1. 1. 2 CHRO ICLES 29 COMME TARY EDITED BY GLE PEASE Hezekiah Purifies the Temple 1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty- nine years. His mothers name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. BAR ES, "The treatment of Hezekiahs reign by the author of Chronicles is in marked contrast with that followed in the Book of Kings. The writer of Kings describes mainly civil affairs; the author of Chronicles gives a full account of Hezekiahs religious reformation. 2 Chr. 2931 contain matter, therefore, which is almost wholly new. GILL, "Hezekiah began to reign,.... Of these two verses; see Gill on 2Ki_18:2; see Gill on 2Ki_18:3. HE RY, "Here is, I. Hezekiah's age when he came to the crown. He was twenty-five years old. Joash, who came to the crown after two bad reigns, was but seven years old; Josiah, who came after two bad reigns, was but eight, which occasioned the delay of the reformation; but Hezekiah had come to years, and so applied himself immediately to it. We may well think with what a sorrowful heart he beheld his father's idolatry and profaneness, how it troubled him to see the doors of the temple shut, though, while his father lived, he durst not open them. His soul no doubt wept in secret for it, and he vowed that when he should receive the congregation he would redress these grievances, which made him do it with more readiness and resolution. JAMISO , "2Ch_29:1, 2Ch_29:2. Hezekiahs good reign. Hezekiah began to reign, etc. (see on 2Ki_18:1). His mothers name, which, in 2Ki_18:2, appears in an abridged form, is here given in full. K&D, "The beginning of his reign (2Ch_29:1, 2Ch_29:2). Purification and consecration of the temple (vv. 3-36). - 2Ch_29:1 and 2Ch_29:2. Age of Hezekiah,
2. 2. duration and spirit of his reign, as in 2Ki_18:1-3. With 2Ch_29:3 the account of the restoration of the Jahve-worship begins. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, Hezekiah caused the temple doors to be opened, and the priests and Levites to assemble, in order that he might rouse them by an energetic address to purify the house of God from all the uncleannesses of idolatry (2Ch_29:3-11). They, vigorously commencing the work, completed the purification of the temple with its courts and vessels in sixteen days, and reported to the king what had been done (2Ch_29:12-19); and then the king and the chiefs of the city offered a great sacrifice to consecrate the purified sanctuary, upon which followed burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and thankofferings of the whole assembly (vv. 20-36). COFFMA , "Practically all of this chapter is without parallel in Kings. It supplements the record of Hezekiah's extensive reforms that are mentioned there. We see here that his work was not merely negative, in such things as destroying the high places and cutting down the Asherim. He also did many positive things toward pointing Israel back to the true worship of God. "Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place" (2 Chronicles 29:5). "This was the accumulated dirt from years of neglect."[1] "They have not burned incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel" (2 Chronicles 29:7). But does not 2 Kings 16:14-16 state that Ahaz himself made offerings on that special altar? Yes, indeed; but there is no contradiction here. The Chronicler is merely telling us (and those Levites) that those sacrifices that Ahaz offered on an Assyrian altar, were, in no sense, offered unto the God of Israel, but were actually sacrifices to Assyrian gods.[2] ote the underlined words in this paragraph. "Jehovah hath chosen you (the Levites) to stand before him" (2 Chronicles 11). Here again we find an acute consciousness of the Law of God through Moses in the Pentateuch, especially in Exodus, Leviticus and umbers, where the choice of the Levites and the sons of Aaron was first revealed. It is the proliferation of dozens of such references as these in Chronicles that sends the radical critics into frantic screams of "Midrash"! This single chapter is a complete contradiction of the critical denials of it with abundant proof of the existence of the whole Pentateuch in the reign of Hezekiah, generations prior to Josiah and that fairy tale about the P Code. It is the conviction of this writer that the author of whatever source was quoted by the Chronicler here (see our introduction for a list of these) had a complete copy of the Law of Moses (the whole Pentateuch) before him when he wrote down the events related in this chapter. U DE IABLE REFLECTIO S OF THE PE TATEUCH I THIS CHAPTER
3. 3. (1) "The wrath of Jehovah was upon Judah" (2 Chronicles 29:8). "This word (wrath) is used in Deuteronomy 28:25,"[3] where Moses had predicted this very disaster that befell Judah. (2) "For Jehovah hath chosen you" (2 Chronicles 29:11). This is stated in umbers 3:6,8:6, and in Deuteronomy 10:8. (3) "They brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he- goats for a sin-offering for the kingdom" (2 Chronicles 29:21). The use of these animals for that purpose was authorized in Leviticus 1:3f; 14:20; and 16:24. "Seven victims were offered because seven was a sacred number."[4] (4) The use of seven victims instead of one in certain sacrifices was authorized in umbers 28:11ff. (5) "The priests received the blood and sprinkled it upon the altar" (2 Chronicles 29:22). The ritual for this action is found in the law of Moses in Exodus 29:16, and in Leviticus 1:5,11. (6) "The king and the assembly laid their hands upon them (the sacrifices)" (2 Chronicles 29:23). This ceremony is described in Leviticus 1:4. (7) "And they made a sin-offering with their blood upon the altar" (2 Chronicles 29:24) In Leviticus 4:25,34 is found the description of exactly how this was done. (8) "Come near, ... and bring thank-offerings into the house of Jehovah" (2 Chronicles 29:31) "The thanksgiving here was for the joy over the renewal of the worship of Jehovah."[5] Instructions for the offerings and ceremonies for such an occasion are found in Leviticus 7:12ff. (9) "The burnt-offerings ... with the fat of the peace-offerings, and with the drink- offerings for every burnt-offering ... so the service for the house of Jehovah was set in order" (2 Chronicles 29:35). "The drink offerings were of wine and probably poured like the blood at the base of the altar."[6] Very complete and detailed instructions for these sacrifices, including the drink-offerings, are found in umbers 15:1-15. ote here that Hezekiah followed instructions for the services of the house of Jehovah, instructions that are detailed in the Mosaic writings of the Pentateuch. Before leaving this analysis, we must ask, "How do the critics attempt to get rid of such proof as this? Curtis has this succinct statement of their only answer. It must be remembered that the writer was drawing largely upon his imagination, and evidently cared little about accuracy of detail.[7] To such so-called scholarship as this, we wish to say O! It is the evil radical critics,
4. 4. seeking to destroy faith in the Word of God, who are drawing upon their imagination. The real Biblical Midrash is that imaginary P Code, that alleged discovery in the reign of Josiah, the Jehovist, the Elohist, the Deuteronomist, and the Second, Third, or Twentieth ISAIAH, and all the rest of those fraudulent, imaginary, ephemeral and constantly changing "documents" invented by evil men and imposed upon believers under the guise of their being scholarly. And may it be said again that until all of those alleged documents (or any single one of them, for that matter) can be produced and scientifically evaluated, the truly intelligent person may safely reject them. ELLICOTT, "HEZEKIAH (chaps, 29-32.; 2 Kings 18-20); Chap. 29. LE GTH A D SPIRIT OF THE REIG . THE SOLEM PURGATIO A D HALLOWI G OF THE TEMPLE. (1) Hezekiah.Heb., Yhizqyhu, as if Strong is Iahu. 2 Kings writes Hizkyh, My strength is Iah; Isaiah 27, sqq., Hizkyhu. The annals of Sennacherib present the form Hazakiyahu. Abijan.2 Kings has the shortened form Abi. (This verse closely corresponds with 2 Kings 18:2.) TRAPP, "2 Chronicles 29:1 Hezekiah began to reign [when he was] five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mothers name [was] Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. Ver. 1. Hezekiah began to reign.] See 2 Kings 18:1-2. And his mothers name was Abijah.] He was the better man for the good instructions of his mother, though she could do no good on her husband Ahaz; such was his pertinacy, not moved at all by her piety. GUZIK, "A. The cleansing of the temple. 1. (2 Chronicles 29:1-2) The general assessment of his reign. Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty- nine years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. a. Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old: Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah at the very end of the Kingdom of Israel. Three years after the start of his reign the Assyrian armies set siege to Samaria, and three years after that the
5. 5. northern kingdom was conquered. i. The sad fate of the northern kingdom was a valuable lesson to Hezekiah. He saw first hand what happened when the people of God rejected their God and His word, and worshipped other gods. b. He reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: Hezekiah was one of the better kings of Judah, and thus had a long and mostly blessed reign. o doubt his mother Abijah was a godly and important influence on his life. i. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah, probably the person mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 8:2) as a faithful witness. This possible friendship of his mother for the prophet, combined with the certainty that up to this time he had been under the influence of Isaiahs ministry, may account for Hezekiahs action on coming to the throne. (Morgan) c. He did what was right in the sight of the LORD: Hezekiah was one of Judahs most zealous reformers, even prohibiting worship on the high places (2 Kings 18:4). These were popular altars for sacrifice set up as the worshipper desired, not according to Gods direction. i. God was never happy about this practice, but none of the other good kings ever found the courage to forbid it. Hezekiah did. (Dilday) ii. 2 Kings 18:5 makes this remarkable statement about Hezekiah: He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. PULPIT, "The important reign of Hezekiah extends over this and the following three chapters, counting in all ninety-seven verses. The parallel, for the contents of the first three of these chapters, with their sixty-four verses, is limited to the small number of six verses (2 Kings 18:1-6), which in its turn is very much fuller (2 Kings 18:7-20.) in the subject of our 2 Chronicles 32:1-33. The reason of this so various disposition of matter is by no means wrapt in mystery, our writer's main object being clearly best subserved in exhibiting the moral and religious aspects of the inner history of Judah, as distinguished from its foreign politicsso, for brevity's sake, to denominate them. The chapter contains Hezekiah's pious inauguration of reign and appeal to priests and Levites (2 Chronicles 29:1-11); the cleansing (2 Chronicles 29:12-19), reconsecration (2 Chronicles 29:20-30), and thank offerings (2 Chronicles 29:31 -37) of the temple. 2 Chronicles 29:1 Hezekiah. The Ezekias of Matthew 1:9. Five and twenty years old. We have been
