Through the Bible – Day 161

Bible text(s)

2 Chronicles 30

Hezekiah prepares to celebrate Passover

1-4Passover wasn't celebrated in the first month, which was the usual time, because many of the priests were still unclean and unacceptable to serve, and because not everyone in Judah had come to Jerusalem for the festival. So Hezekiah, his officials, and the people agreed to celebrate Passover in the second month.

Hezekiah sent a message to everyone in Israel and Judah, including those in the territories of Ephraim and West Manasseh, inviting them to the temple in Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover in honour of the LORD God of Israel. 5Everyone from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north was invited. This was the largest crowd of people that had ever celebrated Passover, according to the official records.

6Hezekiah's messengers went everywhere in Israel and Judah with the following letter:

People of Israel, now that you have survived the invasion of the Assyrian kings, it's time for you to turn back to the LORD God our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped. If you do this, he will stop being angry. 7Don't follow the example of your ancestors and your Israelite relatives in the north. They were unfaithful to the LORD, and he punished them horribly. 8Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. Decide now to obey the LORD our God! Come to Jerusalem and worship him in the temple that will belong to him for ever. Then he will stop being angry, 9and the enemies who have captured your families will show pity and send them back home. The LORD God is kind and merciful, and if you turn back to him, he will no longer turn his back on you.

10The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and West Manasseh as far north as the territory of Zebulun, but everyone laughed and insulted them. 11Only a few people from the tribes of Asher, West Manasseh, and Zebulun were humble and went to Jerusalem. 12God also made everyone in Judah eager to do what Hezekiah and his officials had commanded.

Passover is celebrated

13In the second month, a large crowd of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Thin Bread. 14They took all the foreign altars and incense altars in Jerusalem and threw them into Kidron Valley.

15-17Then, on the fourteenth day of that same month, the Levites began killing the lambs for Passover, because many of the worshippers were unclean and were not allowed to kill their own lambs. Meanwhile, some of the priests and Levites felt ashamed because they had not gone through the ceremony to make themselves clean. They immediately went through that ceremony and went to the temple, where they offered sacrifices to please the LORD. Then the priests and Levites took their positions, according to the Law of Moses, the servant of God.

As the Levites killed the lambs, they handed some of the blood to the priests, who splattered it on the altar.

18-19Most of the people who came from Ephraim, West Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean, but they ignored God's Law and ate the Passover lambs anyway. Hezekiah found out what they had done and prayed, “LORD God, these people are unclean according to the laws of holiness. But they are worshipping you, just as their ancestors did. So, please be kind and forgive them.” 20The LORD answered Hezekiah's prayer and did not punish them.

21The worshippers in Jerusalem were very happy and celebrated the Festival for seven days. The Levites and priests sang praises to the LORD every day and played their instruments. 22Hezekiah thanked the Levites for doing such a good job, leading the celebration.

The worshippers celebrated for seven days by offering sacrifices, by eating the sacred meals, and by praising the LORD God of their ancestors. 23Everyone was so excited that they agreed to celebrate seven more days.

24So Hezekiah gave the people one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to be offered as sacrifices and to be used as food for the sacred meals. His officials gave one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, and many more priests agreed to go through the ceremony to make themselves clean. 25Everyone was very happy, including those from Judah and Israel, the priests and Levites, and the foreigners living in Judah and Israel. 26It was the biggest celebration in Jerusalem since the days of King Solomon, the son of David. 27The priests and Levites asked God to bless the people, and from his home in heaven, he did.

2 Chronicles 31

The people destroy the local shrines

(2 Kings 18.4)

1After the Festival, the people went to every town in Judah and smashed the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred poles for worshipping the goddess Asherah. They destroyed all the local shrines and foreign altars in Judah, as well as those in the territories of Benjamin, Ephraim, and West Manasseh. Then everyone went home.

Offerings for the priests and Levites

2Hezekiah divided the priests and Levites into groups, according to their duties. Then he assigned them the responsibilities of offering sacrifices to please the LORD and sacrifices to ask his blessing. He also appointed people to serve at the temple and to sing praises at the temple gates. 3Hezekiah provided animals from his own herds and flocks to use for the morning and evening sacrifices, as well as for the sacrifices during the Sabbath celebrations, the New Moon Festivals, and the other religious feasts required by the Law of the LORD.

4He told the people of Jerusalem to bring the offerings that were to be given to the priests and Levites, so that they would have time to serve the LORD with their work. 5As soon as the people heard what the king wanted, they brought a tenth of everything they owned, including their best grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and other crops. 6The people from the other towns of Judah brought a tenth of their herds and flocks, as well as a tenth of anything they had dedicated to the LORD. 7The people started bringing their offerings to Jerusalem in the third month, and the last ones arrived four months later. 8When Hezekiah and his officials saw these offerings, they thanked the LORD and the people.

9Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the large amount of offerings. 10The high priest at the time was Azariah, a descendant of Zadok, and he replied, “Ever since the people have been bringing us their offerings, we have had more than enough food and supplies. The LORD has certainly blessed his people. Look at how much is left over!”

11So the king gave orders for storerooms to be built in the temple, and when they were completed, 12-13all the extra offerings were taken there. Hezekiah and Azariah then appointed Conaniah the Levite to be in charge of these storerooms. His brother Shimei was his assistant, and the following Levites worked with them: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah. 14Kore son of Imnah was assigned to guard the East Gate, and he was put in charge of receiving the offerings voluntarily given to God and of dividing them among the priests and Levites. 15-16He had six assistants who were responsible for seeing that all the priests in the other towns of Judah also got their share of these offerings. They were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah.

