Joy In Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.429 Well, let's turn in God's word. Now to second chronicles, second chronicles 2 00:00:08.550 --> 00:00:18.309 chapter thirty. Here we are continuing in Longish section, at least compared to 3 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:24.820 some of the other accounts of the Kings, about Hezekiah, the reforms that 4 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:30.300 he was enacting and the things that were going on in Israel during this time. 5 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:40.969 Second Chronicles, Chapter Thirty, let us hear the word of the Lord. 6 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:49.450 Hezekias sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephra him 7 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.679 and Manassa, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem 8 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:59.479 to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. For the 9 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:03.750 king and his princes and all the assembly assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to 10 00:01:03.829 --> 00:01:07.909 keep the Passover in the second month, for they could not keep it at 11 00:01:07.950 --> 00:01:14.590 that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had 12 00:01:14.629 --> 00:01:19.900 the people ascendled assembled in Jerusalem, and the planned seemed right to the king 13 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:23.859 and all the assembly. So they decided to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, 14 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:30.500 from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover 15 00:01:30.659 --> 00:01:34.329 to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had 16 00:01:34.370 --> 00:01:40.290 not kept it as often as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and 17 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:44.010 Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, 18 00:01:44.129 --> 00:01:47.640 saying o people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of 19 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:52.079 Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of 20 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:57.400 you who have escaped from the hand of the Kings of Assyria. Do not 21 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.000 be like your father's and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord, 22 00:02:00.549 --> 00:02:06.310 a god of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation. As 23 00:02:06.349 --> 00:02:09.270 you see. Do not now be stiff necked as your fathers were, but 24 00:02:09.349 --> 00:02:15.030 yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated 25 00:02:15.069 --> 00:02:17.939 forever, and serve the Lord, your God, that his fierce anger may 26 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:23.699 turn away from you. For if you return to the Lord, your brothers 27 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:28.659 and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land, 28 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:32.129 for the Lord, your God, is gracious and merciful and will not turn 29 00:02:32.169 --> 00:02:38.129 away his face from you if you return to him. So the couriers went 30 00:02:38.250 --> 00:02:43.129 from city to city, through the country of Ephraim and Manassa and as far 31 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:47.240 as Zebulum, but they laughed them but they laughed them to scorn and mocked 32 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:53.520 them. However, some men of Asher and of Manassa and of zebulen humbled 33 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:58.590 themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on Judah to 34 00:02:58.669 --> 00:03:01.229 give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the 35 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:07.270 word of the Lord, and many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the 36 00:03:07.389 --> 00:03:10.270 feast of the unloven bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 37 00:03:10.870 --> 00:03:15.580 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all 38 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:20.819 the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the Kidron valley, 39 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:24.259 and they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month, 40 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:30.650 and the priests and the Levites were ashamed so that they consecrated themselves and brought 41 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:35.569 burnt offerings into the House of the Lord. They took their accustomed posts according 42 00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:38.930 to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests through the 43 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:44.000 blood that Ray received from the hands of the Levites, for there were many 44 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:49.080 in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore, the Levites had to 45 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.960 slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean to consecrate it to the 46 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:58.550 Lord. For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, 47 00:03:58.710 --> 00:04:02.669 Manassa, Isakar and Zebulen, had not cleansed themselves yet. They ate the 48 00:04:02.750 --> 00:04:09.629 Passover otherwise than prescribed, for Hezekaiah had prayed for them, saying may the 49 00:04:09.710 --> 00:04:13.419 good Lord to part in every one who sets his heart to seek God, 50 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.939 the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the 51 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:24.060 sanctuaries, rules of cle of