real true worship of God was restored. So let me just make this point. The first step in any revival. The first step in any reformation is to take the garbage out, get rid of the garbage. Get rid of anything that is unclean, anything that defiles.

New Testament Temple: The Believer's Body

Weaver explains that in the New Testament, believers' bodies are the temple (naos) of God, using 1 Corinthians 3, 6, and Ephesians 2.

Now, in the Old Testament, you had an external building. You had, first of all, the tabernacle. Then you had the temple. In the New Testament, we do not have an external building. We still have a temple. Let me show you. I want you to turn. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. And notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 16, I'm going to come back to these verses, but I want you to see them. 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. Look, if you would please, at verse 16. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16. Look what God says. "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." Now, stop and let verse 16 sink in. "Know you not that you are the temple of God? and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you."

Now, he said, "If any man defile this temple, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." Now look in 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6, beginning there with verse 19. Again, 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's."

Now again he said, "What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost." Now if you would turn right over to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2, let's begin reading there with verse 20. He's talking about the Christians now and he says,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:20-22

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord: in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

Now, note if you would, in verse 21,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:20-22

"in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord."

Now, before I go any further, I want to give you a brief Greek lesson. It's a vocab lesson. There are basically two Greek words that are used in the New Testament for temple. The first word is hieron. The Greek word hieron simply refers to the whole of the sacred enclosure. When we use the word temple, we would be speaking about all the buildings that are connected to and associated with that temple, including the balconies, the porticoes, the porches, the courts. You'll have to remember, the temple had a court of the women, had a court of the Gentiles, court of the men.

Not everybody, not anybody could just waltz into the holy place or the most holy place. There were places for people. Those holy places were reserved for the priests and the Levites, so the general populace could not just simply waltz into the temple. Now, when you stop and think about the New Testament, you will find that many of these porches were used by our Lord and by His disciples. For instance, in John 10 and verse 23, the Bible says, "And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch." Now, he was on the porch, but the porch is part of the temple. And you remember, our Lord overthrew the money changers. The money changers were not in the holy place. They certainly were not in the most holy place. They were out in the porches and porticos. So in Mark 11, verses 15 and 16, the Bible says, "And they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and would not suffer any man should carry any vessel through the temple." In other words, they were outside on the porches, in the balconies, in the courts, but not in the temple. But all those porches and porticoes and courts were considered part of the temple.

And so our Lord then took a scourge of small cords and drove them out. So when you think of the word hieron, you're thinking about the temple as a whole. I could say the White House. And if you've ever seen pictures of the White House, you know, there's porches, there's balconies, there's all kinds of things around, but it's just talking about the White House as a whole. So that's what the word hieron is. It just deals with simply the temple as a whole. The second Greek word is the word naos. Now the word naos always refers to the holy place, the holy place and the most holy place. You remember in the holy place there was a table of showbread.

And of course, the Bible teaches in John chapter 6 how Jesus Christ is the bread of life. So Jesus Christ then is our nourishment. Also in the holy place, you had the lampstand. And of course, that speaks of the fact that Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. And you will find that in John chapter 8, John chapter 9, John chapter 12, where Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. And then, of course, in the most holy place, you had the mercy seat. That is where the atonement was made. That is where the high priest went in once a year and sprinkled blood upon the mercy seat. It was that most holy place from which God spoke. It was that mercy seat where God revealed Himself as the God of mercy and as the God of grace.

Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and let me ask you a question. And I'm going to ask you to turn to 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 6, and Ephesians 2 one more time, because I want to read this to you. Out of these two Greek words, hieron, which simply refers to the temple in general, and naos, which refers to the most holy place, which word do you think is used in these texts? Let me read it to you. Look in verse 16. 1 Corinthians 3. "Know you not that you are the naos of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the naos of God, him shall God destroy. For the naos of God is holy, which naos you are." Then if you'll look in 1 Corinthians 6 at verse 19. "What? Know you not that your body is the naos of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?"

"For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are His." Then if you'll look in Ephesians chapter 2, again, look if you would please, beginning there with verse 20. He says, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into a holy naos in the Lord: in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Wow! Has it ever sunk into your mind that your body is the temple of God.

Application: Taking Out Personal Garbage

Weaver applies the message by urging listeners to remove personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage to experience revival.

That means we have to get rid of all of our impurities, defilements, immoralities, idolatries and anything that would make our lives unclean and unusable. You remember when I started this message, I spoke about personal garbage, family garbage, friendly garbage, enemy garbage. Let me remind you about personal garbage. Your personal garbage is that which is in your heart and mind and desires. You know what your personal garbage is. I may not know.

But it could be your pride. It could be wicked thoughts, it could be wicked desires, it could be anything. David said in Psalm 66 and verse 18,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 66:18

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

Just the mere regarding of it, the mere holding in esteem is enough to make God not hear us when we pray. So we have a lot of personal garbage, and it's true that that garbage has to be taken out. It has to be dealt with. And no one else can clean out your mind. No one else can clean out your thinking. No one else can clean out your desires. You have personal garbage. Your family garbage refers to the stains and the sins and the rebellions and the unkindness and the incivility that you've allowed to destroy your relationship with your families. I know of families that will not even speak to each other. I know of fathers who will not speak to their sons and sons who will not speak to their fathers. I've known brothers and sisters who would not speak to each other.

I was preaching in one church many years back, and I noticed on the second row to my right sat an older man on the edge of the second pew right up against the aisle. And on my left side, there was an older woman sitting in that second pew, right up against the aisle on that side. And finally, after preaching two or three days, I looked at the pastor and I said, "Something's wrong with that man and woman." I said, "They won't even look at each other. They won't even speak to each other. Who are they?" And he looked at me and said, "Well, they're brother and sister. So they haven't spoken to each other in 10 years. So they fell out over family inheritance." And I said, "And you have allowed them to come to this church without disciplining them. I said, this is insane. This is insane." But everybody has family garbage. Everybody has family garbage. You may not can correct the entire family, but as far as your part, you can straighten it out.

You can make right whatever needs to be made right. Talk about friendly garbage. The friendly garbage refers to those sins and those little foxes between you and your friends. You remember that passage in the Song of Solomon? It says, "Little foxes spoil the vines." It doesn't have to be a great big fox. It doesn't have to be a great big sin. But it's things that go on between you and your friends that may be questionable, may not be right. Sometimes it may be downright sin. But the thing is you need to make it right. I've thought about things in the last several weeks.

Now, I probably hadn't thought about it since I was a young man or teenager. And I had friends tell me things that I didn't need to know and I didn't need to hear. They weren't downright ugly. Some of them were, but most of it was not. But it was just useless and worthless. And I thought to myself, why in the world would I tell someone something like this just to boggle their mind and trouble their mind and make them think on things they should not even be thinking upon? But you know, friends oftentimes say things to friends that probably should not even be said at all.

So there's friendly garbage that needs to be taken care of. And then, of course, there's enemy garbage. And the enemy garbage relates to bitterness and resentfulness, unkindness and spitefulness that you hold toward those who have wronged you or those whom you despise. You get upset very quickly with those with whom you deem are opposed to you. Bitterness not only defiles you, it defiles others as well. You know, the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:15

"Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, listen now, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."

