Today is the 31st day of July. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian, it is wonderful

to be here together with you today as we, well as we end a month. Take the next step forward

but end a month together. Seven months. Seven months in this year already. Well done.

And there's still so much out in front of us. And so let's step forward and lean into

that step and take the step forward. Our next step leads us back into the book of 2nd

Chronicles. Today, chapter 29. Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king and he

reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was a by-jaw daughter of Zechariah. He did what

was right in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. In the first year of his

reign in the first month, he opened the doors of the Lord's temple and repaired them. Then he

brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the Eastern public square. He said to them,

Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of

your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place. For our ancestors were unfaithful

and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces

away from the Lord's dwelling place and turned their backs on him. They also closed the doors of

the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense and did not offer burnt offerings in the

holy place of the God of Israel. Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem

and he made them an object of terror, horror and mockery as you see with your own eyes.

Our fathers fell by the sword and our sons, our daughters and our wives are in captivity because

of this. It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel so that his burning

anger may turn away from us. My sons, don't be negligent now for the Lord has chosen you to stand

in his presence, to serve him and to be his ministers and burners of incense. And the Levites stood up.

May add, son of Amesai and Joel son of Aziraya from the COATITES.

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