Every priest and every Levite over thirty years old who worked daily in the temple received part of these offerings, according to their duties. 17The priests were listed in the official records by clans, and the Levites twenty years old and older were listed by their duties. 18The official records also included their wives and children, because they had also been faithful in keeping themselves clean and acceptable to serve the LORD.

19Hezekiah also appointed other men to take food and supplies to the priests and Levites whose homes were in the pasture land around the towns of Judah. But the priests had to be descendants of Aaron, and the Levites had to be listed in the official records.

20-21Everything Hezekiah did while he was king of Judah, including what he did for the temple in Jerusalem, was right and good. He was a successful king, because he obeyed the LORD God with all his heart.

2 Chronicles 32

King Sennacherib of Assyria invades Judah

1After King Hezekiah had faithfully obeyed the LORD's instructions by doing these things, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He attacked the fortified cities and thought he would capture every one of them.

2As soon as Hezekiah learnt that Sennacherib was planning to attack Jerusalem, 3-4he and his officials worked out a plan to cut off the supply of water outside the city, so that the Assyrians would have no water when they came to attack. The officials got together a large work force that stopped up the springs and streams near Jerusalem.

5Hezekiah's workers also repaired the broken sections of the city wall. Then they built defence towers and an outer wall to help protect the one already there. The landfill on the east side of David's City was also strengthened.

He gave orders to make a large supply of weapons and shields, 6and he appointed army commanders over the troops. Then he gathered the troops together in the open area in front of the city gate and said to them:

7Be brave and confident! There's no reason to be afraid of King Sennacherib and his powerful army. We are much more powerful, 8because the LORD our God fights on our side. The Assyrians must rely on human power alone.

These words encouraged the army of Judah.

9When Sennacherib and his troops were camped at the town of Lachish, he sent a message to Hezekiah and the people in Jerusalem. It said:

10I am King Sennacherib of Assyria, and I have Jerusalem surrounded. Do you think you can survive my attack? 11Hezekiah your king is telling you that the LORD your God will save you from me. But he is lying, and you'll die of hunger and thirst. 12Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the LORD's altars and places of worship? And didn't he tell you people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?

13You've heard what my ancestors and I have done to other nations. Were the gods of those nations able to defend their land against us? 14None of those gods kept their people safe from the kings of Assyria. Do you really think your God can do any better? 15Don't be fooled by Hezekiah! No god of any nation has ever been able to stand up to Assyria. Believe me, your God cannot keep you safe!

16The Assyrian officials said terrible things about the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah. 17Sennacherib's letter even made fun of the LORD. It said, “The gods of other nations could not save their people from Assyria's army, and neither will the God that Hezekiah worships.” 18The officials said all these things in Hebrew, so that everyone listening from the city wall would understand and be terrified and surrender. 19The officials talked about the LORD God as if he were nothing but an ordinary god or an idol that someone had made.

The death of King Sennacherib

20Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz asked the LORD for help, 21and he sent an angel who killed every soldier and commander in the Assyrian camp.

Sennacherib returned to Assyria, completely disgraced. Then one day he went into the temple of his god where some of his sons killed him.

22The LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from Sennacherib and also protected them from other enemies. 23People brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and expensive gifts for Hezekiah, and from that day on, every nation on earth respected Hezekiah.

2 Chronicles 30:1-32:23CEVOpen in Bible reader

John 19

17and he carried his cross to a place known as “The Skull”. In Aramaic this place is called “Golgotha”. 18There Jesus was nailed to the cross, and on each side of him a man was also nailed to a cross.

19Pilate ordered the charge against Jesus to be written on a board and put above the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” 20The words were written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

The place where Jesus was taken wasn't far from the city, and many of the Jewish people read the charge against him. 21So the chief priests went to Pilate and said, “Why did you write that he is King of the Jews? You should have written, ‘He claimed to be King of the Jews.’ ”

22But Pilate told them, “What is written will not be changed!”

23After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they divided up his clothes into four parts, one for each of them. But his outer garment was made from a single piece of cloth, and it did not have any seams. 24The soldiers said to each other, “Let's not rip it apart. We will gamble to see who gets it.” This happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say,

“They divided up my clothes

and gambled

for my garments.”

The soldiers then did what they had decided.

25Jesus' mother stood beside his cross with her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas. Mary Magdalene was standing there too. 26When Jesus saw his mother and his favourite disciple with her, he said to his mother, “This man is now your son.” 27Then he said to the disciple, “She is now your mother.” From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.

The death of Jesus

28Jesus knew that he had now finished his work. And in order to make the Scriptures come true, he said, “I am thirsty!” 29A jar of cheap wine was there. Someone then soaked a sponge with the wine and held it up to Jesus' mouth on the stem of a hyssop plant. 30After Jesus drank the wine, he said, “Everything is done!” He bowed his head and died.

A spear is stuck in Jesus' side

31The next day would be both a Sabbath and the Passover. It was a special day for the Jewish people, and they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses during that day. So they asked Pilate to break the men's legs and take their bodies down. 32The soldiers first broke the legs of the other two men who were nailed there. 33But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his legs.

34One of the soldiers stuck his spear into Jesus' side, and blood and water came out. 35We know this is true, because it was told by someone who saw it happen. Now you can have faith too. 36All this happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say, “No bone of his body will be broken” 37and, “They will see the one in whose side they stuck a spear.”

John 19:17-37CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.23.1
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