Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 29-30.

Hezekiah’s father, King Ahaz, had desecrated and then shut up the temple, forbidding worship there.  When Hezekiah became king one of his first acts was to reopen the temple and order the priests and Levites to consecrate both themselves and the temple.  The priests and Levites took sixteen days to fully clean and consecrate the temple and its furnishings such that Hezekiah was able to assemble the city officials and offer sacrifices to God on the seventeenth day.  While the passage tells us that Hezekiah assembled the city officials of Jerusalem for this, it implies that the general populace of Jerusalem joined them.  And that all of the people rejoiced and sang as they worshiped the Lord.  Hezekiah then decided that they should celebrate the Passover.  However, there was not time to have everything ready to celebrate the Passover at its appointed time.  So, they decided to do so in a month later than prescribed by the Law of Moses.  They also decided to send word throughout all of the land of Israel, even those portions which were not under Hezekiah’s control, inviting people to come and celebrate Passover. This decision was made, according to the passage, by “the whole assembly”.  The passage tells us that the messengers announcing this Passover were scorned and ridiculed, but nonetheless many people came from outside of Judah.  Many of those who had come from outside of Judah had not properly purified themselves before partaking in the Passover meal.  Hezekiah prayed that God would forgive those who had set their hearts on seeking God but had not properly prepared themselves.

The passage tells us that once the temple was purified, Hezekiah invited the city officials to an opening worship service.  It also seems to tell us that more people showed up for that service than had been invited.  They were all made welcome.  In response to the joy they felt, they chose to invite people from all of Israel to their planned celebration of Passover.  The messengers did not allow the scorn and ridicule with which they were greeted stop them from spreading the word about this coming celebration, and that was a good thing because, despite the ridicule and scorn, many chose to listen to their message.  The passage mentions that foreigners joined in this celebration.  It could be that it meant Israelites who dwelt outside of Judah, but I think it refers to people who were not born of Israelite parents who sought the Lord.  I want to highlight two things about this.  First, the messengers did not allow scorn and ridicule to dampen their enthusiasm, thus many chose to seek God.  Second, all who sought God were made welcome, even those who had not properly prepared themselves for this holy celebration.  I also want to point out that there was precedent in Numbers 9 for celebrating Passover a month late and, I believe, for welcoming those who had not properly prepared themselves, whether Israelite or foreigner.  Let us follow their example.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.