Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for Help

King Hezekiah of Judah^(A)

29 Hezekiah became king of Judah at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. ² Following the example of his ancestor King David, he did what was pleasing to the Lord.

The Purification of the Temple

³ In the first month of the year after Hezekiah became king, he reopened the gates of the Temple and had them repaired. ⁴ He assembled a group of priests and Levites in the east courtyard of the Temple ⁵ and spoke to them there. He said, “You Levites are to consecrate yourselves and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove from the Temple everything that defiles it. ⁶ Our ancestors were unfaithful to the Lord our God and did what was displeasing to him. They abandoned him and turned their backs on the place where he dwells. ⁷ They closed the doors of the Temple, let the lamps go out, and failed to burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the Temple of the God of Israel. ⁸ Because of this the Lord has been angry with Judah and Jerusalem, and what he has done to them has shocked and frightened everyone. You know this very well. ⁹ Our fathers were killed in battle, and our wives and children have been taken away as prisoners.

¹⁰ “I have now decided to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that he will no longer be angry with us. ¹¹ My sons, do not lose any time. You are the ones that the Lord has chosen to burn incense to him and to lead the people in worshiping him.”

^12-14 The following Levites were there:

¹⁵ These men assembled their fellow Levites, and they all made themselves ritually clean. Then, as the king had commanded them to do, they began to make the Temple ritually clean, according to the Law of the Lord.^{[a] 16} The priests went inside the Temple to purify it, and they carried out into the Temple courtyard everything that was ritually unclean. From there the Levites took it all outside the city to Kidron Valley.

¹⁷ The work was begun on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day they had finished it all, including the entrance room to the Temple. Then they worked for the next eight days, until the sixteenth of the month, preparing the Temple for worship.

The Temple Is Rededicated

¹⁸ The Levites made the following report to King Hezekiah: “We have completed the ritual purification of the whole Temple, including the altar for burnt offerings, the table for the sacred bread, and all their equipment. ¹⁹ We have also brought back all the equipment which King Ahaz took away during those years he was unfaithful to God, and we have rededicated it. It is all in front of the Lord's altar.”

Law or Faith

3 You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross! ² Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it? ³ How can you be so foolish! You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? ⁴ Did all your experience mean nothing at all? Surely it meant something! ⁵ Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?

^6 (A)Consider the experience of Abraham; as the scripture says, “He believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” ^7 (B)You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith. ^8 (C)The scripture predicted that God would put the Gentiles right with himself through faith. And so the scripture announced the Good News to Abraham: “Through you God will bless all people.” ⁹ Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.