May the mumbling commence!
What is best at bringing warring factions together? Some might say a common foe. But they’d be wrong. That only hides the tension beneath the
surface. To restore right relationship,
people must come to the one Lord of all creation and worship God together. Our relationship with the Lord is foundational
to all our other relationships. Read a
passage from Second Chronicles chapter thirty:
King Hezekiah now sent word to all
Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to Ephraim and
Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to
the Temple of the Lord at
Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord,
the God of Israel. The king, his officials, and all the community of
Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual. They were unable to celebrate it at the regular time
because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not
yet assembled at Jerusalem. This plan for
keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people. So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to
Dan in the north, inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the
Passover of the Lord, the God of
Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers
as prescribed in the law. (Verses 1-5)
King Hezekiah was king over Judah. His influence only extended to Jerusalem,
Judah, and Benjamin. Yet his call to
celebrate the Passover of the Lord went out to all Israel – from Dan to
Beersheba. Hezekiah was not speaking as
their king. He was speaking as a fellow
worshiper of the Lord God of Israel. Not the God of Jerusalem or Judah – God was
the God of all Israel. And they were
celebrating Passover late. They had to
celebrate Passover late because they were so out of practice. The priests and Levites were not purified –
at least not in sufficient numbers. And
the people of Israel had neither been called nor had they gathered.
We will find like the prodigal sons of Jesus’ parable that
our initial steps back to right relationship with the Lord will be met by our
Lord God coming to embrace us and restore us to our rightful place as His
children. It is for this reason that I
am happy to officiate weddings of couples that are not involved in any
church. When they desire to seek out a
minister of the Lord and are willing to go through pre-marital counseling, then
who am I to stop them?
Allowances will be made for those leaving behind their
wandering ways and returning to the Lord.
But be forewarned that this method to reconciliation is not a quick
fix. But it is a deep fix. It is a deep change in me and those I relate
to. It is worth the time and effort that
we place into it. Read further from
Second Chronicles chapter thirty:
The messengers went from town
to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun.
But most of the people just laughed at the messengers and
made fun of them. However, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to
Jerusalem. At the same time, God's hand
was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them a strong desire to unite in
obeying the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the
word of the Lord. And so a huge crowd assembled at Jerusalem in
midspring to celebrate Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. They
set to work and removed the pagan altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the
incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
On the appointed day in midspring, one month later than usual, the people
slaughtered their Passover lambs. Then
the priests and Levites became ashamed, so they purified themselves and brought
burnt offerings to the Temple of the Lord.
They took their places at the Temple
according to the regulations found in the law of Moses, the man of God.
The Levites brought the sacrificial blood to the priests, who then sprinkled it
on the altar.
Since many of the people there had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover
lambs for them, to set them apart for the Lord. Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar,
and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King
Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway,
even though this was contrary to God's laws. For Hezekiah said, "May the Lord,
who is good, pardon those who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not
properly cleansed for the ceremony." And the Lord
listened to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people. (Verses 10-20)
Most made fun of the summons, but some came. They came to the celebration of the Passover ceremonially
unclean. The Levites covered for them
and made the sacrifices for them – though they were supposed to be clean and
offer the animals themselves.
And the
people were not supposed to eat of the Passover food, but King Hezekiah prayed
for them and allowed them to eat. God
listened to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed them.
Our return trip to the Lord is paved by the grace of God.
And, if the way is paved by grace, then the vehicle is
love. Read from First Corinthians
chapter eight:
Now let's talk about food that
has been sacrificed to idols. You think that everyone should agree with your
perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers
doesn't really know very much. But the person
who loves God is the one God
knows and cares for. (Verses 1-3)
Help us to extend grace and love to one another.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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