The ninth chapter of the book of Numbers is a most interesting chapter. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Moreover let the children of Israel keep the passover in its appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in its appointed season: according to all the statutes of it, and according to all the ordinances thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at even, in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
And there were certain men, who were unclean by reason of the dead body of a man (they had buried a man), so that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: and those men said unto him, We are unclean by reason of the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer the oblation of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stay ye, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be on journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord. In the second month on the fourteenth day at even they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs: they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof: according to all the statute of the passover they shall keep it. It goes on to explain that if a man was not unclean and could keep the Passover but did not do so, he would be cut off from his people.
Among the Jewish people, there is a day called the “little Passover.” One month from the time they kept the Passover they had a catch-up day in which those who were unclean could keep the second Passover. The only occasion we find in the Bible where the little Passover was ever kept is described in the thirtieth chapter of II Chronicles. I want to call your attention to it because it was so unusual and even amusing. Everything we have studied about the Passover has shown how God blessed people who followed His instructions exactly. But in this instance the people were all messed up at the time of the Passover, and therefore they were not able to keep it until the time of the little Passover.
When the little Passover came, the king had to make an entreaty to God, “Please help these poor people because none of them are doing it right. Lord, just look on their good intentions.” They stumbled along, doing everything wrong; yet they had the most glorious Passover ever. Then, completely out of order, the king said, “Lord, we’ve had such a good time; let’s keep another feast.” They kept another seven days unto the Lord, and there never was such a time of joy and blessing.
This most amusing Passover does something to your heart. In it you can see that in the midst of all the legalism that God required, there was still an occasion where only the grace of God had to abound. None of the rules would apply, but because the people looked to God, He just kept smiling on them. They had the most joyous time ever.
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh (this is very significant because these two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh felt as though they didn’t even belong with the other tribes any more), that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the Lord, the God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month (notice that this is the second month, not the first month as usual). For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number (everyone showed up, but there were not any priests who could officiate), neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem (they missed out all around). And the thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly.
So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem: for they had not kept it in great numbers in such sort as it is written. So the posts went with letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to the remnant that are escaped of you out of the hand of the kings of Assyria (remember, there were not too many of them left because the kings of Assyria had destroyed a lot of them).
And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord, the God of their fathers, so that he gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were; but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that led them captive, and shall come again into this land (he is saying that if they do keep this Passover, the Lord will bring back some of the captives that Assyria had taken; there would be a restoration): for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. The idea of keeping a Passover seemed ridiculous, and they laughed at the messengers. This shows how far gone they were at this point. They did not have much left. Nevertheless certain men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. Also upon Judah came the hand of God to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the word of the Lord. And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great assembly. Everything was fouled up. There were no priests, and most of the people were laughing at the idea. But some people responded and decided to keep the Feast. Then what happened?
And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought burnt-offerings into the house of the Lord. And they stood in their place after their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood which they received of the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the assembly that had not sanctified themselves: therefore the Levites had the charge of killing the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord.
They did not even have the official priesthood. The Levites were assuming the duties of the priests, completely contrary to the way it should have been. The priests were supposed to make the sacrifices, and the Levites’ duties were to burn incense and serve in the temple in various ways. Not all of the Levites were priests, though the priests were taken from among the Levites. On this occasion those on the bottom rung of the ladder were coming and sanctifying the priests. Everything was mixed up. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves (the Levites were going through the sanctifying process for them), yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it is written.
For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one that setteth his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. He is saying, “Lord, just cleanse them. You are merciful to cleanse them all.” And the Lord hearkened to Hexekiah, and healed the people. 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. Isn’t that beautiful? Here was Hezekiah with all of these people who were not properly sanctified or prepared. And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that had good understanding in the service of the Lord. So they did eat throughout the feast for the seven days, offering sacrifices of peace-offerings, and making confession to the Lord, the God of their fathers. They finally finished the feast.
And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days; and they kept other seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the assembly for offerings a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the assembly a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. And all the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem. Thousands upon thousands of bullocks and lambs were being killed, and they were going to eat them all. They kept the passover another seven days, worshiping the Lord and rejoicing. So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even unto heaven. II Chronicles 30:1–27.
Then what did they do? The thirty-first chapter tells that after they had such a glorious time at that Passover, they went throughout the land, tearing down every idol they could find. This was the time to get rid of witches, of idols, and anything contrary to the true God. They went throughout the land tearing it all down. There was a little riot taking place wherever they went.
This is what God is doing today. This is the type of Passover God is bringing to us today—a Passover for the unworthy, a Passover for the unprepared and the unsanctified. God is bringing a Passover to those who are not qualified. He is laying His blessing upon them. Not only is He bringing the blessing and the anointing of the Lord, but He is saying that this will be a special Passover of a double portion.
I remember an old fellow who came to work on our farm at threshing time when I was a boy. The coffee was running a little low, and he was passing his cup for about the fourth time. As they started pouring, they asked, “Half full?” He said, “Cup and saucer both.” He was not satisfied with half a cup. That is the way it is with us. “A double portion, Lord—not half a cup. Make our cup run over. Give us the joy of the Lord in a double portion.” It is the day of the grace of God, and God has brought it to us here in the Feast of Passover.
We have shared a fellowship together and done precious things together. The people have rallied around to be a blessing to others. Many have given with the spirit of sacrifice. No one has felt hurt. Everyone has kept the Feast with joy and rejoicing. God give us a double portion; give us another seven days of knowing what it is to constantly have the immunity and the blessing of the Lord ministered down upon our spirits.
The things of this world are going to recede fast. We will be looking down, and the world will appear to be such a big insurmountable mess. But for those of us who are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, it will be just a distant objective. We have reduced the enemy down to his proper size, and we have said, “Come, let us magnify the Lord together.”
We have seen that the Lord has better things for us than to be engrossed in ourselves and in our selfishness. He has lifted us up out of that mire of being egocentric people with a world that is no bigger than our own selves. He has given us a vision in this feast—a vision of what is going to take place. He has identified every one of us with what God has for our lives in the future. We will not draw back. We will pray for one another.
We look forward to the days that are ahead, to the problems of growth, as God adds to the church daily such as are being saved. The Lord causes us to discover, like a sleeping giant, the other members of the Body, and we arise in the unity of that discovery and stomp across the land, tearing down every shrine of Babylon. The Lord will help us to be the Body of Christ in this hour to go forth and accomplish His will in all the earth. He will open up frontiers before us that were beyond our horizons—things that we never dreamed of, that were beyond our understanding and beyond our vision. The Lord cause us to see them. We will walk through the land and describe it. We will stake our claims and say, “This is our Canaan. This we possess in the name of the Lord.”
We will not draw back, for we will have forgotten what it means to retreat. The only backs we will see will be the backs of the enemy fleeing before our face. We will move on to possess the things of the Lord because those high places are to be ours. By our God we will leap a wall and fight a troop, and our hands will be taught to war.