cleanness, cleanness. And the Lord Heard Hezekiah 52 00:04:24.529 --> 00:04:28.930 and healed the people. And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem 53 00:04:29.009 --> 00:04:32.129 kept the Feast of unlove and bread seven days with great gladness, and the 54 00:04:32.170 --> 00:04:36.129 Levites and the priests played it praised the Lord Day by day, singing with 55 00:04:36.250 --> 00:04:43.240 all their might to the Lord, and Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites 56 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.160 who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the 57 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.959 food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to 58 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:56.870 the Lord, the God of their fathers. Then the whole assembly agreed together 59 00:04:56.949 --> 00:05:00.629 to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another 60 00:05:00.670 --> 00:05:04.350 seven days with gladness for Hezekiah, King of Judah, gave the Assembly a 61 00:05:04.509 --> 00:05:10.220 thousand Bulls and seven thousand sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the Assembly 62 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:15.220 a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, and the priests consecrated themselves in great 63 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:18.740 numbers. The whole Assembly of Judah and the priests and the Levites and the 64 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:23.730 whole Assembly that came out of Israel and the sojourners who came out of the 65 00:05:23.810 --> 00:05:28.810 land of Israel and the sojourners who lived in Israel or in Judah rejoiced. 66 00:05:29.930 --> 00:05:32.889 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, 67 00:05:33.009 --> 00:05:36.360 the son of David, King of Israel, there had been nothing like this 68 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:42.720 since Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people and 69 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:47.560 their voice was heard and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven. 70 00:05:49.350 --> 00:06:00.949 May God bless his word to us. When we think about the reformation, 71 00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:06.939 the reformation of the sixteen and seventeen centuries, as we do during this anniversary, 72 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:13.060 the five hundred anniversary of the reformation, we often think about doctrinal reform, 73 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:17.610 but just as central to the concerns of the reformers was the reform of 74 00:06:17.769 --> 00:06:26.009 worship, because these two things, doctrine and worship, or faith and practice, 75 00:06:27.009 --> 00:06:31.490 they are always linked. We learn our doctrine through our liturgy just as 76 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:36.360 much as we learn our liturgy through our doctrine. And now it's also true 77 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:44.480 that when one becomes polluted, so also the other. Tonight we think about 78 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:49.470 another reformation that was happening in Israel under King Hezekiah, doctrine and life coming 79 00:06:49.550 --> 00:06:56.829 together, worship and theology in one. We see this reformation happening in the 80 00:06:56.910 --> 00:07:01.180 people of Israel. We see it an action and in particular, we see 81 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:06.740 in this chapter what happens when God's people come together for true, God centered, 82 00:07:06.939 --> 00:07:14.459 God directed worship. I want to look at this in three parts tonight. 83 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:19.050 First, thinking about what it was they were coming together for. A 84 00:07:19.170 --> 00:07:24.370 second, how they came together and then, finally, the effects of their 85 00:07:24.569 --> 00:07:30.079 coming together. So first, what they came together for. We read in 86 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:35.240 the very first verse that Hezekiah called all of Israel to come to Jerusalem to 87 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:41.399 celebrate two things, two things which overlap, that is, the Passover and 88 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:46.029 the Feast of unleavened bread. As we read in the chapter and as we 89 00:07:46.110 --> 00:07:49.509 know from other places in scripture. The feast of Unblood, of unleavened bread, 90 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:54.870 was a week long festival. Now, normally it would happen in the 91 00:07:54.910 --> 00:08:00.899 first month of the year, and here it's happening in the second. Well, 92 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:03.819 I'll come back to that in a moment. But what we see here 93 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:07.259 is this, this festival. It was a festival in which people would remove 94 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:13.129 all the leaven from their home and eat and celebrate using only unlovend bread. 95 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:18.370 Now, the reason for this, we know, is not agricultural and there's 96 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:22.970 nothing about farming that demanded this feast. In particular, it was a historic 97 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:31.040 feast, based on history, of Feast based on theology. Eating unloven bread 98 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:37.519 was about symbolizing the eating quickly and getting out of dodge that Israel had to 99 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.669 do when they left Egypt. You remember that when God brought them out of 100 00:08:41.789 --> 00:08:46.750 Egypt, he told them to leave in a hurry, they had to gather 101 00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:50.070 their things, they had to be ready, and he told them to eat 102 00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:56.500 that night with unloven bread. And this began, or this feast of the 103 00:08:56.539 --> 00:09:01.700 unloven bread begins, with the Passover, which was also, I'm celebrated that 104 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:07.860 night, the night when Israel was saved from death and Egypt was judged in 105 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:16.090 order that God's people might be freed and Egypt might be condemned. The continual 106 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:20.769 presence of this and other feast served than as a reminder. In Israel, 107 00:09:20.009 --> 00:09:26.919 these things a continual reminder of their origins, their beginnings, their story. 