2 Chronicles 30

There's a reason why sorry is the hardest word to say, isn't it?

Any number of reasons actually why that may be the case. Saying sorry to someone for hurt

! or offence we've caused them means we're acknowledging by definition

we did something wrong and aren't perfect, isn't it? And that's a hard thing to do. It makes us vulnerable.

And we're taught every day to be strong, to stand our ground, to defend ourselves.

Especially in a city like London which can be a very harsh place. The law of the jungle very quickly becomes the law of the concrete jungle.

And the other reason why it's hard to say sorry is because things need to change. If we're truly sorry, and if it's about acknowledging our sin, that's even harder.

But it is important to think about how we repent of sin. How we come back to God and say we're sorry for our sin and we turn to him after we've wandered away.

In the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, in Mark 1.15, the first thing that Jesus says when he starts his public ministry is

the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in this Gospel.

So repentance is about more than just being sorry for sin. It is turning from sin and being sorry for it and returning to God.

And if sorry is the hardest thing to say, repentance is one of the hardest things to do.

If you're exploring Christianity and you're here this morning, maybe you've not heard this before, but

becoming a Christian, Christianity is not just about believing something about God.

It also involves turning from our life before and from sin to Jesus. And if you are a Christian, this morning it's also relevant to you.

Are you still repenting of your sin or has it slipped down the list of priorities in everyday busy life?

But how does it look? How does it look to turn from sin to God? And if it's so hard to do, how do we even do it?

And that's what this passage in Chronicles speaks to you.

Now, the book of Chronicles is maybe one of those books, in the Old Testament especially, that we don't read that often.

I don't know if you're like you, but you might read through the Bible, you get to Samuel and kings, and you read all the stories of all the kings of Israel, and they go into exile, and then you get to Chronicles.

And it's a bit of deja vu, in a sense. Like, haven't I just read this? It's a bit like there's a glitch in the matrix, in a sense.

We've covered this ground.

But it is because they tell different stories.

Not different in the sense of completely different events, but the same story from different perspectives.

So we realize different things.

See, the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings, or Samuel and kings, answer this question that Israel and Judah had when they went into exile.

How did we end up in this mess?

How did things get to this point, that we're out of the land, away from God, in this foreign land?

Why is there no king from David's line on the throne, as God promised?

Why are we not worshipping at the temple, where God said he'd dwell with us?

Why is Jerusalem destroyed?

Why is there no hope of going home anytime soon?

And the book of Chronicles tells the story, how do we get out of this mess?

What has God done in the past, in his faithful nature, in his faithful dealings with us, and how is he going to deal with us in the future?

What must we do to return to him so that he will return to us?

How is God going to be faithful and fulfill all his promises to us?

So there are different perspectives on the same story.

God's faithful dealings with his people through his covenant, according to his promises, and that's what Chronicles wants to tell the people of Israel and Judah.

But there's even more to it than that.

I don't know if you knew this, but the order of the books as we have it in the English Bible, the Old Testament books, it's slightly different in the Hebrew Bible.

So our books are kind of grouped together, same types of books together.

You know, your history books and your prophets and so on.

And that makes a lot of sense in many ways, and you've got all the same kind of books together.

In the Hebrew Bible, you've got Chronicles right at the end.

Because it wants to tell people, God's people, Israel and Judah, as they were in exile, how do you look forward after this?

It's interesting the connections that it makes then, in the order of books then.

Ruth follows Proverbs, for example, and Ruth is spoken about as a woman of valor, and it's just after the end of Proverbs, which talks about this woman of valor.

So an interesting kind of connections that it makes in that way.

But the important thing here is, the writer of Chronicles wants to point God's people to a life looking forward, based on how God has dealt with these people always through history.

And when we come to these end chapters of Chronicles with that kind of perspective, they almost take on a couple of different nuances.

We look at them in a different way.

They're not just a history chapter that tells us about something that happens in the past.

There's a different angle to this that's relevant for us too.

That's how God has worked in and through our history too, and how he fulfills his promises.

These chapters want to tell us, look up, have faith.

This is how God's people should live, until he returns to us.

