Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 103
2C
| 30:12–31:1
C hronicles – E Z R A – N E H E M I A H
91
At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah,
giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials,
who were following the word of the Lord. So a huge crowd assembled
at Jerusalem in midspring to celebrate 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 fourteenth day of the second month, one month later than usual,
the people slaughtered the Passover lamb. This shamed the priests and
Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the
Temple of the Lord. Then they took their places at the Temple as prescribed 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 had not purified themselves, the Levites had
to slaughter their Passover lamb 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 the requirements of the Law. 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.
So the people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem joyously celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. Each day the Levites and priests sang to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments.
Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites regarding the skill they displayed as
they served the Lord. The celebration continued for seven days. Peace
offerings were sacrificed, and the people gave thanks to the Lord, the
God of their ancestors.
The entire assembly then decided to continue the festival another seven
days, so they celebrated joyfully for another week. King Hezekiah gave the
people 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for offerings, and the officials donated 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. Meanwhile, many
more priests purified themselves.
The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, including the priests, the Levites, all who came from the land of Israel, the foreigners who came to the
festival, and all those who lived in Judah. There was great joy in the city,
for Jerusalem had not seen a celebration like this one since the days of Sol
omon, King David’s son. Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed
the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven.
When the festival ended, the Israelites who attended went to all the towns
of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and they smashed all the
ImmerseChronicles_NLT.indd 91
6/21/2017 10:01:34 AM
