God Always Pardons A Seeking Heart

2 Chronicles 30:18-20---For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

Hezekiah had just come to power. The nation was in shambles because of the sins of the former King. The first thing Hezekiah did was cleanse the Temple and prepare to celebrate the Passover. He invited those from every tribe who had not been taken captive to join them in returning to the LORD. Many mocked him, but a great number humbled themselves and came to the feast. Some of those who came had not gone through the ritual purification to be able to eat the Passover, but in their zeal to return to God, they went ahead and joined in the Passover meal. Hezekiah asked the LORD, who is good, to pardon everyone who had set their heart on seeking God, even though they had not gone through the ritual cleansing period. God heard and healed them. The Old Testament is full of illustrations where the heart of man is more important than ritual or the details of the Law. Jesus reminded the religious leaders of His day of David eating the Shewbread that only the priest was allowed to eat. God looks at the heart. When you have people who come out of sin to seek the LORD they are usually not cleaned up or familiar with what is right. They may speak and even act in ways you consider un-Christian. Remember, God who is good, will pardon them if their heart is set on seeking Him. Let the Holy Spirit bring conviction and change. If you feel led to correct them, do so lovingly and gently. In this chapter, there was a great joy. It would have been dampened had Hezekiah rebuked all who were not up on the rules of the Sanctuary and the Passover meal. Instead, he encouraged the Levites who did know and they did a good job according to the Word of God.