And that's just another way of describing repentance.

Repentance is a big word.

Kids, on your sheet somewhere there should be something about that too.

But it's really just a way of describing us turning from our sin, where we've wandered away from God,

confessing that sin to God, being sorry about our sin, and turning back to God.

And that is the picture that is described in this chapter.

How God's people do that.

There's a fascinating couple of bits in these last couple of chapters.

Just after Ezekiah's story that we just read, in chapter 33 and so on,

we read about an evil king again, Manasseh.

Chronicles is very honest.

It doesn't kind of gloss over the bad kings that Israel had and the sins they had.

But it focuses attention on the hopeful future that lies in returning to God and God's faithfulness.

But it's interesting how it's contrasted sometimes with, as I said, the kind of story that we've read in Kings, about these kings.

See, in 2 Kings 21, Manasseh is described in this way.

He says in verse 9,

But they did not listen.

And Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done, whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

He'd done more evil than the evil nations who'd been there before.

Therefore, thus says the Lord the God of Israel,

Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster,

that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

That is a pretty shocking indictment.

And in 2 Chronicles 33, it doesn't gloss over those things.

For example, it tells us,

Manasseh burned his sons as an offering in the valley of the son of Hinnom,

and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery,

and dealt with mediums and necromancers.

He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

So these chapters then gloss over the unsavory parts of Israel and Judah's history.

But where's the emphasis in Chronicles?

Again, in chapter 33, verse 11,

Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria,

who captured Manasseh with hooks,

and bound him with chains of bronze,

and brought him to Babylon.

And when he was in distress,

he entreated the favour of the Lord his God,

and humbled himself greatly before the God of his forefathers.

He prayed to him,

and God was moved by his entreaty,

and heard his plea,

and brought him again to Jerusalem,

into his kingdom.

Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

And he goes on to talk about how they removed all the foreign gods

and the idols from the temple,

and restored altar and temple worship.

We tell different versions of the same story as well, don't we?

You read about an event in the news,

and it looks like the Guardian and the Daily Mail's reporters

were on opposite sides of the planet.

I watch an Arsenal-Tottenham match,

and although you'd think the facts can only be described in one way,

that Arsenal is always superior,

where a Tottenham supporter, for some reason,

would describe a game where they played much better than they did.

It's not necessarily malicious.

Different perspectives.

The difference here, though, is that both of these perspectives

are God's perspective.

The all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful God,

who directed all of these events

to bring a people to himself.

And they're both true.

And the emphasis, even in Manasseh's account,

which we saw, is on repentance and turning to him.

That's the central idea here.

God is faithful.

God is just.

God is righteous.

To have sent us into exile.

But if we return to him,

he does not turn his face from us.

He turns to us.

And it is glorious.

Manasseh repents,

but it is only because God leads him to repentance.

And through him the people.

And don't miss this.

Even Manasseh can repent.

They still went into exile.

There were still consequences for their sin.

But no one is beyond saving.

What a message for a people who were in exile to hear

as they were going back to the Promised Land.

So these last couple of chapters of the book of Chronicles

has much to teach us, too,

about how to return to God.

How to repent of our sin.

How does this look like?

And if you've had anything like the week I've had,

or just any week at all,

you'll know that repenting from our sin

and turning to God

is not something we ever stop doing.

We see a couple of things about repentance in this passage.

And the writer clearly wants to stress for us.

And for the people in exile,

as they were about to go back to the Promised Land.

Here's the first thing.

Repentance is

to God,

for God,

and because of God.

verses 6 to 13.

Hezekiah writes to all of Israel.

They were in the southern kingdom at this stage.

The northern kingdom had gone into exile already.

Had been taken into exile.

Had been captured and taken to another land.

That's not their home.

And he calls to all of them

to come and celebrate the Passover.

We'll touch on the Passover again later.

But not just Hezekiah,

the princes and the entire assembly.

They do it together.

This is a corporate exercise.

This is not just an individual exercise.

This is an exercise

for all the people

to come together

and repent and turn to God.

Earlier in the service,

we confessed our sin

and heard of God's forgiveness.

We continue to do the same thing.

