“He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.”
~ 2 Chronicles 29:2
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you have significant others in your lives? A significant other is a guy or a gal – who is not the kid’s dad or ma, who positively influences the life of a kid – like you. A significant other may be an uncle, an aunt, a teacher, a youth leader, an acquaintance or a friend of your dad and/or ma. Significant others genuinely care about kids – like you. Significant others voluntarily invest in kids – like you, by being a safety net for them through spending quality time listening and encouraging them as a way to help them survive what is ahead of them in life. Would you like to have significant others in your lives? You probably have significant others in your lives already who you are not recognizing as being significant others. A significant other may spend just a few minutes with you on one occasion which will result in leaving forever an engraved, positive influence on your lives. A significant other may spend hours and hours with you which will result in leaving an engraved, positive influence on your lives. A guy who was a significant other to your grandpaa was Mr. Vander Haak. Your grandpaa can only remember Mr. Vander Haak talking to him once. Your grandpaa one Sunday morning was going out through the side door of the church where your grandpaa’s dad and ma took their kids – which was the Christian Reformed Church in Volga, South Dakota, when Mr. Vander Haak stopped your grandpaa. Because your grandpaa was only about ten years old and because Kryn Vander Haak was one of Volga Christian Reformed Church’s elders, having Mr. Vander Haak stop him to just talk with him was something that your grandpaa never expected. Mr. Vander Haak was Robert Vander Haak’s dad. Rob and your grandpaa were friends. Your dad knows Rob Vander Haak. When your dad was a little kid, your grandmaa and grandpaa would sometimes go to the house where Rob and his wife Arla lived to visit with them. Your dad would take with him a book to read or a coloring book to color in while your grandmaa and grandpaa were visiting with Rob and Arla. When your dad got tired of reading or coloring, your dad would ask your grandmaa and grandpaa if he could lie down someplace where he could go to sleep. No one ever minded your grandmaa and grandpaa taking your dad along them on a visit – as your dad always behaved himself. Your grandpaa remembers Mr. Vander Haak as looking distinguished with white hair and that he was very respected by the other guys in the Volga Christian Reformed Church. When your grandpaa was stopped by Mr. Vander Haak as your grandpaa was going out through the church’s side door, Mr. Vander Haak began talking with your grandpaa like your grandpaa was a guy instead of a kid – asking him how he was, what he was doing, etc. Mr. Vander Haak made your grandpaa feel like he was special to him that Sunday morning when he stopped your grandpaa to talk with him. Not long after Mr. Vander Haak talked with your grandpaa that Sunday morning, he was killed in a tractor power takeoff accident.
Your grandpaa thinks that Hezekiah had a significant other in his life. Your grandpaa thinks that the significant other in Hezekiah’s life was one of God’s prophet spokesmen. The Chronicle Books author wrote mostly about the different kings who over a 464 year period ruled over the guys and gals who lived in the land area that had once been called Canaan and renamed Israel after the Israelite people group’s tribal clans purged Canaan from the tribal clans that were living there and then the different kings who – after the majority of the Israelite people group’s tribal clans opted for an opportunist to be their king while a couple of Israelite people group’s tribal clans stayed with a guy being their king who was from the extended family of David, ruled over the guys and gals who lived in the land area that became known as Judah. Hezekiah for 29 years ruled over as their king the guys and gals who lived in Judah’s land area. The Chronicle Books historian in 2 Chronicles 29 chronicled only about the good things that happened during Hezekiah’s reign as king. Hezekiah was 25 years old when he was positioned as the king over the guy and gals who lived in Judah’s land area. The chronicler seemed to really want Hezekiah to be remembered as a good king. Verse 2 says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.” Your grandpaa really does believe that there was a God sent prophet spokesman who had a positive influence on Hezekiah to do what was right in God’s eyes to do. Isaiah was a prophet spokesman during the time that Hezekiah was the king over the guys and gals who lived in Judah’s land area. Your grandpaa does not believe that one day Hezekiah decided on his own to return to worshipping God by stopping and removing the defiling, evil things that were in and taking place in the temple of God that was located in the city of Jerusalem by consecrating again the temple of God to be a place where God would be worshipped and by rededicating Levites to minister in the temple of God for the purpose of worshipping God. Hezekiah changed the life direction of God’s specially chosen guys and gals from worshipping idol gods that were handmade from wood, stone and metal to worshipping again the one true God. Your grandpaa thinks that a God sent prophet spokesman stopped Hezekiah the day that he became a king over the guys and gals who lived in Judah’s land area to ask him how he was, what he was going to do, etc.
Has a guy or gal ever stopped you to talk with you like you were a guy or gal and not young kids – asking you how you are, what you are doing, etc. What Mr. Vander Haak did that Sunday morning when he stopped your grandpaa as he was going out through the Volga Christian Reformed Church’s side door made your grandpaa feel really special. Your grandpaa has tried to do this the last seven years by mentoring a couple of high school age guys.
2 Chronicles 29 (413)