God doing God Things (Hezekiah's first Passover)

2 Chronicles 30 KJV 1900

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. 2 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. 3 For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. 4 And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. 5 So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. 6 So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. 8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. 9 For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him. 10 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord. 13 And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. 14 And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. 15 Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord. 18 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. 20 And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. 21 And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the Lord: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the Lord God of their fathers. 23 And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. 25 And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.

Introduction

The naivety of youth can lead people to attempt things that older, more cynical people would not try

In the first year of his reign, Hezekiah decided to make a big deal out of the annual observance of the Passover.

This chapter details how that turned out for him.

In verses 1-12 we read about the preparations that were made.

In verses 13-27 we see how the festival actually went.

Hezekiah is in a very familiar situation to what most all of us have experienced.

He’s a young man at only 26 years of age.

He’s new at his job, as this event takes place within the first year of his reign.

He is expected to turn effect change

The first thing that we see is Hezekiah’s intention to invite all of Judah and Israel to attend. (1; 5-12)

Hezekiah is passionate about seeing his people revitalized in their relationship with God.

He’s not just concerned about Judah, though, he wants to reach out to his brethren to the North.

Hezekiah’s concern for all of Israel, both the Northern and Southern kingdoms is first evidenced in 2 Chronicles 29:24 “24 And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.”

In verse 1 of this chapter, we see this reinforced by his decision to make a concerted effort to invite all of the 12 tribes to come to Jerusalem for the passover.

Hezekiah is the Chronicler's hero in refusing to write off the northerners as apostates but recognizing them as brothers and sisters in the faith who were to be welcomed in the name of God. The owning of the same God made unity a desirable potential and an essential principle.

Israel had attacked Judah during Hezekiah’s father’s reign.

They had killed or captured hundreds of thousand of their brothers.

These are the people that Hezekiah wants to welcome into the capital city.

To accomplish this, Hezekiah sends messenger throughout all of Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north.

Hezekiah is motivated to see this reunion take place because it had been a “long time” (5) since all of Israel had gathered in Jerusalem to observe the passover together

The messengers went out carrying letters from the king.

The letter appealed to all the children of Israel to turn again, return to the religion of their fathers.

This section lays stress not only on a common faith in the same God but on a vertical continuity from generation to generation, which the present generation was to take seriously by playing their part as links in the chain of faith.

The letter admitted to the nations’ disobedience in the past.

Both nations had seriously transgressed God’s law.

They had both been judged for their disobedience.

Israel would be finally overthrown by the Assyrians in just a few years.

Judah was experiencing a spiritual revival.

However sudden the impulse in this religious revival, it was neither transient nor superficial.

There were tangible changes happening.

The proof of their renewal was indisputable.

Judah was on a spiritual path that was affecting their decisions.

This brotherly invitation to the feast of Israel's birth and the common worship of their God and Redeemer was, so to speak, the answer which repentant Judah now made to that fratricidal war which Israel had so lately waged with the object of exterminating the kingdom of David.

Hezekiah naively asks the extremely backslidden people to return to God.

Don’t be stubborn.

Turn again to God.

God is gracious and merciful if you will return to Him.

The reception in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was less than encouraging.

The majority were not receptive to this invite.

They laughed the messengers to scorn.

They mocked them.

But not all

Some of them humbled themselves and made preparations to come to Jerusalem.

This is a big deal.

In order for the northerners to attend, it meant going against a current which had been flowing for two centuries in a contrary direction; it meant abandoning an entrenched position within the overall framework of a common faith.

The fact that any of their brothers from the north would join them would be cause for rejoicing in Judah.

In Judah, the message received a wholly different reception.

Bro. Sam told me one time “you go with the people that want to go with you.”

Not everyone is going to want to go.

The people were of one heart to celebrate Passover as a unified country.

This was done in response to the command of the king and according to the word of the Lord.

A right relationship with human authority and with God is a good sign of revival.

The second thing that we see is the flexibility of timing for the Passover. (2-4)

As much as Hezekiah may have been ready to host the Passover, some things just weren’t ready.

The priests had not sufficiently sanctified themselves.

We will see in a moment that this was not just a matter of timing.

Rather, the priests were dragging their feet in regards to getting on board with Hezekiah’s push for spiritual renewal.

Sad when the people in the pew are more spiritually motivated then their spiritual leaders.

The people were not gathered.

Though it was intended to be a fixed feature of their calendar, it had been centuries since the nation had observed this event together.