All over the world,

God's people do that today.

So the St. Kuri is far and wide

through the land

and they tell them

the first thing to realize about repentance,

it is necessary.

It is absolutely necessary.

Why?

Because this is what their covenant Lord requires.

Verse 6.

O people of Israel,

return to the Lord,

the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,

that he may turn again

to the remnant of you

who have escaped

from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

Do not be like your fathers and brothers

who are faithless

to the Lord of their fathers.

Do not now be stiff-necked

as your fathers were,

but yield yourself to the Lord

that his fierce anger

may turn away from you.

You see, God's not just an abstract God,

is he?

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,

the covenant Lord

who made a covenant with these people

that he would be their God

and they would be his people.

And they've broken faith with him.

The eternal creator of all things

who chose them to be his people

and they were rebellious,

stiff-necked.

It's always such a

satisfyingly descriptive phrase

that's used about God's people.

And they turn to other gods.

And Hezekiah is spelling out

what should be blatantly obvious to them.

Israel, the northern kingdom,

you're in exile.

Your brothers are far away

because they rejected God.

You know this.

When you're in a hole,

stop digging.

Come back to God.

Your land's empty and abandoned,

but He is here.

Return to Him

so His fierce anger

may turn away from you.

Sounds obvious.

But,

if it was so obvious,

they would probably do it.

See, there's something here about

we need to be reminded

of the seriousness of our sin.

Even when we can see

the consequences in our lives.

At adult Bible school,

at adult Sunday school,

in the mornings,

we're looking at the atonement

in the morning.

In the last couple of Sundays,

we're about how serious our sin is.

Israel knew the consequences

of their sin,

but they needed to be reminded

of the seriousness of it.

We see it every day.

The world has fallen.

We see the consequences

of sin every day

in wars,

in the vile politics

that's going on,

in the way people talk

to each other.

Our own relationships

are strained

and fall apart.

But until we realize

that that is because

the world has abandoned

the God who created

this world,

we won't necessarily realize

we need to return to Him.

But it doesn't stop there.

What happens when

the people return to God?

Does Hezekiah tell them?

He says,

God is gracious

and compassionate.

And we should never forget

to bring those two together.

that God is just

and righteous

and angry about sin.

But He is always gracious

and compassionate

to those who return to Him.

So in verse 9,

Hezekiah says,

If you return,

your brothers will return

for the reason

why they will return.

It's not because you returned

in the first instance

and did the right thing now,

but because the Lord your God

is gracious and merciful

and will not turn His face

from you if you return to Him.

Isn't that incredible?

You see,

in that time,

God's presence was with them

in the temple

and in the promised land.

In that city of God,

in Jerusalem,

being far away

in a foreign land

meant they were physically

far from God.

And here He says,

If you return to Me,

I will return you

to the land

that I promised you,

that I gave to you.

And more importantly than that,

I will not turn my face

away from you.

And some mocked

and scorned

these messengers

as they kind of went

through the land.

And that kind of rings true

with our experience too,

doesn't it?

People who want to

call the world

back to God

often get mocked

and scorned.

So it's not a new thing.

But some did return

from Manasseh

and Zebulun

and Asher.

And they've been,

you know,

from tribes

of people

whose people

have been in exile

for a long time.

But some of them

were left

and some of them

came back to God

and it seems

humanly impossible.

From a human perspective,

they were a write-off.

But God is faithful

despite their unfaithfulness.

Despite the people

around them

mocking and scorning

these messengers,

some of them

come back to Jerusalem.

They return physically

to Jerusalem,

but even more than that,

they've returned spiritually.

They humble themselves

to come back to God.

And that's significant.

But then you probably

know as well as I do

someone

that might come to mind

who is never wrong

and will fight to the death

rather than admit

that he or she was wrong.

You might recognize

that in yourself.

You might be driving somewhere

and suspect

you're on the wrong road

and start to realize

you're on the wrong way.

And the people in the car

start to realize

you're on the wrong way.

And everyone realizes,

everyone else has realized

that we're on the wrong way.

