This chapter describes King Josiah’s last major recorded act, the keeping of the Passover, and his unfortunate death.
“So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord… And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 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… all Judah and Israel who were present… In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.” (v16-19 abr)
There is a long description of how Josiah commanded Judah and Israel to keep the Passover in alignment with the laws of Moses and the traditions of David. Thousands of animals were prepared, hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) of Judeans/Israelites celebrated, and God was honored.
Festivals and celebrations didn’t just happen in the Bible – there was always preparation leading up to them. For example, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is directly tied to Passover, is a seven day event preparing people’s emotional, spiritual and physical being for the Passover sacrifice. One does not simply sacrifice a lamb and call it a day, there is an intentional process leading up to it.
Yes, God wants us to come as we are – He will never turn us away, no matter how we approach Him. That being said, He does appreciate it if we approach Him having given consideration to our spiritual and physical posture as well. We honor God by preparing ourselves for time in His presence.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been attending online church services for the last year. I personally find it much harder to spiritually engage with that format, and perhaps you do too. I think part of that has to do with me treating the online service like any other Youtube video – I will casually tune in, not really preparing myself prior to viewing it.
I suggest that if we’re having a hard time spiritually engaging with a church service, no matter the format, we prepare ourselves ahead of time. Let’s spend some time in prayer and scripture in the hours/days before, and maybe even change the clothes we wear (um, I typically wear pajamas for online services…). If attending remotely, maybe we can even sit on something other than a couch, and stand for the singing. By making these simple changes we can observe if that helps change our engagement with the service. I’m going to make a couple of changes this coming weekend – how about you?
Father God, our Sovereign Lord and King, You are magnificent and holy above all others. Father please guide us in preparing ourselves for Your presence. May we learn to have improved spiritual and physical posture, engaging with You and Your people on a deeper level. Father we long to have strong relationships with You, and we thank You for helping us to do so. We honor, glorify and praise You forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training