Episode Transcript
WEBVTT
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My friends, we are coming to
the end of chronicles. We are in
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the next to the last chapter tonight, second chronicles, Chapter Thirty Five.
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I'll be reading verses one through nineteen
here in second chronicles thirty five. At
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the beginning of this chapter, we
have what is continuing to be a great
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high point in Israel's history, under
good King Josiah's reign. Let's hear now
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part of a little bit more of
his reforms and particularly as he and his
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people keep the Passover. So second
chronicles thirty five, this is God's word.
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Let us hear it with faith.
Josiah kept a pass over to the
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Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered
the Passover lamb. On the Fourteenth Day
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of the first month. He appointed
the priests to their offices and encouraged them
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in the service of the House of
the Lord, and he said to the
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Levites, who taught all Israel and
who were holy to the Lord, put
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the Holy Ark in the House that
Solomon, the son of David, King
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of Israel, built. You need
not carry it on your shoulders. Now
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serve the Lord, your God and
his people, Israel. Prepare yourselves according
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to your father's houses, by your
divisions as prescribed in the riding of David,
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King of Israel, and the document
of Solomon his son, and stand
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in the holy place according to the
groupings of the father's houses, of your
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brothers, the lay people and according
to the division of the Levites by father's
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household, and slaughter the Passover lamb
and consecrate yourselves and prepare for your brothers
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to do according to the word of
the Lord. By Moses, then Josiah
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contributed to the lay people, as
Passover offerings for all who were present,
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lambs and young goats from the flock
to the number of thirty thousand and three
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thousand bulls. These were from the
king's possessions, and his officials contributed willingly
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to the people, to the priests
and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zachariah
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and Jehiel, the chief officers of
the House of God, gave to the
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priests for the Passover offerings two thousand
six hundred Passover lambs and three hundred bulls.
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CONANAIAH also and Shemaiah and Nathanel,
his brothers, and Hashabaiah and jet
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yell and Jazabad, the chiefs of
the Levites, gave to the Levites for
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the Passover offerings, five thousand lambs
and young goats and five hundred bulls,
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when the service had been prepared for
the priests, when the service had been
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prepared for the priests stood in their
place and the Lea Levites in the divisions,
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according to the king's command, and
they slaughtered the Passover lamb and the
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priests through the blood that they received
for from them, while the Levites flayed
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the sacrifices, and they set aside
the burnt offerings that they might distribute them,
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according to the groupings of the fathers, as houses of the lay people
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to offer to the Lord, as
it is written in the Book of Moses.
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And so they did with the Bulls, and they roasted the Passover lamb
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with fire, according to the rule, and they boiled the holy pot offerings
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and pots and cauldrons and in pans
and carried them away, or and carried
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them quickly to all the lay people. And afterward they prepared for themselves and
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for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Erin, were offering
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the burnt offerings and the fat parts
until night. So the Levites prepared for
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themselves and for the priests. The
sons of Erin, the singers, the
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sons of Asaf were in their place, according to the command of David,
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and Asaf and hemn and Jehan Jeduthan, the king's sear and the gate keepers
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were at each gate. They did
not need to depart from their service for
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their brothers, the Levites, prepared
for them. So all the service of
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the Lord was prepared that day to
keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings
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on the altar of the Lord,
according to the command of King Josiah,
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and the people of Israel who were
present kept the Passover at that time and
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the Feast of unloven bread seven days. No Passover like it had been kept
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in Israel since the days of Samuel
The prophet. None of the kings of
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Israel had kept such a Passover as
was kept by Josiah and the priests and
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the Levites and all Judah and Israel
who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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In the Eighteenth Year of the reign
of Josiah, this Passover was kept
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a man named John Mayer, not
the musician that the Anglican Priest and Bible
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commentator of the seventeenth century. He
once asked this question, he said in
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his commentary on chronicles. He said
why so great an account was made?
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Why was so great an account made
of keeping the Passover, since it consisted
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of nothing but eating and burning fat
in fire? Now this, of course,
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is a rhetorical question which he doesn't
mean in quite this way, and
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he has a good answer for it, which I'll share in a moment.
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But there's a way in which we
can read this text wrongly. Is What
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he's getting at. There's a way
in which we can look at this and
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we can say this is a lot
of detail and what's the big deal?
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We simply have a meal being shared, a meal being eaten, eaten,
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animals being sacrificed. There's a lot
of answers you might give to this question.
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His was this and he was right
about it. He said it was
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an expression of thankfulness to God for
their deliverance out of Egypt and, as
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it was taken in faith in the
promised Jesus, who is prefigured in the
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lamb, they celebrated this salvation of
God, that it happened in the past
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and would always happen, for God
would take care of them and keep them.