And you do your best

poker face expression

to desperately try

and work out

how you're going to get back

on the right way

without having to admit

at all

that you went

the wrong way.

The sat nav's a bit broken

or something like that.

I did that yesterday

and I was late

for the thing I had to be at

yesterday afternoon.

We all know ourselves

when we fought

tooth and nail

to prove we're right

even when we're

obviously wrong,

don't we?

No, I didn't lie to you.

No, of course,

I'd never say something

behind your back.

Why is it even possible

to repent?

If that's our natural

instinctive reaction

to justify ourselves,

to prove we're right

and not to admit defeat,

how does it work?

We see this amazing thing

in verse 12,

the hand of God

was also on Judah

to give them

one heart to do

what the king

and the prince

has commanded

by the word of the Lord.

See, when God

expects us

to return to him,

he returns us

to him.

We repent,

but it is God

who causes us

to repent.

The Lord himself

shows us grace

by giving us hearts

that want to repent

and return to him

when we're unable

to do that.

Judah was not able

to return to the Lord.

The people from Israel,

from Asherah,

Manasseh,

and Zebulun,

were not able

to return to the Lord

themselves.

Here's the encouragement

for us.

If you're struggling

to fully turn

from sin

to God,

don't give up.

If you know

someone

you are praying

will turn

to God,

do not give up.

What seems impossible

to us

is always possible

with God.

Don't ever,

ever give up.

God can turn

anyone back

to him

or to him

so that he won't

ever turn his face

from them.

You see,

we're not physically

in exile

like Israel

and Judah,

but spiritually

we are too.

We live in a world

that's rejected God

and doesn't know him.

And the Apostle Peter

writes in 1 Peter,

Once you were not

a people,

but now you are

God's people.

Once you've not

received mercy,

but now you have

received mercy.

Beloved,

I urge you

as sojourners

and exiles

to abstain

from the trespassions

of the flesh

which wage war

against your soul.

You see,

God is always

faithful

in returning

to those

who turn to him

from exile

of his presence.

And until

Christ returns,

he brings us

to that repentance

day after day

when we're not

able to do it

ourselves.

The second thing

that we see

about repentance

in this passage

is it must lead

to right worship.

See,

coming into

God's presence

as we do

every Sunday

in a particular

and a special way

means we need

to worship

incorrectly.

That's why

we do

things in a

certain way.

We have

certain elements

of the service.

We have a call

to worship

and we confess

our sin

and we hear

forgiveness

and we hear

God's word

preached.

And we see

here it didn't

go smoothly

for God's people

returning him

to worship him

correctly.

They didn't know

how.

They had forgotten

how to do it

right.

And that would

have sounded

familiar to

God's people

in exile

reading this

as an

encouragement.

And for us

if we've

struggled with

sin or felt

far away from

God or felt

we'd wandered

off from him

we can feel

unprepared to

come to God

and unworthy.

So they

removed the

altars to

the idols.

They came to

slaughter the

Passover lamb

but not all

the people

were ready.

And in fact

the priests

and the Levites

were not

ready.

In verse 15

they slaughtered

the Passover

lamb and the

priests and

Levites were

ashamed so

they consecrated

themselves and

brought burnt

offerings into

the house of

the Lord.

They saw

what was

happening and

responded by

consecrating

themselves, by

making themselves

ritually clean

and returning

to God.

They realized

the importance

of coming to

him as he

had told them

to.

And in

verse 17

though the

people themselves

weren't ready

either.

There were

many in the

assembly who

had not

consecrated

themselves and

therefore the

Levites had to

slaughter the

Passover lamb

for everyone who

was not clean

to consecrate

it to the

Lord.

And the

writers of the

Chronicles

doesn't condone

it.

But here's

the point

he makes.

It's not

people's outward

expression of

repentance and

faith.

That is the

prime factor,

the most

important factor

in the Lord's

consideration of

it.

Whether they

came ritually

clean and did

all the right

things according

to the law

wasn't the

most important

factor.

A couple of

weeks ago

Chris preached

from Malachi and

there was this

shocking line in

chapter 1.

God speaks to

them and he

says,

Oh that there

were one among

you who would

shut the

doors that you

might not

kindle fire on

my altar in

vain.

