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(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Chronicles 30:13–20, “And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.”
Even though Hezekiah was enthusiastic about celebrating the Passover and bringing Judah back to the Lord, there were many who were not as eager as he was. Many of the priests did’t make the effort to sanctify themselves so that they could participate in this great festival. However, when the priest saw that many of the ordinary people were keen to celebrate the Passover, they were ashamed and quickly submitted themselves to the process and became sanctified. Some of the people, from both Israel and Judah, were enthusiastic but they were not informed so they went ahead and celebrated the great festival even though they were not ceremonially pure. As a result some of the people were sick because of their sin. No one could do anything about that but Hezekiah prayed that the Lord would forgive these people out of the goodness of His heart and the Lord forgave them. When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he acknowledged that there was no site in the whole of creation, which could contain the Lord but the Lord graciously chose to place His Name in Jerusalem. In the end. no one on earth, not matter how good they are, can actually do anything to impress the Lord God. We can only, like Abraham, believe God, and He will graciously count us as righteous.
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