DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- DOING IT GOD'S WAY

DAD'S RAMBLINGS --- DOING IT GOD'S WAY

"And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel. For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at the regular time, because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem, And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. So they resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner." (II Chronicles 30;1-5)

By the time that Hezekiah had become the king of Judah, the nation of Israel was in captivity to the Assyrians. II Kings 18:1 tells us that Hezekiah became King of Judah during the reign of Hoshea in Israel. But Israel had fallen to Assyria under the reign of Hoshea, so they were without a king. Under the kings of Israel, the northern nation had fallen into false worship, making Samaria the center of worship with all kinds of despicable practices. Now that Israel was no longer a nation as such, Hezekiah invited them to come to Jerusalem to worship. They had not kept the Passover in the way that God had ordained under Moses. So Hezekiah send out the call: " 'Children of Israel, return to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria' " (vs. 6).

Perhaps you've heard the phrase "From Dan to Beersheba." Dan was the northernmost city of Israel and Beersheba was the Southernmost city of Judah. So this invitation to come to Jerusalem to worship God was to the entire nation of the land of God's people. It's like the southern expression, "All Y'all come." It was for everyone. There were many people, "a great assembly," who gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Passover (vs. 13). But since they had not kept God's law for many years, they were not sanctified in the prescribed manner.

Hezekiah made it clear that they could not just come any old way they wanted. God had prescribed the manner of worship, which began with the consecration of the priests and the people. They had to be sanctified before they could participate in the Passover (vs. 17). The had to do it God's way.

God has a narrow gate to enter into His presence. It is not a wide gate that allows us to come to Him in just any way we feel is good. Many people think that everyone will go to heaven – or almost everyone. Maybe not Hitler, or Stalin. But your average Joe who has lived a pretty good life will surely go to heaven. God says, "Not So." Jesus said that He is the only way to come to the Father (John 4:6). The Bible says that there is no other name under heaven that can save us (Acts 4:12). As much as we would want all road to lead to heaven, it just ain't so. It may seem narrow-minded, but God says there is only one way – Faith in the Lord Jesus – that He died for our sins.

There may be many ways to get from Phoenix to Minneapolis, but there is only one way to heaven. We have to go God's way or we won't make it. The jail custodian at Philippi asked, "What must I do to be saved." And the answer is the same today as it was then: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:30-31).

The call is to everyone: "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). The call goes out from Dan to Beersheba – from China to Finland; from Saudi Arabia to Argentina – to all who will hear and answer the call to come. The invitation is to everyone. But we must come God's way.

Love, Dad