#577 I Am Ignorant but Please

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 to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— 3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— 4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

10 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. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. 18 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 19 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.”[a] 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.21 And the people of Israel who 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 all their might[b] to the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived 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 had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven. 2 Chronicles 30 ESV

Passover


The kingdom has been divided for some time, but as Judah comes to seek and glorify God, renewing the covenant again, this king also remembers his brothers to the north and east. The Passover has not been observed here in quite some time, and their separated family has been in dark for much longer than that. When we are in the wake of true reform though, we shall not forget our neighbors. This is only a remnant of Israel that is left, for most of these tribes have been taken by the Assyrians. Hezekiah has decided that though there is not time before the proper day to meet the requirements of the Passover, there is yet a precedent to hold it the next month. So eager are they for the things of the Lord, they decide not to put it off another year. He sends his porters to Israel, come brothers, please humble yourselves and return to the God of your fathers, the God you have forsaken, the only true God. Don't be like your fathers, stiff necked, unrepentant. God does not here intervene when they go out, He does not tell them, "don't go, they are only going to laugh at you, you will be beat and mocked." No, and as excited as you may be to learn of the grace of God, the need of the Passover, and that everyone born of Adam has this same need, blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you. You will not always be so well received, sometimes it will be words, sometimes fist, and some will even be sawn in half or hung upside down. Christ told us to go anyway, deny ourselves, there was never a self help seminar or a call to find yourself. Go preach the gospel, this will be used by the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin. They laughed at them, the majority of them had this deep argument against them, they mocked them. I hated some of the people that told me about God. I liked the idea of a golden ticket to paradise, but some of these preachers insisted that if I truly believed my life would bear fruit. They insisted that it was not a sign this card and make up your own version of Christianity, according to your preferences. These teachers outed me as a sinner, for living with my girl friend, objectifying women, being a drunk, a drug addict, a boy who glorified violence thinking it made him more of a man. How dare they though, I was raised in a Christian home and went to a Christian school, so you can't tell me about God, I already know. You can't relate to me because you didn't grow up with a single mom, without a car, having other people pick you up for church because you were poor. You stay in your temple, I will be fine up here with my calves, and if you don't leave I will kick your butt all the way back to Jerusalem. Well it made sense to me at the time, but as much of a jerk as I was, some people kept praying for me, they loved me beside myself, even though I thought I was pretty great. 

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”   Matthew 10:22

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”… Matthew 28: 18-20

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 3-11

Just like I thought I knew enough about God, that I thought the people telling me about God should say less about my sin, should feed my ego more and tickle my ears, so when we do find God, remember that we were actually found by Him. Don't go into the world expecting to be held upon men's shoulders for telling them the truth, that is not how it works out there. Go for love's sake, go often and go anyway, but take no offense, some of Israel came, and even one makes it all worth while. It was most felt in Judah because that is where God has His hand to move the hearts of His people. They threw away the altars and all that was not sanctioned by God, but in all that they do well they still come upon an issue. Many of those that came from Israel did not come prepared. They had not known the laws or customs of God so well, since they had for so long been indoctrinated by the religion of the state, the ways of Jeroboam. There was no head of household who had been consecrated, so the Levites would perform the sacrifice for them and the sprinkling of the blood, and Hezekiah would pray on their behalves. I am reminded here of the thief on the cross, that the word of God, the doctrines of the faith cannot be dismissed, but no one comes to God so prepared. No one is more deserving than the thief, but many who have been given much, are in such a worse place, that they still drink milk at this time. God, see our hearts are not set upon our own ways, but as yet we have not learned all of Yours, and God, we are sinners, please forgive our sins. The Lord heard and healed the people, for it is God Who makes clean, and it is God Who looks upon the heart and will have mercy rather than sacrifice. Now look at the changed heart, they do not want to leave, but rather stay to continue learning, praising, returning to the God of their people. It is a true revival, and the celebration of the Passover goes on another week. God restores the years the locust took away. 

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10: 34-43