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Daily Devotion: 2 Chronicles 30:21-23

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2 Chronicles 30:21-23    "And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD.  (22)  And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers.  (23)  And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness."


"And the children of Israel kept the feast of unleavened bread with great gladness." They rejoiced in their time of worship unto the Lord. When we read on through the chapter, we are told that this type rejoicing had not been experienced since the days of Solomon when the temple was built.  There was much work that the priests and Levites performed, but they did it with great gladness. "The priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD."  I read that and it seems that as they were doing the work of the sacrifices, their hearts were filled and praise began to work its way from their hearts across their vocal chords and out of their mouths.  There is great joy that can be experienced in the House of the Lord.

Somewhere along the way, it seems that worship has been presented to be more of a chore than a joy. For these people, true worship had been witheld for so long that this was a new experience for them. There is joy in the presence of the Lord. The Lord's people should be the most joyous people on the face of the earth.  There was so much joy that the people wanted to continue this worship for an extra seven days. We can say that revival took place in Jerusalem.

Revival is experienced when the hearts of God's people are turned toward Him.  Yesterday, I opened my heart and today I will again. We sometimes sing a song, "Just When I Need Him."  The sentiment of that song is sweet. When I need Jesus, He is always near. But I've always had some problems with that song, for you see Jesus is always near.  It has always seemed to me that song promotes the idea that I don't need Jesus until the going gets rough. And then when I feel like I need Him, He is always there. The reality is Jesus is near me constantly and my need for Him is constant.  I always need Jesus.

In our text, the people realized their need for worship of the only true and living God. This was not some idol, or idea, made with men's hands. They poured out their hearts unto the Lord and He blessed them with great joy and gladness. Can revival be experienced today? Sure it can. But God's people must come back to the place where the inner sanctuary of our hearts are cleansed of the rubbish of the world and set our affections upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  I pray we see this in our lifetime.

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