2 Chronicles 30:1–2: “And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel. For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month.”

October 17th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

According to 2 Kings 17, a small remnant remained of the northern 10 tribes that had escaped the Assyrian invasion and subsequent deportation in 722 BC. And because King Hoshea’s capital in Samaria was under Assyrian occupation, there would be no challenges to interfere when King Hezekiah called them and Judah to come to the Passover feast at the temple in Jerusalem. The nation as a unified people had failed to keep the Passover for almost 200 years, since the division of the empire and Jeroboam’s establishment of false worship in Dan and Bethel. This second public act of obedience to God (the first being the restoration of temple worship) brought a spiritual revival to the land of Judah.

We all need times of refreshing and revival in our lives, both on a personal and national level. Three quotes from men of God long gone to be with the Lord, may help us see our need.

“Revival is the church falling in love with Jesus all over again.” —Vance Havner

“A true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness, making God’s love triumph in the heart.” —Andrew Murray

“In revival, the minds of people are concentrated upon things of eternity, and there is an awareness that nothing else really matters.” —Brian Edwards

We would do well to pray the same for ourselves.

“LORD, we do pray, please revive us today in our hearts, our churches, and our land.”