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of Israel. So Hezekiah sought to save them (29:10) “ N ow it is in m y h ea rt to m ake a co v e nant w ith the L ord G od o f Israel, that h is fie r c e w ra th m a y turn aw a y from us.” God demands the surrender of every rebel against His law. The sinner must bow at the cross of Christ and acknowl edge His finished work in his behalf. The saint must surrender his will to the will of his Lord. Very often the rebel lion against the will of God in the heart of His children demands severity of punishment and God is faithful in this as in all other things. God speaks in no uncertain terms with reference to rebellious hearts. (Ex. 32:9, 10) “ A nd the L ord said u n to M oses, I have seen th is p eople, and behold, it is a stiff n eck ed p e op le; N ow th e re fo re le t m e alon e, th at my w rath m ay w a x h o t ag ain st them , and th at I m ay con sum e th em ; and I w ill m ake o f thee a g re a t nation .” The secret of a happy, restful, useful Christian life lies in a yielded will (Rom. 6:13) “ N either y ield y e y o u r m em bers as in strum en ts o f u n righ teou sn ess u n to sin ; bu t y ie ld y ou rselv es un to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and you r m em bers as instrum en ts o f righ teou sn ess u n to God.” “ Then assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast” (v. 13). God rewarded the efforts of the king. The feast was known as the “ Feast of Un leavened Bread.” The lump of Judah and Israel had been well leavened by Satan, as has the church today, and we know that leaven is always, in Scripture, a symbol of evil. Pity the lump that is leavened. Purge it out (1 Cor. 5:6, 7). A little leaven is too much. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 16:6). Picture the gathering of these re pentant Jews and the holy memories awakened as the story of the Egypt de liverance was told, and air minds and hearts focused upon the blood-sprinkled door-posts and lintels. Picture, also, the little gathering of the Lord’s loved
and desired that all of God’s people should join in the celebration. The posts (runners), who were al ways kept in good condition for service, carried the letters of invitation, and we can imagine how joyfully many of the people received the news, and how many of them recalled the wonders of the deliverance which had been given to their fathers from the hand of the enemy and listened to the voice of God calling them to repentance (Isa. 56:6, 7) “ Seek y e the L ord w h ile h e m ay be fou n d , ca ll y e upon him w h ile he is n e a r; L et the w ick e d fo rsa k e h is w a y , and the u n rig h teou s - m an h is th ou g h ts an d let him retu rn u n to the L ord , an d he w ill h a ve m ercy u p on h im ; and to ou r God, fo r h e w ill abu n d an tly pardon .” (Hosea 14:1) “ O Israel, retu rn u n to the L ord th y G od ; fo r th ou hast fa lle n b y thine Iniquity.” These runners performed the service of the personal workers of our day who carry the message of salvation to saint and sinner, by lip and life (Acts 2:38) “ Then said P e te r u n to them , R ep en t and be baptized ev e ry on e o f y o u in the nam e o f Jesu s C hrist fo r the rem ission o f sin s, and y e 'shall re ce iv e the g ift o f the H oly Ghost.” (Acts 20:21) “ T e stify in g both to the Jew s, and also to th e G reeks, rep en tan ce tow ard God, and fa ith tow a rd ou r L ord Jesu s Christ.” What a multitude there are of back sliders in our own land who have for saken the Lord and His worship; who are heavy laden with the sorrow of their sin; who need some faithful runner to carry the message, “ Return unto the Lord!” (2) COMMEMORATION AND PAR TICIPATION, vs. 7-13. The runners carried a straightfor ward message to the people. Their fathers had rebelled against the Lord and suffered for it (Ezek. 20:13, 18), (Zech. 1:3, 4) “ B e y e n o t as y o u r fa th ers, u n to w h om the fo rm e r p rop h ets have cried, sayin g, T hus saith the L ord o f h o sts; T urn ye n ow from y o u r e v il w a y s, and from you r ev il d o in g s; hut th ey did n ot hear, nor h earken un to m e, saith the L ord.” God’s wrath must rest upon the sin ner as it rested upon the apostates
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