Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 102
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IMMERSE
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CHRONICLES
2C
| 29:35–30:11
relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more
priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious
about purifying themselves than the priests had been. There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great
deal of fat from the many peace offerings.
So the Temple of the Lord was restored to service. And Hezekiah and
all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for
everything had been accomplished so quickly.
King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters
of invitation to the people of 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 prescribed 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 required in the Law.
At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah.
They carried letters that said:
“O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel, so that he will return to the few of us who have survived
the conquest of the Assyrian kings. Do not be like your ancestors and
relatives who abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and
became an object of derision, as you yourselves can see. Do not be
stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to
his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord
your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.
“For if you return to the Lord, your relatives and your children will
be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return
to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you
return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.”
The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Ma
nasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just
laughed at the runners and made fun of them. However, some people
from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to
Jerusalem.
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