You is singular. Many happens to be plural. So bitterness starts with one individual, but extends to a multitude. I think one of the greatest remedies for enemy garbage is to learn to pray for your enemies. Like our Lord said, "Pray for those who despitefully use you and hate you."

I have men that have done me wrong in times past. And I can honestly say that I pray for them. I pray that God will put them in a position where he can use them and bless them. And you know, the truth of the matter is, I have no bitterness in my heart toward them. I have no resentment toward them. And I would never, by the grace of God, allow myself to be hateful toward them and hate them in the sense that all that does is embitter me and makes me unusable. So I found that one of the easiest ways to get rid of enemy garbage is really learn to pray for your enemies. Pray for them by name. Ask God to give them repentance. Ask God to use them. Ask God to place them in a position where He can bless them. And obviously, you can get rid of that enemy garbage.

Call to Individual Repentance

Revival starts with individuals humbling themselves, praying, and turning from wicked ways, as in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Everyone in this room can quote 2 Chronicles 7:14. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land." So let me put it to you very plainly. It does you no good to humble yourself and pray and seek His face unless you're willing to take the garbage out of the sanctuary. Unless you're willing to turn from your wicked ways. Unless you're willing to cleanse the temple. Get rid of everything that defiles. Get rid of everything that is impure. There will never be a personal, family, ecclesiastical, or national revival until we take the garbage out. That is why 2 Chronicles 29 is so appropriate for us today. Every major revival began with a cleansing.

Final Applications and Prayer

Weaver concludes with applications: as priests, we must cleanse our temple; ask God to reveal hidden sin; and start with ourselves.

Now, let me make some applications. Listen to this. The first one is, as a priest, you are responsible for the most holy place. Do you know what the Bible says in Revelation 1 and verse 6? talking about Jesus Christ, "and hath made us kings and priests unto God His Father, to Whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." He hath made us kings and priests. So as priests then, we have the duty and the responsibility to clean out the sanctuary. To cleanse the temple. What? Know you not that your body is the naos of the Holy Ghost. What? Know you not that ye are the naos of God? God has made us priests. We are responsible to clean out the temple. You cannot defile it. If you defile it, God is not going to use you. God is not going to bless you.

And the first step in any awakening is to take out the garbage, get rid of it. The second application is this. It is your responsibility to ask the great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, to open your eyes and reveal to you all the garbage that's in your mind and heart. You remember the Bible says in Jeremiah 17, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" But the Bible says in verse 10, "I the Lord know the heart." You see, the truth of the matter is, our hearts can deceive us, but our Lord knows the heart absolutely perfectly. And He can reveal it to us. You remember what David prayed in Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24? He prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." Have you ever asked God to search you? Have you ever asked God to open your eyes and reveal to you things that you need to repent of, things that you need to clean up, things that you need to get out of your life, get the garbage out?

Wow. David said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart." The third one is this. The best place to begin is with one's self. Don't worry about others. You know, it would do me absolutely no good to say, "Wow, if I could just get Joshua right, everything would be ok." Joshua's not my problem. I am my problem. Ok? I can't blame it on Steve. I can't blame it on Gary. I can't blame it on James. No, no. It's me. You follow that?

What was that old song? "It's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer." Yeah. You see, the fact of the matter is this. Listen, we oftentimes worry about things and are concerned over things over which we have absolutely no control. How many of you can control President Trump? How many of you can control Congress? How many can control the judicial system? How many can control Russia or China? Nobody. But we can control ourselves.

We can make sure the garbage is out of our lives. We can work on number one. So, if we want the blessings of God, if we want God to turn this thing around, we need to learn to take out the garbage. Because our bodies are the temple of God. What? Know you not that your body is the temple, the naos of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.

We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Lord, impress upon our minds the absolute necessity and urgency of taking out the garbage. Lord, the longer it stays in our lives, the more it stinks. And the more it stinks, the more critters and the more sins that it draws. Help us, Lord, to do that which is right. Give us repentance. Give us, Lord, a determination that we are going to live holily and righteously, godly and obediently by Your infinite grace and mercy. We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Spiritual Cleansing

Summary: The necessity of removing sin and impurity from one's life, symbolized by taking out the garbage from the temple.

Evidence: Hezekiah commanded the Levites to 'carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place' (2 Chronicles 29:5).

The Believer as God's Temple

Summary: In the New Testament, the believer's body is the temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit, requiring holiness.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20 are cited to show that believers are the naos of God.

Personal Responsibility in Revival

Summary: Revival begins with individual repentance and cleansing, not blaming others or waiting for national change.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'It does you no good to humble yourself and pray... unless you're willing to take the garbage out.'

The Deceitfulness of the Heart

Summary: The human heart is deceitful and needs God's searching to reveal hidden sin.

Evidence: Jeremiah 17:9-10 and Psalm 139:23-24 are referenced to show the need for divine examination.

Consequences of Unrepentant Sin

Summary: Ahaz's sin led to national devastation, illustrating that unaddressed sin brings destruction.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 28 describes the military defeats and captivity resulting from Ahaz's wickedness.

Key Arguments

Hezekiah's first act was to cleanse the temple, showing that revival starts with removing sin.

Summary: Hezekiah opened the temple doors and commanded the removal of filthiness, leading to national revival.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 29:3, 5, 16-17 describe the cleansing and subsequent rejoicing.

Ahaz's idolatry and temple desecration brought God's judgment on Judah.

Summary: Ahaz shut the temple, practiced idolatry, and stripped the temple of its treasures, resulting in military defeat and captivity.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 28:2-4, 24-25 and 2 Kings 16:7-18 detail Ahaz's sins and their consequences.

Believers are now the temple of God and must keep it pure.

Summary: The New Testament teaches that the church and individual believers are the naos of God, indwelt by the Spirit.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, and Ephesians 2:20-22 use the Greek word naos for temple.

Personal garbage includes sins of the heart, family strife, and bitterness.

Summary: Weaver categorizes garbage as personal, family, friendly, and enemy, each requiring specific repentance.

Evidence: Examples include pride, family feuds, and bitterness, with references to Psalm 66:18 and Hebrews 12:15.

Revival is individual before it is corporate.

Summary: National or church revival cannot occur without individuals first humbling themselves and turning from sin.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 7:14 is quoted, emphasizing personal humility and repentance.

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 29:1-3

Context: Hezekiah's reign begins; he opens and repairs the temple doors.

2 Chronicles 28:24

Context: Ahaz shut the doors of the temple and made altars in every corner.

2 Chronicles 28:2-4

Context: Ahaz walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, made molten images, and burned his children in the fire.

2 Chronicles 28:19

Context: The Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz.

2 Chronicles 28:5

Context: Judah was delivered into the hand of Syria and Israel; 120,000 valiant men slain.

2 Chronicles 28:8

Context: Israel carried away 200,000 women, sons, and daughters captive.

2 Chronicles 28:17-18

Context: Edomites and Philistines invaded Judah and took cities.

2 Chronicles 28:16, 20-21

Context: Ahaz sent to Assyria for help; Tiglath-Pileser distressed him and took treasure from the temple.

2 Chronicles 28:23

Context: Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which were his ruin.

2 Kings 16:7-10

Context: Ahaz sent silver and gold to Assyria; the king of Assyria defeated Damascus; Ahaz copied an altar from Damascus.

