There's Joy in the Temple
2 chronicle 29:27

“And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.”

There was silence in the temple for 16 years. We read in verse 27 that “the song of the Lord began.” The word “began” indicates that the song of the Lord had ceased in the temple. The temple had become like a body without a spirit, like an envelope without a letter, like a house without a family. Everything inside was still and silent. The reason for the silence is SIN. In chapter 28, verse 1, we read, “And Ahaz reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord.” So he encouraged idolatry, the worship of false gods, in Israel. In verse 3, we read that “he burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.” The “song of the Lord” ceased in the land. For sixteen years, the song of the Lord did not break from the throats of the people.

Then, there was surrender in the temple. When Ahaz died, and Hezekiah succeeded him to the throne, a change immediately came to the nation. In chapter 29, verse 3 and following, we read, “In the first year of Hezekiah’s reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.” The people were called upon to surrender two things. First, Hezekiah charged them to surrender their sins. He said, “Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.” This is always the first step toward Divine blessing. The formula sounds wonderfully similar to the words of the New Testament in II Corinthians 7:1, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” And in verse 16 we read, “They went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found.” Then in verse 23, they offered a sin-offering, which was the means of their forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Let this be said to Hezekiah’s everlasting credit: he lost no time in hedging or compromising. He put first things first. He promptly called the people to repentance—to put sin away. Today, many Christians have forfeited the song of the Lord from their lives because the inner shrine of their hearts has become full of sin. Look into your own heart. Perhaps you didn’t deliberately reach out to bring the sin into your heart. Maybe the sin just accumulated over a period of time when your heart went without regular cleansing. But, however it happened, the dust and filthiness of the world has accumulated in your soul, and has stifled the song of the Lord. Now, you must deal with your sins. Open the doors today, admit God to the inner sanctuary, let Him search your soul, and show you the unclean thing therein, and then, by a decisive commitment of the will, surrender that sin to God!

Then, Hezekiah called upon them (indeed, he “commanded” them) to surrender their total selves to God. In verse 27, we read, “And Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar.” Now, the “burnt-offering” was one of the five Levitical sacrifices in the Jewish sacrificial system. You can study the burnt-offering in the very first chapter of the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 1:3, we read, “If his offering be a burnt-offering, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.” Then in verse 9 (listen carefully!): “And the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord.” In the other four Levitical sacrifices, only part of the sacrifice was consumed on the altar as an offering to God. The key is found in the phrase, “All on the altar.” Those old sacrifices, the “sin-offering” and the “burnt-offering,” have long since been abolished, but the deep truths which they stand for abide permanently in the purpose of God.

Finally, there was joy in the temple. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” One wise saint said, “Joy is the infallible sign of the Presence of God.” But what is joy? What is this “song of the Lord?” It is a lifting sense of gladness and delight. It is a free happiness. It is an inner celebration flavored with purpose and accomplishment. It is this joy that is the strength of a believer’s personal life and the strength of the service he renders for Christ. Sam Shoemaker was right when he said, “The amount of good a person can do depends greatly on how much pleasure he gets outs of it.” One of the important reasons for the rapid growth of Christianity at the beginning was the joy which was characteristic of the early disciples.

Andrew Murray was surely right when he wrote, “My first business in each new day is to get my own soul into a happy relationship with God.” So today, at this moment, I humbly claim from you in the name of Jesus a burnt-offering of your total life and self, placed all on the altar. And I can promise you this, that when all has been put on the altar in your life, in your heart God will put a new song. You will enter into a new liberty and a new kind of joy. And as long as you leave your all on the altar, that song will continue, and will deepen as the years go by.

Think of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She drew back when the angel told her that she was to be the mother of a supernatural son. But at last she bowed her head and said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy Word.” That’s the burnt offering; she surrendered herself; she placed her all on the altar. And listen to her next words: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” There’s the song of the Lord! “When the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also.” You see, surrender and song are Siamese twins. If you have lost the song of the Lord, you can have it again. But before the song of the Lord can begin, at some sudden, decisive moment like this one, you must surrender all of your sins and all of your self to God in a crucial act of your will.

Think of Jesus. At the last supper, He shared with His disciples the broken bread and the cup of wine, picturing His Body broken and His Blood poured out on the Cross. This is the burnt offering. Then we read, “And they sang a hymn.” This is the song of the Lord.