Biblical Revivals and Awakenings
So far in our series we’ve looked at twenty-one examples of revival in the Bible:
- Seth
- Noah
- Job
- Abram
- Joseph
- Moses
- Joshua
- Judges
- Naomi
- Ruth
- Hannah
- Samuel
- David
- Solomon
- Jehu
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Jonah
- Amos
- Hosea
- Isaiah
You can read the previous study where we introduced the prophet Isaiah and his ministry to Judah during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. We will continue with Isaiah’s prophecies as God sends him to several kings of Judah. Remember, we’re looking for insights to revival.
King Hezekiah
One of the greatest revivals in the Old Testament happened as the prophet Isaiah worked with a young king of Judah by the name of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz. As we saw in the last part of our study, Ahaz (aka Jehoahaz) was an evil king. He became increasingly unfaithful to God as he aged.
For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, ‘Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.’ But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every single city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers. 2 Chronicles 28:23-25
The end of King Ahaz’s life was sad. He began his reign at the age of 20 and ruled for 16 years. That means he died at the young age of about 36. Ahaz was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the tombs of the kings of Israel.
Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, became king of Judah at the age of 25 and ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 29 says King Hezekiah “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.” Here are some of the “right” things Hezekiah did –
- Hezekiah opened the doors to the Temple and repaired them in the first month of his reign
- Hezekiah brought the priests and Levites to the East Square of the Temple area and told them to “sanctify” themselves, “sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.”
For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to jeering, as you see with your eyes. For indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. 2 Chronicles 29:6-9
The priests and Levites did as Hezekiah commanded and brought him the good news of what they had accomplished –
We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:18-19
King Hezekiah did not make these reforms in secret. He wanted all the people of Judah to know that things were changing in a big way. So, Hezekiah rose up early in the morning, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the Temple. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats “for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah.” Hezekiah commanded the priests to offer them on the altar of the Lord. While the priests were killing the animals and presenting their blood on the altar as a sin offering, Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Temple “with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets.” When the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord also began. The entire assembly worshiped, singers sang, and trumpeters sounded until the burnt offering was finished. The king and all who were present in the Temple bowed and worshiped God.
So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly. 2 Chronicles 29:35-36
That was just the beginning of Hezekiah’s reform and the revival that followed. The king removed the high places, broke the “sacred” pillars, cut down the wooden image, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent Moses had made. The reason for that was the children of Israel had burned incense to the image. They had made an idol out of it. King Hezekiah was on a crusade to rid Judah of all idol worship. This is what God wanted from His king and He blessed Hezekiah for his passionate obedience.
He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. 2 Kings 18:5-8
Hezekiah also invited all of the people of both Judah and Israel to keep the Passover in Jerusalem. He also called on Israel to return to God. He did this by sending letters throughout both kingdoms.
Then the runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: ‘Children of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. And do not be like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He gave them up to desolation, as you see. Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him. 2 Chronicles 30:6-9
Many Israelites laughed at the runners and mocked them, but some humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. A great assembly of people gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened bread in the second month. The people through incense altars into the Brook Kidron, the priests and Levites sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the Temple. They all stood in the their place, “according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God,” and the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. Many of the people who came from the Northern Kingdom had not sanctified themselves before they ate the Passover, so King Hezekiah prayed for them –
May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.’ And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. 2 Chronicles 30:18-20
The people spent seven days singing and praising God. King Hezekiah encouraged the Levites to teach “the good knowledge of the Lord.” The people ate through the feast seven days, offered peace offerings, and made “confession to the Lord God of their father.” It was such a special time for the people that they kept the feast another seven days “with gladness.”
So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven. 2 Chronicles 30:26-27
While those days of spirited revival were wonderful, the work had just begun. The people of Israel who were in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke the “sacred” pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images and threw down the high places and altars until they had “utterly destroyed them all” (2 Chronicles 31:1). Then the children of Israel returned to their own cities.
King Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites – “for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.” Hezekiah also appointed a portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings (e.g. morning and evening, for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts), “as it is written in the Law of the Lord.” King Hezekiah also commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, “that they might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.” That’s the reinstitution of the tithe that God had commanded His people through Moses. You can read more details about what Hezekiah and the people did in obedience to God in 2 Chronicles 31.
Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered. 2 Chronicles 31:20-21
God was reviving His people through the obedience of King Hezekiah. Revival often begins with one person or a small group of people who desire to obey God.
Isaiah and King Hezekiah
The Assyrian king Sennacherib decided to attack Judah. We’ve already seen that Assyria began taking the people of Israel captive in the ninth year of King Hoshea (2 Kings 17). Hezekiah became king of Judah in the third year of Hoshea. So, there was a period of about six years from the time God began reviving Judah and some of the people of Israel until Assyria took the people of the Northern Kingdom captive and removed them from the land.
When King Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to Judah and planned to make war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his leaders and commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city. Hezekiah didn’t want the army of Assyria using Jerusalem’s water supply for themselves. Hezekiah also built up all the wall around Jerusalem, and built up another wall outside. He also built up the size of Judah’s army and encouraged his people.
