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.
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 30:18-20,26-27).
While following along in a yearly five-day Bible reading program, I recently read 2 Chronicles 29 and 30 concerning King Hezekiah and his restoration of worship and the celebration of the Passover.
I found myself re-reading chapter 30 and taking note of some details I had not given much thought to in the past. It also caused me to think about our current world and it edified me and challenged me personally in my own walk with Christ. It was an encouraging time in the Word of God.
Remembering the Things of God
In Chapter 29, we read of Hezekiah beginning to reign in Judah and how, unlike his father, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. In fact, he is identified as doing such “according to all that David his father had done” (2 Chronicles 29:2).
Hezekiah addressed idol worship and the disregard for the temple of God by repairing the doors to the temple and calling upon the Levites to cleanse the temple and to consecrate themselves for service.
After the temple was cleansed, the king restored worship in the temple along with ordained praise and worship unto the Lord. Sacrifices and offerings were brought before the Lord, and the Bible records that Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had prepared for the people (2 Chronicles 29:36).
There were acts God had instituted and ordained from the beginning for His people to follow, and these had been forgotten and desecrated in exchange for idol worship and spiritual adultery. But King Hezekiah helped in leading his people back to the way of the Lord.
Can you see the type and shadow here of our glorious Savior? Do you see the typology of the sacrifices pointing back to Christ, the One who atoned for sins?
After the temple was cleansed and worship to the Lord was restored in the temple, King Hezekiah then proceeded to celebrate Passover. He contacted all Israel and Judah as well as Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem for this feast.
You may notice as you read this account that Passover was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the second month. The feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread were both normally celebrated in the first month. Numbers 9:9-11 allows for their actions stating,
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.’”
It was best for them to celebrate these feasts than not at all.
Honoring the Things of God
Having said that, I noticed something else as I read this account. Verse 17 records that the Passover lamb was slaughtered by the priests for all who were not clean to consecrate it to the Lord.
Verses 18-20 tell of the people eating the Passover because “Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, ‘May the good Lord pardon everyone 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.’ And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.”
We are to remember that the feasts pointed to Jesus Christ and to His salvation and deliverance from the power and penalty of sin.
The people were unclean. This is what sin does to us all. It clothes us in filthy rags and unrighteousness. There is no way for us to cleanse ourselves before coming to Christ. If we could do so, there would be no need for a Savior.
But thanks be to God that faith in Christ to save us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness justifies us before the Father. The Passover Lamb was slain for our sin so that we could be washed clean and counted as righteous. What a glorious truth to understand and to proclaim!
Verse 23 records a form of revival, which took place in the people. The entire assembly decided to keep the feast again for another seven days, and they did it with gladness.
This chapter in 2 Chronicles seems to depict a type and shadow of revival in the hearts of God’s people for His ways and for His instruction.
Those in attendance had no understanding that they were celebrating feasts pointing to the One we know as our Lord and Savior. They were not extending this feast out of obligation. They were glad to worship and to exalt God.
Verse 26 says that there was great joy in Jerusalem because this had not taken place since the time of King Solomon, which would have been over 215 years earlier.
Though there was great expression and praise unto the Lord in this account, the revival did not rest in their emotion but in their obedience to the Word of God and to His instruction in worship and remembrance of God’s deliverance.
While reading this, it was both a great encouragement personally and a reminder of the consistency of revival. True revival gives way to a rekindling of the love for God’s Word and His instruction.
This is the revival we are to desire as believers in Christ. It is not stuffy or without emotion. We can all fall short in defining revival by identifying it with intense emotion or sensationalism. But at the core of true revival in those who are God’s people is the love for the truth of God’s Word.
Revival ushers in joy in remembering Christ’s atonement on our behalf and the promise of eternal life. We come to Him unclean, trusting that He washes us clean as He is the worthy Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the earth.
Praising the Things of God
There is such joy in remembering this every day, thanking God, and being mindful of what He did on the cross. We live under a better covenant than King Hezekiah because of Christ.
Having said that, I am so thankful to glean from the Old Testament and to see the scarlet thread of my Lord and Savior and His gospel in the scriptures, and I pray that this revives me continually in my walk with Christ. I hope it does the same for you.
For further reading:
What Is Idolatry in the Bible? Its Definition and Significance
What Does it Mean to Praise God?
What Is a Covenant? Bible Definition and Importance Today
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/gan chaonan