108 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.559 In the Feast of the unloven bread, they were reminded, and in Passover 109 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:37.159 they were reminded that they were constituted as a people of God, not by 110 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:41.509 their own might, but only by the electing and saving and powerful love of 111 00:09:43.429 --> 00:09:48.549 God. A celebration of the Passover was a celebration of God's work in their 112 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:56.299 lives. They didn't come out of Egypt because they rose up conquered at Pharaoh 113 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:03.259 and left. They were under slavery ever, every single moment until God finally 114 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:11.049 opened up the gates and let them go through his pressure on Pharaoh that night 115 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:18.169 when they were when all of Egypt was mourning. Is the firstborn child of 116 00:10:18.289 --> 00:10:22.799 every home that was not covered by the blood, the sacrificial blood of the 117 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:28.440 lamb is. All of these sons died and as all of Israel sons were 118 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:35.230 saved, people were minded of God's salvation for them. They came out of 119 00:10:35.389 --> 00:10:41.110 Egypt with joy and with plunder and with with energy because of what God had 120 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:46.470 done. The pass over then and the Feast of the uneleven bread, this 121 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:52.500 breaking of time to rest and celebrate was a celebration of his forgiveness, of 122 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:58.580 his salvation in the feast of the unloven bread. They came together not to 123 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:05.649 celebrate their achievements, their unity or their strength, but his. They were 124 00:11:05.730 --> 00:11:11.570 a great people because God is a great God. That's what they were coming 125 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:20.039 together for. Now let's consider how they came together. One of the things 126 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:24.879 that's emphasized very strongly in this chapter is the unity that they have here. 127 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:31.360 Since the time of Solomon, the kingdom had been divided for many, many 128 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:35.590 chapters. I'm not sure how many months it's been since we were back at 129 00:11:35.669 --> 00:11:41.789 Solomon M I have no idea. A long time, in the chroniclers chronicling 130 00:11:41.830 --> 00:11:48.460 of this, Israel has been a by word for evil. Israel has been 131 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:54.940 the the word that describes the wicked, even Pagan nation to the north that 132 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:58.659 Judah should have nothing to do with. Over and over and over again we've 133 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:03.409 seen that, as the kings of Judah and the people of Judah have mixed 134 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:09.409 with the people of Israel. Tragedy has happened, destruction, poverty, exile 135 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:20.639 and worse. But now Hezekiah is sending letters to Israel and saying come home, 136 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:28.799 let's be reunited as one people. What's the difference? Why? Is 137 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.870 Israel all of a sudden a good thing, an important thing, in part 138 00:12:31.909 --> 00:12:37.789 of the plan again? Well, in the call to Israel we have a 139 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:41.470 very different Callan we've seen in the other kings. As the other kings allied 140 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:48.259 themselves with Israel, they were allowing themselves with allying themselves or creating allegiances with 141 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:54.059 Israel in their paganism and their worship of false gods and their idolatry and their 142 00:12:54.379 --> 00:13:00.210 hope of other kings and Princes to save them. not this time. This 143 00:13:00.490 --> 00:13:05.210 time Israel is Judah's being united them through the worship of Jehova, of Yahway, 144 00:13:07.049 --> 00:13:11.490 they are calling Israel not so that they can go and join them in 145 00:13:11.090 --> 00:13:16.559 Israel strength, but so that Israel can reunite with Judah in God's strength. 