Part Two – Crossing the Divide

Research Note: Still in 2 Chronicles 30, verses 10 11 highlight that many mocked the invitation, but “some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came.” The Hebrew for “humbled themselves” (yekhniʿu) implies bending the will...a deliberate act of submission to Jehovah. For more, see the Insight entry on “Humility” and the NWT Study Bible note on verse 11. These help us appreciate the personal cost of leaving political loyalties behind.

“Unity doesn’t wait for the politics to settle...it walks anyway.”

The road wound through hills dotted with olive trees. They weren’t alone. A fisherman from Asher trudged ahead, nets slung over his back. A widow from Zebulun led a donkey piled high with flatbread wrapped in linen.

At first, conversation was cautious. Some still muttered about politics. “I don’t trust Hezekiah,” one man said. “Kings always have an angle.” A Levite traveling with them replied, “Maybe. But this isn’t about Hezekiah. It’s about Jehovah’s Passover.”

The words hung in the air like a challenge.

That night, they camped under the stars, sharing dried dates and roasted chickpeas. Children from different tribes played together, their laughter echoing in the dark.

But the next day, tension flared. A young man from Manasseh accused the fisherman of being “too friendly” with Judahites they’d met on the road. Voices rose. Eliab stepped between them. “We left our homes for the same reason,” he said. “If we can’t walk together now, how will we stand together in Jerusalem?”

The group fell silent. The Levite nodded slowly. “The road is our first test.”

The next morning, as the sun lit the horizon, the walls of Jerusalem came into view...and with them, a choice that would silence every political argument they’d ever had.