It would take time for people to be adequately informed and for them to make the trip.

Thankfully, God had directed Moses to make provision for the date of the passover to move.

Numbers 9:6–13 KJV 1900

6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: 7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel? 8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. 9 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord. 11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. 13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

Since the problem was both the matter of uncleanness and journeying from afar off, this passover certainly fell within the parameters of this exception to the law.

Rather, than the 14th day of the first month of the year, Hezekiah would observe it on the 14th day of the second month of the year.

With the invitations sent, and the date established, the passage moves into a description of how the feast transpired.

My heart goes out to Hezekiah, as we relive the realities of what transpires here. 13-27

Everything that could go wrong during this week, does go wrong.

Verse 13 tells us a bunch of people show up in Jerusalem.

This very great congregation must have been incredibly awkward.

People from Judah, people from Israel, and even gentiles are in attendance according to verse 25.

Before they could even get started, the people had to remove the altars for Baal that had been spread throughout Jerusalem by Ahaz. 14

It’s like showing up for a church event and nothing is set up.

You’re all geared up for the event, but before you can start you have to tear down the last event, clean up, and then reset for the event.

The priests and Levites were not prepared for the people to actually show up. 15

I see another example, here, of the spiritual leaders of Judah lagging behind when they should have been leading the charge.

Can’t you just see the apathetic religious leaders complaining that no one was really going to show up.

I imagine them limiting the number of levites to actually prepare for the Passover because they don’t believe a lot of people will be there.

Then, when many multitudes show up they have to rush around to get more levites ready to accommodate the crowds.

It wasn’t just the priests that showed up unprepared.

The people aren’t ready for the passover either. 17

Like a kid that shows up for camp without a suitcase.

This meant that they could not prepare their sacrifices for themselves.

The priests had to do it for them.

Of course, there was a backlog on the priests, because they were not ready either.

But wait, there’s more.

The people also messed up the observance of the passover.

They partook without being properly cleansed.

Hezekiah had to pray and ask God to forgive them for eating the passover outside of the parameters that had been established.

God hearkened to Hezekiah and forgave the people.

He did this because, though their exterior had not been up to standard, their hearts were directed towards seeking God.

Finally, to top it all off, everyone decided, last minute, to spend an extra 7 days in Jerusalem

Despite the hiccups and the distractions things are going really well with the feast.

Verse 21 says there was great gladness.

The priests are leading the people in a time of blow the doors off the house praise.

Hezekiah is encouraging and complementing the Levites who are flexing their teaching muscles for the first time in a long time.

The people are being taught the good knowledge of the Lord.

Nobody wants to leave; so they don’t.

What do you feed half a million people that decide to stay over for an extra week.

You weren’t even really ready for them during the first week.

Hezekiah opens up his own storehouses to keep the feast going.

Hardly anything seems to have gone according to plan at this special event.

And yet, the results were absolutely fantastic.

Look at the unity that resulted.

Judah

Israel

Gentiles

These all rejoiced together at feast.

There was great joy in Jerusalem.

There had never been an time like this in Jerusalem since the reign of Solomon.

This was a life changing event.

But life-changing events can be quickly forgotten.

Before the people left, the priests and levites rose up to bless the people.

The priests and Levites had experienced their own renewal during this time.

They get up to pray, and the traditional prayer from this event would usually go along the lines of asking God to help the people as they returned home.

Not just that they would have safety, but that they would take the things they had learned and experienced and share them with others.

The Chronicler says that this prayer reached into the holy dwelling place of God.

To human eyes, so much went wrong with this passover feast, but with God’s power, a great multitude of people was effected during this time.

This is an encouraging message for those of us that seem to never have things go right.

Hezekiah had big dreams for this passover celebration.

He had visions of unity and revival.

So often, it goes hilariously wrong.

Don’t let the risk of things going wrong stop you from

Even though so many things “went wrong” God still blessed and used the event.

Nobody could take credit for the results of the Passover that year.

The priests weren’t ready.

The city wasn’t ready.

The people weren’t ready.

God still did so much.

You are going to have moments that you and Hezekiah will be able to talk about someday.

Yours may be an all-nighter, or a community event that just didn’t go as planned.

But…it went.

Just be glad the biblical chronicler won’t be following you around recording all the mistakes you make during your first year on the job.

In the end, God heard the prayer of the imperfect spiritual leaders that the people would take what they learned home to apply it.

I am so glad that I am the servant of a God that hears the prayers I pray for you.