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shelter under the blood offering. (Ex. 12:12, 13.) "A n d the b lood »b a ll be to y on fo r a tok en upon the hou ses w h ere y e a re ; and w h en I see the blood» I w ill pass ov e r you» and the p lagu e sh all n ot be u pon you» to d estroy you» w h en I sm ite the land o f E g y p t.” A family of three score and ten souls went down into Egypt, Gen. 46:27, and that family became a nation on the first Passover night,— a nation separated by Jehovah, a peculiar people, designed of God to be the living testimony through the ages of His unfailing faithfulness to His promise made to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). "A n d I w ill m ak e o f thee a g re a t nation» and I w ill bless thee» an d m ake th y nam e g r e a t; and th ou sh alt be a b lessin g : A nd I w ill bless them th at bless thee» and cu rse him that cu rseth th ee; and in thee sh all all fam ilies o f the earth be blessed.” The king wisely called a council of •his leaders and planned to keep the feast in the second month in place of the first; and the reason given was that the priests had not sanctified themselves. It was too late to observe the feast at the time designated (Ex. 12:18). “ In the first m onth, on the fou rteen th day o f the m onth at even, y e sh all eat unleavened bread, un til the one and tw en tieth d a y o f the m onth at even.” But God had made provision for just such an emergency in Num. 9:10, 11: “ Speak un to the ch ild ren o f Israel, sa y in g, I f an y m an o f y o u or y o u r p osterity shall he un clean b y reason o f a dead body, or be in a jo u rn e y a fa r off, y e t he sh all k eep the p assov er u n to the L ord. T he fou rteen th d ay of the secon d m onth at even th e y sh all keep it, and eat it w ith unleavened bread and b itter herbs.’? This is the fourth of the recorded ob servances of the Passover in the Scrip ture. The first, in Egypt, Exodus 12; the second, in the Wilderness, Numbers 9; the third, at Gilgal, Joshua 5; the fourth, here; the fifth by Josiah,'2 Chron. 35; the sixth, Ezra 6; and the seventh by our Lord, Luke 22. Hezekiah manifested great magnanim ity in sending messages of invitation to Ephraim and Manasseh, who were not of Judah, but of the southern tribes. He had a big heart and looked forward with real religious fervor to the feast,
king; he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. His first recorded act was the -cleans ing of the house of God. His father Ahaz had been a wicked king. He was godless, idolatrous, played into the hands of the enemy, robbed the temple, filled it with filthiness, brought Judah into reproach among the heathen and under the condemnation of Jehovah. (Read the 29th chapter.) God is a jealous God. He is Jealous of His house, of His people, of His own glory. He is long-suffering, patient and always ready to receive the penitent. . Hezekiah commenced at the proper place in his work of reformation. He. cleaned house. For six years things had drifted from bad to worse, and his first act was to get right with God (29:5). ‘.‘A nd lie said u n to them , H ear m e, ye L evites, sa n ctify n ow y ou rselv es, and sa n ctify the hou se o f the L ord G od o f y o u r fa th ers, and ca rry fo r th the filth i ness ou t o f the h o ly place.” This is God’s order,— confession of sin and consecration of life. This is always the preparatory step to a revival of true religion. (Matt. 21:12, 13; 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 2 Cor. 6:16; 7:1; Num. 9:10.) God demands clean vessels. The second thing Hezekiah saw was essential for his people was the remem brance of God’s demand that they keep the Passover feast, and this evidences a real true heart in the king. Wor ship of God is always based upon a blood sacrifice from Genesis to Revela tion. There is no change. God has provided one way of access— and only one— into His presence. - The Passover commemorated God’s grace in behalf of Israel when under the iron rule of Egypt. He looked with love and pity upon His people and pro vided a way of escape for them through a simple, solemn, definite act of obedi ence upon their part by which they acquiesced in God’s plan and found
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