The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Chronicles 30:18-20,
"Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and 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."
"Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and 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."
This passage is not one to be overlooked!
Just following Assyria's devastation of the northern ten tribes of Israel, Hezekiah became king of Judah. At the start of his reign he turned the people from idolatry to the Lord. He had the temple cleaned of the ritual filth that the previous idolatry had brought, had it consecrated and restored the temple worship. Hezekiah then sent out messengers throughout Judah and to all those remaining in Israel after the Assyrian destruction to invite everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and worship the Lord.
In our above passage we see that many had not purified themselves first (a ritual cleansing required by the Lord) but celebrated the Passover nonetheless. Where in the past the Lord had brought his judgment on those who ignored the Lord's prescriptions in such issues (such as when King Uzziah entered the temple to burn incense, when only priests were allowed and the Lord subsequently struck him with leprosy, 2 Chronicles 26:16-21), Hezekiah prayed to the Lord to pardon those who had not ceremonially cleansed themselves before eating the Passover.
The Lord answered Hezekiah's prayer and "healed the people"! Here is yet another example of one of the Lord's servants praying to the Lord, and the Lord changing his direction as a result. No other understanding can be gleaned from this passage than that the Lord responds to prayer and will at times take another direction that he might normally have taken.
This is why we pray!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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