1 Now when all this was over, all the men of Israel who were present went out into the towns of Judah, causing the stone pillars to be broken up and the wood pillars to be cut down, pulling down the high places and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, till all were gone. Then all the children of Israel went back to their towns, every man to his property.
He had the high places taken away, and the stone pillars broken to bits, and the Asherah cut down; and the brass snake which Moses had made was crushed to powder at his order, because in those days the children of Israel had offerings burned before it, and he gave it the name Nehushtan.
Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, Give worship before one altar only, burning offerings on it?
Do not go down on your faces and give worship to their gods, or do as they do; but overcome them completely, and let their pillars be broken down.
But this is what you are to do to them: their altars are to be pulled down and their pillars broken, and their holy trees cut down and their images burned with fire.
Then the fire of the Lord came down, burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain. And when the people saw it, they all went down on their faces, and said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God. And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and put them to death there.
He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, though not like the kings of Israel before him.
And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, small and great; and they were present at his reading of the book of the law which had come to light in the house of the Lord. And the king took his place by the pillar, and made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in the book; and all the people gave their word to keep the agreement. Then the king gave orders to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and to the priests of the second order, and to the keepers of the door, to take out of the house of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal and for the Asherah and for all the stars of heaven; and he had them burned outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and took the dust of them to Beth-el. And he put an end to the false priests, who had been put in their positions by the kings of Judah to see to the burning of offerings in the high places in the towns of Judah and the outskirts of Jerusalem, and all those who made offerings to Baal and to the sun and the moon and the twelve signs and all the stars of heaven. And he took the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem to the stream Kidron, burning it by the stream and crushing it to dust, and he put the dust on the place where the bodies of the common people were put to rest. And he had the houses pulled down of those who were used for sex purposes in the house of the Lord, where women were making robes for the Asherah. And he made all the priests from the towns of Judah come into Jerusalem, and he made unclean the high places where the priests had been burning offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he had the high places of the evil spirits pulled down which were by the doorway of Joshua, the ruler of the town, on the left side of the way into the town. Still the priests of the high places never came up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; but they took their food of unleavened bread among their brothers. And Topheth, in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, he made unclean, so that no man might make his son or his daughter go through the fire to Molech. And he took away the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the way into the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan-melech, the unsexed servant, which was in the outer part of the building, and the carriages of the sun he put on fire. And the altars on the roof of the high room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord, were pulled down and crushed to bits, and the dust of them was put into the stream Kidron. And the high places before Jerusalem, on the south side of the mountain of destruction, which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for Ashtoreth, the disgusting god of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, and for Milcom, the disgusting god of the children of Ammon, the king made unclean. The stone pillars were broken to bits and the wood pillars cut down, and the places where they had been were made full of the bones of the dead. And the altar at Beth-el, and the high place put up by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel do evil, that altar and that high place were pulled down; and the high place was burned and crushed to dust and the Asherah was burned. Then Josiah, turning round, saw on the mountain the places of the dead, and he sent and had the bones taken out of their places and burned on the altar, so making it unclean, as the Lord had said by the man of God when Jeroboam was in his place by the altar on that feast-day. And he, turning his eyes to the resting-place of the man of God who had given word of these things, said: What is that headstone I see over there? And the men of the town said to him, It is the resting-place of the man of God who came from Judah and gave word of all these things which you have done to the altar of Beth-el. So he said, Let him be; let not his bones be moved. So they let his bones be with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. Then Josiah took away all the houses of the high places in the towns of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had put up, moving the Lord to wrath, and he did with them as he had done in Beth-el. And all the priests of the high places there he put to death on the altars, burning the bones of the dead on them; and then he went back to Jerusalem.
Then all the people went to the house of Baal and had it pulled down, and its altars and images broken up; and Mattan, the priest of Baal, they put to death before the altars.