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They celebrated they Passover lamb or they
celebrated Jesus, who is prefigured in
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the Passover land, and they celebrated
Jesus as he is prefigured by Moses,
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who brought the people out of Egypt, and they are concludes that, while
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we no longer are obliged to keep
the Passover, obedience, faith and Thanksgiving
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in a solemn manner, he adds, are still the duties of the godly,
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and this is exactly right. There's
something here. There are many things
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here actually, that we can learn
and remember from Josiah's keeping of the Passover.
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Before we set say say what those
are, or perhaps I suggest a
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few things that we might consider.
First, notice it's important. This is
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a text where supposed to pay attention
to for a number of reasons. First,
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God's word always should be paid attention
to. It's in the Bible,
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it's for our instruction, it's for
our Bene fit. So if we don't
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see it immediately, we ought to
search for it, because it's there.
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We also have other reasons to understand
the importance of this passage. It is,
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after all, coming at the end
of a very long history. Right
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things are coming to a conclusion where
to intended to understand something about what is
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been going on and who these kings
are. In the next section, section,
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Josiah will be killed in a battle
because of his disobedience to the Lord.
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But before has life ends in this
particular way, we have this,
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this moment of worship, as the
capstone of all of his reforms. It
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highlights an importance to what's going on
in this moment in their history. Lastly,
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I would add the repetition throughout this
chapter that no Passover had been kept
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like this since the days of Samuel. There's a significance of this. We're
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supposed to read this and go wow, that was a big deal. What
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is a big what is a significant
about this Passover? It should have been
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happening every year throughout all the Kings, since Samuel, and even before the
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kings and before Samuel. Well,
no doubt it, there are times when
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it occurred and it's not recorded,
simply because it wasn't important to record,
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even though it was important that it
occurred. But also we might remember that
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some of these kings were very wicked. Some of these kings, in fact
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many of the Kings that we've read
about throughout chronicles, have not been like
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King Josiah. Have often gone in
other ways and fallen in love with false
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gods. So the fact that he
is doing it at all is significant.
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But there's other things that we see
throughout the chapter. We see a great
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orderliness and everything that happens. Everyone
is divided in the right place and in
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the proper place. Everything is done
in according to the word of God.
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Over and over again, it's emphasized
that these things were done according to the
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things that David had written, according
to the things that Solomon had written,
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according to the things that Moses had
written. God's Word is permeating the worship
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of Israel at this moment and that's
will be one of our lessons. But
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that's important. That in our lies
and helps us to understand it's importance and
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why it's important. Josiah isn't just
worshiping the Lord, He is worshiping the
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Lord according to the the words of
the Lord. He's obeying God in the
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way that God sees fit. We
also see something great and important happening in
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this generosity that's happening as he donates
and contributes to the lay people all of
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these offerings and as though those who
are underneath him. Other officials are also
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doing the same thing, and maybe
you notice the great communion that is happening,
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of the unity and peace among the
people. And as this occurs,
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the fact that it might seem a
little bit dry to you should be a
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good thing in a way. There's
no drama here right. There's no drama
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in the way that we talked about
sort of bad things happening in life.
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It's simply people coming together and worshiping
God in a beautiful and unified way.
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Walk away from that and praise God. There's something very wonderful here. Is
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The gatekeepers, it says, didn't
have to leave their posts. Why?
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Because they were provided for, they
were taking care of. Of course they
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were taking care of. After all, the lay people were taken care of.
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Everyone is watching out for everyone else, everyone is making sure that all
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can participate, that all are watched
over. Sometimes, when we celebrate communion
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here, you might notice that one
of the elders or I sort of slip
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out for a moment and and then
come back in. It's because we're going
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out into the fire or into the
nursery here looking for a mom or or
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someone who's had to take her her
children out or someone who's needed to step
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out for a moment. They're trying
to do the same kinds of things here,
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make sure that everyone is provided for, everyone is taking care of.
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It's a sign of love and communion
and unity that they have. The opposite
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we see in place like Corinthians,
where people are elbowing each other on the
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way to the table, trying to
beat each other and eat the most food,
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and it's not a communion of love
at all. But here, and
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second chronicles thirty five, you couldn't
ask for anything more. Really. You
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have a king who has a good
understanding and a right understanding of of worship.
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He calls his people to worship according
to the war word of the Lord.
