2 Chronicles 31:1 (NLT)1 When the festival ended, the Israelites who attended went to all the towns of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and they smashed all the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and altars. After this, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.
Under King Hekiziah, the Passover was celebrated for the first time after a long string of bad kings in Judah. The temple had fallen in disrepair, and Hekiziah realized that one of the things that needed to happen was for the people to rededicate themselves to God. He called for all those in Judah, and those in the Northern Kingdom to come to Jerusalem. He even delayed Passover for a month to ensure that enough priests were purified to conduct the ceremonial rites. Afterwards, the people were so filled with holy zeal that they smashed and destroyed all the pagans shrines and altars. Afterwards, they returned to their homes. But what was the rest of the story. The zeal faded and after a time the pagan shrines were repaired and reconstructed. The same question applies to us! What happens after the zeal of reading Scripture, or attending a Bible study, or a worship service, or even the moment we gave our lives to Jesus Christ? Do we lose the zeal or do we strive to maintain it, with the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to do the latter, but too often I fail and fall to the former. The Good News is that our salvation is not dependent on our success or failure, but on the fact that we have been called, elected, and chosen, and that Jesus Christ will never let us go! However, in the joy we have, let us strive to always stay with the zeal we have been given in the hope and assurance of our resurrection to eternal life. Peace and Blessings!
In the Love of Jesus Christ, Pastor Bob – church
pastorbobtitus@gmail.com, (412) 520-5407
