GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 35:8-14
Click to listen to this devotion.
8 And his princes contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the House of God, gave two thousand six hundred lambs and kids and three hundred head of cattle to the priests for the Passover offerings. 9 Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chief officers of the Levites, gave five thousand lambs and kids and five hundred head of cattle to the Levites for the Passover offerings. 10 When the service was prepared, the priests stood in their place, and the Levites stood in their divisions according to the king’s command.
What we have here in this passage is not a liturgy, but it is an outline; an order of service. If we were to look for the spoken parts of the Passover within the Bible, we would do well to look in two places. This first is in Exodus when God explains the sacrifice to Moses and to the Israelites:
1, The Passover was to be kept in the same month when the exodus from Egypt took place, the first month of their year, Abib (also called Nisan) (Exodus 13:4-5).
2, There was to be a week-long observance, especially featuring unleavened bread, in which all yeast was to be removed from the home or tent (Exodus 13:6-7).
3, This was to be said: “On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt’” (Exodus 13:8).
4, This was to be a yearly, annual, festival (Exodus 13:10).
5, Every firstborn male from their animals was to belong to the Lord; an unclean animal such as donkey was to have its neck broken. A human child had to be redeemed, bought back, from the Lord (Exodus 13:11-13).
6, This was to be said: “In the days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the Land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons’” (Exodus 13:14-15).
7, In later years, the Jews expanded the questions to four, each to be asked by a child in each home, leaving the final question for the youngest or a shy child, whose question might be asked by an adult.
8, When Jesus was celebrating the Passover on the night he was betrayed, his Apostles asked him many questions in a manner similar to the ones prescribed in the Passover tradition (John 13-16). These questions and his answers were the true theological preparations of the Passover, sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs, the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from them while the Levites did the skinning. 12 They set aside the burnt offerings so that they could distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of the people, to offer them to the LORD as it is written in the book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the regulation. They also boiled the holy offerings in pots, in kettles, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the people. 14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy making the burnt offerings and the fat portions until that night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
So, returning to the preparation: The king had provided thirty thousand lambs and young goats along with many cattle. Now his princes and the chiefs of the Levites also gave thousands of lambs and many hundred head of cattle. Everything was ready, and the sacrifice began. The Lambs were first. The blood was sprinkled at the altar, the hides were removed, and the meat was roasted. Some of the offerings were whole burnt offerings (verse 12) but mostly these were roasted animals for the Passover meal.
The cooking for the people took so long that the priests and Levites did not share the meals with the people they served. Instead, they saved their own meals for last, and ate them in the dark of the night in the House of the Lord, just as Moses and Aaron had done the night of the exodus (Exodus 12:8).
The many preparations for worship involve a great deal of time and effort. There will sometimes be someone who still takes the time to complain about this or that, such as a sermon theme was imperfect. These verses demonstrate the truth of Jesus’ words: “Haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?” (Matthew 12:5). What did he mean? The Sabbath is meant to be a day in which no work is done, and yet those who lead the worship work very hard, sweat quite a bit, and ache to their very bones when worship is done, whether he has led one service or three, or four. In my vicar year, I typically led seven services in seven locations, moving from our church to several college campuses throughout Milwaukee, finishing sometimes after 7:00 in the evening with my wife and family wanting to see me at last.
Is this Law or Gospel? It is, in fact, an example of sanctified living– our response to the Gospel. The men who minister to the congregation do so out of love, knowing that it is in worship that we reach the most people in a personal way all at once. This is the life of ministry. It means preparation, study, hard work, anticipation, and usually doing many small things yourself because there simply isn’t always time to invite a volunteer to help. It is an act of love, and it nearly always leads to a late evening prayer for forgiveness. I am always sorry for the mistakes I have made, the slips, an error in the chanting, a cough that distracted from the reading of the Gospel, a mispronounced word, a stray thought about something useless during the congregation’s response. A sermon that had seventeen hours of study, writing, editing, and preparation and practice, and could have used two or three more hours. But, heavenly Father, I was tired. My family needed me. There was a dying bird this week on the back doorstep of the church, and there was nothing I could do could help, but I still gave that dying little hatchling my time, my prayer, a little food and shade and water, and, after it was over in the evening, a more dignified resting place than asphalt. “Even the sparrow has found a home” (Psalm 84:3), even if only for a brief hour. And a righteous man sees to the needs of his animal (Proverbs 12:10).
Heavenly Father, bless those who serve you in a public way. Forgive us our shortcomings, and let us uplift and guide your people in your word, in your will, and in your way.
Let’s not let any of these details of service and preparation take our eyes from the simple truth of the forgiveness of our sins, and the glory, peace, and indescribable gift in the words: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Listen or watch Bible classes online. https://splnewulm.org/invisible-church/
Archives at St Paul’s Lutheran Church https://splnewulm.org/daily-devotions/ and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: www.wlchapel.org/connect-grow/ministries/adults/daily-devotions/gwfy-archive/2025
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 35:8-14 The Passover is prepared