Pure Hearts and Great Leaders

Hezekiah tried to unify Judah and Israel by inviting everyone to celebrate the Passover together. But there were a few problems… they couldn’t celebrate during the prescribed (God ordained) time because the people had not gathered and the Priests were not purified.

So Hezekiah sent out couriers to gather the people. Some of the people ridiculed the message and ridiculed the messengers but others gathered and there was a huge crowd of worshippers.

However there was another problem… not only were the Priests to purify themselves but the people were also supposed to come “purified” and were not.

There was so much that was wrong… the wrong month, Unclean Priests and Unclean Participants. In fact the only thing that was right was the hearts of the people.

Hezekiah could have been angry and condemned the Priests and the People but instead he prayed for them because his bigger mission was “unifying the people” and God heard his prayer.

"There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place”

I’ve got a feeling that under King Hezekiah’s rule that a year later at the next Passover everything was right… the right time, purified Priests and Purified people. Sometimes people need time and some things may have to be temporarily sacrificed to fulfill the greater mission but it all starts with pure hearts and great leaders.