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Hezekiah kept the Passover
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[2Chronicles
30:1]
Hezekiah
sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and
Manasseh,
inviting
them to come to the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem
and
celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.
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3
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What
is the Passover?
The
Passover is the greatest season in Israel to remember and worship God
who
saved the people of Israel who used to live in slavery in Egypt.
God
commanded the Israelites to remember and keep this Passover
on
the 14th day of the first month (Jewish calendar, Nisan).
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After
the reign of King Solomon, over 200 years,
the
Israelites did not keep the Passover properly.
Hezekiah, the fifteenth king of Judah,
decided to keep the Passover,
God's command for all Israel.
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Hezekiah
tried to keep the Passover not on the first month
but
on the 14th day of the second month(Jewish calendar, Iyar).
It
was because there was a shortage of priests sanctified to serve God,
and enough time for the people to come
to Jerusalem from a distance.
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The
plan to keep the Passover, God's command,
was
good for King Hezekiah and all the people.
So
Hezekiah prepared to proclaim this news from Beersheba in northern Israel to
Dan as well as Judah in his reign.
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The
messengers, having prepared the letter, took the letter of the king
and
his servants and went to all Israel and Judah and declared:
¡°At
the king¡¯s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters
from
the king and from his officials, which read: ¡°People of Israel, return to the
Lord, the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who
have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.¡±(2Ch 30:6)
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¡°If
you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children
will
be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land,
for
the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.
He will not turn his face from you if
you return to him.¡±(2Ch 30:9)
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The
men who were commanded by the king went to Zebulun,
including
all the towns of Ephraim and Manasseh.
However,
the people of northern Israel were not sympathetic to them.
They ridiculed and scoffed at them.
¡°Cheeky Judas, do not be ridiculous
and serve yourselves well!¡±
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But
some of the people repented of their own wrongs and went to Jerusalem to
come
to God again.
God
moved the hearts of the people to follow the words of King Hezekiah and his
servants.
The command of the king and his
servants was in the heart of God.
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In
the second month a large crowd gathered in Jerusalem to keep the Passover.
The
people destroyed the altars that were in Jerusalem and the altar that smote
the false gods, and threw them into the valley of
Kidron.
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It's
finally the second month, 14th. The people began to gather
in
the temple to catch the Passover lamb.
The priests and the Levites were
embarrassed when they saw the crowd trying to serve God with all their soul.
So they sanctified themselves for the Lord.
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They
stood in the temple as they were written in the law of Moses, the man of God.
The Levites gave the priest blood of
the sacrifice.
Then the priests sprinkled the blood
on the altar.
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Many
people in the crowd have not yet sanctified themselves for the Lord.
Because
of that, they could not catch the Passover lamb.
So
the Levites were held accountable for the Passover lamb for all the unclean
people.
The Levites sanctified every sheep for
God.
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And
Ephraim, and Manasseh, and Issachar, and Zebulun,
who
came far away from northern Israel, ate the Passover meal without cleansing
themselves. It was breaking the law.
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Hezekiah
saw this and prayed to God for them. ¡°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. 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.¡±¡°(2Ch 30:18~19)
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God
who heard Hezekiah's prayer did not punish the people and healed their
hearts.
God
is pleased to have mercy on His people.
God
gives grace to those who turn away from sin and seek to serve God with a
sincere heart.
God
has received the heart of King Hezekiah and the people of Israel
who tried to keep the Passover in
spite of their lack.
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God
sent Jesus to this world with the Passover Lamb.
He
cleansed all our sins. Let us give thanks to Jesus,
the
Passover Lamb who sacrificed himself to save us.
If
we faithfully believe in Jesus and worship God with all our sincerity,
we
will realize the great mercy and grace God gives us today.
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(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
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