May the LORD,
who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God – the Lord,
the God of their ancestors – even if they are 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 Assyria 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.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Take inventory of how God
has displayed his grace to you this week. How can you say “thank you”?
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