2 Kings 16:17-18

Context: Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the laver; he turned the covert for the Sabbath from the house of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 29:4-11

Context: Hezekiah commands the Levites to sanctify themselves and carry forth the filthiness.

2 Chronicles 29:15-16

Context: The priests and Levites cleanse the temple and carry out uncleanness to the brook Kidron.

2 Chronicles 29:17

Context: The cleansing took eight days for the inner part and sixteen days total.

2 Chronicles 29:36

Context: Hezekiah and the people rejoiced because God had prepared the people.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Context: Believers are the temple (naos) of God; if any defile it, God will destroy him.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Context: The body is the temple (naos) of the Holy Ghost; glorify God in body and spirit.

Ephesians 2:20-22

Context: Believers are built together for a holy temple (naos) in the Lord.

Psalm 66:18

Context: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Hebrews 12:15

Context: A root of bitterness defiles many.

Historical References

Hezekiah, king of Judah

Context: Son of Ahaz, began to reign at 25, reigned 29 years, did right in the sight of the Lord.

Ahaz, king of Judah

Context: Wicked king who shut the temple doors, practiced idolatry, and led Judah into sin.

Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria

Context: Ahaz sought his help; he distressed Ahaz and took treasure but did not strengthen him.

Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel

Context: Slew 120,000 valiant men of Judah in one day.

Urijah the priest

Context: Built an altar according to the pattern Ahaz sent from Damascus.

Important Quotes

Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.

Significance: Introduces Hezekiah's righteous reign and his immediate action to restore the temple.

Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Significance: Key New Testament verse establishing believers as God's temple, requiring holiness.

What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's.

Significance: Reinforces the indwelling of the Spirit and the call to purity.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Significance: Highlights the barrier that unconfessed sin creates in prayer.

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

Significance: David's prayer for divine examination, used as a model for personal cleansing.

Discussion Questions

What are some examples of 'personal garbage' that might be hindering your relationship with God?

Context: Weaver defines personal garbage as sins of the heart and mind, such as pride and wicked thoughts.

How can we practically 'take out the garbage' in our family relationships?

Context: Weaver discusses family garbage as stains and sins that destroy relationships, like unforgiveness.

Why is it important to pray for our enemies, and how does that help remove bitterness?

Context: Weaver suggests praying for enemies as a remedy for enemy garbage, referencing Jesus' command.

In what ways does the truth that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit change how you live daily?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the Greek word naos, indicating the most holy place, and the call to glorify God.

How can we cultivate a habit of asking God to search our hearts and reveal hidden sin?

Context: Weaver references Psalm 139:23-24 and Jeremiah 17:9-10 as prayers for divine examination.

Applications

Cleanse your personal temple

Summary: As priests unto God, believers are responsible to remove all impurity from their lives, starting with personal sin.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'as a priest, you are responsible for the most holy place' and cites Revelation 1:6.

Ask God to reveal hidden sin

Summary: Pray for God to search your heart and expose any wicked way, as David did in Psalm 139.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It is your responsibility to ask the great high priest... to open your eyes and reveal to you all the garbage.'

Start with yourself

Summary: Instead of focusing on others' faults, take personal responsibility for your own spiritual condition.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes, 'The best place to begin is with one's self. Don't worry about others.'

Pray for your enemies

Summary: Overcome bitterness and resentment by praying for those who have wronged you, following Jesus' command.

Evidence: Weaver shares his practice of praying for those who wronged him and references Matthew 5:44.

Humble yourself and turn from wicked ways

Summary: True revival requires humility, prayer, seeking God's face, and turning from sin, as in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Chronicles 7:14 and stresses that without turning from wicked ways, prayer is ineffective.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:44:50Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T11:29:06Z