146 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.039 They don't want to meet together to form some kind of alliance that they might 147 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:28.669 be strong over some pagan king or another. No, they want an alliance 148 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:33.470 so that they can be unified under the king of Kings, under the Lord 149 00:13:33.509 --> 00:13:39.909 of Lords, Hezekiah. We read in verse one sent to all Israel and 150 00:13:39.029 --> 00:13:43.580 Judah. He even wrote letters to Efre him and Manassa and that they should 151 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:48.500 come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the 152 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:56.049 Lord, the God of Israel. This here, in verse one, and 153 00:13:56.169 --> 00:14:01.090 in many other places we see this unity emphasized. So, for example, 154 00:14:01.169 --> 00:14:03.809 in the next verse we see that the King and his princes and all the 155 00:14:03.929 --> 00:14:09.919 assembly and Jerusalem had taken counsel together to keep the Passover in the second month. 156 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:18.639 Then we have in verse five, for example, this is emphasized. 157 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:22.279 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from the south to 158 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:26.149 the north, from Bersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep 159 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:30.990 the pass over to the Lord. Then again in verse ten. So the 160 00:14:31.110 --> 00:14:35.710 couriers went from these a city throughout the country of Efreman Manassa as far as 161 00:14:35.789 --> 00:14:39.899 zebulen. That over and over at the emphasis is on the extent of this. 162 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:43.580 If you went back and looked at these phrases, how they're used in 163 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:48.419 other times. They're often taught, they're often used for these geographic terms are 164 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:52.970 often used in a strit of expansive way to show the unity of the kingdom, 165 00:14:54.090 --> 00:14:58.490 the strength of the Kingdom. A similar thing is going on here as 166 00:14:58.570 --> 00:15:05.570 well. Again, read in Verse Twenty Three that after the worship of these 167 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:09.799 seven days, the whole Assembly agrees to keep the fast for another seven days, 168 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:16.120 keep the party going. This is great. And notice that they don't 169 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:20.830 do it because the king is being burdensome to them. Right, one of 170 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:28.350 the frustrations that people had under Rome in the Middle Ages was that there are 171 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:33.110 all these feasts and festivals constantly going on, sort of when am I supposed 172 00:15:33.110 --> 00:15:35.419 to work? Right, you're constantly telling me I have to be a church, 173 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:37.899 be a church, be a church, and when am I supposed to 174 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:41.740 do my job? How can I earn my money? But here we don't 175 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:46.980 see that sort of problem in the people know it's not the king imposing this 176 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:52.570 or commanding something above and beyond scripture which all of a sudden everyone's obligated to 177 00:15:52.929 --> 00:16:00.250 know. The whole Assembly agrees together. Let's keep worshiping. This is great, 178 00:16:00.970 --> 00:16:04.679 and they do it. We even see the way that the rulers are 179 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:10.240 not imposing this, but encouraging it and blessing it. In Verse Twenty Four, 180 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:14.320 has a Kayah, King of Judah, gave the Assembly a thousand bulls 181 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:18.429 seven thousand sheep for offerings, and the princes gave a thousand bulls and tenzero 182 00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:26.830 sheep. They're keeping it going, they're keeping the lights on, they're allowing 183 00:16:26.909 --> 00:16:30.990 the celebration to continue. But back to the point about unity. Now Notice 184 00:16:32.029 --> 00:16:37.460 Verse Twenty Five. This verse is so remarkable. The whole Assembly of Judah 185 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:41.539 and the priests and the Levites and the whole Assembly that came out of Israel, 186 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:45.659 and get this, and the sojourners who came out of the land of 187 00:16:45.820 --> 00:16:52.730 Israel and the sojourners who came are sorry, who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 188 00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:59.049 Not only do you have the people of Judah celebrating and the people of 189 00:16:59.289 --> 00:17:03.799 Israel celebrating and also the Levites and the priests and the princes and and King 190 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:11.240 has a Kai himself, but even the sojourners in the land, people that 191 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:15.789 had decided, hey, I'm a canaanite, I am a from some other 192 00:17:15.910 --> 00:17:18.549 country, but, you know what, I'd like to live in Israel. 