2 Chronicles 30 — Second Chances at the Table
Call Hezekiah invites north and south to Passover, after the fall of Samaria. Couriers walk war‑scarred roads, urging, “Return to the LORD … he is gracious and compassionate” (Exodus 34:6). Some mock; some “humble themselves.” A rare idiom appears: “give the hand” (Hebrew, tenu yad) to the LORD—yield allegiance.
Mercy They keep Passover in the second month (Pesach Sheni; Numbers 9:9‑11)—a built‑in provision for the unready. Many are not ritually clean; yet the king prays that the “good LORD” would pardon those who seek him, though irregular. God “heals” the people. Augustine saw here a pattern: the efficacy of grace is God’s, not the perfection of our preparations. Calvin and the Reformers drew pastoral courage for charitable order amid disorder.
Joy Levites teach; shame ripens into consecration; unity (“one heart,” lev echad) is given, not engineered. They extend the feast to fourteen days—an echo of Solomon’s dedication (2 Chronicles 7)—as if the temple is being reopened from the heart. Christ, our Passover, gathers scattered tribes into one (1 Corinthians 5:7‑8; Ephesians 2:14; John 11:52).
Cross‑references: Numbers 9:9‑11; Exodus 34:6; 2 Chronicles 7:8‑10, 30:9, 27; 1 Corinthians 5:7‑8; Ephesians 2:14.
Hymn: At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing.
Prayer Good Lord, grant us second‑month mercy. Give us one heart to seek you, heal our disordered worship, and make our homes and churches tables of pardon and joy in Christ our Passover. Amen.
Narrated version of this devotional on 2 Chronicles Chapter 30