With the temple sparkling again and the priesthood back in order, Hezekiah and the elders decide it would be good to observe the Passover.

One problem. They’re a month too late. They decide to go ahead and do it anyway. Imperfectly. (Oh and it was.)

They send couriers throughout ALL Israel- even to the farthest parts of the Northern Kingdom. This was one of those rare, “Dan to Beersheba” events. Everyone was invited. And they’re not just being invited to a festival, they’re being invited to return to Yahweh as God. It’s like an altar call at a Billy Graham crusade.

“So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭30‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Most of the people in the north think it’s a hilarious joke, but a few humble themselves and pack up the family to head to Jerusalem.

This Passover is honestly a wreck. It’s like celebrating the 4th of July on the 4th of August. The DAY is historically important. And they’ve missed it.

Men who are part of the priesthood haven’t correctly consecrated themselves. Neither have most of the people. A handful of Levites seem to be the only ones who know how things are supposed to be done. It’s probably pretty chaotic around the temple…

👳🏻‍♂️ “No no NO! This part goes on the altar, THAT part may be eaten.”

👳🏽‍♂️ “Stop! You must go wash in the mikveh before you can take your offering in there.”

👳🏻 “Does anyone have an extra consecrated pot? I’ve run out!”

👳🏽‍♂️ “Uh, excuse me, Sir…. I know you’re a descendant of Aaron but you need to have gone through the entire consecration process AND be dressed in the holy garments before you can enter.”

But here’s what’s so precious… This rag-tag bunch of mostly clueless people are doing their best (such as it is) to honor the God of their fathers. It’s off schedule, disorganized, there aren’t enough priests, the people aren’t sanctified… but Hezekiah prays,

“May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” ‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭30‬:‭18‬-‭20 ESV‬‬

These weren’t “church people.” Some of them had never been to Jerusalem, had never seen a proper sacrifice. None of them (including the priests and Levites) had EVER done Passover before. It hadn’t been celebrated in 200 years!!

Perhaps their granny told them Bible stories and recited prayers but they did’t really know anything about Yahweh. As far as many of them knew, He was just another invisible god in the pantheon. Most of them probably had really wonky ideas about the God of Abraham and weird superstitions.

They didn’t know how to dress or what the rules were. But they showed up with humble hearts. And God heard, and He healed them.

And look what the “church people” did when all these folks showed up.

“Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭30‬:‭20‬, ‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

If you’re a “church person” like me, let’s choose to bless the lost souls who come looking for God. Do they have wonky ideas about God that come more from song lyrics and tv than the Bible? Yeah. They do. Do they know how to dress modestly for worship or behave appropreately? Nope. But let’s bless them and pray for the Lord to pardon them. I’m not saying we compromise with sin. But they don’t know any better. Just like the people in Hezekiah’s day. You can’t expect a sinner to behave like a saint, especially when saints can’t even behave like saints half the time.

Let’s not criticize. Not look down upon. Not tell them “Excuse me, could you move? That’s MY spot.” (I have heard of this happening! INSANE! If your pew or chair is more sacred to you than an eternal soul, – let me see, how can I say this lovingly… How bout YOU find a new seat? Oh look. Here’s an empty seat. It’s called the floor. Where you can repent!)

😬 Whoah… easy there, Tiger. Gettin’ kinda wound up there. I can hear your pulse rate climbing from here.

😤

😌 That’s it. Inhale. Exhale. 😮‍💨 Jesus died for religious prigs too.

😑

K… I’m good now. So… instead of finding fault, maybe we could pray this prayer over them and share the Gospel:

“May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”

So the Levites prayed for the people and blessed them and then we actually get the end of the narrative in the opening of chapter 31:

“Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭31‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There’s this huge assembly of people in Jerusalem and after they finish celebrating the Passover, they go throughout the tribal lands of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh (presumably in groups) and they tear down the pagan altars. ALL of them.

They were serious about returning to worshiping Yahweh alone. The exclusivity is the key. There had been a lot of years when Israel and Judah worshiped Yahweh along with other gods. By tearing down the competing shrines and altars, they are bringing their spiritual commitment into physical reality. It’s kind of the whole “faith without works is dead” idea.

After the altars to other gods are torn down, and everyone goes home, Hezekiah sets about making the Levitial priesthood functional again so worship can be continual. And for that, they need to collect the tithes to feed the priests and their families so they can spend their workdays doing the service of the temple. They prioritize and organize because they want the fellowship with Yahweh to last. It’s not enough to have one big hoorah and then go back to the old way.

Let’s recap the progression of “Hezekiah’s Revival.”

1. Open the doors of the temple
2. Clean out the temple
3. Rededicate the temple
4. Celebrate Passover
5. Destroy locations of idol worship and idols, including the bronze serpent which was a good thing that had been turned into an idol
6. Organize and provide for for regular worship and ministry

If we desire “revival” Perhaps what Hezekiah did could serve as a guide.

Obviously, the temple is now both the individual believer and the community of believers.

And the junk we need to clean out is as often spiritual and mental and emotional as it is physical.

The Passover was reframed by Jesus as the memorial of His sacrifice that saves from death. And we need to celebrate and trust our Passover Lamb even if we do it imperfectly.

The idols of today are more likely to be found on a smartphone than a shrine, but no matter where or what form it takes, or even if it was once a good thing from the past- if we’re seeking it to save us then it’s an idol.

And here’s the secret. Once this is all done, there can be no going back to “business as usual.” Participating in worship and service must become a priority, not just something haphazard.

Hezekiah led the nation in one of the greatest revivals in biblical history. It was a lot of work and some of the details were less than perfect but God saved Judah and at least 2 generations from destruction because people humbled themselves and returned to the LORD.

I bet it still works today.