2 Chronicles 30: A Few from Among Them

5. The king sent word to all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.

10. The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed them.

11. Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.

◇ King Hezekiah consulted with his officials and the whole assembly, and they agreed to celebrate the Passover. Though it was originally meant to be observed in the first month, they decided to celebrate it in the second month. I believe this was because the urgent need to restore the worship of the LORD, which had been destroyed under his father Ahaz, could not wait.

King Hezekiah sent couriers from Beersheba to Dan to announce the restoration and observance of the Passover. This was a time when the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already fallen to Assyria. The worship of the LORD in Northern Israel, which had been torn down by kings who followed in Jeroboam's footsteps, was now being trampled and crushed by the foreign nation of Assyria. At this moment, Hezekiah extended an invitation from Beersheba in the south of Judah to Dan in the north of Israel, calling all the people of Israel to return to the LORD by observing the Passover.

Yet many people mocked the couriers who invited them to return to the LORD and keep His ordinances. This was not merely mocking the king or those who hoped for restoration—it was ultimately mocking the LORD God Himself. The Northern Kingdom of Israel vanished into history. The ten tribes that composed Northern Israel disappeared into history. What does this mean?

Among those who heard the couriers' message, only a few paid attention. They opened their hearts, humbly obeyed, and observed the Passover.

King Hezekiah, his officials, and the people of Judah hoped that all the people of Israel, who had been called by God, would return to the LORD. They extended the invitation to that path. But the people mocked, ridiculed, and refused to listen. Though they were invited, the responsibility for not listening and not turning back was theirs alone.

Let us not stop extending the invitation. Though it grieves us when people reject, mock, and ridicule our invitation, let us not become discouraged or give up. The invitation to come to God is God's grace and the mission He has entrusted to us.

♧ Good and righteous God, help me to examine myself daily and to be one who turns toward You. Also help me to be one who encourages the many people I live among to turn toward the LORD. Keep me from being negligent in this work. Holy Spirit, make me strong and courageous. Amen.