22 And Hezekiah said kind words to the Levites who were expert in the ordering of the worship of the Lord: so they kept the feast for seven days, offering peace-offerings and praising the Lord, the God of their fathers.
And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God.
And he put war chiefs over the people, and sent for them all to come together to him in the wide place at the doorway into the town, and to give them heart he said to them,
Give ear, for my words are true, and my lips are open to give out what is upright.
Be preaching the word at all times, in every place; make protests, say sharp words, give comfort, with long waiting and teaching;
Seeing that it is God who said, Let light be shining out of the dark, who has put in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And this is eternal life: to have knowledge of you, the only true God, and of him whom you have sent, even Jesus Christ.
Give comfort, give comfort, to my people, says your God. Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins.
And you are to come to him who is priest at that time, and say to him, I give witness today before the Lord your God, that I have come into the land which the Lord made an oath to our fathers to give us. Then the priest will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. And these are the words which you will say before the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramaean, and he went down with a small number of people into Egypt; there he became a great and strong nation: And the Egyptians were cruel to us, crushing us under a hard yoke: And our cry went up to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord's ear was open to the voice of our cry, and his eyes took note of our grief and the crushing weight of our work: And the Lord took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with works of power and signs and wonders: And he has been our guide to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now, I have come here with the first of the fruits of the earth which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you will put it down before the Lord your God and give him worship: And you will have joy in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and to your family; and the Levite, and the man from a strange land who is with you, will take part in your joy.
And day by day, from the first day till the last, he was reading from the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast for seven days: and on the eighth day there was a holy meeting, as it is ordered in the law.
And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah and Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites made the law clear to the people: and the people kept in their places. And they gave out the words of the book the law of God, clearly, and gave the sense of it, so that their minds were able to take it in.
For Ezra had given his mind to learning the law of the Lord and doing it, and to teaching his rules and decisions in Israel.
And he said to the Levites, the teachers of all Israel, who were holy to the Lord, See, the holy ark is in the house which Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, made; it will no longer have to be transported on your backs: now be the servants of the Lord your God and his people Israel,
Now for a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without the law;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 30
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 30 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 30
In this chapter we have an account of the solemn passover which Hezekiah kept in the first year of his reign.
By this the reformation, set on foot in the foregoing chapter, was greatly advanced and established, and that nail in God's holy place clenched.
2Ch 30:1-12
Here is,
2Ch 30:13-20
The time appointed for the passover having arrived, a very great congregation came together upon the occasion, v. 13. Now here we have,
2Ch 30:21-27
After the passover followed the feast of unleavened bread, which continued seven days. How that was observed we are here told, and every thing in this account looks pleasant and lively.