“For a multitude of the people, [even] many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one [That] prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though [he be] not [cleansed] according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.” (2Ch 30:18-20 AV)
Praise the LORD for the wisdom of a king who understood the zeal of his people was done so ignorantly, and they even though their actions were technically against the law, it was their heart to do right that mattered more. Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were four tribes of the north who fled to Jerusalem when Assyria invaded. They had been without a sacrifice or Levitical priest for hundreds of years. They would not have known of the details of the Passover meal. When the revival of Hezekiah hit, all wanted in on it. Even the remnant of these four tribes. They wanted all in. What they did not know was the details of the procedure. They simply were caught up in the spirit’s moving at the moment and participated, having not gone through the correct steps. Hezekiah noted this and had compassion for them. Rather than judge them for being technically wrong, he prayed for them and instructed them. Rather than inflict justice where justice was due, he recognized the heart behind the error and showed better judgment is showing mercy. He prayed for them and because he did; the LORD forgave them. A wise leader understands when the heart is more important than the law.
Down through the years, I have had the responsibility of training and managing a workforce. Whether in the restaurant or in the factory, co-workers learned job responsibilities and techniques for efficiency learned by more seasoned employees. Sometimes, the mentor didn’t cover all the bases. Sometimes, the manager (that was me) had to navigate through the mess that was just made and turn a mistake into a teachable moment. The enthusiasm of the employee caused a mess, and it was patience and concern that turned a mediocre employee into a good one. We had this labeler that drove most people nuts. It would print and adhere a label on a box. As the product went through the line, an eye would detect the presence of the box. A printed label would be statically attached to a paddle that would then swing and press the sticky side of the label to the box. Setting this up was a nightmare. The automation was not precise enough to do the job correctly. It took a lot of adjustments to get the thing to work. Some gave up and manually affixed the label. Others shut down the line and left it for the techs to solve. When you have labels and adhesives, it can become messy rather quickly. As the manager, it was my job to help the operators get this line running. A bit of math and engineering and we were able to get through the night. What the employee didn’t need was rebuke and termination. He or she didn’t know. They tried their hardest. Compassion and intercession are what they needed.
Praise the LORD for a Savior who does the same for us. He is not perched, ready to pounce when we screw up. He makes intercession for us when our zeal gets ahead of our brains. Praise the LORD He sees the heart and intent behind our actions and takes mercy when we are not knowledgeable enough to make biblically sound decisions. This happens all the time. God shows mercy on our well-intentioned actions even though they were done so in ignorance. Praise the LORD Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He sees our hearts. He understands our limitations. He knows what we know and what we don’t know. The tribes above were not ignorant by choice. They came from a culture that rejected God for generations. This left them behind the eight ball. They wanted to do right. They simply never could know how to do right. And that is what the LORD considers when He sees our uneducated zeal. Praise the LORD for His understanding, patience, and guidance.
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