193 00:17:19.470 --> 00:17:22.910 People would have had all kinds of reasons for that. But here we see 194 00:17:22.950 --> 00:17:29.630 them, the strangers, the people that lived among them, they also are 195 00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:37.940 rejoicing and celebrating, in the midst of all this amazing thing going on here, 196 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:41.380 the unity that is expressed here verse twelve, with One Heart, we 197 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:48.890 read. With one heart they were coming together. The hand of God was 198 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:52.369 also on Judah to give them one heart to do with the king and the 199 00:17:52.450 --> 00:17:57.640 princes had commanded by the word of the Lord. So that's how they were 200 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:03.559 coming together, in this amazing unified way, a unity that they had not 201 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:10.759 seen for a long time, a unity that extended even to the Non Jews, 202 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:15.029 even to the gentiles that were living among them. The second way we 203 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:19.910 see them coming together is, as I just read, under the word of 204 00:18:21.069 --> 00:18:29.940 God. They did this because of God, because of his commands. We 205 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:33.420 read that had been a long time since they'd had done what they ought to 206 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.740 do. It had been a long time since they'd celebrated the Passover, since 207 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:41.890 they'd celebrated the Feast of the unloven bread. Now there seems to be some 208 00:18:41.009 --> 00:18:48.650 sort of problem with keeping it on the day that was prescribed, on the 209 00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:52.009 first day of the month. But notice how there's this application of God's word 210 00:18:53.730 --> 00:19:00.519 in the in the Pentituch, in the Old Testament, there are there's a 211 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:04.759 prescription and says if you for those who come into contact with a dead body 212 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:11.269 and are unclean and unable to keep the feast during the first month, well 213 00:19:11.789 --> 00:19:15.109 you could keep it in the second month. This is this sort of gracious 214 00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:21.309 provision so that those who perhaps were not able, maybe your father or your 215 00:19:21.430 --> 00:19:23.779 mother had just died, you wouldn't have to wait a whole another year to 216 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:30.460 celebrate the Passover. You could observe it in the second month. King has 217 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:34.779 a Kaiah takes this rule and applies it in a in a good and and 218 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:40.809 broader way. He recognizes this situation, that a lot of people are unclean, 219 00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:45.609 that this feast needs to happen and yet they're not ready for it, 220 00:19:45.210 --> 00:19:49.769 they can't do it, and so they decide to help hold it in the 221 00:19:49.890 --> 00:19:56.839 second month as an application of this principle. It's a good reminder that God's 222 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:02.680 Word is not meant to be read in an overly rigid way, but to 223 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.990 requires wisdom in its application. Well, here that's what they do. They 224 00:20:08.109 --> 00:20:11.789 even recognize a to an extent, and not only that, but that there's 225 00:20:11.829 --> 00:20:18.150 a problem with the priests and other people that were taking it even then in 226 00:20:18.230 --> 00:20:23.859 the second month, who were unclean we read this in the eight verse eighteen. 227 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:29.740 A majority of the people had not cleansed themselves. Yet they ate the 228 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:37.049 Passover otherwise than prescribed. Notice that there's this very special attention that worship here 229 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:41.049 is done according to the word of God and they're seeing that there is a 230 00:20:41.170 --> 00:20:45.569 problem here and that people are eating the Passover in a way that is not 231 00:20:45.849 --> 00:20:55.400 prescribed. However, Hez a Kiah recognizes a basic principle that sometimes some things 232 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.559 over rule others, and he goes to the Lord and he prays for them, 233 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:04.150 saying, may the good Lord Pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek 234 00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:08.710 God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according 235 00:21:08.750 --> 00:21:17.069 to the sanctuaries rule of cleanness. This is fascinating. Hezekiah recognizes that they're 236 00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:22.339 breaking the rules, they're breaking the ceremonial requirements of the law, and yet 237 00:21:22.339 --> 00:21:26.539 at the same time he recognizes that God is good and gracious and what he 238 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:33.690 ultimately desires is not a bunch of rule keeping, though of course that's important 239 00:21:33.690 --> 00:21:37.890 and that's why Hez a Kiah praise, but what he desires is people to 240 00:21:37.009 --> 00:21:41.250 set his heart, to set their hearts on seeking the Lord, and that's 241 00:21:41.250 --> 00:21:45.890 what they've done. These are not people have said Ah, whatever, with 242 00:21:45.970 --> 00:21:48.920 the rules, I'm going to do what I want. They're saying, I 243 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:52.039 want to worship the Lord, but there is a problem and I don't know 244 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:57.960 what to do. Sometimes in life we find ourselves in these difficult ethical circumstances 245 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:03.190 or we have to seemingly competing rules and it's difficult to figure out what to 246 00:22:03.269 --> 00:22:08.710 do. Here has a KIA rightly seize them and says that they ought to 247 00:22:08.829 --> 00:22:12.829 still worship the lord, but he also goes to the Lord and asks for 248 00:22:12.990 --> 00:22:17.740 pardon. He asked that the God, that God, would pardon them. 249 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:22.019 I'm even though they are breaking this rule. Why? Because their heart is 250 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:26.140 in the right place. They're wanting to do the right thing, and God 251 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:32.170 answers this prayer. The Lord heard has a Kiah and healed his people. 