Clean Transcript

Take Out the Garbage

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Let's open our Bibles today to 2 Chronicles chapter 29. So you'll have 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, then 1 and 2 Chronicles chapter 29. And we're just going to read right off the first three verses. And we will come back and deal with the context just a little bit. The title of the message is, "Take Out the Garbage." I think you'll understand. Notice if you would, 2 Chronicles 29 beginning with verse 1.
#1 | 0:01 to 0:38 | cleaned
"Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them."
#2 | 0:38 to 1:03 | cleaned
You've heard the phrase, "take out the garbage," many times. I have often wondered how many times that sentence, directive, or command has been given to husbands and to sons. It almost seems like it's kind of like an official duty for the husband to take out and to take off the garbage. While normally carrying off the garbage at our house, and I do it most of the time, occasionally Alice gets to do it, but most of the time I do it, I've often wondered, and I've been amazed really, at how it multiplies.
#3 | 1:05 to 1:42 | cleaned
I think sometimes some type of magical way it reproduces during the night while we sleep. It doesn't matter how often I take it off, there's always more garbage there. And, of course, it's a never-ending battle, and it's kind of an urgent situation because the longer it sits, the more it stinks. And not only does it stink, it'll end up drawing flies and roaches and mice and other critters that you certainly do not want to keep around the house. But can you conceive in your mind or have you ever thought about what a year's worth of garbage would look like under your carport? Or a year's worth of garbage in your yard? Or even worse, a year's worth of garbage in your house?
#4 | 1:43 to 2:33 | cleaned
Undoubtedly, it would be very devastating to both your physical and your mental condition as well. But what if houses, offices, and church buildings were never cleaned. Think for a minute and contemplate that if the litter was never picked up, the grass was never cut, the leaves were never raked, and folks just simply threw their undesired objects in the yard, thinking that somebody someday would clean it up and they would not necessarily have to. What in the world would our houses, our church buildings, and our offices look like. I want you to remember what I'm going to say because I'm going to come back to this just momentarily. When you think of trash or when you think of garbage, I want you to think, if you would, first of all, of your personal garbage, your family garbage, your friendly garbage, and your enemy garbage.
#5 | 2:35 to 3:38 | cleaned
Now let me explain some of these. I don't have to explain your personal garbage and your family garbage. Certainly you're quite aware of that. But let me talk about friendly garbage just for a moment. Many of you know that I have classes at our farm and usually the classes are two days. You'd be absolutely astounded and amazed at the garbage that 20 to 25 people can put out in two days time.
#6 | 3:39 to 4:04 | cleaned
It seems like I carry off each day about a half of a pickup truckload. That would include our garbage, the family garbage, and the friendly garbage as well. But enemy garbage is something else. Most of you know I live behind a big gate. And the truth of the matter is, oftentimes, Alice and I have to pick up at that gate beer bottles, beer cans, soda cans, candy wrappers, and other junk that everybody's just simply thrown out alongside the road.
#7 | 4:04 to 4:36 | cleaned
And occasionally, most of this is accidental, but occasionally sometimes it may be purposeful. But I have, not close, not too far from the gate, run across a huge dump of trash right in the middle of the road. And of course, I would call the road department because it'd be too much for even me to pick up. And the last time I called the road department, I was talking to the head.
#8 | 4:37 to 5:04 | cleaned
He said, "Well, is there any name there?" And I said, "Yes, there's a name here." And I said, "Not only that, here's a child's homework paper with his name on it." And he says, "Tell me who the names." And I told him, he said, "I'll take care of it." So I don't know what happened, but when I came back through, all the garbage was gone. So maybe he called the man. We had an incident that happened years ago. I was going through the other farm, and there was a creek and a bridge going over the creek, and I happened to look to the right. My father was with me, and I said, "Dad, I said, stop, look." I said, "Someone is throwing a bunch of garbage over in our creek." He stopped the truck. He said, "Son, go down there and see if there's a name on any of that garbage." Well, I started picking through the garbage and I said, "Dad, I said, there's not only a name, here's an envelope. That has never been opened and there's a check in it."
#9 | 5:04 to 6:06 | cleaned
And of course, the check was made out the person who threw the garbage on our property, and he said, "Bring it to me." And Dad took it and he opened it, and it was a check made to this lady for about 400 bucks. And what had happened, she had bought a lot of fertilizer, and it was supposed to be like 10-10-10, and it turned out to be something like 8-8-10, and they were refunding her the difference. And so Dad called her, and he said, "We found a check with your name on it, and from the trash that you had thrown over on our property." Well, she said, "I didn't throw that trash over." Dad said, "Yes, you did, because I've got this check for $400 with your name on it." Well, she said, "Just drop it in the mail to me." Dad said, "No, it doesn't work like that." He said, "When you come back and pick up all of your garbage and come to me and apologize, I'll hand you the check."
#10 | 6:08 to 7:07 | cleaned
And don't ever throw your garbage on my land again. And of course she did and she picked it all up and came back. So I'm just simply saying there is enemy garbage as well. In fact, the interesting thing is I've read about several fatalities that were in relationship to garbage. Just recently, there was one man who shot and killed his neighbor because the neighbor was throwing dog poop in his yard. The neighbor did not have a dog. The man who did the shooting had the dog. The dog was used in the bathroom in his neighbor's yard. So he was just throwing it back, and the man shot him and killed him. And just the last one I read, one, in fact, the man worked with the sheriff's department out in Texas. He was shot and killed because he had thrown clippings in his neighbor's yards as he was cutting the grass. So it's absolutely insane when you think about enemy garbage as well.
#11 | 7:08 to 8:09 | cleaned
Now you're going to ask, what does all this talk about garbage have to do with our text and the Bible? Well, I'm going to show you. You see, Hezekiah was a godly king and he was the son of godless Ahaz. It is absolutely fascinating to me to find out how Ahaz, who was so absolutely godless and reprobate, could produce such a godly son as Hezekiah. And what is even more compelling is to find out how godly Hezekiah could produce such an ungodly son as Manasseh. But he did.
#12 | 8:09 to 8:51 | cleaned
And here's a truth that we need to understand. Godly men do not always produce godly children. Sometimes ungodly men produce godly children. And sometimes godly men produce ungodly children. In other words, depravity is hereditary. Grace is not.
#13 | 8:51 to 9:11 | cleaned
Now, Hezekiah was 25 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. And we were told in verse 2 about Hezekiah, look at it. The Bible says, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father had done." Hezekiah not only had the zeal of David, but also the heart of David. He was a man of integrity, and he had a love for God, His law, and His worship. And he began his reign with the restoration of the temple and the worship of the one true and the living God, and by calling his people to repentance and reformation. Now look in verse 3. "He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them." So interestingly, the very first thing that he did was open the temple doors and repair them. So clearly, the temple doors had been shut.
#14 | 9:11 to 10:14 | cleaned
And as we would even say, boarded up as well. Now, why did he begin his reign by opening the temple doors? And the answer is, because his father Ahaz, who was a wicked vile reprobate, shut the doors of the temple. He did not worship God, and he had no need for God, and he led his people into idolatry. So, in order to set the stage, let me show you about Ahaz.
#15 | 10:15 to 10:43 | cleaned
Look, if you would, please, in 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24. Look what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24. "And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem." So here's a man that is mutilating the things of God, and he's shutting up the doors of the temple. You see, Ahaz followed the kings of Israel. So if you look in chapter 28, beginning there with verse 2, look at what the Bible says about Ahaz. "For he, Ahaz, walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."
#16 | 10:43 to 11:57 | cleaned
Ahaz was nothing more than an absolute heathen. So you want to ask yourself this question. What price did the nation pay for having such a wicked, ungodly ruler? Well, God gives us that in very clear terms. So if you look in verse 19, 2 Chronicles 28 and verse 19, the Bible says this, "For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord."
#17 | 11:59 to 12:33 | cleaned
So as his sin debased them, it also exposed them. It made them naked to their shame, for it exposed them to contempt as a man unclothed. It made them naked to danger, for it exposed them to assaults as a man who is unarmed. So here's a principle. Sin strips men. The price they paid was very great. They paid economically, ecclesiastically, militarily, personally, and nationally. They were made naked in many, many different ways.
#18 | 12:34 to 13:16 | cleaned
So let me just begin to show you the impact of having such a wicked ruler over the nation. Notice if you would, beginning there with verse 5 of 2 Chronicles 28. Look at it. "Wherefore, the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away great multitudes of them captives, and brought them to Damascus."
#19 | 13:16 to 13:46 | cleaned
So, there was a war. Syria has defeated Judah, and a large number of captives have been taken away. It doesn't tell us how many men were killed. It doesn't tell us how many captives were taken. But it just says a great multitude.
#20 | 13:46 to 14:01 | cleaned
Now watch the rest of verse 5. "And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers." Now can you imagine the economic impact of losing a hundred and twenty thousand men? Can you imagine 120,000 widows, 120,000 orphanless families? Wow. Can you imagine? All the orphans, can you imagine, can you imagine just the slaughter of 120,000 men in one day?
#21 | 14:01 to 14:49 | cleaned
And we're not talking about using a bomb, we're not talking about using cannon, we're not talking about using modern firearms. Think about fighting up close personally with swords and with spears and also with bow and arrows. So you're talking about a great devastation upon a nation to lose that many men and have that many widows and have that many children without fathers. So and probably without mothers as well, I'll show you why I said that.
#22 | 14:49 to 15:27 | cleaned
So look, if you would, please, the Bible goes a little bit farther. It's not just this, but watch verse 7. "And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah, the king's son, and Azrikam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king." So Ahaz has lost his son, he lost the governor, and he lost his friend. Now, watch what happens in verse 8.
#23 | 15:27 to 15:55 | cleaned
"And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria." So on top of 120,000 men being killed, now 200,000 women and children are taken captive.
#24 | 15:55 to 16:16 | cleaned
Now obviously, if you read the rest of the chapter, Oded the prophet said, "Hey, you can't do this." And finally, the captives were clothed and were allowed to go back home. But the spoil was not necessarily sent back. So here you have this great devastation. But that's not all. Not only did Syria defeat Judah, not only did Israel defeat Judah. Skip down to verse 17. "For again, the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives."
#25 | 16:17 to 16:50 | cleaned
So now they've lost more people. The Edomites.
#26 | 16:51 to 16:54 | cleaned
Now look in verse 18, "The Philistines also invaded the cities of the low country and of the south of Judah and had taken Beth Shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho, and the villages thereof, and Timnah, the villages thereof, and Gimzo also in the villages thereof, and they dwelt there." So they not only have lost men and women and great funds, they've also lost villages and towns, and now the Philistines are possessing those villages and towns. Now, this is why the Bible says that the Lord brought Judah low, because of Ahaz. Because Ahaz had made Judah naked.