6. 6. told (2 Chronicles 28:1) that Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years. So that, if these numbers be correct, and the numbers of our verse correct, Hezekiah must have been born when his father was only eleven years old. Of which all that can be said is, with Keil, that such a thing was not impossible and not unknown. It is far more probable, however, that one of the determining figures is wrong, but we have nothing to guide us to say which. Abijah. The parallel spells this name "Abi," omitting the final he, and dagesh in yod. Zechariah. This may, perhaps, have been the Zechariah whose name accompanies the mention of the name of "Uriah the priest" in Isaiah 8:2, where we may be surprised to find Uriah called a "faithful witness," when we remember his associations with Ahaz, as told in our foregoing chapter. Some refer our Zechariah, however, to him of 2 Chronicles 26:5. EBC, "HEZEKIAH: THE RELIGIOUS VALUE OF MUSIC 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; 2 Chronicles 30:1-27; 2 Chronicles 31:1-21; 2 Chronicles 32:1- 33 THE bent of the chroniclers mind is well illustrated by the proportion of space assigned to ritual by him and by the book of Kings respectively. In the latter a few lines only are devoted to ritual, and the bulk of the space is given to the invasion of Sennacherib, the embassy from Babylon, etc., while in Chronicles ritual occupies about three times as many verses as personal and public affairs. Hezekiah, though not blameless, was all but perfect in his loyalty to Jehovah. The chronicler reproduces the customary formula for a good king: "He did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done"; but his cautious judgment rejects the somewhat rhetorical statement in Kings that "after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him." Hezekiahs policy was made clear immediately after his accession. His zeal for reformation could tolerate no delay; the first month of the first year of his reign saw him actively engaged in the good work. It was no light task that lay before him. ot only were there altars in every corner of Jerusalem and idolatrous high places in every city of Judah, but the Temple services had ceased, the lamps were put out, the sacred vessels cut in pieces, the Temple had been polluted and then closed, and the priests and Levites were scattered. Sixteen years of licensed idolatry must have fostered all that was vile in the country, have put wicked men in authority, and created numerous vested interests connected by close ties with idolatry, notably the priests of all the altars and high places. On the other hand, the reign of Ahaz had been an unbroken series of disasters; the people had repeatedly endured the horrors of invasion. His government as time went on must have become more and more unpopular, for when he died he was not buried in the sepulchers of the kings. As idolatry was a prominent feature of his policy, there would be a reaction in favor of the worship of Jehovah, and there would not be wanting true believers to tell the
7. 7. people that their sufferings were a consequence of idolatry. To a large party in Judah Hezekiahs reversal of his fathers religious policy would be as welcome as Elizabeths declaration against Rome was to most Englishmen. Hezekiah began by opening and repairing the doors of the Temple. Its closed doors had been a symbol of the national repudiation of Jehovah; to reopen them was necessarily the first step in the reconciliation of Judah to its God, but only the first step. The doors were open as a sign that Jehovah was invited to return to His people and again to manifest His presence in the Holy of holies, so that through those open doors Israel might have access to Him by means of the priests. But the Temple was as yet no fit place for the presence of Jehovah. With its lamps extinguished, its sacred vessels destroyed, its floors and walls thick with dust and full of all filthiness, it was rather a symbol of the apostasy of Judah. Accordingly Hezekiah sought the help of the Levites. It is true that he is first said to have collected together priests and Levites, but from that point onward the priests are almost entirely ignored. Hezekiah reminded the Levites of the misdoings of Ahaz and his adherents and the wrath which they had brought upon Judah and Jerusalem; he told them it was his purpose to conciliate Jehovah by making a covenant with Him; he appealed to them as the chosen ministers of Jehovah and His temple to co-operate heartily in this good work. The Levites responded to his appeal apparently rather in acts than words. o spokesman replies to the kings speech, but with prompt obedience they set about their work forthwith; they arose, Kohathites, sons of Merari, Gershonites, sons of Elizaphan, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun-the chronicler has a Homeric fondness for catalogues of high-sounding names - the leaders of all these divisions are duly mentioned. Kohath, Gershon, and Merari are well known as the three great clans of the house of Levi; and here we find the three guilds of singers-Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun-placed on a level with the older clans. Elizaphan was apparently a division of the clan Kohath, which, like the guilds of singers, had obtained an independent status. The result is to recognize seven divisions of the tribe. The chiefs of the Levites gathered their brethren together, and having performed the necessary rites of ceremonial cleansing for themselves, went in to cleanse the Temple; that is to say, the priests went into the holy place and the Holy of holies and brought out "all the uncleanness" into the court, and the Levites carried it away to the brook Kidron: but before the building itself could be reached eight days were spent in cleansing the courts, and then the priests went into the Temple itself and spent eight days in cleansing it, in the manner described above. Then they reported- to the king that the cleansing was finished, and especially that "all the vessels which King Ahaz cast away" had been recovered and reconsecrated with due ceremony. We were told in the previous chapter that Ahaz had cut to pieces the vessels of the Temple, but these may have been other vessels. Then Hezekiah celebrated a great dedication feast; seven bullocks, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats were offered as a sin-offering for the dynasty, for
8. 8. the Temple, for Judah, and (by special command of the king) for all Israel, i.e., for the northern tribes as well as for Judah and Benjamin. Apparently this sin-offering was made in silence, but afterwards the king set the Levites and priests in their places with their musical instruments, and when the burnt-offering began the song of Jehovah began with the trumpets together with the instruments of David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, and all this continued till the burnt-offering was finished. When the people had been formally reconciled to Jehovah by this representative national sacrifice, and thus purified from the uncleanness of idolatry and consecrated afresh to their God, they were permitted and invited to make individual sacrifices, thank-offerings and burnt-offerings. Each man might enjoy for himself the renewed privilege of access to Jehovah, and obtain the assurance of pardon for his sins, and offer thanksgiving for his own special blessings. And they brought offerings in abundance: seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs for a burnt-offering; and six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep for thank- offerings. Thus were the Temple services restored and re-inaugurated; and Hezekiah and the people rejoiced because they felt that this unpremeditated outburst of enthusiasm was due to the gracious influence of the Spirit of Jehovah. The chroniclers narrative is somewhat marred by a touch of professional jealousy. According to the ordinary ritual, [Leviticus 1:6] the offerer flayed the burnt- offerings; but for some special reason, perhaps because of the exceptional solemnity of the occasion, this duty now devolved upon the priests. But the burnt-offerings were abundant beyond all precedent; the priests were too few for the work, and the Levites were called in to help them, "for the Levites were more upright in heart to purify themselves than the priests." Apparently even in the second Temple brethren did not always dwell together in unity. Hezekiah had now provided for the regular services of the Temple, and had given the inhabitants of Jerusalem a full opportunity of returning to Jehovah; but the people of the provinces were chiefly acquainted with the Temple through the great annual festivals. These, too, had long been in abeyance; and special steps had to be taken to secure their future observance. In order to do this, it was necessary to recall the provincials to their allegiance to Jehovah. Under ordinary circumstances the great festival of the Passover would have been observed in the first month, but at the time appointed for the paschal feast the Temple was still unclean, and the priests and Levites were occupied in its purification, But Hezekiah could not endure that the first year of his reign should be marked by the omission of this great feast. He took counsel with the princes and public assembly-nothing is said about the priests- and they decided to hold the Passover in the second month instead of the first. We gather from casual allusions in 2 Chronicles 30:6-8 that the kingdom of Samaria had already come to an end; the people had been carried into captivity, and only a remnant were left. in the land. From this point the kings of Judah act as religious heads of the whole nation and territory of Israel. Hezekiah sent invitations to all Israel from Dan to Beersheba. He made special efforts to secure a favorable response from the northern tribes, sending letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, i.e., to
