Honoring God during Passover

Ironic that during this time of year, we come to the 35th chapter from the book of 2 Chronicles, for it encompasses the Passover celebration, under the direction of king Josiah.

This occurred in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.  Everything was done with such organizational precision that it all took place within a single day.  The details were so precise, all to honor and serve God.  Each family had their place in the ceremony, and all was done as the Lord prescribed in the Book of Moses.

Never since the days of king Samuel had a Passover celebration had taken place in such a fashion.

The other half of chapter 35 dealt with king Neco from Egypt, leading his army near Judah, and king Josiah sending his army out to confront them.  But king Neco sent a message, telling Josiah not to interfere, for the Lord told them to fight another nation.  They had no quarrel with Josiah.

But Josiah refused to listen, and disguised himself.  But he was mortally wounded and taken away from the battle.  He died soon afterward.

This is an interesting point, because we have no story about king Neco's message from the Lord.  All Neco knew was that he was listening to the Lord--which he was--and had absolutely no beef with Josiah--which he didn't.  But Josiah did not listen.

We can make a parallel point with those who receive the message of God today.  Take a small town with two churches.  One is a traditional church, like a Catholic or an old Lutheran church, and then a new upbeat, nondenominational church rolls into town.  The traditional church may think they're competing with the other (like Josiah and the Egyptian king Neco's army) and seemingly go to war with each other.

Satan wants nothing more than to see Christians fighting with each other.  And why should we?  We're still worshiping the same God.  At the moment, there are at least six (sometimes more) different religious podcasts that I listen to in any given week.  Some run Monday through Friday, some just once a week, some every other week, some once or twice a month, and another one has three times a week.  All share pretty much the same message--the Goodness of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross--but in a variety of ways.

People need to hear the message of Jesus in different ways.  Don't criticize one message, because you may not know what they're hearing from God.  We never know what king Neco's message was, but it certainly didn't involve king Josiah and Jerusalem.  If someone doesn't understand your message of Christ Jesus, maybe they'll understand another.  As long as they come to Christ, that's all that matters.