In 30:1—31:1 we see that Hezekiah recovered the Passover. The Passover had been lost, and the people no longer kept it, but Hezekiah recovered it.
The degraded children of Israel had not held the Passover for a long time as it was decreed in Moses’ writing (30:5b).
Hezekiah recovered the Passover by sending letters to all Israel and Judah telling them to come to Jerusalem to hold the Passover of Jehovah (vv. 1-12).
He sent letters not only to the people of Judah but to all the people of Israel in order to keep the oneness of all God’s elect (vv. 1a, 6a). By that time God’s elect people had been divided. Hezekiah tried to unite them by inviting them all to keep the Passover.
Hezekiah asked all the people of Israel and Judah to come to Jerusalem where the house of God was to hold the Passover in order to remind them to keep the one unique ground of the worship of God among all Israel (v. 1b; cf. Deut. 12:5, 11, 13-14). He realized that keeping the unique ground pleases the heart of God.
The divisive people of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as Zebulun laughed the runners of the letters to scorn and mocked them, but some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem (2 Chron. 30:10-11). This is a type of today’s situation. If we invite some denominational people to come to worship God on the church ground, they might know that this would be right, but they might not humble themselves and come to the proper ground, for this would cause them to lose face.
Moreover, the hand of God was on the people of Judah, giving them one heart to perform the commandment of Hezekiah and the officers according to the word of Jehovah (v. 12). They listened to Hezekiah and the leaders, and then they took action according to God’s word, according to God’s revelation.
A very great assembly gathered at Jerusalem to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month (vv. 13-22). The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted seven days, was a continuation of the Passover, which lasted only one day.
They removed the idolatrous altars that were in Jerusalem and they removed all the incense altars and threw them into the brook Kidron (v. 14). Everywhere in Jerusalem altars had been built for the idols, but Hezekiah and those who had gathered at Jerusalem to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread cleared them away.
The priests, the Levites, and the people sanctified themselves to God (vv. 15-17). The priests and the Levites brought burnt offerings to the house of Jehovah, and the Levites offered sacrifices for those who were not clean, to sanctify them to Jehovah.
Hezekiah prayed for many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun who ate the Passover yet had not cleansed themselves. God heard Hezekiah and healed the people (vv. 18-20; cf. 1 Cor. 11:30-31). Some who ate the Passover had not cleansed themselves, and they got sick as a result. This is also a type. Once again we see that certain details of the New Testament economy are clearly portrayed in the Old Testament types.