9. 9. the ten tribes under their leadership. He reminded them that their brethren had gone into captivity because the northern tribes had deserted the Temple; and held out to them the hope that, if they worshipped at the Temple and served Jehovah, they should themselves escape further calamity, and their brethren and children who had gone into captivity should return to their own land. "So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun." Either Zebulun is used in a broad sense for all the Galilean tribes, or the phrase "from Beersheba to Dan" is merely rhetorical, for to the north, between Zebulun and Dan, lay the territories of Asher and aphtali. It is to be noticed that the tribes beyond Jordan are nowhere referred to; they had already fallen out of the history of Israel, and were scarcely remembered in the time of the chronicler. Hezekiahs appeal to the surviving communities of the orthern Kingdom failed; they laughed his messengers to scorn, and mocked them; but individuals responded to his invitation in such numbers that they are spoken of as "a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun." There were also men of Asher among the northern pilgrims. {Cf. 2 Chronicles 30:11; 2 Chronicles 30:18} The pious enthusiasm of Judah stood out in vivid contrast to the stubborn impenitence of the majority of the ten tribes. By the grace of God, Judah was of one heart to observe the feast appointed by Jehovah through the king and princes, so that there was gathered in Jerusalem a very great assembly of worshippers, surpassing even the great gatherings which the chronicler had witnessed at the annual feasts. But though the Temple had been cleansed, the Holy City was not yet free from the taint of idolatry. The character of the Passover demanded that not only the Temple, but the whole city, should be pure. The paschal lamb was eaten at home, and the doorposts of the house were sprinkled with its blood. But Ahaz had set up altars at every corner of the city; no devout Israelite could tolerate the symbols of idolatrous worship close to the house in which he celebrated the solemn rites Of the Passover. Accordingly before the Passover was killed these altars were removed. Then the great feast began; but after long years of idolatry neither the people nor the priests and Levites were sufficiently familiar with the rites of the festival to be able to perform them without some difficulty and confusion. As a rule each head of a household killed his own lamb; but many of the worshippers, especially those from the north, were not ceremonially clean: and this task devolved upon the Levites. The immense concourse of worshippers and the additional work thrown upon the Temple ministry must have made extraordinary demands on their zeal and energy. {Cf. 2 Chronicles 29:34; 2 Chronicles 30:3} At first apparently they hesitated, and were inclined to abstain from discharging their usual duties. A passover in a month not appointed by Moses, but decided on by the civil authorities without consulting the priesthood, might seem a doubtful and dangerous innovation. Recollecting
10. 10. Azariahs successful assertion of hierarchical prerogative against Uzziah, they might be inclined to attempt a similar resistance to Hezekiah. But the pious enthusiasm of the people clearly showed that the Spirit of Jehovah inspired their somewhat irregular zeal; so that the ecclesiastical officials were shamed out of their unsympathetic attitude, and came forward to take their full share and even more than their full share in this glorious rededication of Israel to Jehovah. But a further difficulty remained: uncleanness not only disqualified from killing the paschal lambs, but from taking any part in the Passover; and a multitude of the people were unclean. Yet it would have been ungracious and even dangerous to discourage their newborn zeal by excluding them from the festival; moreover, many of them were worshippers from among the ten tribes, who had come in response to a special invitation, which most of their fellow-country-men had rejected with scorn and contempt. If they had been sent back because they had failed to cleanse themselves according to a ritual of which they were ignorant, and of which Hezekiah might have known they would be ignorant, both the king and his guests would have incurred measureless ridicule from the impious northerners. Accordingly they were allowed to take part in the Passover despite their uncleanness. But this permission could only be granted with serious apprehensions as to its consequences. The Law threatened with death any one who attended the services of the sanctuary in a state of uncleanness. [Leviticus 15:31] Possibly there were already signs of an outbreak of pestilence; at any rate, the dread of Divine punishment for sacrilegious presumption would distress the whole assembly and mar their enjoyment of Divine fellowship. Again it is no priest or prophet, but the king, the Messiah, who comes forward as the mediator between God and man. Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "Jehovah, in His grace and mercy, pardon every one that setteth his heart to seek Elohim Jehovah, the God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the ritual of the Temple. And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people," i.e., either healed them from actual disease or relieved them from the fear of pestilence. And so the feast went on happily and prosperously, and was prolonged by acclamation for an additional seven days. During fourteen days king and princes, priests and Levites, Jews and Israelites, rejoiced before Jehovah; thousands of bullocks and sheep smoked upon the altar; and now the priests were not backward: great numbers purified themselves to serve the popular devotion. The priests and Levites sang and made melody to Jehovah, so that the Levites earned the kings special commendation. The great festival ended with a solemn benediction: "The priests arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to His holy habitation, even unto heaven." The priests, and through them the people, received the assurance that their solemn and prolonged worship had met with gracious acceptance. We have already more than once had occasion to consider the chroniclers main theme: the importance of the Temple, its ritual, and its ministers. Incidentally and perhaps unconsciously, he here suggests another lesson, which is specially significant as coming from an ardent ritualist, namely the necessary limitations of
11. 11. uniformity in ritual. Hezekiahs celebration of the Passover is full of irregularities: it is held in the wrong month; it is prolonged to twice the usual period; there are amongst the worshippers multitudes of unclean persons, whose presence at these services ought to have been visited with terrible punishment. All is condoned on the ground of emergency, and the ritual laws are set aside without consulting the ecclesiastical officials. Everything serves to emphasize the lesson we touched on in connection with Davids sacrifices at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite: ritual is made for man, and not man for ritual. Complete uniformity may be insisted on in ordinary times, but can be dispensed with in any pressing emergency; necessity knows no law, not even the Torah of the Pentateuch. Moreover, in such emergencies it is not necessary to wait for the initiative or even the sanction of ecclesiastical officials; the supreme authority in the Church in all its great crises resides in the whole body of believers. o one is entitled to speak with greater authority on the limitations of ritual than a strong advocate of the sanctity of ritual like the chronicler; and we may well note, as one of the most conspicuous marks of his inspiration, the sanctified common sense shown by his frank and sympathetic record of the irregularities of Hezekiahs passover. Doubtless emergencies had arisen even in his own experience of the great feasts of the Temple that had taught him this lesson; and it says much for the healthy tone of the Temple community in his day that he does not attempt to reconcile the practice of Hezekiah with the law of Moses by any harmonistic quibbles. The work of purification and restoration, however, was still incomplete: the Temple had been cleansed from the pollutions of idolatry, the heathen altars had been removed from Jerusalem, but the high places remained in all the cities of Judah. When the Passover was at last finished, the assembled multitude, "all Israel that were present," set out, like the English or Scotch Puritans, on a great iconoclastic expedition. Throughout the length and breadth of the Land of Promise, throughout Judah and Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh, they brake in pieces the sacred pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, and brake down the high places and altars; then they went home. Meanwhile Hezekiah was engaged in reorganizing the priests and Levites and arranging for the payment and distribution of the sacred dues. The king set an example of liberality by making provision for the daily, weekly, monthly, and festival offerings. The people were not slow to imitate him; they brought first-fruits and tithes in such abundance that four months were spent in piling up heaps of offerings. "Thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah; and he wrought that which was good, and right, and faithful before Jehovah his God; and in every work that he began in the service of the Temple, and in the Law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and brought it to a successful issue." Then follow an account of the deliverance from Sennacherib and of Hezekiahs recovery from sickness, a reference to his undue pride in the matter of the embassy from Babylon, and a description of the prosperity of his reign, all for the most part
12. 12. abridged from the book of Kings. The prophet Isaiah, however, is almost ignored. A few of the more important modifications deserve some little attention. We are told that the Assyrian invasion was "after these things and this faithfulness," in order that we may not forget that the Divine deliverance was a recompense for Hezekiahs loyalty to Jehovah. While the book of Kings tells us that Sennacherib took all the fenced cities of Judah, the chronicler feels that even this measure of misfortune would not have been allowed to befall a king who had just reconciled Israel to Jehovah, and merely says that Sennacherib purposed to break these cities up. The chronicler has preserved an account of the measures taken by Hezekiah for the defense of his capital: how he stopped up the fountains and water-courses outside the city, so that a besieging army might not find water, and repaired and strengthened the walls, and encouraged his people to trust in Jehovah. Probably the stopping of the water supply outside the walls was connected with an operation mentioned at the close of the narrative of Hezekiahs reign: "Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David." [2 Chronicles 32:30] Moreover, the chroniclers statements are based upon 2 Kings 20:20, where it is said that "Hezekiah made the pool and the conduit and brought water to the city." The chronicler was of course intimately acquainted with the topography of Jerusalem in his own days, and uses his knowledge to interpret and expand the statement in the book of Kings. He was possibly guided in part by Isaiah 22:9; Isaiah 22:11, where the "gathering together the waters of the lower pool" and the "making a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool" are mentioned as precautions taken in view of a probable Assyrian siege. The recent investigations of the Palestine Exploration Fund have led to the discovery of aqueducts, and stoppages, and diversions of watercourses which are said to correspond to the operations mentioned by the chronicler. If this be the case, they show a very accurate knowledge on his part of the topography of Jerusalem in his own day, and also illustrate his care to utilize all existing evidence in order to obtain a clear and accurate interpretation of the statements of his authority. The reign of Hezekiah appears a suitable opportunity to introduce a few remarks on the importance which the chronicler attaches to the music of the Temple services. Though the music is not more prominent with him than with some earlier kings, yet in the case of David, Solomon, and Jehoshaphat other subjects presented themselves for special treatment; and Hezekiahs reign being the last in which the music of the sanctuary is specially dwelt upon, we are able here to review the various references to this subject. For the most part the chronicler tells his story of the virtuous days of the good kings to a continual accompaniment of Temple music. We hear of the playing and singing when the Ark was brought to the house of Obed-edom; when it was taken into the city of David; at the dedication of the Temple; at the battle between Abijah and Jeroboam; at Asas reformation; in connection with the overthrow of the Ammonites, Moabites, and Meunim in the reign of Jehoshaphat; at the coronation of Joash; at Hezekiahs feasts; and again, though less emphatically, at Josiahs passover. o doubt the special prominence given to the subject indicates
