2Chronicles 30:2 - Prayer Tents



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2Chronicles 30
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30Then Hezekiah invited all of Israel and Judah, with personal letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to The Temple of GOD in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to Israel's God.H3169H7971H3478H3063H3789H107H669H4519H935H1004H3068H3389H6213H6453H3068H430H3478 2The king and his officials and the congregation in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month.H4428H3289H8269H6951H3389H6213H6453H8145H2320 3They hadn't been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough of the priests were yet personally prepared and the people hadn't had time to gather in Jerusalem.H3201H6213H6256H3548H6942H4078H1767H5971H622H3389 4Under these circumstances, the revised date was approved by both king and peopleH1697H3474H5869H4428H6951 5and they sent out the invitation from one end of the country to the other, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north: "Come and celebrate the Passover to Israel's God in Jerusalem." No one living had ever celebrated it properly.H5975H1697H5674H6963H3478H884H1835H935H6213H6453H3068H430H3478H3389H6213H7230H3789 6The king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: "O Israelites! Come back to GOD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he can return to you who have survived the predations of the kings of Assyria.H7323H3212H107H3027H4428H8269H3478H3063H4687H4428H559H1121H3478H7725H3068H430H85H3327H3478H7725H7604H6413H3709H4428H804 7Don't repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on GOD, the God of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin—you can see the ruins all around you.H1H251H4603H3068H430H1H5414H8047H7200 8Don't be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp GOD's outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve GOD, your God. You'll no longer be in danger of his hot anger.H7185H6203H1H5414H3027H3068H935H4720H6942H5769H5647H3068H430H2740H639H7725 9If you come back to GOD, your captive relatives and children will be treated compassionately and allowed to come home. Your GOD is gracious and kind and won't snub you—come back and he'll welcome you with open arms."H7725H3068H251H1121H7356H6440H7617H7725H776H3068H430H2587H7349H5493H6440H7725 10So the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them, treated them as a joke.H7323H5674H5892H5892H776H669H4519H2074H7832H3932 11But not all; some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun weren't too proud to accept the invitation and come to Jerusalem.H582H836H4519H2074H3665H935H3389 12It was better in Judah—God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous, responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed up by the word of GOD.H3063H3027H430H5414H259H3820H6213H4687H4428H8269H1697H3068 13It turned out that there was a tremendous crowd of people when the time came in the second month to celebrate the Passover (sometimes called the Feast of Unraised Bread).H622H3389H7227H5971H6213H2282H4682H8145H2320H3966H7230H6951 14First they went to work and got rid of all the pagan altars that were in Jerusalem—hauled them off and dumped them in the Kidron Valley.H6965H5493H4196H3389H6999H5493H7993H5158H6939 15Then, on the fourteenth day of the second month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites weren't ready; but now, embarrassed in their laziness, they consecrated themselves and brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings to The Temple of GOD.H7819H6453H702H6240H8145H2320H3548H3881H3637H6942H935H5930H1004H3068 16Ready now, they stood at their posts as designated by The Revelation of Moses the holy man; the priests sprinkled the blood the Levites handed to them.H5975H5977H4941H8451H4872H376H430H3548H2236H1818H3027H3881 17Because so many in the congregation had not properly prepared themselves by consecration and so were not qualified, the Levites took charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs so that they would be properly consecrated to GOD.H7227H6951H6942H3881H7821H6453H2889H6942H3068 18There were a lot of people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately. Hezekiah prayed for these as follows: "May GOD who is all good, pardon and forgiveH4768H5971H7227H669H4519H3485H2074H3808H2891H398H6453H3789H3169H6419H559H2896H3068H3722 19everyone who sincerely desires GOD, the God of our ancestors. Even—especially!—these who do not meet the literal conditions stated for access to The Temple."H3559H3824H1875H430H3068H430H1H2893H6944 20GOD responded to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people.H3068H8085H3169H7495H5971 21All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised GOD day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass.H1121H3478H4672H3389H6213H2282H4682H7651H3117H1419H8057H3881H3548H1984H3068H3117H3117H5797H3627H3068 22Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of GOD. When the feast and festival—that glorious seven days of worship, the making of offerings, and the praising of GOD, the God of their ancestors—were over, the tables cleared and the floors swept,H3169H1696H3820H3881H7919H2896H7922H3068H398H4150H7651H3117H2076H8002H2077H3034H3068H430H1 23they all decided to keep going for another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they began.H6951H3289H6213H312H7651H3117H6213H7651H3117H8057 24Hezekiah king of Judah gave 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for the congregation's worship; the officials gave an additional 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And there turned out to be plenty of consecrated priests—qualified and well-prepared.H2396H4428H3063H7311H6951H505H6499H7651H505H6629H8269H7311H6951H505H6499H6235H505H6629H7230H3548H6942 25The whole congregation of Judah, the priests and Levites, the congregation that came in from Israel, and the resident aliens from both Israel and Judah, were all in on the joyous celebration.H6951H3063H3548H3881H6951H935H3478H1616H935H776H3478H3427H3063H8055 26Jerusalem was bursting with joy—nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since Solomon son of David king of Israel had built and dedicated The Temple.H1419H8057H3389H3117H8010H1121H1732H4428H3478H3389 27The priests and Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened, listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven.H3548H3881H6965H1288H5971H6963H8085H8605H935H6944H4583H8064


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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