Then Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and sent letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, requesting them to come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. For the king, after discussion with his chiefs and all the body of the people in Jerusalem, had made a decision to keep the Passover in the second month. It was not possible to keep it at that time, because not enough priests had made themselves holy, and the people had not come together in Jerusalem. And the thing was right in the eyes of the king and all the people. So it was ordered that word was to be sent out through all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, that they were to come to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem: because they had not kept it in great numbers in agreement with the law. So runners went with letters from the king and his chiefs through all Israel and Judah, by the order of the king, saying, O children of Israel, come back again to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may come again to that small band of you which has been kept safe out of the hands of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were sinners against the Lord, the God of their fathers, so that he made them a cause of fear, as you see. Now do not be hard-hearted, as your fathers were; but give yourselves to the Lord, and come into his holy place, which he has made his for ever, and be the servants of the Lord your God, so that the heat of his wrath may be turned away from you. For if you come back to the Lord, those who took away your brothers and your children will have pity on them, and let them come back to this land: for the Lord your God is full of grace and mercy, and his face will not be turned away from you if you come back to him. So the runners went from town to town through all the country of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun: but they were laughed at and made sport of. However, some of Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun put away their pride and came to Jerusalem. And in Judah the power of God gave them one heart to do the orders of the king and the captains, which were taken as the word of the Lord. So a very great number of people came together at Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month. And they got to work and took away all the altars in Jerusalem, and they put all the vessels for burning perfumes into the stream Kidron. Then on the fourteenth day of the second month they put the Passover lambs to death: and the priests and the Levites were shamed, and made themselves holy and took burned offerings into the house of the Lord. And they took their places in their right order, as it was ordered in the law of Moses, the man of God: the priests draining out on the altar the blood given them by the Levites. For there were still a number of the people there who had not made themselves holy: so the Levites had to put Passover lambs to death for those who were not clean, to make them holy to the Lord. For a great number of the people from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not made themselves clean, but they took the Passover meal, though not in the right way. For Hezekiah had made prayer for them, saying, May the good Lord have mercy on everyone Who, with all his heart, is turned to God the Lord, the God of his fathers, even if he has not been made clean after the rules of the holy place. And the Lord gave ear to Hezekiah, and made the people well. So the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with great joy: and the Levites and the priests gave praise to the Lord day by day, making melody to the Lord with loud instruments. 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 by the desire of all the people, the feast went on for another seven days, and they kept the seven days with joy. For Hezekiah, king of Judah, gave to the people for offerings, a thousand oxen and seven thousand sheep; and the rulers gave a thousand oxen and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests made themselves holy. And all the people of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and those who had come from Israel, and men from other lands who had come from Israel or who were living in Judah, were glad with great joy. So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for nothing like this had been seen in Jerusalem from the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. Then the priests and the Levites gave the people a blessing: and the voice of their prayer went up to the holy place of God in heaven.
In the eighth year of his rule, while he was still young, his heart was first turned to the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he undertook the clearing away of all the high places and the pillars and the images of wood and metal from Judah and Jerusalem. He had the altars of the Baals broken down, while he himself was present; and the sun-images which were placed on high over them he had cut down; and the pillars of wood and the metal images he had broken up and crushed to dust, dropping the dust over the resting-places of the dead who had made offerings to them. And he had the bones of the priests burned on their altars, and so he made Judah and Jerusalem clean. And in all the towns of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon as far as Naphtali, he made waste their houses round about. He had the altars and the pillars of wood pulled down and the images crushed to dust, and all the sun-images cut down, through all the land of Israel, and then he went back to Jerusalem.
Go, get together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and go without food for me, taking no food or drink night or day for three days: and I and my women will do the same; and so I will go in to the king, which is against the law: and if death is to be my fate, then let it come.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 31
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 31 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 31
This chapter begins with the destruction of idolatrous worship, the appointment of the courses of the priests and Levites, and the royal bounty for sacrifices, 2 Chronicles 31:1, next follows the order Hezekiah gave, that the people at Jerusalem, and throughout the land, should make the proper provision for the priests and Levites, as the law directed; and which was cheerfully complied with, and the firstfruits and tithes were brought in, in great abundance, insomuch that there was enough, and plenty left, 2 Chronicles 31:4, wherefore chambers were prepared in the temple to lay it up in, and persons appointed to be the overseers of it, and to distribute it faithfully to their brethren and their families, to small and great, 2 Chronicles 31:11, and the chapter is closed in praise of the works of Hezekiah, and the success that attended him, 2 Chronicles 31:20.