13. 13. a professional interest on the part of the author. If, however, music occupies an undue proportion of his space, and he has abridged accounts of more important matters to make room for his favorite theme, yet there is no reason to suppose that his actual statements overrate the extent to which music was used in worship or the importance attached to it. The older narratives refer to the music in the case of David and Joash, and assign psalms and songs to David and Solomon. Moreover, Judaism is by no means alone in its fondness for music, but shares this characteristic with almost all religions. We have spoken of the chronicler so far chiefly as a professional musician, but it should be clearly understood that the term must be taken in its best sense. He was by no means so absorbed in the technique of his art as to forget its sacred significance; he was not less a worshipper himself because he was the minister or agent of the common worship. His accounts of the festivals show a hearty appreciation of the entire ritual; and his references to the music do not give us the technical circumstances of its production, but rather emphasize its general effect. The chroniclers sense of the religious value of music is largely that of a devout worshipper, who is led to set forth for the benefit of others a truth which is the fruit of his own experience. This experience is not confined to trained musicians; indeed, a scientific knowledge of the art may sometimes interfere with its devotional influence. Criticism may take the place of worship; and the hearer, instead of yielding to the sacred suggestions of hymn or anthem, may be distracted by his esthetic judgment as to the merits of the composition and the skill shown by its rendering. In the same way critical appreciation of voice, elocution, literary style, and intellectual power does not always conduce to edification from a sermon. In the truest culture, however, sensitiveness to these secondary qualities has become habitual and automatic, and blends itself imperceptibly with the religious consciousness of spiritual influence. The latter is thus helped by excellence and only slightly hindered by minor defects in the natural means. But the very absence of any great scientific knowledge of music may leave the spirit open to the spell which sacred music is intended to exercise, so that all cheerful and guileless souls may be "moved with concord of sweet sounds," and sad and weary hearts find comfort in subdued strains that breathe sympathy of which words are incapable. Music, as a mode of utterance moving within the restraints of a regular order, naturally attaches itself to ritual. As the earliest literature is poetry, the earliest liturgy is musical. Melody is the simplest and most obvious means by which the utterances of a body of worshippers can be combined into a seemly act of worship. The mere repetition of the same words by a congregation in ordinary speech is apt to he wanting in impressiveness or even in decorum; the use of tune enables a congregation to unite in worship even when many of its members are strangers to each other. Again, music may be regarded as an expansion of language: not new dialect, but a collection of symbols that can express thought, and more especially emotion, for which mere speech has no vocabulary. This new form of language naturally becomes an auxiliary of religion. Words are clumsy instruments for the expression
14. 14. of the heart, and are least efficient when they undertake to set forth moral and spiritual ideas. Music can transcend mere speech in touching the soul to fine issues, suggesting visions of things ineffable and unseen. Browning makes Abt Vogler say of the most enduring and supreme hopes that God has granted to men, "Tis we musicians know"; but the message of music comes home with power to many who have no skill in its art. PARKER, "Hezekiah: A True King 2 Chronicles 29 WE have not spared condemnation in the case of Ahaz. In this chapter we have once more the mystery of a bad father having a good son. There were few worse men than Ahaz; there were few better men than Hezekiah. There is a law in this progression and retrogression which we cannot understand. It is wholly bewildering that a philosopher should have a fool for a Song of Solomon , and that a fool should have a philosopher for his firstborn. There is one thing absolutely certain, and that is that God will have nothing to do with family respectability. When shall we learn with our heart that we cannot have respectable families, in the conventional and superficial sense of that term? Some of the most respectable families in the world have had members of the household who have been hanged; these are never spoken about. The whole mystery of family development shows that we cannot grow plants pure, wholly beautiful, and entirely perfect, outside the walls of paradise; we may cover up a good deal, we have skill in the uses of concealment; but there is the striking historical fact that God will not allow one family to boast over any other family as to its respectability in his sight: for no flesh shall glory in the presence of God. What we have termed natural logic would seem to have required that the son of Ahaz should be a degree worse than himself. Instead of the operation of that natural logic, that external philosophy of heredity, here is a man who stands up a very prince of heaven, his heart burning with the fire of piety, his whole soul troubled because of the corruptness of the nation, and his spirit bowed down within him because the temple is like a sealed tomb. Let us look steadfastly at facts, and never boast; for the respectability that culminates in us may suffer an appalling collapse in the man who comes next. Hezekiah no sooner began to reign than he began to make his influence felt. "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month [that Isaiah , in the first sacred month], opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them" ( 2 Chronicles 29:3). All this is negative. There must have been some man who had closed the doors. That man was Hezekiah"s own father; yet the very first thing which Hezekiah does is to undo what his father did. There are precedents that are only to be shattered. There is a law of continuity which must be broken. The only true continuity is a continuity
15. 15. of righteousness, truth, purenessreal, healthy, honest piety. Continuance in anything else is but an aggravation of blasphemy; it is the consistency of evil; it is the monotony of darkness. Sometimes all that we can do is to open the doors. Even that, however, is a work of mercy, and means much more than is made evident in the letter. When the father leaves the door open at night, it is that some wandering child may be permitted to enter, should he return in the darkness. The father, when he leaves that door open, offers a whole liturgy of prayer, looks heaven in the face with an expression that means the very eloquence of intercession, so eloquent as to be silent, so sublime as to be mute. When the poor cottier lights the little candle and sets it in the little window, it is more than a candle, it is a beacon: it is a welcome, it is a sign; it means longing, expectation, hospitality; it means all that can be meant by love that bleeds itself to death. He does no small good to the nation who opens the doors of the sanctuary. They are doors which ought never to be shut. There is a cipher which men ought to be able to understand; there need not be written upon the church doors welcome to all who would come in; it will be enough to have the doors standing open. Open doors mean welcome, offers of light and truth, and all the hospitality of grace. Hezekiah, therefore, begins well, though he begins negatively. Then he must still continue his negative course, even though he seek co-operation. Bringing in the priests and the Levites, and gathering them together, as if in public meeting, he says: MACLARE , "A GODLY REFORMATION Hezekiah, the best of the later kings, had the worst for his father, and another almost as bad for his son. His own piety was probably deepened by the mad extravagance of his fathers boundless idolatry, which brought the kingdom to the verge of ruin. Action and reaction are equal and contrary. Saints grown amidst fashionable and deep corruption are generally strong, and reformers usually arise from the midst of the systems which they overthrow. Hezekiah came to a tottering throne and an all but beggared nation, ringed around by triumphant enemies. His brave young heart did not quail. He sought first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and of the two pressing needs for Judah, political peace and religious purity, he began with the last. The Book of Kings tells at most length the civil history; the Book of Chronicles, as usual, lays most stress on the ecclesiastical. The two complete each other. The present passage gives a beautiful picture of the vigorous, devout young king setting about the work of reformation. We may note, first, his prompt action. Joash had to whip up the reluctant priests with his See that ye hasten the matter! Hezekiah lets no grass grow under his feet, but begins his reforms with his reign. The first month (2Ch_29:3) possibly, indeed, means the first month of the calendar, not of Hezekiah, who may have come to the throne in the later part of the Jewish year; but, in any case, no time was lost. The statement in 2Ch_29:3 may be taken as a general resume of what follows in detail, but this vigorous speech to the priests was clearly among the new kings first acts. No doubt his purpose had slowly grown while his father was affronting Heaven with his mania for idols. Such decisive, swift action does not come without protracted, previous brooding. The hidden fires gather slowly in the silent crater, however rapidly they burst out at last.