252 00:22:32.329 --> 00:22:37.009 He he forgives them, and that reminds us of the third thing. Not 253 00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:41.769 only are they coming together, and I'm coming together very precisely and carefully and 254 00:22:41.930 --> 00:22:47.720 thoughtfully, under the word of the Lord, as he has prescribed, but 255 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:53.880 they're also coming under his grace. They're coming under his grace. Even as 256 00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:59.190 they're trying to get the logistics of all working out. We see them praying 257 00:22:59.309 --> 00:23:03.470 for grace, praying for forgiveness. What worship service have you ever been to 258 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:08.549 that was perfect? What worship service have you ever been to where your heart 259 00:23:08.710 --> 00:23:14.859 was totally given over to the Lord, where there wasn't any coldness or sleepiness 260 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:21.259 or distr actedness? None. We all have problems in the logistics of our 261 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:23.299 worship, in the heart of our worship, where our minds are at. 262 00:23:26.460 --> 00:23:30.930 We don't come to God and prove ourselves or the greatness of following his rules. 263 00:23:32.890 --> 00:23:36.529 Now we come to God because of His grace. We come under the 264 00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:41.170 banner of His grace, under his forgiveness, still seeking to do everything he 265 00:23:41.289 --> 00:23:44.720 has called us to do, but knowing that that's not the basis, or 266 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:49.519 there are are the reason why we do things or our justification for being able 267 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:56.230 to do them. No, we come under the grace of God. We 268 00:23:56.349 --> 00:24:00.109 see this not only in Hezekiah's prayer, but we also see it in the 269 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:04.349 celebration of the Passover itself, of the Feast of the unloven bread. They 270 00:24:04.390 --> 00:24:11.259 are celebrating the grace of God in constituting them as a people and bringing them 271 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:18.779 out of slavery and bondage into freedom and new life and joy and celebration. 272 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:25.849 Even as Hezekiah commands them, he is commanding a kind of turning. You 273 00:24:26.009 --> 00:24:32.009 remember that language, turning, turning, turning, he says. He says, 274 00:24:32.210 --> 00:24:34.930 do not now be a stiff necked people, as your father's were. 275 00:24:37.930 --> 00:24:41.759 I don't know for sure if these are meant exactly to be connected. This 276 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:47.079 idea, this language of turning or returning to the Lord and being stiffed next. 277 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:51.440 So I don't want to be overly, don't press this point too much, 278 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:56.390 but it seems to me at least that at least it's very difficult to 279 00:24:56.069 --> 00:25:00.869 turn if your neck is stiff, that there's a kind of overlap in this 280 00:25:02.029 --> 00:25:07.420 imagery. Here he's calling them to turn and to return, to turn around, 281 00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:12.619 to move yourself in another direction, but this imagery of stiff neckedness shows 282 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:18.180 the difficulty of turning. You know, and your neckers. What do you 283 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:22.170 do? You can let's awkward and weird when you try and move around. 284 00:25:23.329 --> 00:25:30.049 Don't be stiff necked, he says. Turn to the Lord, that God's 285 00:25:30.089 --> 00:25:34.569 fears anger may turn to you. How are they to turn to the Lord? 286 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:38.200 Do they turn to him in their great confidence? And Wow, isn't 287 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:42.720 an impressive that we're all worshiping together? Isn't it impressive that we're worshiping at 288 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:48.839 Jerusalem? Is it impressive how we have followed all your rules and commandments? 289 00:25:49.069 --> 00:25:55.470 No, they turn and they return to the Lord, not being stiff necked 290 00:25:56.309 --> 00:26:00.670 under his grace, celebrating his Passover, celebrating the Feast of unloven bread, 291 00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:04.740 covering everything that they do in prayer. Listen to what he says in verse 292 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:08.339 nine. He says, for if you return to the Lord, your brothers 293 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:15.980 and your children will find not justice but compassion with their captors and return to 294 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:22.970 this land that compassion that they are hoping will have, that their captors will 295 00:26:22.970 --> 00:26:29.009 have, people who are still in exile, still who are not in Israel. 