#27 | 16:55 to 17:36 | cleaned
He had stripped them of everything. You would tend to think that someone who had been defeated so greatly and so many times, had lost so many people and so much economically, that he would begin to think, "Hmm, maybe I'm serving the wrong God. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I ought to repent." But that never entered in the mind of Ahaz. But something did enter into his mind. Look in verse 16. "At the same time, did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him?" He didn't cry out to God, but he did send to the king of Assyria. Skip down to verse 20. The Bible said, "And Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. Now watch this. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, but he helped him not." Now, in order to show you the absolute stupidity of Ahaz, I want you to look at verse 23.
#28 | 17:36 to 18:55 | cleaned
The Bible says, "...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel." Now, it is true that Syria defeated Judah. But what is also true, and I'm going to show it to you in the Bible, the king of Assyria defeated the Syrians. So why in the world is he sacrificing to gods who helped the Syrians against him, but they could not help the Syrians against the Assyrians? So let me show you what I'm talking about. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn back in your Bibles to 2 Kings 16. 2 Kings 16.
#29 | 18:55 to 19:51 | cleaned
And let's begin reading there with verse 7. 2 Kings 16 and verse 7. Watch this. "So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me." Now I want you to watch this next verse carefully. "And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him, for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captives to Kir, and slew Rezin. And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And king Ahaz said to Urijah the priest, the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof."
#30 | 19:51 to 20:56 | cleaned
"And Urijah the priest built an altar, according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar and the king approached the altar and offered thereon." So Ahaz now has taken an altar, a copy of it, sent it to Urijah. Urijah just built an altar just like the one that's been found in Damascus. And by the way, remember, the king of Assyria has already defeated the Syrians. And so he's still going to make this altar and he's still going to offer to these gods of Syria.
#31 | 20:57 to 21:39 | cleaned
Now, skip down to verse 17. Watch what Ahaz did to the house of the Lord. "And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria." Now, Ahaz mutilated, destroyed, and defiled the temple.
#32 | 21:39 to 22:27 | cleaned
It was of no use to him. So he closed the door, he closed it down, and he allowed the dust and the dirt and the garbage to pile up. And I find something else very interesting. When Ahaz wanted to hire the king of Assyria, what did he do? He raided the silver and the gold in the temple. He stole it. He was a thief. The money did not belong to him.
#33 | 22:27 to 22:56 | cleaned
It belonged to the Lord. So, he was not just a thief. He was also a blasphemer. It had to be an absolute insult to God and a slap in God's face to take God's money and give it to a reprobate ungodly man. Moreover, he then took and made a room in the temple for the king of Assyria. He would not recognize the one true and the living King, but he's going to recognize the king that is a powerful reprobate.
#34 | 22:57 to 23:32 | cleaned
It's absolutely insane, but that's exactly what he did. Now, when you get to 2 Chronicles 29 and verse 3, the Bible says he, talking about Hezekiah, "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them." So here's what Hezekiah is faced with. Hezekiah has his work cut out for him, for now he's got to undo everything that his father had done. Wow. His father was a tremendous idolater. His father was a tremendous mutilator of the things of God. And so what Hezekiah does is once he opens the door of the temple and he sees all of the uncleanness and all the filthiness, he then summons the priests and the Levites in order that they may come in and cleanse the temple. So I want you to look beginning there with verse 5.
#35 | 23:33 to 24:35 | cleaned
Watch if you would, because there are several important points. Watch carefully. "And he said unto them," he's talking about the Levites. We'll go back to verse 4. "And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them together to the east street. And he said unto them, Hear me, you Levites. Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify 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 done that which was evil in the 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. And they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore, the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes."
#36 | 24:35 to 25:36 | cleaned
"For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now, it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent, for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, that you should minister unto Him, and burn incense."
#37 | 25:37 to 26:02 | cleaned
Then the Levites arose, now here's just some of them named, Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah; and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
#38 | 26:03 to 26:36 | cleaned
Now watch verse 15, "And they gathered their brethren," how many I don't know, "and sanctified themselves, and came according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. And the priests..." Watch carefully. "...the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord."
#39 | 26:36 to 27:04 | cleaned
"And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad unto the brook Kidron." Now, I want you to look back at verse 5. Note if you would. In verse 5, the king says to the Levites, "Hear ye me, Levites, sanctify now yourselves and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place." Now, the word filthiness here is a very interesting word.
#40 | 27:04 to 27:34 | cleaned
It means that which is impure, that which is filthy, that which is unclean, that which is immoral, that which is idolatrous. So he says you get rid of anything and everything that does not belong in the holy place.
#41 | 27:34 to 27:49 | cleaned
Now, if you look in verse 16, "And the priests went into the inner part of the house," that would be the holy place and the most holy place, because not all Levites could go in those places. So the priests went in to the holy place and the most holy place to cleanse it and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad unto the brook Kidron.
#42 | 27:49 to 28:16 | cleaned
Now, the interesting thing is this. The cleansing of the holy place and the most holy place took eight days of hard work.
#43 | 28:17 to 28:30 | cleaned
Now, I do not have any idea how many priests were involved. We know some that may have been named here. We know a lot of the Levites that are named. But there's more that said they gathered their brethren, so we're not told how many. So it took eight full days by numerous priests just to get the filth out of the holy place and the most holy place.
#44 | 28:31 to 28:56 | cleaned
So look at verse 17. 2 Chronicles 29 verse 17.
#45 | 28:56 to 28:59 | cleaned
"Now, they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify. And on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days. And in the sixteenth day of the first month, they made an end." So it took eight days on the inside and evidently eight days on the outside as well. So, here's what happened.
#46 | 29:01 to 29:29 | cleaned
Hezekiah says to the priests and to the Levites, "Take the garbage out. Get the garbage out. Get rid of anything and everything that's going to defile the temple." Once the priests and the Levites had cleansed the temple, they began then to offer the sacrifices. And the people began to praise the Lord. And God sent a great awakening. He sent a great revival. If you look in verse 36, the last verse in 2 Chronicles 29, "And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people, for the thing was done suddenly." And so you will find that after this revival or in this revival, they went out through all the land. They broke down every altar that was false, every image that was false, any and everything they just simply destroyed. And the real true worship of God was restored. So let me just make this point. The first step in any revival. The first step in any reformation is to take the garbage out, get rid of the garbage. Get rid of anything that is unclean, anything that defiles.
#47 | 29:30 to 30:53 | cleaned
Now, in the Old Testament, you had an external building. You had, first of all, the tabernacle. Then you had the temple. In the New Testament, we do not have an external building. We still have a temple. Let me show you. I want you to turn. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. And notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 16, I'm going to come back to these verses, but I want you to see them. 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. Look, if you would please, at verse 16. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16. Look what God says. "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." Now, stop and let verse 16 sink in. "Know you not that you are the temple of God? and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you."
#48 | 30:54 to 32:20 | cleaned
Now, he said, "If any man defile this temple, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."
#49 | 32:22 to 32:28 | cleaned
Now look in 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6, beginning there with verse 19. Again, 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19. "What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's."
#50 | 32:28 to 32:59 | cleaned
Now again he said, "What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost."
#51 | 33:00 to 33:06 | cleaned
Now if you would turn right over to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2, let's begin reading there with verse 20. He's talking about the Christians now and he says, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord: in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Now, note if you would, in verse 21, "in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord."
#52 | 33:07 to 33:59 | cleaned
Now, before I go any further, I want to give you a brief Greek lesson. It's a vocab lesson. There are basically two Greek words that are used in the New Testament for temple. The first word is hieron. The Greek word hieron simply refers to the whole of the sacred enclosure. When we use the word temple, we would be speaking about all the buildings that are connected to and associated with that temple, including the balconies, the porticoes, the porches, the courts. You'll have to remember, the temple had a court of the women, had a court of the Gentiles, court of the men.
#53 | 33:59 to 34:54 | cleaned
Not everybody, not anybody could just waltz into the holy place or the most holy place. There were places for people. Those holy places were reserved for the priests and the Levites, so the general populace could not just simply waltz into the temple.
#54 | 34:54 to 35:12 | cleaned
Now, when you stop and think about the New Testament, you will find that many of these porches were used by our Lord and by His disciples. For instance, in John 10 and verse 23, the Bible says, "And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch." Now, he was on the porch, but the porch is part of the temple. And you remember, our Lord overthrew the money changers. The money changers were not in the holy place. They certainly were not in the most holy place. They were out in the porches and porticos. So in Mark 11, verses 15 and 16, the Bible says, "And they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and would not suffer any man should carry any vessel through the temple." In other words, they were outside on the porches, in the balconies, in the courts, but not in the temple. But all those porches and porticoes and courts were considered part of the temple.
#55 | 35:12 to 36:26 | cleaned
And so our Lord then took a scourge of small cords and drove them out. So when you think of the word hieron, you're thinking about the temple as a whole. I could say the White House. And if you've ever seen pictures of the White House, you know, there's porches, there's balconies, there's all kinds of things around, but it's just talking about the White House as a whole. So that's what the word hieron is. It just deals with simply the temple as a whole. The second Greek word is the word naos. Now the word naos always refers to the holy place, the holy place and the most holy place. You remember in the holy place there was a table of showbread.
#56 | 36:27 to 37:14 | cleaned
