May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God - the Lord, the God of his fathers - even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary. (2 Chronicles 30:18,19)Because of King Ahaz's disobedience Judah was defeated by both Aram and Israel. Then Ahaz started worshiping the gods of Damascus, thinking he had been defeated because Aram's gods were more powerful than the God of Judah. Even when he paid the king of Assyrial to help him, the Assyrians just took his treasures and added their abuse to that of his enemies. The prophet Isaiah chastized Ahaz for his lack of faith, but to no avail.
When he died, Ahaz was not buried in the tomb of the kings.
But when his son Hezekiah took the throne, things were different. He walked in the ways of King David and got rid of idol worship in Judah. Under Hezekiah's leadership, Judah became strong and regained a place of honor among the nations.
The nation of Judah had not celebrated Passover in many years, but Hezekiah decided to change all that. However, some of the people were not ritually clean, and therefore technically should have been barred from participating in the celebration. Hezekiah called out to the Lord and asked him to make an exception, and God who cares more about hearts than about rules accepted everyone into the feast.
How have you experienced God's grace this week?
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