Apologies.... this should have gone out on Friday...
Understanding Grace
| 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. 16 Then they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood handed to them by the Levites. 17 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. 18 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 19 who sets his heart on seeking God--the LORD, the God of his fathers--even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (2Chronicles30:15-20) |
So Hezekiah delayed Passover by a month and sent out letters to all of Israel to come together. This appeal "woke up" the religious leaders who had "fallen asleep at the wheel". And, as the momentum picked up, many Israelites joined in at the last minute. The problem was that the last-minute-joiners hadn't gone through the ritual preparations and were "unclean" and guilty before the Lord.
Hezekiah, in an incredible understanding of God's Grace, prays for pardon and we are told that God healed the people and used the Passover to bring revival.
Imagine moving Christmas by a month! Imagine being ok with substituting traditional Christmas fare with takeaways because there was no time. Imagine including people who didn't buy any presents but want to join the party anyway.
This is what Hezekiah did. And he did it because he had a profound understanding of grace. He understood the love and mercy of God. He understood that grace triumphs over ritual and tradition and that God's mercy is available to all who truly seek it.
I think we are called to be the Hezekiahs who, with a profound understanding of the abundance of God's grace, will be brave enough to do things differently.
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This brings us to the end of our series on Hezekiah and also the end of EmmDevs for 2023. I hope these devotions have been a blessing to you. I pray you have a blessed Christmas and experience God's love profoundly in the new year.
God bless and Love,
Theo