And of course, the Bible teaches in John chapter 6 how Jesus Christ is the bread of life. So Jesus Christ then is our nourishment. Also in the holy place, you had the lampstand. And of course, that speaks of the fact that Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. And you will find that in John chapter 8, John chapter 9, John chapter 12, where Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. And then, of course, in the most holy place, you had the mercy seat.
#57 | 37:15 to 37:47 | cleaned
That is where the atonement was made. That is where the high priest went in once a year and sprinkled blood upon the mercy seat. It was that most holy place from which God spoke. It was that mercy seat where God revealed Himself as the God of mercy and as the God of grace.
#58 | 37:47 to 38:11 | cleaned
Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and let me ask you a question. And I'm going to ask you to turn to 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 6, and Ephesians 2 one more time, because I want to read this to you. Out of these two Greek words, hieron, which simply refers to the temple in general, and naos, which refers to the most holy place, which word do you think is used in these texts? Let me read it to you. Look in verse 16. 1 Corinthians 3. "Know you not that you are the naos of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the naos of God, him shall God destroy. For the naos of God is holy, which naos you are." Then if you'll look in 1 Corinthians 6 at verse 19. "What? Know you not that your body is the naos of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?"
#59 | 38:12 to 39:31 | cleaned
"For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are His." Then if you'll look in Ephesians chapter 2, again, look if you would please, beginning there with verse 20. He says, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into a holy naos in the Lord: in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Wow! Has it ever sunk into your mind that your body is the temple of God.
#60 | 39:31 to 40:22 | cleaned
Let me ask some questions. Here are some excellent questions. First of all, do you want revival? Do you desire more intimate fellowship with God? Do you want God's blessings poured out upon you? Do you want your prayers answered? Do you want power with God and power with man? Do you want to see victory over the evil ones? Do you desire to see His Kingdom come? Do you want God to manifest Himself in power? Do you want the nations to know that they are mere men and there is only one true and living God who has revealed Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you desire to see the wicked overthrown and the righteous exalted? Do you desire to see God honored and glorified? And if you answered yes, then take out the garbage. Take out the garbage.
#61 | 40:25 to 41:33 | cleaned
That means we have to get rid of all of our impurities, defilements, immoralities, idolatries and anything that would make our lives unclean and unusable. You remember when I started this message, I spoke about personal garbage, family garbage, friendly garbage, enemy garbage. Let me remind you about personal garbage. Your personal garbage is that which is in your heart and mind and desires. You know what your personal garbage is. I may not know.
#62 | 41:35 to 42:22 | cleaned
But it could be your pride. It could be wicked thoughts, it could be wicked desires, it could be anything. David said in Psalm 66 and verse 18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Just the mere regarding of it, the mere holding in esteem is enough to make God not hear us when we pray. So we have a lot of personal garbage, and it's true that that garbage has to be taken out.
#63 | 42:24 to 42:53 | cleaned
It has to be dealt with. And no one else can clean out your mind. No one else can clean out your thinking. No one else can clean out your desires. You have personal garbage. Your family garbage refers to the stains and the sins and the rebellions and the unkindness and the incivility that you've allowed to destroy your relationship with your families. I know of families that will not even speak to each other. I know of fathers who will not speak to their sons and sons who will not speak to their fathers. I've known brothers and sisters who would not speak to each other.
#64 | 42:53 to 43:32 | cleaned
I was preaching in one church many years back, and I noticed on the second row to my right sat an older man on the edge of the second pew right up against the aisle. And on my left side, there was an older woman sitting in that second pew, right up against the aisle on that side. And finally, after preaching two or three days, I looked at the pastor and I said, "Something's wrong with that man and woman."
#65 | 43:33 to 44:05 | cleaned
I said, "They won't even look at each other. They won't even speak to each other. Who are they?" And he looked at me and said, "Well, they're brother and sister. So they haven't spoken to each other in 10 years. So they fell out over family inheritance." And I said, "And you have allowed them to come to this church without disciplining them. I said, this is insane. This is insane." But everybody has family garbage. Everybody has family garbage. You may not can correct the entire family, but as far as your part, you can straighten it out.
#66 | 44:06 to 44:49 | cleaned
You can make right whatever needs to be made right. Talk about friendly garbage. The friendly garbage refers to those sins and those little foxes between you and your friends. You remember that passage in the Song of Solomon? It says, "Little foxes spoil the vines." It doesn't have to be a great big fox. It doesn't have to be a great big sin. But it's things that go on between you and your friends that may be questionable, may not be right. Sometimes it may be downright sin. But the thing is you need to make it right. I've thought about things in the last several weeks.
#67 | 44:49 to 45:37 | cleaned
Now, I probably hadn't thought about it since I was a young man or teenager. And I had friends tell me things that I didn't need to know and I didn't need to hear. They weren't downright ugly. Some of them were, but most of it was not. But it was just useless and worthless. And I thought to myself, why in the world would I tell someone something like this just to boggle their mind and trouble their mind and make them think on things they should not even be thinking upon? But you know, friends oftentimes say things to friends that probably should not even be said at all.
#68 | 45:38 to 46:15 | cleaned
So there's friendly garbage that needs to be taken care of. And then, of course, there's enemy garbage. And the enemy garbage relates to bitterness and resentfulness, unkindness and spitefulness that you hold toward those who have wronged you or those whom you despise. You get upset very quickly with those with whom you deem are opposed to you. Bitterness not only defiles you, it defiles others as well. You know, the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 15, "Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, listen now, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." You is singular. Many happens to be plural. So bitterness starts with one individual, but extends to a multitude. I think one of the greatest remedies for enemy garbage is to learn to pray for your enemies. Like our Lord said, "Pray for those who despitefully use you and hate you."
#69 | 46:16 to 47:23 | cleaned
I have men that have done me wrong in times past. And I can honestly say that I pray for them. I pray that God will put them in a position where he can use them and bless them. And you know, the truth of the matter is, I have no bitterness in my heart toward them. I have no resentment toward them. And I would never, by the grace of God, allow myself to be hateful toward them and hate them in the sense that all that does is embitter me and makes me unusable. So I found that one of the easiest ways to get rid of enemy garbage is really learn to pray for your enemies. Pray for them by name. Ask God to give them repentance. Ask God to use them. Ask God to place them in a position where He can bless them. And obviously, you can get rid of that enemy garbage.
#70 | 47:26 to 48:18 | cleaned
Now, David prayed in Psalm 138 verse 7, and he said, "Revive me." Have you ever stopped to think about this? that revival starts with individuals. You say, "What we need is a national revival." You cannot have a national revival without individual revival. Or "What we need is an ecclesiastical revival." You cannot have an ecclesiastical revival without individual revival. Or "What we need is a family revival." You cannot have a family revival without individual revival. Individuals make up the family, the church, and the nations.
#71 | 48:18 to 48:56 | cleaned
Everyone in this room can quote 2 Chronicles 7:14. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land." So let me put it to you very plainly. It does you no good to humble yourself and pray and seek His face unless you're willing to take the garbage out of the sanctuary. Unless you're willing to turn from your wicked ways. Unless you're willing to cleanse the temple.
#72 | 48:56 to 49:37 | cleaned
Get rid of everything that defiles. Get rid of everything that is impure. There will never be a personal, family, ecclesiastical, or national revival until we take the garbage out. That is why 2 Chronicles 29 is so appropriate for us today. Every major revival began with a cleansing.
#73 | 49:38 to 50:06 | cleaned
Now, let me make some applications. Listen to this. The first one is, as a priest, you are responsible for the most holy place. Do you know what the Bible says in Revelation 1 and verse 6? talking about Jesus Christ, "and hath made us kings and priests unto God His Father, to Whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." He hath made us kings and priests. So as priests then, we have the duty and the responsibility to clean out the sanctuary. To cleanse the temple. What? Know you not that your body is the naos of the Holy Ghost. What? Know you not that ye are the naos of God? God has made us priests. We are responsible to clean out the temple. You cannot defile it. If you defile it, God is not going to use you. God is not going to bless you.
#74 | 50:08 to 51:20 | cleaned
And the first step in any awakening is to take out the garbage, get rid of it. The second application is this. It is your responsibility to ask the great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, to open your eyes and reveal to you all the garbage that's in your mind and heart. You remember the Bible says in Jeremiah 17, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" But the Bible says in verse 10, "I the Lord know the heart." You see, the truth of the matter is, our hearts can deceive us, but our Lord knows the heart absolutely perfectly. And He can reveal it to us. You remember what David prayed in Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24? He prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." Have you ever asked God to search you? Have you ever asked God to open your eyes and reveal to you things that you need to repent of, things that you need to clean up, things that you need to get out of your life, get the garbage out?
#75 | 51:21 to 52:38 | cleaned
Wow. David said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart." The third one is this. The best place to begin is with one's self. Don't worry about others. You know, it would do me absolutely no good to say, "Wow, if I could just get Joshua right, everything would be ok." Joshua's not my problem. I am my problem. Ok? I can't blame it on Steve. I can't blame it on Gary. I can't blame it on James. No, no. It's me. You follow that?
#76 | 52:39 to 53:16 | cleaned
What was that old song? "It's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer." Yeah. You see, the fact of the matter is this. Listen, we oftentimes worry about things and are concerned over things over which we have absolutely no control. How many of you can control President Trump? How many of you can control Congress? How many can control the judicial system? How many can control Russia or China? Nobody. But we can control ourselves.
#77 | 53:17 to 53:57 | cleaned
We can make sure the garbage is out of our lives. We can work on number one. So, if we want the blessings of God, if we want God to turn this thing around, we need to learn to take out the garbage. Because our bodies are the temple of God. What? Know you not that your body is the temple, the naos of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.
#78 | 53:59 to 54:39 | cleaned
We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Lord, impress upon our minds the absolute necessity and urgency of taking out the garbage. Lord, the longer it stays in our lives, the more it stinks. And the more it stinks, the more critters and the more sins that it draws. Help us, Lord, to do that which is right. Give us repentance. Give us, Lord, a determination that we are going to live holily and righteously, godly and obediently by Your infinite grace and mercy. We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
#79 | 54:39 to 55:26 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:44:50Z