16. 16. We can never begin good things too early, and when we come into new positions, it is always prudence as well as bravery to show our colours unmistakably from the first. Many a young man, launched among fresh associations, has been ruined because of beginning with temporising timidity. It is easier to take the right standing at first than to shift to it afterwards. Hezekiah might have been excused if he had thought that the wretched state of political affairs left by Ahaz needed his first attention. Edomites on the east, Philistines on the west and south, Syrians and Assyrians on the north, compassed him about like bees, and worldly prudence would have said, Look after these enemies today, and the Temple tomorrow. He was wiser than that, knowing that these were effects of the religious corruption, and so he went at that first. It is useless trying to mend a nations fortunes unless you mend its morals and religion. And there are some things which are best done quickly, both in individual and national life. Leaving off bad habits by degrees is not hopeful. The only thing to be done is to break with them utterly and at once. One strong, swift blow, right through the heart, kills the wild beast. Slighter cuts may make him bleed to death, but he may kill you first. The existing state was undeniably sinful. There was no need for deliberation as to that. Therefore there was no reason for delay. Let us learn the lesson that, where conscience has no doubts, we should have no dawdling. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandment. Note, too, in Hezekiahs speech, the true order of religious reformation. The priests and Levites were not foremost in it, as indeed is only too often the case with ecclesiastics in all ages. Probably many of them had been content to serve Ahaz as priests of his multiform idolatry. At all events, they needed sanctifying, though no doubt the word is here used in reference to merely ceremonial uncleanness. Still the requirement that they should cleanse themselves before they cleansed the Temple has more than ceremonial significance. Impure hands are not fit for the work of religious reformation, though they have often been employed in it. What was the weakness of the Reformation but that the passions of princes and nobles were so soon and generally enlisted for it, and marred it? He that enters into the holy place, especially if his errand be to cleanse it, must have clean hands, and a pure heart. The hands that wielded the whip of small cords, and drove out the money-changers, were stainless, and therefore strong. Some of us are very fond of trying to set churches to rights. Let us begin with ourselves, lest, like careless servants, we leave dirty finger-marks where we have been cleaning. The next point in the speech is the profound and painful sense of existing corruption. Note the long-drawn-out enumeration of evils in 2Ch_29:6-7, starting with the general recognition of the fathers trespass, advancing to the more specific sin of forsaking Him and His house, and dwelling, finally, as with fascinated horror, on all the details of closed shrine and quenched lamps and cold altars. The historical truth of the picture is confirmed by the close of the previous chapter, and its vividness shows how deeply Hezekiah had felt the shame and sin of Ahaz. It is not easy to keep clear of the influence of prevailing corruptions of religion. Familiarity weakens abhorrence, and the stained embodiments of the ideal hide its purity from most eyes. But no man will be Gods instrument to make society, the church, or the home, better, unless he feels keenly the existing evils. We do not need to cherish a censorious spirit, but we do need to guard against an unthinking acquiescence in the present state of things, and a self-complacent reluctance to admit their departure from the divine purpose for the church. There is need to-day for a like profound consciousness of evil, and like efforts after new purity. If we individually lived nearer God, we should be less acclimatised to the Churchs imperfections. No doubt Hezekiahs clear sight of the sinfulness of the idolatry so universal round him was largely owing to Isaiahs influence. Eyes which have caught
17. 17. sight of the true King of Israel, and of the pure light of His kingdom, will be purged to discern the sore need for purifying the Lords house. The clear insight into the national sin gives as clear understanding of the national suffering. Hezekiah speaks, in 2Ch_29:8-9, as the Law and the Prophets had been speaking for centuries, and as Gods providence had been uttering in act all through the national history. But so slow are men to learn familiar truths that Ahaz had grasped at idol after idol to rescue him; but they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. How difficult it is to hammer plain truths, even with the mallet of troubles, into mens heads! How blind we all are to the causal connection between sin and sorrow! Hezekiah saw the iron link uniting them, and his whole policy was based upon that wherefore. Of course, if we accept the Biblical statements as to the divine dealing with Israel and Judah, obedience and disobedience were there followed by reward and suffering more certainly and directly than is now the case in either national or individual life. But it still remains true that it is a bitter as well as an evil thing to depart from the living God. If we would find the cause of our own or of a nations sorrows, we had better begin our search among our or its sins. That phrase an astonishment, and an hissing (2Ch_29:8) is new. It appears for the first time in Micah (Micah vi. l6), and he, we know, exercised influence on Hezekiah (Jer_ 26:18-19). Perhaps the king is here quoting the prophet. The exposition of the sin and its fruit is followed by the kings resolve for himself, and, so far as may be, for his people. The phrase it is in my heart expresses fixed determination, not mere wish. It is used by David and of him, in reference to his resolve to build the Temple. To make a covenant probably means to renew the covenant, made long ago at Sinai, but broken by sin. The king has made up his mind, and announces his determination. He does not consult priests or people, but expects their acquiescence. So, in the early days of Christianity, the conversion of a king meant that of his people. Of course, the power of the kings of Israel and Judah to change the national religion at their pleasure shows how slightly any religion had penetrated, and how much, at the best, it was a matter of mere ceremonial worship with the masses. People who worshipped Ahazs rabble of gods and godlings to-day because he bade them, and Hezekiahs God to- morrow, had little worship for either, and were much the same through all changes. Hezekiah was in earnest, and his resolve was none the less right because it was moved by a desire to turn away the fierce anger of the Lord. Dread of sins consequences and a desire to escape these is no unworthy motive, however some superfine moralists nowadays may call it so. It is becoming unfashionable to preach the terror of the Lord. The more is the pity, and the less is the likelihood of persuading men. But, however kindled, the firm determination (which does not wait for others to concur) that As for me, I will serve the Lord, is the grand thing for us all to imitate. That strong young heart showed itself kingly in its resolve, as it had shown itself sensitive to evil and tender in contemplating the widespread sorrow. If we would brace our feeble wills, and screw them to the sticking-point of immovable determination to make a covenant with God, let us meditate on our departures from Him, the Lover and Benefactor of our souls, and on the dreadfulness of His anger and the misery of those who forsake Him. Once more the king turns to the priests. He began and he finishes with them, as if he were not sure of their reliableness. His tone is kindly, My sons, but yet monitory. They would not have been warned against negligence unless they had obviously needed it, nor would they have been stimulated to their duties by reminding them of their prerogatives, unless they had been apt to slight these. Officials, whose business is concerned with the things of God, are often apt to drop into an easy-going pace.