296 00:26:29.930 --> 00:26:32.769 That's based on the compassion of God, for, as he goes on 297 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:37.720 to say, for the Lord, your God, is gracious and merciful and 298 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:44.599 will not turn away his face from you if you return to him. Notice 299 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:48.390 also the order of this. It's not saying that God will turn his face 300 00:26:48.630 --> 00:26:52.390 to you if you turn your face to him. It says, God will 301 00:26:52.430 --> 00:26:56.950 not turn away his face from you when you or if you return to him. 302 00:26:57.869 --> 00:27:03.460 God has already acted, God is already set up. King has a 303 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:07.460 Kiah, who is working strongly, who's calling for reform, who's sending out 304 00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:15.170 the word of God, to come home, to return both literally to Jerusalem, 305 00:27:15.890 --> 00:27:21.289 but also into something more than that, to a place that is greater, 306 00:27:21.450 --> 00:27:23.529 for that, greater than that, as we read at the end of 307 00:27:23.690 --> 00:27:27.529 this chapter, than the priests and the Levite the Rose and bless the people 308 00:27:27.650 --> 00:27:33.440 in their voice was heard and their prayer came to his holy Habitation in heaven. 309 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:38.799 They come to the House of the Lord. They come to Jerusalem because 310 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:42.920 this is the place where God has said to especially dwell in his people. 311 00:27:44.630 --> 00:27:48.069 And yet just as solemn and recognized at the dedication of the temple, that 312 00:27:48.230 --> 00:27:53.829 the Lord is not contained in this house, unlike all of their pagan idols 313 00:27:53.869 --> 00:28:00.259 and pagan and false gods, the Lord sits far above the earth and the 314 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:08.740 heavenly places. He rules supreme, and this is how they were coming to 315 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:17.569 God, to that God, to their covenant Lord and King, and coming 316 00:28:17.609 --> 00:28:22.930 to Jerusalem. They were recognizing his grace, they're recognizing his strength they were 317 00:28:22.970 --> 00:28:26.920 remembering his promises to them as a unified people under Abraham, under Isaac, 318 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:34.680 under it doesn't say Jacob, Israel, because they were this people and consecrated 319 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:44.549 people from constituted by his covenant promises. That's why they came and that's why 320 00:28:44.869 --> 00:28:48.750 the effect of all of these things was so wonderful. This is my third 321 00:28:48.869 --> 00:28:53.750 point. What was the effect of their coming together, under his forgiveness, 322 00:28:55.390 --> 00:29:02.299 under God's salvation, to worship and celebrate? Well, two things. One 323 00:29:03.660 --> 00:29:07.299 is joy, as we read in twenty three, when they decided to extend 324 00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:14.089 the festival for another seven days, they did it with gladness. They did 325 00:29:14.130 --> 00:29:18.250 it with joy. We read in Verse Twenty Six. There was so there 326 00:29:18.329 --> 00:29:23.170 was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son 327 00:29:23.250 --> 00:29:27.319 of David, King of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 328 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:33.720 They're standing around looking at the thousands of people there, looking at the 329 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:37.400 thousands of sacrifices that are being offered, the smoke going up from the temple, 330 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:44.150 and they're going wow, God hasn't done anything like this in a long 331 00:29:44.950 --> 00:29:49.470 time. Blessed be the name of the Lord, Praise Him, have joy 332 00:29:49.630 --> 00:29:55.220 in him. The Levites and the priest leading this whole Assembly with joy and 333 00:29:55.700 --> 00:30:00.140 rejoicing, we read in Verse Twenty Five. The other thing that we see 334 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:04.700 happening is not only were their hearts filled with joy as they were coming together 335 00:30:04.740 --> 00:30:10.369 under the grace of God, but their hearts were also filled with zeal. 336 00:30:11.210 --> 00:30:18.329 With zeal we see it first in this chapter, is the preparations are being 337 00:30:18.450 --> 00:30:22.839 made for all of this. They go out and as they come together, 338 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:26.519 they decide. In verse fourteen, we read that they set to work and 339 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:30.400 remove the altars that were in Jerusalem and all the altars for burning incense they 340 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:37.069 took away and throw them into the valley. Kid drawn. Be Embarrassing, 341 00:30:37.109 --> 00:30:40.589 right to come on it to the worship of the Lord and see all the 342 00:30:40.710 --> 00:30:45.549 idols kind of sitting around and the false altars and the places where you used 343 00:30:45.589 --> 00:30:48.670 to be burning incense. We better get rid of those, they think, 344 00:30:48.829 --> 00:30:53.299 and rightly so. See a similar thing when the Ephesians came to Christ they 345 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:57.259 went and burned all their magic books. They said this is we've nothing to 346 00:30:57.339 --> 00:31:03.460 do with this anymore. They were turned to the Lord and it manifested in 347 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:08.890 this kind of zeal. This will happen again in the next chapter. Verse 348 00:31:10.130 --> 00:31:12.650 One of Chapter Thirty One. Now, when all this was finished, all 349 00:31:12.849 --> 00:31:17.609 Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judas. So they move 350 00:31:17.769 --> 00:31:21.119 now outward from Jerusalem, where this work had been done, and now they 351 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:26.160 break in pieces the pillars, cut down the ashtream and broke down the high 352 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:30.680 places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin and Efre him and Manassa, 353 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:37.029 until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to 354 00:31:37.069 --> 00:31:45.549 their cities, every man to his possession. Under this King, God is 355 00:31:45.670 --> 00:31:51.940 placed on his throne. We see a great picture of Christ. We see 356 00:31:52.019 --> 00:31:56.299 a king who was established by God in accord with the promises that he had 357 00:31:56.380 --> 00:32:00.740 made to David. But one day a king would sit on the throne and 358 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:06.450 would rule over the people in Glory, in victory, in true worship. 