"..O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that He made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”
King Ahaz, the 12th king of Judah, was extremely evil. He made metal images of false gods, even sacrificing his own sons as burnt offerings to them. During his reign, Ahaz seemed willing to serve, worship, and sacrifice to any god he thought might further the kingdom and his own agenda. "But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel." (2 Chronicles 28:23) This is the kingdom he left for his son, Hezekiah. But Hezekiah was not like his father. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. According to 2 Chronicles 28:3, Hezekiah STARTED with obedience--the first item on his agenda was to open the doors of the house of the LORD and repair them. He called in priests and Levites to oversee the repair to ensure it was done exactly right. They cleaned and blessed every thing in the house of the LORD that King Ahaz had discarded. The next order of business was to restore Temple worship. King Hezekiah restored everything from sacrifices to music. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly. (2 Chr. 29:36) King Hezekiah sends out invitations to the tribes of Israel and Judah to come to Jerusalem and celebrate Passover, which they had not kept as often as they were told. Our verses today were written in those invitations. 💓 When some of the tribes received the invitation, they laughed and mocked the message and the messengers. But some of the tribes of Israel humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. God united The tribe of Judah, the kingdom of Judah under King Hezekiah's rule. He gifted them one heart to do what the king had commanded by the word of the LORD.
Did anyone else get goosebumps from knowing we just read an invitation from an ancient king?? 👑 The kingdom of Israel never had a good king. The kingdom of Judah had their fair share of bad kings, but they also had kings like Hezekiah who led with obedience, zeal, and love for God. A line from "Remember the Titans" comes to mind--"Attitude reflects leadership". This is true in both kingdoms. They both read the message from the king, but had vastly different responses. Some with laughter and mocking, some with humility and obedience. My heart is changed by the few caught in the midst of the mockers. They saw the response of their country men; HOWEVER, they humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. We know this obedience was as much a gift from the hand of God as what Judah received because of the "also" in verse 12. Even under bad leadership, an invitation from the steadfast, stubbornly gracious and merciful King moves hearts to obedience and worship. We may encounter mockers, too, as we are the couriers handing others an invitation from the King. I pray we give the invitation anyway, because there are some caught in the midst that will be drawn to God and united in worship. And where there is unity in worship of God, there is much joy.
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