The Lutheran Reformation – Pr. Anderson sermon
2 Chronicles 29:12-29 “The House is Cleansed by the Word and Blood”
October 27, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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The Exordium
When you hear someone say that they would like to have more strength, that can mean a variety of things. Maybe it’s someone who is working out at the gym. They would like more strength so they can do some heavy lifting at a job. Maybe they are thinking of strength in the sense they would like more strength to stand up for what is right. Maybe it’s both. Either way, when it comes to asking for strength, you have to get by means. You might have to work for it or you need someone to give you encouragement. In History we see so many people who needed strength for the job they were going to do. You are gathered here today because Martin Luther needed strength. And with great encouragement from Holy Scripture, he stood in defiance for the fundamental truth, you are saved by faith alone. This is a truth that could have easily gotten him killed. It is fitting Luther drew his courage on the One who did die for the truth.
The One who died also needed encouragement for the path He was on. An angel came and attended Jesus when He was in the garden. As Jesus prayed for strength for the road ahead, it is His example that you can rise with strength and faith alone to defend the truth of Scripture. You might be thinking, “but I’m not like Luther and I most certainly am not like Jesus!” Luther only had strength the same way you do, because you rely on Jesus’ work. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8). You are no longer weak and in the strength you have in Christ you can rise as we sing Hymn # 583. God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage.
God’s Word is our great heritage, And shall be ours forever;
To spread its light from age to age Shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way; In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant, while worlds endure, We keep its teachings pure,
Throughout all generations.
The sermon text for today is taken from the 29th chapter of the book of 2nd Chronicles. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the LORD. And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sign offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. … So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them, and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the King commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
We Pray: Wonderfully have you, O God, preserved Your Church throughout the ages according to Your promise that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In many and mighty conflicts against many and mighty enemies You have been the salvation of Your own people. Grant us faith to trust Your promises, and let us not fall from You for any earthly affliction or in the pains of death, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 215).
Having the strength to keep God’s teaching pure is a great ask. We know this because of history. The Israelites were tasked with keeping God’s teaching pure as His chosen nation. God’s Word would guide them, but ultimately, they would turn away from it. After years of turning away, the people would have to come together to cleanse their sanctuary that was violated. By the command of the King following the Word, the people were brought together to right the wrong. [The Levites] gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. The priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. In the very heart of the worship life of Israel, they had to bring out all the evil that had desecrated it. Very quickly you can turn away and now you see how much work there is to put everything back in place and to make things right.
Now as much as God’s commands lay out all it takes to be right with God, you would think it would be easy to just abide by what He has to say. You can see by the commands that He gives, it is all for the people’s good. From being chosen and lead out of Egypt, wandering the wilderness, and finally living in the promised land, people’s natural instinct is only to rebel. After bad kings were swayed to follow the gods of the land, many fell away. God’s Word remains and continued through those bad times to point to what is right. And it changed their hearts and once again they began to follow it, getting rid of the garbage. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron. This became a dumping ground for all the evil of those who fell away and were removed from God’s presence as the psalmist writes, The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts” (Psalm 46:6). Those who were faithful went through the many steps to make things right. They could do so only because “The LORD of hosts was with them; the God of Jacob is fortress fortress” (Psalm 46:7).
God is with those who follow His ways. Scripture teaches this over and over and yet, we find ourselves over and over chasing what breaks His laws. We are weak when it comes to following them and there are many times we don’t realize the damage that is done until it’s too late. The people of Israel did not know what kind of damage was done until they worked to restore the temple. They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the LORD, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils.” It took sixteen days for them to cleanse the temple. Sixteen days is a long time to fix something that only took
one action to desecrate.
This was only the cleansing for the space itself. We also have to take in the cleansing that was needed for the untensils the people used. “All the untensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.” While it is good that they were taken and brought back for being used, it is upsetting to hear how a king would take what is needed to worship the Lord and discard it. God’s Word and His commands are meant to put the focus on Him, not ourselves and our works. We are to “love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). These words are followed by, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6). We can never say that we don’t know God’s Word. They are right here in our hearts. But we can discard it just like the king as we try to take control of our own lives. As we struggle with His commands in weakness and the house of our hearts become filthy, we can take comfort that His Word remains, it cleanses, and it works change through the blood of sacrifice.
Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the LORD. And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD…. For the King commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. The people are faithfully carrying out the tasks. God’s Word being followed not only brings order to a world of chaos, but it is through His Word where He pointed to what comes next. The people of Judah confessed their sins, brought their offerings with pure hearts, and through the slaughtering of bulls, rams, and lambs, they looked toward the promised atoning sacrifice that was to come.
There is a glimpse of it as Hezekiah continues to follow the law. Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. In God’s commands you see an image of the greater sacrifice and you come to know it as your salvation. Jesus is the great sacrifice standing alone because He is the Word made flesh. He physically and spiritually cleans the house of worship and your hearts fulfilling God’s commands, and revealing they aren’t there to control every aspect of your lives. His Word stands firm and is strong, pointing out His great love for you.
Jesus, who angels attended, had the strength to take on the cross, carrying the sins of the whole world and cleansing the world with His holy blood. He never disregards God’s commands, He doesn’t need any cleansing, and He doesn’t need a sacrifice because He is the sacrifice. Where you stand in weakness, Jesus stands firm taking your punishment. You can have faith alone in God as He envelopes you, protecting you from your eternal foes and restoring you through the Means of Grace. Pure teaching that you hear every week and today you celebrate its history. You now have fear, not the fear of fright, but the fear of reverence. “The fear of God is reverence and the spiritual worship of God. In this sense Scripture everywhere uses the expression ‘the fear of God.’ For the worship of God in its truest form does not consist in works, however great and holy, but in true and genuine reverence” (What Luther Says, p. 509). Like the people of Judah who had cleansed their house, your house, the room inside your heart is cleansed through the work of your Savior. And in your church, you are witnessing the spiritual worship of God that has survived the ages and is timeless.
This timeless worship in your cleansed house continues to bring you strength and encouragement for the week. You are refreshed just like ancient Judah. Standing firm on the Word’s foundation that will never change no matter how much it is attacked. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. As they offered burnt offerings, and worshiped, you continue this worship, confessing your sins and partaking in the Sacraments. As they poured blood on the altar looking on, you receive the body and blood looking back to the same promise. The promise of Jesus dying on the cross for your sins. The celebration of the Reformation reminds you of the Scriptural truths you hold and the pure Sacraments you partake of. This is why you fight on, even when the world rages. The world raged against Luther and he stayed the course. You can stay the course of having strength and courage, seeing your house cleansed by the Word and blood. Here you stand as His saving Word tells you, “‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:10-11). Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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