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He's generous to his people out of
his own possessions. He's a leader,
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as he calls the other leaders to
follow and to lead. You see
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the people submitting to that leadership and
Obeying and Worshiping and not rebelling and worshiping
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false gods. You see each office, the sons of Aaron, the Levites,
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the musicians, the gatekeepers, everyone
acting according to their right place,
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according to their calling, according to
their gifts. Here we have in Israel
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finally, after so much drama throughout
the book, peace and stability and the
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worship of God. Well, I
may have gotten ahead of myself a little
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bit and begun to suggest some lessons
already, but let me get back on
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track here and and suggest a few
things, three things for us to consider
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and learn from all this. First, a true reform among God's people is
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really impossible, apart from reform in
worship. Josiah gets this as king over
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God's People, God's Worshiping Covenant People. He knows it's not enough to simply
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command them to not move boundary markers
or don't steal from each other, or
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treating one another with kindness, exercise
hospitality, live life in these ways in
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accordance with righteousness. That would be
all good, but something more is needed.
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Worship is needed. Imagine what Israel
would have looked like if everyone was
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doing sort of acts of righteousness but
still going up to the high places and
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worshiping bail would God be pleased with
that? Would God say, well,
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now here's our really good people.
Too Bad about that idolatry, but you
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know, we can overlook it because
they're so nice. Of course not right.
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God would not be pleased at all
because, for one, it neglects
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the most essential element of obedience,
and that's that when we obey and we
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seek to obey, or when we
when we seek to obey, it must
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always be done unto God and for
God. If we try to obey,
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to be kind to other people,
to show love, to be a good
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neighbor, apart from obedience to God, it's only centered in our own pride.
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It's a neglect and a rejection of
the very law giver. How could
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that be obeying the law? And
second, it's, of course, impossible
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to make any true reforms without God
at the center. God is the one
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who holds the law all together.
Without Him, without him as the LAWGIVER,
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without him as the organizing principle,
the center of it all, law
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becomes just the arbitrary laws of men, one being imposed on another. When
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Jesus speaks to the woman at the
well, he tells her that a day
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is coming when they will worship in
spirit and in truth. Central to who
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the people are of God is worship. It's not merely enough to simply be
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a quote unquote, good people.
A second, that worship has to be
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done according to God's word. Would
Josiah be right to say, Hey,
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everyone, we know that the worship
of God is important, but let's ignore
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and neglect all the commands that God
is given us and how we ought to
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worship and just worship in our own
way? Would God be pleased by that?
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Again, of course not. If
you want to please God, you
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will obey his commandments, you will
follow his word, and that comes as
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true of worship as it is of
everything else. How can we worship God
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according to our own imaginations? Will
God be a pleased and accept what is
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not given in faith, trusting in
him and that what he has says is
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true and right? Josiah didn't do
this. Instead, Josiah believed that what
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the Lord had said was right,
that the Passover had been given to them
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for a reason and a purpose,
that the things that commemorated were the things
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that they ought to commemorate, the
things that it prioritize where the things that
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they ought to prioritize. And when
he calls his people together, he is
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he is. He emphasizes that that
it ought to be done and that it
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was done according to the word of
the Lord. And he did that not
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only according to the precise regulations and
things that went on, but according to
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the spirit of the love love,
as well, as we see in his
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generosity and inclusiveness. Finally, it's
important to remember that worship, the worship
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of God's people, as we see
in this chapter, always depends upon sacrifice.
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There's no worship of God without sacrifice. If you think that you can
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imagine a system of worship in which
we come to God perfectly following in his
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own following his own rules by which
he is pleased, but there's no sacrifice
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a part of it, well then
you've misunderstood something fundamental about God and our
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relationship with him. If you imagine
that you can somehow come before the presence
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of God and bow down and worship
him and praise him and glorify him without
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any sacrifice around you, without bringing
some kind of offering to him, then
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we've misunderstood something fundamental about our relationship
with him. It's like coming to a
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Christmas party dressed for the fourth of
July. You've you're here to celebrate right,
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but you've missed the point entirely.
Sacrifice is at the center of the
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worship of God because sin divides us
from God. Sin Without sacrifice is a
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fundamental part of our relationship. There's
no coming before God and saying here I
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am, let's worship, let's be
together, let me receive your blessing,
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because there's a problem, there a
wall, there a great obstacle. Sin.
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Sin Divides us from God. It
separates from us from God, it
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makes us impure and unholy, unable
to come to him. And so we
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see. The Old Testament teaches us
that this sacrifice is required. In the
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case of the Passover, God required
that a blood of a lamb be spread
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on the doorways of the people of
Israel, their houses, so that as
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the angel of death passed from house
to house, they would be passed over
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because of that sacrifice that had been
made. Why sacrifice, though? Well,
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for one sacrifice teaches us and maintains
it reminds us of this distinction.
