So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.

The posts passed from city to city. It is not surprising that after so long a discontinuance of the sacred festival, this attempt to revive it should, in some quarters, have excited ridicule and opposition; and, accordingly, among the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Zebulun, Hezekiah's messengers met with open insults and ill-usage (cf. Matthew 22:1). Numbers, however, in these very districts, as well as throughout the kingdom of the ten tribes generally, complied with the invitation; while in the kingdom of Judah there was one unanimous feeling of high expectation and pious delight. The concourse that repaired to Jerusalem on the occasion was very great, and the occasion was over after regarded as one of the greatest Passovers that had ever been celebrated.

Continues after advertising
Continues after advertising