18. 18. Negligent work may suit unimportant offices, but is hideously inconsistent with the tasks and aims of Gods servants. If there is any work which has to be done with both hands, earnestly, it is theirs. Unless we put all our strength into it, we shall get no good for ourselves or others out of it. The utmost tension of all powers, the utmost husbanding of every moment, is absolutely demanded by the greatness of the task; and the voice of the great Master says to all His servants, My sons, be not now negligent. Ungirt loins and unlit lamps are fatal. We should meditate, too, on the prerogatives and lofty offices to which Christ calls those who love Him; not to minister to self-complacency, as if we were so much better than other men, but to deepen our sense of responsibility, and stir us to strenuous efforts to be what we are called to be. If Christian people thought more earnestly on what Jesus Christ means them to be to the world, they would not so often counterwork His purpose and shirk their own duties. Crowns are heavy to wear. Gifts are calls to service. If we are chosen to be His ministers, we have solemn responsibilities. If we are to burn incense before Him, our censers need to be bright and free from strange fire. If we are the lights of the world, our business is to shine. BI, "Hezekiah began to reign. Hezekiahs reformation The surroundings of Hezekiah in his youth seem, at first view, to have been unfavourable in the extreme. He was the son of a depraved father. He grew up at a corrupt court. Good kings and bad follow one another in very illogical succession. It must be that there is a self-acting power at the centre of every personal life. Let us cling to the belief, too, that, however vast the moral inequalities of human lives may be, no life is allowed by the Creator to be altogether destitute of gracious influences. In Hezekiahs case, at least, we can have no doubt that such influences were present. It is not unnatural to believe that his mother, presumably the daughter of Zechariah, the faithful prophet of King Uzziahs day, was a woman of devout character. To the loving nurture of a mother was added the faithful counsel of godly men. Moral giants lived in those days. Micah was prophesying, Nahum was about to begin his work. During the entire lifetime of Hezekiah, Isaiah was fulfilling his office in Jerusalem. Tradition says that he was Hezekiahs tutor; there can be no doubt that he was his faithful counsellor. Repulsed by the father, he would naturally turn with greater earnestness to the son. But all this touches only the outer circle of the gracious influences by which Hezekiah was encompassed. It has been said, and there is a world of truth in the saying, that more than half of the environment of any man isGod. The God who is not far from every one of us was near to the young prince in the corrupt capital of Judah. We have good reason for believing that Hezekiah had not been unresponsive to his heavenly promptings. A work begun so quickly after his accession to the throne must have been premeditated. We must suppose that Hezekiah had lived a thoughtful life. The character of the work to which the king addressed himself is deserving of attention. It was a radical work. Great as was the peril to which the kingdom was exposed from external attack, great as was its moral unsoundness, Hezekiah saw that all its trouble was rooted in ungodliness. The kings initial sot in opening the doors of the house of the Lord was, it is likely, more philosophical than he himself realised. Reverence for God lies at the basis of all that is trustworthy in private character and of all that is enduring in public order. Hezekiahs reform was also positive in nature. It addressed itself not chiefly to the extermination of idolatry, but to the
19. 19. development of a genuine faith. Of their own accord the people went out to break in pieces the emblems of idolatry. When God wishes to regenerate the soul He does not at the outset uproot sinful affections, He implants love for Himself. Hezekiahs was a thoroughgoing work. The taunting charge of illiberality could not extort from him the smallest concession to the false religions of other lands. Not only image and grovethe sacred pillar or tree of Astartewere to be hewn down, but the worship of the high places was to be destroyed. Of Asa and Jehoshaphat we are told both that they did and that they did not interfere with this form of worship. They probably destroyed such sanctuaries as had become openly idolatrous, and allowed the others to remain. But Hezekiah adopted extreme measures. The brazen serpent fashioned by Moses in the wilderness, and still preserved, the people regarded with superstitious veneration. Hezekiah declared that the image was like any other piece of brass, and broke it in pieces. Hezekiah would not consent that even the germs of idolatry should remain in the land. How difficult was the mission to which Hezekiah thus committed himself! In the mode of procedure adopted by Hezekiah in carrying through his reformation are certain things worthy of notice. 1. It is peculiarly gratifying to observe that he acted promptly. The die was cast. In the first month of his reign Hezekiah, like Abraham, who, when bidden to offer Isaac, rose up early in the morning and went to the place of which God had told him, was wise in allowing himself no time for hesitation. Delay never softens the hard aspects of duty or lessens its difficulties. For committing ones self to the service of Christ no other time is so favourable as the first year, the first month, the first day, of ones entrance upon a new sort or period of life. 2. It is instructive to notice that Hezekiah engaged personally in the work of reform. He did not commit it all to subalterns. 3. Deserving of special mention is the fact that in the prosecution of his policy Hezekiah relied chiefly upon moral influences. He might have compelled, but he chose rather to persuade. In this he showed the utmost wisdom. If the reform was to be real, the hearts of the people must be enlisted in it. We are, finally, prepared to inquire what results were effected by the kings determined effort. The immediate outcome was most gratifying and most wonderful. The officers of religion respondedthe priests somewhat slowly, but the Levites with all their hearts. The people did the same. The nation felt to its utmost limits the electric thrill of a new life. The crusade against idolatry waxed strong throughout the kingdom, and a burst of spring-time, as Dean Stanley beautifully calls it, succeeded. The thing was done suddenly, the record says. But is not the same true of well-nigh every successful reform? Those advocating a righteous cause have at least two excellent reasons for viewing it with larger hope than external appearances warrant. Something in every moral being is in secret alliance with truth and justice. The second reason is stronger still; it is that by which the sacred historian explains the success of Hezekiah: The Lord had prepared the people. We may reckon with confidence upon Gods care over any work of His. To the reformatory work of King Hezekiah must be attributed a result still more imposing, though to be sure not more important. It delivered the southern kingdom from the fearful peril by which the northern kingdom had been overwhelmed. Is it not a painful thing to have to add that even so thorough a reform as this did not prove lasting? Some of the people doubtless remained steadfast, but the most fell away. (T. S. Barbour.)
20. 20. Hezekiah, the good king I. Hezekiahs good beginning. 1. Correct in life (verse 2). 2. Prompt in action (verse 8). 3. Holy in influence (verse 5). II. Hezekiahs sad confession. 1. The Lord forsaken (verse 6). 2. The sanctuary abandoned (verse 7). 3. The penalty incurred (verse 8). III. Hezekiahs wise appeal. 1. To make a covenant (verse 10). 2. To avert wrath (verse 10). 3. To perform duty (verse 11). (Sunday School Times.) Hezekiahs reformation The best way to settle a kingdom is to settle the religion of it, to begin reigning with reforming. Hezekiahs reformation went on in a true step and pace, for it began first with the temple and ministry. It is but Christian prudence to cleanse the spring if we would have the stream clear; to look to Gods house, and those that should dispense His Word and ordinances if we would have the people brought into conformity with Him. (T. Manton, D.D.) Starting well A friend, who is deeply interested in work for Christ among our sailors, told me that at the close of a prayer-meeting of which he had been the leader, a young seaman, who had only a few nights before been converted, came up to him, and laying a blank card before him, requested him to write a few words upon it, because, as he said, You will do it more plainly than I can. What must I write? said my friend. Write these words, sir; I love Jesusdo you? After he had written them, my friend said, Now you must tell me what you are going to do with the card. He replied, I am going to sea to-morrow, and I am afraid if I do not take a stand at once I may begin to be ashamed of my religion, and let myself be laughed out of it altogether. Now as soon as I go on board, I shall walk straight to my bunk and nail up this card upon it, that every one may know that I am a Christian. Hezekiahs action, the result of previous brooding The statement in verse 8 may be taken as a general resume of what follows in detail, but this vigorous speech to the priests was clearly among the new kings first sets. No doubt his purpose had slowly grown while his father was affronting Heaven with his mania for idols. Such decisive, swift action does not come without protracted, previous brooding. The hidden fires gather slowly in the silent crater, however rapidly they burst out at last.
21. 21. (A. Maclaren, D.D.) Taking the right stand at first We can never begin good things too early, and when we come into new positions, it is always prudence as well as bravery to show our colours unmistakably from the first. Many a young man, launched among fresh associations, has been ruined because of beginning with temporising timidity. It is easier to take the right standing at first than to shift to it afterwards. Hezekiah might have been excused if he had thought that the wretched state of political affairs left by Ahaz needed his first attention. Edomites on the east, Philistines on the west and south, Syrians and Assyrians on the north, compassed him about like bees, and worldly prudence would have said, Look after these enemies to- day, and the temple to-morrow. He was wiser than that, knowing that these were effects of the religious corruption, and so he went at that first. It is useless trying to mend a nations fortunes unless you mend its morals and religion. And there are some things which are best done quickly, both in individual and national life. Leaving off bad habits by degrees is not hopeful. The only thing to be done is to break with them utterly and at once. One strong, swift blow, right through the heart, kills the wild beast. Slighter cuts may make him bleed to death, but he may kill you first. The existing state was undeniably sinful. There was no need for deliberation as to that. Therefore there was no reason for delay. Let us learn the lesson that, where conscience has no doubts, we should have no dawdling. I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandment. (A. Maclaren, D. D.) He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together. Co-operation needed No one is so strong that he needs no help in carrying out his plans of reform. The head of a nation or of a state must have the co-operation of many, if he would correct abuses and promote a better state of things in the administration of his government. A pastor must seek the aid of the leaders of his people in trying to raise the standard of his church. A superintendent cannot carry his school to any higher point than that to which he can first bring his teachers. The head of a business establishment, who neglects to give wise counsel to those just below him, finds the lack of it in all the departments which they oversee. The true method of uplifting the masses is by uplifting the leaders of the masses. (H. Clay Trumbull.) 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.
