“Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem” (2 Kings 23:22,23).
TEXT — 2 Kings 23:21-25
Message
In October 1971, the Shah of Iran invited 60 kings, queens, and heads of state to celebrate the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire. The cost of the celebration was about $100 million, but it was not the costliest table ever spread. The communion table is the costliest table ever spread. The elements on it cost very little, but they represent the body and blood of the Son of God.
Many unprecedented landmark achievements characterised King Josiah’s illustrious reign. The long-forgotten Jewish Passover feast was observed remarkably, and no such Passover feast was held in the days of his predecessors. Usually, at the feast, a spotless one-year-old lamb was killed by each family, roasted with fire, and eaten with unleavened bread. The blood was smeared on the doorposts and lintels of their houses. Their safety from death by the angel was guaranteed; so long, they remained in their homes under cover of the blood. In contrast, the Egyptian homes lost all the firstborns of humans and animals during the first Passover (Exodus 12:14). Israelites who failed to partake in the Passover feast were to be cut off from their tribes.
The Passover feast was symbolic and temporary, serving as a memorial for Israel’s exit. For Christians, the Lord’s Supper, instituted by Christ, replaced the Old Testament Passover, and every right-standing believer should partake in it. Christ’s blood is a means of sanctification, protecting saints from wickedness and God’s wrath, and guaranteeing continuous victory over sin and the devil’s accusation.
Josiah also purged Judah and Jerusalem of all workers with familiar spirits, the wizards, the images, the idols, and all the abominations. As believers, we must be uncompromising in defending the truth. We must not allow agents of the devil to partake in the Lord’s service. We are charged not to associate with enemies of the Cross, peddlers of false doctrines, and those who cause offenses and divisions in the church. Josiah left an indelible legacy as a righteous king who departed from the evil ways of his ancestors. What legacy will you leave when you eventually quit the stage?
Thought for the day
The Lord’s table whets our appetite for the great feast above.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