Take Out the Garbage

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver uses the story of Hezekiah cleansing the temple in 2 Chronicles 29 to illustrate the need for personal and corporate spiritual cleansing. He compares the filth in the temple to the 'garbage' in our lives—personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage—and emphasizes that revival begins with individuals taking out the garbage, as our bodies are the temple of God.

Opening

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 29:1-3

"Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them."

Introduction: The Ubiquity of Garbage

Weaver introduces the concept of garbage, noting how it multiplies and stinks, and asks listeners to consider personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage.

Hezekiah's Righteous Beginning

Hezekiah, son of wicked Ahaz, begins his reign by opening and repairing the temple doors, demonstrating his zeal for God.

The Wickedness of Ahaz

Ahaz shut the temple doors, practiced idolatry, and led Judah into sin, resulting in national devastation.

Look, if you would, please, in 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24. Look what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 28, verse 24.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:24

"And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:2-4

Ahaz was nothing more than an absolute heathen. So you want to ask yourself this question. What price did the nation pay for having such a wicked, ungodly ruler? Well, God gives us that in very clear terms. So if you look in verse 19, 2 Chronicles 28 and verse 19, the Bible says this, "For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord."

The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:23

"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel."

The Consequences of Ahaz's Sin

Because of Ahaz, Judah suffered military defeats, loss of life, captivity, and economic ruin.

The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:23

"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel."

Ahaz's Foolish Idolatry

Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, and desecrated the temple.

The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:23

"...for he, that is Ahaz, sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel."

And let's begin reading there with verse 7. 2 Kings 16 and verse 7. Watch this.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 16:7-10

"So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me."

Now I want you to watch this next verse carefully.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 16:7-10

"And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him, for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captives to Kir, and slew Rezin. And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And king Ahaz said to Urijah the priest, the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof."

Hezekiah Commands Temple Cleansing

Hezekiah orders the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves and carry out the filthiness from the temple.

The Cleansing Process

The priests and Levites cleanse the temple over sixteen days, removing all uncleanness.