Now when all this was finished,.... The temple cleansed, the priests and Levites sanctified, the passover and feast of unleavened bread observed, and other seven days of rejoicing kept:
all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin; which had been erected by Ahaz, 2 Chronicles 28:2 at or about this time also the brasen serpent was broke to pieces, 2 Kings 18:4,
in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all; which must be understood of such cities in those tribes that had been taken in former times by the kings of Judah from the kings of Israel; or such as were now in the hands of the Assyrians, who might not concern themselves in matters of religion; or this might be done at the connivance of Hoshea king of Israel, who had no regard to any other idolatry than the worship of the calves; and besides, having met with trouble from the Assyrians, and fearing more, might be willing to have his kingdom cleared of idolatry, in hope the divine displeasure would be removed:
then all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession into their own cities; and not till then, when all monuments of idolatry were removed.
And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests, and the Levites after their courses,.... As they were fixed by David, and were in the times of Jehoshaphat, and had been since interrupted, and which Hezekiah now restored, and placed them in their regular order:
every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings, and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord; or camp of the Lord, where they were posted, and lay as an host encamped, to keep the watch of the house of the Lord; the priests, they were appointed to offer the sacrifices of every sort; the Levites to minister to them in what they needed and required of them, and others of them to be singers in time of service, and others to be porters at the gate.
He appointed also the king's portion of his substance,.... Out of his own treasury, of his royal bounty, over and above what was usual for kings to give for their own sacrifices, the treasury of the temple being exhausted, and the people being brought into low circumstances in the last reign:
for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings; the daily sacrifice offered morning and evening, which had been neglected, but now revived:
and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts; when beside the daily sacrifice there were additional ones: as it is written in the law of the Lord; in Numbers 28:9.
Moreover, he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites,.... What was assigned unto them by the law of God by tithes, firstfruits, &c.
that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord; in the study of it; that they might gain greater knowledge of it themselves, and be better able to instruct the people, which of late had been much neglected; and that they might be more at leisure for such service, and be free from all worldly business, care, and distraction of mind, was the design of this edict.
And as soon as the commandment came abroad,.... Not only was published in the city of Jerusalem, but the report of it, or rather that itself, was spread throughout the cities of Judah:
the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey; the three first of these are expressed in the law, Deuteronomy 18:4 but not honey; wherefore the Targum here, and the Jewish writers in general, interpret it of the "dubsa" of the palm tree, as they call it, the fruit and liquor of that, which is of a sweet taste, and which the Scenite Arabs called "dabusa", as PlinyF23Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 4. from Juba relates; for so it should be read, and not "dabulan" or "dablan", as in some copies: but though honey was forbid to be used in sacrifice, it was not forbidden to be eaten; and as the land of Judea abounded with honey, properly so called, the priests might have the firstfruits of that as of other liquors; See Gill on Deuteronomy 8:8,
and of all the increase of the field; of the trees of it, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, &c. as Kimchi:
and the tithe of all things; even of herbs, as the same writer, and so the TalmudF24T. Bab. Nedarim, fol. 55. 1. , which were free from tithes by the law, see Matthew 23:23,
brought they in abundantly; even of all that their vineyards, oliveyards, and fields produced.
And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah,.... As for the supplement "concerning", I see no need of it; the sense is, that when the king's edict was known by the inhabitants of the cities in the country, as well as at Jerusalem:
they also brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep; according to the law in Leviticus 27:32.
and the tithe of holy things, which were consecrated unto the Lord their God; which Jarchi understands of the second tithe the Levites were to give to the priests; but Kimchi of things consecrated to sacred uses, and no longer for their own, and which were even free from tithing:
and laid them by heaps: heaps upon heaps, such large quantities were brought in.
In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps..... The month Sivan, as the Targum, in which month was the feast of Pentecost, called the feast of the harvest, Exodus 23:16, for then barley harvest was ended, and wheat harvest began, and the firstfruits were brought:
and finished them in the seventh month; the month Tisri, as the Targum, in which was the feast of tabernacles, sometimes called the feast of ingathering, of the fruits of the earth, the wine, oil, &c. and so a proper time for bringing the tithes of all.
And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps,.... Of the tithes and firstfruits:
they blessed the Lord; for the great increase of the fruits of the earth, and for making the people so willing to bring in the dues to the priests and Levites:
and his people Israel; wished all happiness and prosperity to them, being found in the way of their duty.
Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. How they came to be so large, or why they let them lie where they did.