359 00:32:08.650 --> 00:32:12.930 Has a Chi would not ultimately be that king, as we will come to 360 00:32:13.049 --> 00:32:16.200 see, but all of the rejoicing, all of this zeal, all of 361 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:22.119 the true worship the banner of God's grace. If this is amazing to you, 362 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:29.400 then stand in awe and wonder at Jesus Christ, the son of David, 363 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:35.269 who has come and established something even greater God has called, just as 364 00:32:35.349 --> 00:32:40.910 one example, not only to places as far as Bearsheba and Dan, but 365 00:32:42.069 --> 00:32:47.099 even two places, as far as Tucson. He sent his word out into 366 00:32:47.180 --> 00:32:53.900 the world and has people coming home to him. Even greater than that, 367 00:32:54.099 --> 00:32:59.089 we need not go to all the way to Jerusalem to come and worship him, 368 00:32:59.769 --> 00:33:05.089 but he pours out his spirit everywhere into the world. In this great 369 00:33:05.130 --> 00:33:10.210 manifestation and work of God. He makes us the temple and fills US and 370 00:33:10.289 --> 00:33:15.880 dwells in us so that when we come to Jesus, we are established in 371 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:24.720 him. We worship with we worship him in one heart, rejoicing and filled 372 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:34.109 with joy with the proclamation of Jesus Christ, who is the new Israel, 373 00:33:34.390 --> 00:33:39.150 who is the new temple? Who is, Paul says, our Passover lamb, 374 00:33:40.430 --> 00:33:45.539 the one whose blood was shed so that God would pass over our sins, 375 00:33:46.259 --> 00:33:50.660 so that we would be rescued out of the sin and bondage, not 376 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:54.970 just of the world, the tyrants of this world, which one day we 377 00:33:55.210 --> 00:34:07.930 will be fully but over sin itself and death and slavery forever. God is 378 00:34:07.970 --> 00:34:12.599 establishing a kingdom here and now that reaches into all the kingdoms of this world, 379 00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:17.039 and one day will be manifest in perfect glory, where every tongue and 380 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:27.989 tribe and nation worships under King Jesus forever and ever. And that's all accomplished 381 00:34:28.070 --> 00:34:34.469 because Jesus is not just a great ruler, like Hezekiah was, but he 382 00:34:34.630 --> 00:34:43.860 is God himself, who saves us by his mighty hand and as outstretched harm 383 00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:52.780 as he died for us on the Cross and rose again in victory. I 384 00:34:52.929 --> 00:34:58.409 hope the applications for this are obvious to you. We two ought to join 385 00:34:58.530 --> 00:35:05.050 together to worship God, not false idols, not the things of our own 386 00:35:05.090 --> 00:35:08.800 making, not the princes and leaders and rulers and powers of this world, 387 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:15.639 but God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God 388 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:24.630 of Israel, the God of our fathers. And, like Israel, we 389 00:35:24.789 --> 00:35:32.829 ought to join together not to celebrate our own accomplishments, but God's. Think 390 00:35:32.909 --> 00:35:38.619 about this. Isn't it true that even our act of coming together on just 391 00:35:38.739 --> 00:35:43.699 a week by week basis, just the fact that we all make it here 392 00:35:43.860 --> 00:35:50.170 in one piece, is an act of God's grace? How many things might 393 00:35:50.250 --> 00:35:54.889 have prevented you from being here today, not just on the drive here, 394 00:35:55.050 --> 00:36:00.329 but over the course of your whole life. Who of us cannot point to 395 00:36:00.849 --> 00:36:07.039 event after event after event where we say Christ was my Passover and he has 396 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:14.719 rescued me and brought me here? We think about how many times these events 397 00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:19.349 and second chronicles. Thirty did not happen in his reel. How did this 398 00:36:19.469 --> 00:36:28.269 happen? Didn't happen because they were great, because God was great. Likewise, 399 00:36:28.389 --> 00:36:31.980 we ought to recognize that, just as our arriving here as an act 400 00:36:32.019 --> 00:36:38.619 of God's mercy and grace, so also our existence as a people, as 401 00:36:38.659 --> 00:36:45.260 a family of God, our salvation, our forgiveness, our unity of Christ, 402 00:36:45.340 --> 00:36:54.610 all of it exists because he does, because he does, he acts, 403 00:36:55.530 --> 00:37:02.559 he works. In light of that, let our response not be any 404 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:08.280 less than theirs. Let us be filled with joy, let us be filled 405 00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:14.639 with zeal, let's cut down the Ashream in our lives. Let's walk into 406 00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:20.829 the world with holiness and a desire to please and serve God alone. Let's 407 00:37:20.909 --> 00:37:25.190 not be stiff necked, but when our hearts prick us and our consciences prick 408 00:37:25.230 --> 00:37:30.780 us and we see things in our lives that ought not to be let's turn 409 00:37:30.820 --> 00:37:36.860 away from them again and again and again. Let's always turn away from them 410 00:37:37.739 --> 00:37:45.929 and Unto Jehovah, the God of our fathers, our savior. Let us 411 00:37:45.929 --> pray