22. 22. CLARKE, "He did that which was right - See the note on 2Ki_18:3. GILL, "Hezekiah began to reign,.... Of these two verses; see Gill on 2Ki_18:2; see Gill on 2Ki_18:3. HE RY, "II. His general character. He did that which was right like David, 2Ch_ 29:2. Of several of his predecessors it had been said that they did that which was right, but not like David, not with David's integrity and zeal. But here was one that had as hearty an affection for the ark and law of God as ever David had. ELLICOTT, "(2) And he did.The verse is identical with 2 Kings 18:3 TRAPP, "2 Chronicles 29:2 And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. Ver. 2. And he did that which was right.]. [2 Kings 18:3] The more happy was his government, because he came after the stormy times of his father Ahaz. He came as a fresh spring after a sharp winter, and brought the ship of Judah from a troublous and tempestuous sea, to a safe and quiet harbour. 3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. BAR ES, "By the first month is meant (compare 2Ch_30:2-3) the month of Nisan, the first of the Jewish sacred year, not necessarily the first month of Hezekiahs reign. GILL, "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month,.... And, as appears from 2Ch_29:17, on the first day of the month:
23. 23. opened the doors of the house of the Lord; which his father had shut, 2Ch_28:24. and repaired them; or strengthened them, the hinges, and other parts of them, being loosened and weakened; and ornamented them by overlaying them with gold, the plates of which very probably his father had taken off; for, certain it is, Hezekiah overlaid them, and very probably at this time, see 2Ki_18:16. HE RY, "III. His speedy application to the great work of restoring religion. The first thing he did was to open the doors of the house of the Lord, 2Ch_29:3. We are willing to hope his father had not quite suppressed the temple service; for then the holy fire on the altar must have gone out, and we do not read of the re-kindling of it; but he had hindered the people from attending it, and the priests, except such of them as were of his own party, 2Ki_16:15. But Hezekiah immediately threw the church doors open, and brought in the priests and Levites. He found Judah low and naked, yet did not make it his first business to revive the civil interests of his kingdom, but to restore religion to its good posture again. Those that begin with God begin at the right end of their work, and it will prosper accordingly. IV. His speech to the priests and Levites. It was well known, no doubt, that he had a real kindness for religion and was disaffected to the corruptions of the last reign; yet we do not find the priests and Levites making application to him for the restoration of the temple service but he calls upon them, which, I doubt, bespeaks their coldness as much as his zeal; and perhaps, if they had done their part with vigour, things would not have been brought into so very bad a posture as Hezekiah found them in. Hezekiah's exhortation to the Levites is very pathetic. JAMISO , "2Ch_29:3-11. He restores religion. in the first year of his reign, in the first month not the first month after his accession to the throne, but in Nisan, the first month of the sacred year, the season appointed for the celebration of the Passover. he opened the doors of the house of the Lord which had been closed up by his father (2Ch_28:24). and repaired them or embellished them (compare 2Ki_18:16). K&D, "The purification of the temple by the priests and Levites. - 2Ch_29:3. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he caused the doors of the house of Jahve to be opened and repaired ( as in 2Ch_24:12, where it alternates with .) Cf. herewith the remark in 2Ki_18:16, that Hezekiah caused the doors of the to be covered with leaf- gold. The date, in the first month, in the first year of his reign, is variously interpreted. As the Levites, according to 2Ch_29:17, began the purification on the first day of the first month, in eight days had reached the porch, and on the sixteenth day of the first month had completed the work, while the king had, according to 2Ch_29:4, before called upon the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves for the work, and those summoned then assembled their brethren for this purpose, and after they had consecrated themselves, began the cleansing (2Ch_29:15), it would seem as if the summons of the king and the calling together of the remaining Levites had occurred before the first day of the first month, when they began the purification of the house of God. On that account Caspari (Beitrge z. Einleit. in d. B. Jesaiah, S. 111) thinks that the first month (2Ch_29:3) is not the first month of the year (Nisan), but the first month of the reign of Hezekiah, who probably became king shortly before Nisan, towards the end of the year. But it is not at
24. 24. all likely that is used in a different sense in 2Ch_29:3 from that in which it is used in 2Ch_29:17. We therefore hold, with Berth. and others, the first month, both in 2Ch_29:3 and in 2Ch_29:17, to be the first month of the ecclesiastical year Nisan, without, however, accepting the supposition of Gumpach and Bertheau that the years of Hezekiah's reign began with the first of Tishri, for for that way of reckoning there are no certain data in the historical books of the Old Testament. The statement, in the first year of his reign, in the first month (not in the first year, in the first month of his reign), is sufficiently explained if Hezekiah ascended the throne in one of the last months of the calendar year, which began with Nisan. In that case, on the first of Nisan of the new year, so few months, or perhaps only weeks, would have elapsed since his accession, that what he did in Nisan could not rightly have been dated otherwise than in the first year of his reign. The other difficulty, that the purification of the temple began on the first day of the first month (2Ch_29:7), while the preparations for it which preceded were yet, according to 2Ch_29:3, made also in the first month, is removed if we take 2Ch_29:3 to be a comprehensive summary of what is described in the following verses, and regard the connection between 2Ch_29:3 and 2Ch_29:4. as only logical, not chronological, the consec. ( ) expressing, not succession in time, but connection in thought. The opening of the doors of the house of God, and the repairing of them (2Ch_29:3), did not precede in time the summons to the priests (2Ch_29:4), but is placed at the commencement of the account of the reopening and restoration of the temple as a contrast to the closing and devastation of the sanctuary by Ahaz. Hezekiah commenced this work in the first year of his reign, in the first month of the calendar year, and accomplished it as is described in 2Ch_29:4-17. If we take 2Ch_29:3 as a statement of the contents of the succeeding section, - as are e.g., (1Ki_6:14; 1Ki_7:1) the statements, he built the house, and completed it, where in both passages the completion of the building is described only in the succeeding verses, - we need not confine the preparations spoken of in 2Ch_ 29:4-15 to the first day of the first month, but may quite well suppose that these preparations preceded the first day of the month, and that only the accomplishment of that which had been resolved upon and commanded by the king fell in the first month, as is more accurately stated in 2Ch_29:17. BE SO , "2 Chronicles 29:3-4. He opened the doors of the house of the Lord Which Ahaz his father had shut, 2 Chronicles 28:24. And he brought in the priests, &c. He found Judah low and naked, yet did not make it his first business to revive the civil interests of his kingdom, but to restore religion to a good posture. Those that begin with God, begin at the right end of their work, and it will prosper accordingly. ELLICOTT, "THE KI G CHARGES THE LVITES, A D THEY CLEA SE THE HOUSE OF GOD (2 Chronicles 29:3-19). (3) In the first monthi.e., in the month isan, the first month of the sacred year; not in the first month of his reign. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 29:17 and 2 Chronicles 30:23.) Opened the doors.Which his father had closed (chap. ).
