2 Chronicles 29 – Hezekiah begins his
reign at age 25. His
mother was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. He does what is right in the sight of
the Lord. He repairs the Temple doors. He gets the Levites to purify the Temple.
The Lord has
turned his back on them because of their unfaithfulness. But Hezekiah tells
them “it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so
that his fierce anger may turn away from us” (29:10). They carry “all the
unclean things found in the Temple of the Lord” into the desert (the Wadi
Kidron).
When they
are done, the king orders sin offerings made for the kingdom, for the sanctuary
and for Judah—for the atonement of all Israel. Music is part of the celebration
according to the rules made by David. The whole assembly worships, offering
sacrifices and thank offerings. There are not enough priests to skin all the
animals needed, so kindred Levites pitch in and help. It says, “the Levites
were more conscientious than the priests in sanctifying themselves” (29:34). At
the end, it is noted that everyone rejoiced “for everything had been
accomplished so quickly” (29:36).
Augustine’s Treatise
on the Profit of Believing
30 - Wherefore
that heretic, inasmuch as our discourse is of those who wish to be called
Christians, I ask you, what reason he alleges [gives
or claims] to me? What is there whereby for him to call me back from
believing, as if from rashness? If he bid me believe nothing; I believe not
that this very true religion has any existence in human affairs; and what I
believe not to exist, I seek not. But He, as I suppose, will show it to me
seeking it: for so it is written, "He that seeks shall find."
Therefore I should not come unto him, who forbids me to believe, unless I
believed something. Is there any greater
madness, than that I should displease him by faith alone, which is founded on
no knowledge, which faith alone led
me to him?
OK, so this rhetorical way of carrying on an argument can
get very hard to follow. I think what he is saying is that those Manichaeans
who claim they are Christians are asking him to return to their fold. But he
tells them that they cannot exclude “belief” as a foundation of their religion.
Belief is critical and anyone who is seeking to find Christ cannot find him based
on “knowledge” alone for it is “faith” on which it is rooted. If we are not
willing to “believe” the testimonies of those who founded the religion, we will
never seek out its Truth.
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