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It reminds us that something is impeding
our relationship with God, as it comes
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and and heals that or takes away
the obstacle. A sacrifice preaches, in
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a sense, the consequences of sin. Shed blood, death. What does
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the Apostle Paul say? The wages
of sin is death, and the sacrifice
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points that out in this very clear
way. As they blood was was sprinkled
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onto the altar, as the they
the the meat of the animals are flayed
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open, as the smell of burning
fat lifted into the air, it was
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very clear, in this very powerful
way, that a death was required.
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There is consequence for sin, but
the sacrifice also shows something else. It
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deals with sin in such a way
that there is a substitute between us,
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in US and God. In other
words, a sacrifice is required, yes,
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but it's not me and it's not
you. You're not the one being
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flayed, you're not the one whose
blood is being shed, you're not the
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one whose death is being required.
It's another one that God has provided a
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salvation, that God has said,
here is how you can come and worship
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me, here is how you may
come and worship and live. And all
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of this we are reminded of this
great truth, that all of these sacrifices
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that we have in the Passover,
in the burnt offerings, in this feast
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and throughout the Old Testament, they
point to this one, one and final
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sacrifice that is given to us in
Jesus. John One hundred and twenty nine
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says, the next day Jesus,
that he saw Jesus, that is John
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The baptist, saught Jesus coming toward
him. And here's what John says,
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the great and last profit of the
Old Testament. He says, behold the
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lamb of God, who takes away
the sins of the world. The Lamb
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of God, Paul says in First
Corinthians Five, seven, cleans out the
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old leaven that you may be a
new lump, as you really are,
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unleavened for Christ, our Passover lamb
has been sacrificed, John says in revelation
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five. Let me read a longer
passage revelation five, beginning verse six,
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and between the throne and the four
living creatures and among the elders, I
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saw a lamb standing as though it
had been slain, with seven horns and
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seven eyes, which are the seven
spirits of God put into all the earth.
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And he went and took the scroll
from the right hand of him who
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was seated on the throne, him, that is, the lamb. And
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when he had taken the scroll,
the four living creatures in the twenty four
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elders fell down before the lamb,
each holding the harp and the Golden Bulls
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full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints and they sang a
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new song, saying, worthy are
you to take the scroll and to open
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its seas, for you were slain
and by your blood you ransomed people for
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God from every tribe and language and
people in nation, and you have made
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them a kingdom and priests to our
God and they shall reign on the earth.
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Then I looked and I heard,
around the throne and the living creatures
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and the elders, the voice of
many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and
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thousands of thousands, saying, with
a loud voice, worthy is the lamb,
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who was slain to receive power and
wealth and wisdom and might and honor
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and glory and blessing. And I
heard every creature in heaven and on Earth
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and under the Earth and in the
sea and all that is in them saying
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to him who sits on the throne
and to the lamb be blessing and honor
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and glory and might forever and ever. Amen. This is the worship of
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Heaven, this is the worship of
the kingdom to come, this is the
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worship that we will participate in for
all eternity and its centers around the lamb
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who is slain, whose blood was
shed for you, that you might be
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able to worship, that you might
be included in the great number of the
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people of God standing among these hundreds
of millions of angels worshiping and praising Josiah.
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Is a good king. Thumbs up
too, thumbs up Josiah, but
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he's no Jesus, as well see
coming up. Josiah, like all the
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other kings, like every other man
that is lived, makes mistakes, sinful
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mistakes, costly, deadly mistakes.
Even the most righteous people fall into sin,
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mess up, get it wrong willfully, unful unwilfully, knowingly and unwillingly
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own unknowingly. Even as chronicles is
ending, it leaves US waiting for another
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not one to just institute an Old
Testament feast, but one who is the
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Old Testament feast, one who is
the king and is the priest and is
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the lamb, one who comes not
only to save us from all our sin,
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but who is worthy to be worshiped
forever and ever, who makes no
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mistakes, and because of that is
us sacrifice that is perfect and worthy of
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being a final sacrifice for us.
When we come to worship, we also
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come because it is central to who
we are as God's people. It's what
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we do, it's who we are, and we do that according to the
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word of God, and we do
it all depending on a sacrifice, not
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one that we bring, but one
that God has brought. Even as he
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commanded them to give these Passover lambs, he commands us not to give Christ,
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but to receive him, to trust
in him. God gives to us
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the lamb that we might have him
forever. When we come to worship,
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we come depending on Jesus, who
was that final sacrifice. We don't need
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to bring sacrifices anymore because he is
perpetually being offered, all to the praise
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and glory of God. So when
we worship, and we worship according to
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the word of God, always keep
your faith and your heart and your mind
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on Jesus. He is how we
are reconciled with God. Here's how we
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are ransomed. He is how we
can and do worship. Let's pray
