2 Chronicles 30

“Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord.  They stood in their place according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites.  For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord.  For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, ‘May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.’  And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments.  And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.” 2 Chronicles 30:15-22 (NKJV)

I was recently discussing a potential business venture with a friend, and as we tried to figure out the logistical details, he wisely said, “A good plan today is better than a great plan tomorrow.” His point was clear: You can’t always have every base covered at the time of launch. Some details have to be worked out as you go, and some opportunities can be lost due to “paralysis-by-analysis.”  Today’s passage is an excellent snapshot of God’s mercy, grace, patience, and longsuffering in the Old Testament. The people chose to worship the Lord, even though they weren’t quite sure how to worship Him.

Thanks to Hezekiah’s leadership, the call to worship the Lord in Jerusalem went out to not only Judah but also those Israelites living in the idolatrous Northern Kingdom. How were they to worship Him? By remembering the Passover, the miraculous deliverance of God’s people from Egyptian bondage when they obeyed His Word. Everything was against them. The priests and the people were not sanctified. It wasn’t the Biblically prescribed time to observe Passover, and the nation was divided politically. It sounds like the United States today!

But the encouraging message today is how God overlooked all of those factors and decided to honor their faith, by His grace, despite their absence of good works. It is Ephesians 2:8-9 in action, smack in the middle of the Old Testament! (combined with 2 Chronicles 7:13-14)  God weighs the heart, not strictly the actions.   Messiah Jesus cleans His “fish” AFTER He catches them. And that is comforting to those of us whose prayer of salvation consists of, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)