There were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. 2 Chronicles 30.17
Yet, they celebrated Passover anyway. Sadly, there’s a lot of stupid worship on Sundays in America. Your job today is to make sure none of it’s in your church but don’t forget there’s more than one kind of stupid. According to Moses, this Passover was supposed to be celebrated in the first month. This was the second. Plus, Moses told the elders to slaughter the Passover lambs. The Levites did it here. Those are curious decisions for liturgical reformers like Hezekiah and his lieutenants. The northern tribes were exiled for liturgical stupidity of the highest order. We should expect Judah’s leaders to follow the letter of the law.
God wants us to worship according to his Word. The second tells us that his words about mercy also apply to worship
They didn’t. Maybe they would have done it “better” if the Book of Moses had been found in Hezekiah’s day instead of Josiah’s, but that doesn’t change the fact that God was clearly pleased with the irregular celebration of the sacrament. Evidently, there’s a second Regulative Principle. The first teaches that God wants us to worship according to his Word. The second tells us that his words about mercy also apply to worship. So, while you avoid stupid things today, remember the liturgical law of mercy.
