G15 H 29:1. Introduction.
J K 29:2. Personal. Well-doing.
L 29:3-31:21. Events. Reformation.
J L 32:1-25. Events. Invasion.
K 32:24-31. Personal. Sickness.
H 32:24-31. Conclusion.
617-588 B.C.
2 Chronicles 29)
1 Hezekiah (= the might of Yahaveh) began to reign (in the 3rd year of Hoshea, king of Israel. Therefore in the last year but one of his father's reign. Hezekiah began his reformation in 616, the 1st year of his sole reign.) when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah (in 2 Kings 18:2 it is given 'Abī, here it is 'Abijah. But the "i" in the former stands for the abbreviation of "jah" in the latter), the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord (Yahaveh), according to all that David his father had done.
L M1 29:3. The house of Yahaveh. Reformation.
N1 29:4-36. Restoration of worship.
N2 30:1-27. Restoration of the Passover.
M2 31:1. Idolatry. Abolition.
N3 31:2. Restoration of ministry.
N4 31:3-10. Restoration of offerings.
M3 31:11-21. The worship of Yahaveh. Preparation.
3 He in the first year of his reign (yes, on the first day [v17]. Only 3 verses occupied with this in Kings, but 3 chapters in Chronicles), in the first month , opened the doors of the house of the Lord (cp. 28:24. Note his zeal for the house of the Lord in his "Songs of the degrees" [Pss. 122:1,9; 134:1,2]. "For My servant David's sake". This was the ground of Jehovah's promise (2Kings 19:34) in answer to Hezekiah's prayer. See also 2 Kings 20:5,6. Observe how these words are taken up in 132:1-10.), and repaired them.
N1 O 4-. Assemblage of priests and Levites.
P -4. The place. The East street.
Q 5-11. The sanctification of the priests and Levites.
R 12-19. The cleansing of the house.
O 20-. Assemblage of the rulers of the cities.
P -20. The place. The house of Yahaveh.
Q 21-30. The offerings for the sanctification.
R 31-36. The offerings of the People.
4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place at the east, (Cp. Ezra 10:9)
Q f 5. Sanctification.
g 6-9. Reasons.
g 10. Object.
f 11. Sanctification.
5 And said unto them, "Hear me, you Levites (reformation must begin with the ministry. All priests were Levites, but all Levites were not priests), sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God (Yehovah Elohim) of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. (See Ex.3:5)
6 For our fathers have acted unfaithfully, and done that which was the evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs.
7 And they have shut up the doors of the porch (cp. 28:24), and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered up burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
8 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to commotion, to astonishment, and to hissing, according as you see with your eyes.
9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. (For the sins rehearsed in vv.6,7)
10 Now it is in my heart (put there by God) to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to him, and burn incense."
R S1 12-15. The persons. S2 13-19. The house.
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah: (They were from each of the 3 leading families [Geshom, Kohath, and Merari]; 2 from the family of Elizaphan [Kohath's grandson]; 2 of the posterity of Asaph [of Gershom]; 2 of Heman [of Kohath]; 2 of Jeduthun [Merari]. 14 in all)
13 And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:
14 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.
16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it (all true reformation begins there, and proceeds outward. Man makes clean the outside, and never gets any farther [Matt. 15:11,17-20; 23:2526. Luke 11:39]), and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.
1st day of spring 616 B.C.
17 Now they began on the first day of the first month (note the 6 events which took place on that day. Gen. 8:13) to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
18 Then they went inside to Hezekiah the king, and said, "We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shew-bread table, with all the vessels thereof.
19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his defections (cp. 2 Kings 16:14,17), have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. (Note the zeal of Hezekiah for the house of Yahaveh in his Songs of the degrees. See Pss. 122:1:9; 134:1,2; and cp. Isa. 37:1,14; 38:20. 2 Kings 20:8)
Q h 21-24. The sin offering.
i 25,26. Worship.
h 27. The burnt offering.
i 28-30. Worship.
21 And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them up on the altar of the Lord.
22 So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it toward the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. (According to Lev. 4:30-34; 8:15)
23 And they brought near the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands upon them: (According to Lev. 4:15:; 8:22; 16:21)
24 And the priests killed them, and they made cleansing with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement (see Ex. 29:33) for all Israel (note the reference to this in Hezekiah's "Songs of the degrees" [Ps. 133, and cp. 30:1-3,5,6,11,12,14,18,26,26]. See 1 Kings 12:17): for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David (cp. 1 Chron. 15:16; 23:5; 25:1), and of Gad the king's seer (see 1 Chron. 29:29), and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment by the hand of the Lord by the hand of his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments appointed by David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
28 And all the assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshiped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
R k 31-. Hezekiah's command.
l -31. Obedience of assembly.
m 32,33. The offerings.
l 34,35. Obedience of priests.
k 36. Hezekiah's joy.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord (cp. Ex. 28:41. Lev. 9:17), come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord.
And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.
32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.
33 And the holy things (see Ex. 3:5) were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.