II Chronicles 29:1-31:1
Dear RTB’ers,
Today, Hezekiah: And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. (v. 29:2) And the Chronicler gets right after all that, with the temple cleansing and worship followed by the celebration of the Passover – fourteen days instead of the customary seven!
It was refreshing to see Judah invite their brothers from Israel (Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, Zebulun) to join them in keeping the Passover, in spite of their “uncleanness”: For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” (vv. 30:18-19) My online Gateway sidebar had this to say: “God is fundamentally concerned with the inward disposition of a person (everyone who sets their heart on seeking God,) as opposed to the outward ritual. In short, faith and obedience take precedence over ritual requirements.” That doesn’t mean we throw out the ritual requirements. When we are forgiven, there is an expectation that we will not go on sinning in our old ways. Seeking God is more than simply celebrating one Passover.
One final item, So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. (vv. 30:10-11) I’m impressed by the courage of those men who humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem, in spite of the opposition they had faced in their homeland. I’m thinking of the persecution of millions of people in Africa and Asia in our own time, people who are actively suffering for their Christian beliefs. We need to pray for them more often.
Blessings!
Fred