I have no

pleasure in

you says the

Lord of

hosts.

I will not

accept an

offering from

your hand.

There's a way

of doing the

external things

that hides

something severely

wrong in our

hearts.

And what

happens here is

the opposite.

Their hearts

have turned,

their hearts

are set to

see God,

and he

recognises that.

So despite

them not be

outwardly ready,

God provides

someone to

intercede for

them.

Hezekiah

prays and

God heals

them in

verse 20.

Spiritually

makes them

acceptable in

his presence

to keep the

Passover because

they set their

hearts to

seek the

Lord.

here's the

reality about

repentance.

None of us

come ready

completely and

fully to God

to be acceptable

in his sight.

We cannot do

that.

We have a

constant need of

repentance.

We sin all the

time.

And if you're

waiting to come

to God because

you feel you need

to be perfect

before you can do

that, this

passage in

Chronicles tells

us, don't

wait for

that.

If your

heart is set

to seek God,

come to him

and seek him

and repent and

turn to him and

believe in him.

And God's

abundantly

gracious.

He accepts

them, healing

them spiritually

and there's an

intercessor who

intercedes with

God on their

behalf.

You see, we

have a high

priest who does

the same thing

for us, don't

we?

In Hebrews we

read, we do

not have a high

priest who is

unable to

sympathize with

our weaknesses

but one who

in every respect

has been

tempted as we

are yet without

sin.

Let us then

with confidence

draw near to

the throne of

grace that we

may receive

mercy and find

grace to help

in time of

need.

In the days of

his flesh,

Jesus offered

up prayers and

supplications with

loud cries and

tears to him

and was able to

save him from

death and he

was heard because

of his reverence.

See, if there's

any reason for you

to think you

cannot approach

God, we have a

better high

priest than any

high priest Israel

ever had.

We have the

Son of God

himself praying

for us at this

very moment and

every day in a

way that Hezekiah

could never pray

for the people.

and you can

come to the

throne of grace

to God with

confidence,

perfectly

righteous,

perfectly

sanctified,

perfectly

consecrated.

But here's the

most important

thing that we see

about repentance

here.

It's to God,

for God and

because of Him.

it leads to

right worship.

But repentance

is incomplete

without trusting

only in God's

gracious saving

work.

See, we haven't

yet answered the

question that I

kind of alluded to

earlier.

Why this massive

focus on the

Passover at the

end of Chronicles?

You see, we've

got it here in

chapter 30.

A couple of

chapters later,

we've got

Josiah coming.

The king,

after Manasseh

and Amon,

went off the

rails again a

bit and came

back to God

and led the

people astray.

Josiah reforms

things again.

They find the

book of the

law, they read

from it, they

all cut to the

heart, they

repent, and

they celebrate

the Passover

again.

Chronicles

talks about the

Passover as

much or more

than any other

book in the

Old Testament.

And it comes

right here at

the end, and

right here at

the end of the

Old Testament

in the Hebrew

Bible.

Why?

Why does God

focus so much

attention on

this for us

too?

So we've got

to think, what

did the Passover

signify?

It recalls the

Exodus, when God

rescued his

people from

Egypt.

as he had

promised Abraham

he would do, and

make a people

from them.

Their rescue

from Egypt was

not their work.

It was God's

gracious saving

work to save

them from

Egypt.

They could

never have

done it

themselves.

It reminded

them that an

atoning death

in their place

was necessary

when they

sacrificed the

Passover lamb

and put the

blood on the

doorpost to

show that they

realised that

their sin was

serious and they

would be

accepted in

God's presence

when blood

has been spilled

for it.

It was a

serious thing

to remind

them of.

And God

promised to

bring them to

the promised

land when

he took

them out

of Egypt.

This tiny

nation, powerless,

powerless in the

context of the

world they lived

in, into this

lush land that

overflowed with

milk and

honey.

And it

reminded them

that God had

promised that

he would send

a Messiah to

put an end

to sin and

death.

all of that

was wrapped

up in

there.

