Starting Over

Mere days after reading about the wonderful Passover Hezekiah had held, I read about the one under Josiah (2 Chr 35:1-19).  Two things caught my interest.  The first is its magnitude.

No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet.  None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 35:18)

That description is almost incredible in view of Israel's storied history and the two-week feast under Josiah's great-grandfather.

The second notable item item was the similarity in how the periods of repentance and revival were evidenced—both found their highest expression in keeping the Passover.  This is entirely fitting as the feast was the beginning of months for Israel.  Their entire future began and was to be memorialized in their deliverance from bondage through great and mighty works by the Lord's outstretched arm and mighty hand (Deut 11:2-7).  It was a natural restarting point.

It behooves us to remember that in the same way, when we as Christians have fallen into sin and wandered away that we be as the prodigal son in coming to our senses and returning to the place from where we first began and are welcome—the cross of Christ.