25. 25. And repaired them.By overlaying them with metalbronze or gold-leaf (2 Kings 18:16). TRAPP, "2 Chronicles 29:3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. Ver. 3. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month.] Yea, and the first day of that month, [2 Chronicles 29:17] on his coronation day, began to reform. GUZIK, "2. (2 Chronicles 29:3-11) Hezekiah exhorts the cleansing and restoration the temple. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, and said to them: Hear me, Levites! ow sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him. They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to jeering, as you see with your eyes. For indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. ow it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense. a. Sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place: Tragically, the condition of both the Levites and the temple was so bad that they seemed incapable of reforming themselves without this push from King Hezekiah. b. Have turned their faces away . . . and turned their backs on Him: They had failed because they gave God their back instead of their face. One might say that in every opportunity to encounter God, we have the choice to turn either our back or our face to God. i. Poole suggests that the idea of turning the back to God could also be understood literally, because according to 2 Kings 16, in the days of Ahaz the altar was moved and its replacement was directed to the east, in the manner of pagan altars instead of toward the west as God commanded. The idea was therefore that under this dangerous innovation, one had to literally turn his back to the temple and the ark of
26. 26. God to stand before the altar. c. They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings: This happened in the days of Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 28:24). Hezekiah knew that it was time to open up the temple again, both to clean it out and so that it could operate as intended. d. Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem: In a remarkable way, Hezekiah recognized that the calamities that had come to Judah came because of their disobedience. It takes a wise and godly person to admit this, and to act appropriately. i. He made no attempt to blame on God the calamities which had overtaken the nation. (Morgan) e. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him: This call to courage from Hezekiah to the priests and Levites was focused on their sense of calling (the LORD has chosen you). Getting back to a focus upon their calling and their central purpose (to serve and honor God) was essential, and this exhortation demonstrates that they had lost this focus. i. Hezekiah set the example in this devoted service to God, in that he even destroyed a notable artifact from the Exodus - the bronze serpent of Moses known as ehushtan - when it became an idol (2 Kings 18:4). PULPIT, "In the first month; i.e. isan, the first month of the calendar year (see 2 Chronicles 29:2, 2 Chronicles 29:13, 2 Chronicles 29:15 of next chapter), not simply the first month of the new king's reign. And repaired them. This repairing of Hezekiah was, unhappily, subsequently undone of his own hands (2 Kings 18:14-16). ISBET, "REVERE CE FOR GODS HOUSE He opened the doors of the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:3 So frantic had Ahaz been in his wickedness that he gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord. He not only repudiated God himself, he placed His worship under the ban. That was the state of things when Hezekiah came to the thronethe Temple had fallen into the filthy condition of all neglected and unoccupied buildings, and its closed doors were a visible symbol of the national repudiation of Jehovah. I. Hezekiahs respect for Gods house.The first thing that Hezekiah did upon succeeding to the throne was to reopen the doors of the Temple. He opened the doors of the Lords house, and repaired them. The doors were opened, says one commentator, as a sign that Jehovah was invited to return to His people, and again
27. 27. to manifest His presence in the Holy of Holies. And that is no doubt true. But instead of the national significance of the act, let us think for a moment of what it implies with reference to Hezekiah himself. (a) It was a proof of his love for God. It was because He loved God that the sight of the closed Temple pained and grieved Hezekiah. It was because he loved God that he resolved to have an open door by which he and his people could enter into the presence of God. otice, they who love God, love His house. They say My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. (b) It was a public declaration that Hezekiah meant to serve the Lord. It was not an easy thing to do, for during Ahazs reign idolatry had entrenched itself firmly in Judah. Idolatry had its vested interests. There were numbers of Pagan priests; there were Ahazs old counsellors and friends, all of them committed to idolatry. When the present Tsar ascended the throne he issued a proclamation, in which he said: Let all know that. I intend to protect the principle of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as did my late father. When Hezekiah ascended the throne he issued a proclamation nobler far, for by this act of opening the Temple doors he declared to the world: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. What a noble decision this was! And what an example to us! Let us, too, openlyin the sight of the world, no matter how men may mock and scoffconfess the Lord. Those that honour Him, He will honour. (c) And Hezekiah did this at the earliest possible moment. He opened the doors of the Lords house, in the first year of his reign, in the first month! He did not put off serving the Lord, but he made his public confession at the very first opportunity. Again, what an example! Some people put off confessing Christ till only the dregs of life are left. That is a poor and mean and contemptible thing to do! Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, says Scripture. Let confession of Christs name be the act of our young days. Open the doors and bid the King of Glory enter in. (d) The opening of the doors of the Temple by Hezekiah reminds us of a Greater than Hezekiah, Who provided an open door for us to the throne of the Heavenly Grace. I am the Door, says Jesus Christthe Door to the Fathers presence and the peace of God. And this is an open door. Let us thank God for it and let us enter in by it. II. The cleansing of the Temple.But it was not enough to open the doors of the Temple. With its lamps extinguished and its vessels destroyed, and its floors and walls thick with dust, and full of all filthiness, it was no fit place for the indwelling of the Most High. And so Hezekiah summoned the Levites to the task of cleansing the Temple. And for sixteen days these men laboured, until they were able at the end of the time to come to Hezekiah and say that they had cleansed the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of shewbread, with all the vessels thereof. Hezekiah recognised that God requires a clean dwelling. Holiness, says the Psalmist, becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever. That was the truth our Lord taught when, with that whip of small cords, He
28. 28. drove out of the Temple them that bought and sold within its courts, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of them that sold doves. There is no place for anything unholy or unclean in Gods house. There is a lesson here for us, perhaps, with reference to our own churches. We must bring into them nothing base or unholy or sinful. Holiness becometh Gods house. Only those that have clean hands and a pure heart, says the Psalmist, can go up into the hill of the Lord. To worship God acceptably we must do so with reverence and Godly awe. And there is a lesson, here, too, with reference to our own hearts. For the heart is Gods truest Temple. The Heaven of heavens cannot contain Himbut He is willing to dwell in the humble and contrite heart. But the heart that is to be Gods dwelling-place must be clean. Blessed, said our Lord, are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Illustration How good is a time of religious revival in Church and land! Probably it ought never to be needed. Year after year pure religion and undefiled ought to prosper in the State and in the house of God. Month after month, the fig tree should blossom, and the vines should yield their fruit, and the labour of the olive should not fail. Day after day, men and women and children, like the boys of Florence in Savonarolas time, should cry, Long live Jesus Christ, our King! But again and again it is needed. Torpor and coldness invade the Church. Irreligion and sin spread themselves over the country. Then God is kind. He does not hide His face in merited displeasure. He revisits His people. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side BAR ES, "The east street - Rather, some open space before the eastern gate of the outer temple court is intended. GILL, "And he brought in the priests and Levites,.... The persons that officiated in the service of the temple: and gathered them together into the east street; which led to the eastern gate of the temple. JAMISO 4-5, "the east street the court of the priests, which fronted the eastern gate of the temple. Assembling the priests and Levites there, he enjoined them to
29. 29. set about the immediate purification of the temple. It does not appear that the order referred to the removal of idols, for objects of idolatrous homage could scarcely have been put there, seeing the doors had been shut up [2Ch_29:3]; but in its forsaken and desolate state the temple and its courts had been polluted by every kind of impurity. K&D 4-6, "2Ch_29:4-6 Hezekiah gathered the priests and Levites together into the open space of the east, i.e., in the eastern open space before the temple, not in the inner court (Berth.), - see on Ezr_10:9 -and called upon them (2Ch_29:5) to sanctify themselves, and then to sanctify the house of the Lord. To purify the temple they must first sanctify themselves (cf. 2Ch_29:15), in order to proceed to the work of sanctifying the house of God in a state of Levitical purity. The work was to remove all that was unclean from the sanctuary. is Levitical uncleanness, for which in 2Ch_29:16 we have ; here the abominations of idolatry. The king gave the reason of his summons in a reference to the devastation which Ahaz and his contemporaries had wrought in the house of God (2Ch_ 29:6, 2Ch_29:7), and to the wrath of God which had on that account come upon them (2Ch_29:8, 2Ch_29:9). Our fathers (2Ch_29:6), that is, Ahaz and his contemporaries, for only these had been guilty of displeasing God in the ways mentioned in 2Ch_29:6 and 2Ch_29:7, have turned away their face from the dwelling of Jahve, and turned their back (upon it). These words are a symbolical expression for: they have ceased to worship Jahve in His temple, and exchanged it for idolatry. ELLICOTT, "(4) Brought in.Caused to come. The east Street.The eastern square or open space of the East. (Comp. Ezra 10:9; ehemiah 8:1; ehemiah 8:3; ehemiah 8:16.) The place of meeting was probably an open area in front of the eastern gate of the sacred enclosure. TRAPP, "2 Chronicles 29:4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, Ver. 4. The east street.] Which was before the east gate of the temple. PULPIT, "The east street; Hebrew, . This word, rendered here "street," occurs forty-two times, and is always rendered by the same English word, except three times, when it appears as "broad places," or "ways." Probably it should always be translated thus, its meaning and its manifest preponderant use being "an open space" (2 Chronicles 32:6). So Revised Version: Into the broad place on the east, i.e. an open area east of the temple.
30. 30. 5 and said: Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. BAR ES, "Sanctify now yourselves - Compare the marginal reference. Hezekiah follows Davids example, knowing, probably, that the priests had in the preceding time of idolatry contracted many defilements. The filthiness, or uncleanness 2Ch_29:16, might consist, in part, of mere dust and dirt, in part, of idolatrous objects introduced by Ahaz before he finally shut up the temple 2Ki_16:10-16. GILL, "And said unto them, hear me, ye Levites; sanctify yourselves,.... By washing their bodies and their garments, that no pollution might attend them in their service, see Isa_52:11. and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers; by carrying out of it all manner of uncleanness, as they did, 2Ch_29:16, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place; or the abomination; the altar, like that at Damascus, which Ahaz, removing the altar of the Lord, had placed in the court of the priests; or, as Kimchi thinks, an idol, which he had set upon that altar. BE SO , "2 Chronicles 29:5. Hear me, ye Levites; carry forth the filthiness That filthy altar which Ahaz had put in the place of Gods altar, (2 Kings 16:11,) and the idols, or other abominable things, which were there; out of the holy place The temple, or the priests court, which also is often called a holy place. ELLICOTT, :"(5) Hear me.2 Chronicles 15:2; 2 Chronicles 20:15. Sanctify now yourselves.See ote on 1 Chronicles 15:12; 1 Chronicles 15:14. Sanctify the house.By removing all symbols of idolatry. Carry forth the filthiness. iddah denotes personal impurity (Leviticus 12:2; Ezekiel 18:6); and so anything loathsome (Ezekiel 7:19); here probably idols, and things connected with their worship.
31. 31. TRAPP, "2 Chronicles 29:5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy [place]. Ver. 5. And he said unto them, Hear me.] He makes a speech to them, full of faith and