So look at verse 17. 2 Chronicles 29 verse 17.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 29:17

"Now, they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify. And on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days. And in the sixteenth day of the first month, they made an end."

So it took eight days on the inside and evidently eight days on the outside as well. So, here's what happened.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 29:36

"And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people, for the thing was done suddenly."

New Testament Temple: The Believer's Body

Weaver explains that in the New Testament, believers' bodies are the temple (naos) of God, using 1 Corinthians 3, 6, and Ephesians 2.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's."

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:20-22

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord: in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

Now, note if you would, in verse 21,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:20-22

"in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord."

Application: Taking Out Personal Garbage

Weaver applies the message by urging listeners to remove personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage to experience revival.

But it could be your pride. It could be wicked thoughts, it could be wicked desires, it could be anything. David said in Psalm 66 and verse 18,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 66:18

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:15

"Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, listen now, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."

Call to Individual Repentance

Revival starts with individuals humbling themselves, praying, and turning from wicked ways, as in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Final Applications and Prayer

Weaver concludes with applications: as priests, we must cleanse our temple; ask God to reveal hidden sin; and start with ourselves.

Take Out the Garbage

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	11520180187104
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-11-01
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments	79

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Ubiquity of Garbage: Weaver introduces the concept of garbage, noting how it multiplies and stinks, and asks listeners to consider personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage.
Hezekiah's Righteous Beginning: Hezekiah, son of wicked Ahaz, begins his reign by opening and repairing the temple doors, demonstrating his zeal for God.
The Wickedness of Ahaz: Ahaz shut the temple doors, practiced idolatry, and led Judah into sin, resulting in national devastation.
The Consequences of Ahaz's Sin: Because of Ahaz, Judah suffered military defeats, loss of life, captivity, and economic ruin.
Ahaz's Foolish Idolatry: Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, and desecrated the temple.
Hezekiah Commands Temple Cleansing: Hezekiah orders the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves and carry out the filthiness from the temple.
The Cleansing Process: The priests and Levites cleanse the temple over sixteen days, removing all uncleanness.
New Testament Temple: The Believer's Body: Weaver explains that in the New Testament, believers' bodies are the temple (naos) of God, using 1 Corinthians 3, 6, and Ephesians 2.
Application: Taking Out Personal Garbage: Weaver applies the message by urging listeners to remove personal, family, friendly, and enemy garbage to experience revival.
Call to Individual Repentance: Revival starts with individuals humbling themselves, praying, and turning from wicked ways, as in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Final Applications and Prayer: Weaver concludes with applications: as priests, we must cleanse our temple; ask God to reveal hidden sin; and start with ourselves.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Hezekiah's first act was to cleanse the temple, showing that revival starts with removing sin.

Hezekiah opened the temple doors and commanded the removal of filthiness, leading to national revival.

2 Chronicles 29:3, 5, 16-17 describe the cleansing and subsequent rejoicing.

Ahaz's idolatry and temple desecration brought God's judgment on Judah.

Ahaz shut the temple, practiced idolatry, and stripped the temple of its treasures, resulting in military defeat and captivity.

2 Chronicles 28:2-4, 24-25 and 2 Kings 16:7-18 detail Ahaz's sins and their consequences.

Believers are now the temple of God and must keep it pure.

The New Testament teaches that the church and individual believers are the naos of God, indwelt by the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, and Ephesians 2:20-22 use the Greek word naos for temple.

Personal garbage includes sins of the heart, family strife, and bitterness.

Weaver categorizes garbage as personal, family, friendly, and enemy, each requiring specific repentance.

Examples include pride, family feuds, and bitterness, with references to Psalm 66:18 and Hebrews 12:15.

Revival is individual before it is corporate.

National or church revival cannot occur without individuals first humbling themselves and turning from sin.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is quoted, emphasizing personal humility and repentance.

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 29:1-3: Hezekiah's reign begins; he opens and repairs the temple doors.
2 Chronicles 28:24: Ahaz shut the doors of the temple and made altars in every corner.
2 Chronicles 28:2-4: Ahaz walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, made molten images, and burned his children in the fire.
2 Chronicles 28:19: The Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz.
2 Chronicles 28:5: Judah was delivered into the hand of Syria and Israel; 120,000 valiant men slain.
2 Chronicles 28:8: Israel carried away 200,000 women, sons, and daughters captive.
2 Chronicles 28:17-18: Edomites and Philistines invaded Judah and took cities.
2 Chronicles 28:16, 20-21: Ahaz sent to Assyria for help; Tiglath-Pileser distressed him and took treasure from the temple.
2 Chronicles 28:23: Ahaz sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which were his ruin.
2 Kings 16:7-10: Ahaz sent silver and gold to Assyria; the king of Assyria defeated Damascus; Ahaz copied an altar from Damascus.
2 Kings 16:17-18: Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the laver; he turned the covert for the Sabbath from the house of the Lord.
2 Chronicles 29:4-11: Hezekiah commands the Levites to sanctify themselves and carry forth the filthiness.
2 Chronicles 29:15-16: The priests and Levites cleanse the temple and carry out uncleanness to the brook Kidron.
2 Chronicles 29:17: The cleansing took eight days for the inner part and sixteen days total.
2 Chronicles 29:36: Hezekiah and the people rejoiced because God had prepared the people.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17: Believers are the temple (naos) of God; if any defile it, God will destroy him.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: The body is the temple (naos) of the Holy Ghost; glorify God in body and spirit.
Ephesians 2:20-22: Believers are built together for a holy temple (naos) in the Lord.
Psalm 66:18: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
Hebrews 12:15: A root of bitterness defiles many.

Historical References

Hezekiah, king of Judah: Son of Ahaz, began to reign at 25, reigned 29 years, did right in the sight of the Lord.
Ahaz, king of Judah: Wicked king who shut the temple doors, practiced idolatry, and led Judah into sin.
Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria: Ahaz sought his help; he distressed Ahaz and took treasure but did not strengthen him.
Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel: Slew 120,000 valiant men of Judah in one day.
Urijah the priest: Built an altar according to the pattern Ahaz sent from Damascus.

Important Quotes

Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.

Introduces Hezekiah's righteous reign and his immediate action to restore the temple.

Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Key New Testament verse establishing believers as God's temple, requiring holiness.

What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's.

Reinforces the indwelling of the Spirit and the call to purity.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Highlights the barrier that unconfessed sin creates in prayer.

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

David's prayer for divine examination, used as a model for personal cleansing.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are some examples of 'personal garbage' that might be hindering your relationship with God?

[Context]

Weaver defines personal garbage as sins of the heart and mind, such as pride and wicked thoughts.

[Question]

How can we practically 'take out the garbage' in our family relationships?

[Context]

Weaver discusses family garbage as stains and sins that destroy relationships, like unforgiveness.

[Question]

Why is it important to pray for our enemies, and how does that help remove bitterness?

[Context]

Weaver suggests praying for enemies as a remedy for enemy garbage, referencing Jesus' command.

[Question]

In what ways does the truth that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit change how you live daily?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the Greek word naos, indicating the most holy place, and the call to glorify God.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a habit of asking God to search our hearts and reveal hidden sin?

[Context]

Weaver references Psalm 139:23-24 and Jeremiah 17:9-10 as prayers for divine examination.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T11:29:06Z