Passover Celebration

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Passover Celebration

II Chronicles 30:1 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel.

To begin with Judah the Southern Kingdom of the Israelites had a king by the name of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is known as one of the good kings of Israel. Hezekiah was the king that restored the official Jewish Religion and cleansed the House of God.

In II Chronicles 29 King Hezekiah got the Priest and the Levites together and said gentlemen Sanctify yourselves and cleanse the temple from this filthy idolatry.It was our forefather’s sins and they are keeping the wrath of God on us and it’s curse to our nation. And that’s why God haven’t blessed Judah and Jerusalem. And Hezekiah said and God is not going to bless us until we get those holy things back decent and in order. Hezekiah said y’all not blind I know ya’ll see what God did to us.

And Hezekiah said in II Chronicles 29:10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

King Hezekiah had a mind to straighten things out, to restore things, and to rejuvenate the Israelites to a proper religious orthodoxy, because king Ahaz had done evil in God’s eyesight.

In the new year we ought to At least try to come before our God with a Holy disposition. Look at II Chronicles 30 It begins by telling us in 9 verses that King Hezekiah gave a Royal decree on why things were so out of order and how to fix them.

Let’s read it from the NLT Bible Titled Preparations for Passover, Verse 1.King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual. 3 They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem. 4 This plan for keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people. 5 So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north, inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law. 6 At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters that said: “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he will return to the few of us who have survived the conquest of the Assyrian kings. 7 Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and became an object of derision, as you yourselves can see. 8 Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the LORD. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the LORD your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 “For if you return to the LORD, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.” Brothers and sisters this sounds like a great plan that Hezekiah and the Priests the Levites and the congregation were willing to commit to.In the modern church we have to have viable righteous plans that we can agree to commit to.

The bible says in verse 10 that only a few laughed and ridiculed the messengers of King Hezekiah, but for the most part the majority of the congregation got on board. People started coming in massive numbers from every tribe. And the bible says that the Priest and the Levites had to get Sanctified for several reasons.

1. It had been a long time since the Priest and the Levites had done the Passover correctly.

2. The crowds were so massive until it didn’t have enough Sanctified Priest or Levites to offer the proper number of an unblemished lambs and sprinkle their blood on the Altar for atonement.

3. The Sanctification Process is serious and can’t no anybody just jump up and say I’m a preacher.. I’m a deacon… I’m ready to be in charge and serve… No No No it was a process. And according to the Levitical Law the priest had to wash their garments with fuller soap and clean themselves in hyssop and cleansing herbs and then put on new fresh linen that was especially sanctified for the Lord service.

The Priests and Levites had to be Sanctified. Everybody say Sanctified. Sanctify in the Hebrew vernacular is the word Qadash and it means to be set apart, to be prepared, to be consecrated, to be appointed, to be purified, to be dedicated, and to be hallowed and holy before God and his people. Sanctification is a change of behavior when we become more like Christ in our actual lives.

And so it was that after they got sanctified, the Priests and the Levites slaughtered the Passover Lambs. But! If it ain’t one thing it’s another, because now we got another problem. In Verse 17 it scripture tell us that the people were not sanctified or clean or holy according to the Levitical Law. And the Priests and the Levities are slaughtering Lambs by the thousands and the bible says that the people ate the Passover as unclean, unlearned and unorthodox parishioners. ( Lord Have Mercy)

Brothers and sisters God’s word is sure and King Hezekiah knew that, so King Hezekiah prayed for the people so that God would not come down and strike them but that God would heal them. And the bible says that in verse 20 The Lord God Jehovah listened to King Hezekiah and healed the people.

Brothers and sisters And let me say this that if we come in compliance to God Will, God’s Word, and God’s Way, He’ll bless us too. Because II Chronicles 7:14 says If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Yeah yeah yeah it’s alright to go back to the old landmark and pray so that God looks beyond our faults and sees about our every need. The bible says they began to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread known as the Hag Ha Matzot . In Modern times the Feast of Pesach,and the Feast of First fruits are all incorporated in the The Passover Celebration. In that day in biblical antiquity the bible says that They celebrated for 7 days straight yes indeed! What exactly did they Celebrate? The Passover.

This historic event called The Passover was one of tragedy and triumph. It was tragic because if you were an Egyptian who was a firstborn, or had a firstborn child or even firstborn animals, they would die when the death angel rolled through the Land of Egypt. The tenth plague that God sent was deadly, because God told Moses to tell Pharoah to Let my people go, and Pharoah would not.

God fixed the situation because on the other hand, The enslaved Children of Israel in the Land of Goshen Followed Moses’ Commands. God told Moses to get the High Priest Aaron and his sons to make the people sacrifice an unblemished lamb for every Hebrew household. The Priests were to drain the blood of the lamb, then paint the blood over the door posts of their homes. And when the death angel rolled through and saw the Blood over the door posts, He would past on by and let them live.

And let me say this, As for me and my house we are going to serve the Lord. I still consecrate my home. I still come here and consecrate this church because I want God to always grant us with favor that says we’re covered by the Blood of the Lamb. Anybody in here covered by the blood of the Lamb?

The word of God says that they Celebrated the Passover with great joy. The Levites and the Priests played skillfully and loudly on Godly Instrument unto the Lord. And they did such a good job until the bible says that King Hezekiah encouraged the Priestly Musicians and said it’s wonderful the way you are commited to serving the Lord with singing and skillfully playing music. Brothers and sisters, If you have the gift of music use your gift to the glory of God. Because your gift will make room for you. I tell my children and former students that there will always be churches that need musicians for one reason or another, just be ready to serve the Lord with your gift when the opportunity comes.

The Musicians were the Priests and the Levites. And they praised God with Singing and shouting and skillfully playing their instruments. The bible says that the people rejoiced and had such a good time until they wanted to keep the Celebrations going for 7 more days.

And the bible says that King Hezekiah stepped up and footed the bill for the celebration. King Hezekiah paid for thousands of lambs, rams, and bullocks to be sacrificed for the Passover Celebration. And nothing was too good to present to the Lord God Jehovah, because God had Pardoned their iniquities.

And when God has forgiven you, you ought to show appreciation with your Time your Talents and your Treasures.

I don’t call in sick if I can help it because God deserves my Time. I don’t mind presenting my Talents to God because he gave me several gifts. and I don’t mind bringing my Tithes and present them before the Lord because the Bible says “where your Treasure is there will your Heart be also.”

Well, I’ve got to close here today but tah this OT Narrative is kept alive by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because the Gospels say that while in the upper room Jesus Celebrated the Passover with His Disciples yes I heard Jesus took bread and blessed it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me um um . then He took the cup when they had supped and said this cup represents my blood which will be shed for the remission of your sins Oh Lord and the bible says they sing some hymns and marched out to the Mount of Olives.

I want my praise to be genuine before the lord because I want God to be pleased with my praise. I want the Lord to be pleased with my vocational calling. I want the Lord to be pleased with my pastoral service to his people. and I want to bless me while I produce for His Kingdom. Oh Lord.

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