And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him,.... Who was the high priest of the family of Eleazar, in the line of Zadok, made high priest in Solomon's time, when Abiathar was thrust out; Jarchi takes him to be the same Azariah that was in the days of Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26:17,
and said, since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty; which were now four mouths since; and the priests and Levites, and their families, had partaken of them, and eat to satiety, and yet there was great plenty remaining:
for the Lord hath blessed his people: the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord has blessed them,'given them large crops this year, and a ready willing mind to bring in what is due for the service of the temple:
and that which is left is this great store; the heaps the king and princes saw, and inquired about; or what is left is for the great multitude of the priests and Levites, and their families, both at Jerusalem, and in the cities in the country; so Kimchi interprets it.
Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord,.... Either to build new ones, or fit up those that were built:
and they prepared them; got them ready to lay up the stores in.
And brought in the offerings, and the tithes, and the dedicated things, faithfully,.... Kept nothing back for their own private use, but faithfully delivered in and laid up the whole that was brought which remained; this was done by the priests and Levites, in whose hands and care they were:
over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next; these two had the charge and care of the whole, the one as deputy to the other.
And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother,.... These ten were assistants to the other two, were under them, and at their command, and were to be ready at hand to do what they should order and direct them:
at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God; these were fixed in their post under the other two by the king and the high priest, to whom also the other two were accountable.
And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter towards the east,.... At the east gate of the temple; see 1 Chronicles 26:17.
was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the Lord; to the priests and Levites, for whose use they were; or to deliver out the fine flour, oil, and wine, and frankincense, for the meat and drink offerings:
and the most holy things; which belonged to the priests only to eat of, as the remainder of the meat offerings, the sin and trespass offerings, and the shewbread.
And next to him were Eden and Mijamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah,.... As Kore was the principal, and his business lay chiefly with the priests in the temple, and in Jerusalem, these men under him were employed in distributing to the priests:
in the cities of the priests; in the several parts of the country:
in their set office; or faithfully:
to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small; to communicate of the stores under their hands, according to their several courses, both priests and Levites, and to all in their families, small and great.
Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upwards,.... Their office was not only to give to the priests, but to those of their males in their genealogy, who were three years old and upwards; for under that age, according to Kimchi, they were not fit to come into the temple; nor have they knowledge to keep what is put into their hands; nor fit to handle offerings, lest they should defile them; but at that age they might be taught how to hold them, and be used to it; but as for females, he says, they were not admitted at any age:
even unto everyone that entereth into the house of the Lord; of the said age, and in the genealogy and register of the priests:
his daily portion for their service in their charges, according to their courses; food for every day, in consideration of their service in their several wards, according to their courses in turn.
Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers,.... As to the priests registered according to their families from the age before observed, a portion was given: so to the Levites:
from twenty years old and upward, in their charges, by their courses; for though originally they were not admitted into the tabernacle till twenty five years of age, nor to officiate till thirty, but in David's time they were allowed at twenty years of age and upwards, 1 Chronicles 23:24.
And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation,.... These were all genealogized and registered, wives and children, sons and daughters, whether small or grown up; and a portion was distributed to them according to their number, greater or lesser:
for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness; which is to be understood either of the overseers, who, in their set office, faithfully distributed the holy things to the persons before described; or else to the priests, and Levites, to whom, and to whose families, the distribution was made, because they wholly devoted themselves to the holy service of God.
Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city,.... Which were allowed to them out of the several tribes, and where they dwelt, when it was not the turn of their course to officiate in the temple; now to these, as well as to those in Jerusalem, a portion was distributed for the support of them and their families:
the men that were expressed by name; before mentioned, 2 Chronicles 31:13, though some understand it of such as were nominated and appointed by them, and to act under them in the country:
to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites: as before declared.
And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah,.... Settled the courses of the priests and Levites, and made a provision for them and their families:
and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God: or did that which was truly right and good, according to the law and will of God, in the sincerity and uprightness of his soul, and as in the presence of the omniscient God, he approving and accepting it for Christ's sake.
And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God,.... In cleansing the temple, providing sacrifices, placing the priests and Levites order, taking care of the maintenance of them:
and in the law and in the commandments; in the observation of all the laws, statutes, and judgments of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial:
to seek his God; and serve and worship him, and therein his honour and glory:
he did it with all his heart; in the most cordial, sincere, and upright manner:
and prospered; he succeeded in all he undertook, God being with him, and blessing him in his civil and religious concerns.