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 32:7-8
The Assyrians used many types of intimidation against Judah, including speaking against God as if He were just an idol. Hezekiah remained faithful and called on the prophet Isaiah.
So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, ‘Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. 2 Kings 19:5-7
That’s exactly what happened to Sennadherib and his army.
Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there. 2 Chronicles 32:20-21
God saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the Assyrian king. Many people brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah, “so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.”
Revival can take many twists and turns. It’s not always a straight line. Hezekiah’s revival is one example. The king became very ill and was near death. Hezekiah had become proud, which can happen during times of revival. Anyone involved in a real revival must be careful to remain humble. Pride will always lead to a fall.
Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 32:26
Here’s more background from 2 Kings 20 as it concerns the prophet Isaiah –
In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 2 Kings 20:1-3
God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and sent Isaiah back to the king –
Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David. 2 Kings 20:20:5-6
God healed King Hezekiah and gave him another 15 years to rule over Judah. Hezekiah ruled 29 years in Jerusalem, so his healing would have taken place in the 14th or 15th years of his reign. While that might sound good, there were some troubles that followed.
The son of the king of Babylon sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, “for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.” Hezekiah appreciated the gesture and showed the Babylonias all the house of his treasures and all his armory. Isaiah heard that the Babylonians had visited, so the prophet asked King Hezekiah what had happened. Hezekiah told Isaiah about the visit from the Babylonians and that he had shown them his house and property. That led to an interesting prophecy by Isaiah –
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!’ For he said, ‘Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days? 2 Kings 20:16-19
Isaiah’s prophecy came true many years later when the Babylonian army came against the kingdom of Judah, took the people captive to Babylon, and destroyed the city of Jerusalem along with its Temple. I might add that Hezekiah’s attitude didn’t sound like he cared a great deal for his people at that time. Isaiah told him that Babylon was going to destroy Judah and take some of his descendants to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Hezekiah’s reply was that there would be peace and truth “at least in my days.”
Isaiah and King Manasseh
Another bad thing that happened from this event was that Hezekiah became the father of a son about three years after he prayed to be healed. The child would not have been born if Hezekiah had not asked for more time to live. The name of that son was Manasseh. He became one of the most evil kings Judah had ever known. How bad was Manasseh’s rule?
Manasseh undid much of what his father had done prior to and during the great revival we read about earlier. Manasseh rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah had destroyed. Manasseh raised up altars for Baal. He made a wooden image even as the evil King Ahab had done in Israel. Manasseh worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He built altars to false gods in the Temple. Manasseh built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts outside the Temple. He even set a carved image of Asherah in the Temple. 2 Kings 21 says that Manasseh seduced the people “to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” How did God respond to that?
And the Lord spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, ‘Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. ‘And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 Kings 21:10-16
While Hezekiah was buried in the upper tombs of the sons of David, Manasseh was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza.
The only time we find a specific prophetic reference about King Manasseh in the Book of Isaiah is in the 9th chapter –
For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts The land is burned up, And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand And be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. Isaiah 9:18-21
We see it again. God’s answer is not turned away, “But His hand is stretched out still.” God wants to revive His people, but they must want to be revived.
Isaiah’s Prophetic Influence
Isaiah prophesied to Judah during the reign of four kings. He also prophesied against Israel. His prophecies were harsh and on target. Isaiah spoke the Word of the Lord faithfully for several decades, so his influence during the 8th and 7th centuries BC was powerful.
The power of Isaiah’s prophecies went far beyond the 7th century BC. Hundreds of years later, the writers of the New Testament quoted Isaiah’s prophecies scores of times. In fact, Isaiah’s prophecies mentioned in the New Testament are more than all of the other prophets put together. The vast majority of the New Testament’s chapters quote from Isaiah. Why?
Isaiah’s prophecies focused on the future coming of the Messiah – the Christ. Jesus Christ’s arrival from Heaven to earth fulfilled so many of Isaiah’s prophecies. In fact, Jesus kicked off His earthly ministry by quoting from Isaiah 61 –
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’ Luke 4:16-22
Isaiah’s ministry began with the humbling experience of seeing God on His throne. Isaiah realized in that moment his sinfulness and the sinfulness of Judah and Israel – “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Isaiah also experienced the mercy and grace of God as an angel touched his lips with a live coal from the altar of God, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” When Isaiah heard God say, “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?,” Isaiah answered, “Here am I! Send me.” From that moment until the end of Isaiah’s life, he was committed to doing God’s will.
Humility, forgiveness, and obedience are vital for any true revival that comes from God. We all need to see what Isaiah saw – “the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up.” If we keep our focus on the Sovereignty and Supremacy of God, we can experience revival in our lives and the lives of those to whom we serve.
Next Time
Isaiah had a contemporary prophesying against Judah. His name was Micah. We’ll see what we can learn about revival from Micah’s ministry in the next part of our special series, Revival – To Live Again.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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