Blog

by Nathan Buck

Family traditions can be really simple, or they can have very deep significance, like getting ice cream after a little league game, or like a special rite of passage for a teenage daughter or son. It is what we remember from those moments that makes those traditions meaningful and worth passing on. If we don't remember, the meaning is lost, and usually so is the tradition.

Last week we looked at 2 Chronicles 34, the life and kingship of Josiah. His passion for God, kindled perhaps by someone who remembered God, lead to God's Word being found. With God's teachings and laws now available, the whole nation could have their identity restored. The amnesia of comfort, distraction, and false religions gave way to a renewed understanding of who the one true God is, and how Israel was to represent Him.

Our need to remember God is even more potent than our remembering the meaning behind family traditions. We have no idea how God may use our life to be the next part of His story. We may even be the key to someone else discovering God, or many others being rescued from destruction.

Read 2 Chronicles 35:1-18. As a result of Josiah's passionate faith, the Passover Feast/Festival was celebrated again across the nation. This feast retold the story of Israel's exodus from Egypt and celebrated the four promises God made to Israel: I will bring you out of Egypt, rescue you from slavery, redeem you with mighty acts of judgement, and take you to be my people so I will be your God.

These four promises were kept by God, and they are a huge part of the identity of the nation of Israel. The Passover Feast was a yearly reminder and celebration of what God had done in the past, but it was also an ongoing celebration of these promises to EVERY generation. God's promises were not just for those physically present at the time of the first Passover. They were lasting promises that applied to anyone who would trust God with their life. But if no one remembers and no one celebrates the feast, how can anyone else trust these promises?

Josiah's faith lead to the festival becoming a vibrant part of the nation again. People would remember, people would be reminded of their identity from God, and people would trust God again with their lives. But the impact of this is far greater than just the years surrounding Josiah's kingship.

The Passover Feast is likely the last meal Jesus had with His followers before His death. He unpacked the promises of God in that feast with the connections to His own death and resurrection. Because the Passover Feast had been remembered in Israel, Jesus' followers were able to see how Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises for the whole earth, not just Israel.

So, what traditions do you have that help tell God's story through your life? Prayerfully consider how you and your family, or a group of friends, can develop ways to share the meaning of God's story with others. Maybe it’s as simple as getting ice cream together, maybe it’s a rite of passage at a certain age, maybe it’s celebrating the Passover Feast each year, or maybe it’s just reading and discussing God's promises together each week. Whatever tradition helps you remember, keep it fresh, keep it pure, and pass it on.

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