"The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed them. Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." (2 Chronicles 30:10-12)
Many of the people mocked the messengers and scorned the idea of going to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. The ancient historian, Josephus, claims they seized the messengers and put them to death but since the Bible doesn't record this (and it seems like something that would be recorded) I'm not sure how much confidence we can put in Josephus' statement. The author of 2 Chronicles makes it sound more like the people made sport of the messengers by laughing at them, heckling them, and mocking the very idea that they might want to attend the Passover. But Hezekiah's efforts to bring the people of the northern kingdom back to the Lord are not in vain: some accept the invitation! Taking to heart the fact that idolatry has caused the Lord to allow a foreign enemy to invade and conquer their land, some of the people humble themselves and repent of their disobedient ways. They go to Jerusalem for Passover and observe it with thousands of citizens of Judah.
"A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. They removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley." (2 Chronicles 30:13-14) We already found Hezekiah ordering the removal of the ancient hilltop altars and the removal of the pagan altars and images throughout the land. Now any remaining altars inside the city are done away with.
We don't know what type of altars these were---whether they were used in the worship of the Lord or whether some of them might have been pagan altars---but I think it's possible that people had fashioned personal altars for worship of the Lord during the era when King Hezekiah's father defiled the temple with a pagan altar and demanded that all offerings and sacrifices be made to it. The people who wanted nothing to do with that might have set up private altars so they could make offerings and sacrifices to the Lord on their own property. But now there is no need for private altars and, as we've noted before, private altars tend to become a snare in time because it separates people from the main body of believers. There's nothing wrong with worshiping the Lord privately at home, for example, but in addition to worshiping Him when we're alone it's vitally important that we gather with a body of believers too. We need the fellowship and encouragement of other believers. We also need the accountability that comes along with that, so we don't drift from the precepts of the Lord.
"They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. Then they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the Lord. Although most of the many people who came from Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God---the Lord, the God of their ancestors---even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.' And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people." (2 Chronicles 30:15-20)
We learned earlier in the book of 2 Chronicles that some of the priests and Levites had not consecrated themselves in time for the ceremony for the rededication of the temple. They are ashamed of that now and are careful to consecrate themselves in time for Passover. But some of the people from the northern kingdom have not consecrated themselves and have eaten the Passover, in spite of the law stating that they must, and in ordinary times they would be in danger of grievous judgment falling upon them. The Lord, however, hears Hezekiah's request to be lenient with them due to many of them being in ignorance of the regulations. The people who traveled from the northern kingdom have likely never been to the temple before. They may never have made any attempt to observe Passover anywhere before, since the northern kingdom has been in the grip of idolatry for so long. Hezekiah's decision to hold Passover right after the rededication of the temple and his decision to send out invitations was done hastily in order to celebrate the holiday as closely to its prescribed time as possible. Many of the people invited (especially those from Israel) did not have time to read the law of Moses to find out exactly how to consecrate themselves; many of them probably didn't even know they were supposed to consecrate themselves. This Passover is being held under special circumstances, and although several irregularities took place, the Lord overlooked them because so many of the attendees were ignorant of the requirements.
You may be familiar with the expression, "You don't know what you don't know." That expression would certainly apply here. No one is struck dead for eating the Passover without having consecrated themselves but the text indicates they did become ill after consuming it, for the author tells us that the Lord "healed the people". The illness is not for the purpose of death but will serve as a reminder that they must take the proper steps next time. If they hadn't begun feeling sick after eating in their unconsecrated condition, they might have taken the Lord's laws lightly. But now they have been warned and they have almost a year to learn about and prepare for the next Passover.
"The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with resounding instruments dedicated to the Lord. Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord. For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors." (2 Chronicles 30:21-22) Here is a group that did properly prepare for Passover. Hezekiah praises their dedication to doing things the right way.
Seven days are to be set aside for Passover but such a great revival has broken out that the people decide to observe the holiday for an additional seven days. "The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. Hezekiah king of Judah provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats." (2 Chronicles 30:23-24a) Hezekiah and the other top officials of Judah supply the food necessary for all these people. The celebration could not have been held for an additional week otherwise because it would have presented a hardship to the people. Those who had traveled to Jerusalem had not done so with enough supplies for an additional week. Some could not have afforded to purchase the extra supplies and would have had to go home. The nation's leaders cater the event so that there is plenty for everyone.
Priests who had allowed their calling in life to fall by the wayside (or who had not been obedient to the requirements of consecration) now recommit themselves to the Lord. The people and the foreigners living among them recommit their lives to the Lord or make professions of faith for the first time. This is the most monumental event to take place in Jerusalem for centuries. "A great number of priests consecrated themselves. The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel and also those who resided in Judah. There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, His holy dwelling place." (2 Chronicles 30:24b-27)
This is a beautiful passage of Scripture and the events in it took place because one man stood up in faith for the Lord and encouraged others to do the same. Hezekiah decided he was going to follow the Lord, no matter what his father and some of his forefathers had done before him, and because of his example an untold number of others made the same decision. What influence might you and I have on others if we make a bold profession of our faith and encourage them to do likewise?
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