And with

the recounting

of the

Passover is

such a

powerful thing

in their life

as a nation

that God

had commanded

them to do

every year.

And we have

this shocking

announcement here

in this passage

that they

had not

sacrificed the

Passover,

celebrated the

Passover as

often as

commanded.

it.

And when

that happens

there's a

danger,

isn't there,

when we

forget that

we rest in

the finished

work of

God.

And what

could have

happened with

these Israelites

and Judahites

going back from

exile to think

that if they

do the right

things, if they

return to

the sacrifices

in the right

way, that

they could

become right

with God

through their

contribution,

their action.

And as we

saw in Malachi,

that is to

an extent what

happened.

But it's when

they celebrate

the Passover

in this passage

that their joy

is complete.

I don't know

if you saw

in verse 26,

there was

great joy in

Jerusalem, for

since the time

of Solomon,

the son of

David, king

of Israel,

there have

been nothing

like this in

Jerusalem.

It wasn't

because they

had a great

feast and

there were

loads of

bulls and

there was a

great time in

Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, it's

because the

Passover showed

that God

turned to

them when

they had

not yet

turned to

him.

Because he

had promised

to provide

them with a

saver who

would be the

true Passover

lamb, the

one who died

in their place

so they could

be rescued

from sin.

So we know

we need to

turn from

sin.

We know

that part of

repentance.

repentance.

If you've

been in

a church for

any length

of time you

would have

probably heard

that or if

you haven't

been in a

church.

We know

very often

that our

lives need

to change.

Instinctively

we feel

that.

But here's

what this

chapter tells

us.

Our joy

will not

be complete

until we

only rest

in the

finished work

of God

on our

behalf.

You see

the Passover

looked backwards

and forwards

for Judah

in very

powerful ways.

But what

they look

forward to

is present

reality for

us.

But we

have the

Lord Jesus

Christ

interceding

for us

in heaven

right now.

We heard

this morning

at our

Sunday

school

from

Jeremiah

6

where

God

rebukes

the

priests

and he

tells,

he rebukes

them for

crying peace,

peace when

there is no

peace.

saying,

they healed

the wound

of my

people

lightly.

Hezekiah

prayed to

the Lord

and he

healed the

people.

He

reconciled

them to

him.

Jesus

Christ

paid a

much

greater

price

than

these

sacrifices

in the

Passover

lamb to

heal us

and to

reconcile us

to God

permanently.

And there

was a

perverse

joy

in

Jerusalem

when the

true

Passover

lamb

was

sacrificed

for us.

The

people

rejoiced

over that

Passover

lamb

but in a

very wrong

way.

But we

know there

is great

joy in

heaven

when a

single

sinner

comes to

repentance.

repentance.

And our

prayer is

heard every

moment of

every day

in God's

holy habitation

in heaven

through Jesus'

prayers on

our behalf.

Let's

continue to

return to

God with

confidence.

The God

who turned

to us in

Christ when

we turned

away from

him.

And he

will never

turn his

face from

us as

his beloved

children.

Let's

pray.

Heavenly

Father our

sinful hearts

find it

hard to

return to

you when

we've

wandered,

when we've

sinned.

We are

proud.

We are

often stiff

necked

people.

Father we

give you

such great

praise that

when we

return to

you it

is not

because we

were able

to make

the effort

because we

will never

be but

because you

turned our

hearts,

because you

set our

hearts to

seek you.

Father we

praise you

that in

the Lord

Jesus you

turn to

us in a

way we

could never

have expected

demanded or

demanded or

deserved.

Father we

pray that you

will turn

each of us

to you

again in

you in

this week

to come

and that we

will see your

face and be

glad.

Father we

pray this in

Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to

sing again

now.

The hymn

Lord of

the Church

from page

7 of the

booklets.

Linger on

these words

in the first

verse.

Lord of the

Church we

pray for

your renewing

Christ over

all our

undivided

aim.

Fire of the

Spirit burn

for our

renewing.

Wind of the

Spirit fan the

flame.

We turn to

Christ amid

our fear and

failing.

The will that

lacks the courage

to be free.

The weary

labours all but

unavailing to

bring us nearer

what a church

should be.