2 Chronicles 29:1 – 35 Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple (2 Kings 18:1-12)
“Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah opened and repaired the doors of the house of the LORD. Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the square on the east side.
“Listen to me, O Levites,” he said. “Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove from the Holy Place every impurity.
For our fathers were unfaithful and did evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him. They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn incense or present burnt offerings in the Holy Place of the God of Israel.
Therefore, the wrath of the LORD has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery, as you can see with your own eyes. For behold, this is why our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity.
Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us. Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, to minister before Him, and to burn incense.”
Then the Levites set to work:
Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites;
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites;
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;
Shimri and Jeuel from the Elizaphanites;
Zechariah and Mattaniah from the Asaphites;
Jehiel and Shimei from the Hemanites;
and Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthunites.
When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to cleanse the house of the LORD, according to the command of the king by the words of the LORD. So the priests went inside the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out to the courtyard all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the LORD. Then the Levites took these things and carried them out to the Kidron Valley. They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the LORD. For eight more days they consecrated the house of the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported, “We have cleansed the entire house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all its utensils. Moreover, we have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz in his unfaithfulness cast aside during his reign. They are now in front of the altar of the LORD.”
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went up to the house of the LORD. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And the king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.
So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar.
Then they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them. And the priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar for a sin offering, to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had ordered that the burnt offering and sin offering were for all Israel.
Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command had come from the LORD through His prophets. The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
And Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be sacrificed on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD and the trumpets began as well, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly was worshiping, the singers were singing, and the trumpeters were playing. All this continued until the burnt offering was completed.
When the offerings were completed, the king and all those present with him bowed down and worshiped. Then King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD in the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped.
Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.”
So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings. The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. And the consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. However, since there were not enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings, their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the priests had been consecrated. For the Levites had been more diligent in consecrating themselves than the priests had been.
Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the LORD was established. Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had prepared for the people, because everything had been accomplished so quickly.”
Hezekiah is now king and Judah can rejoice. Despite being the son of a horrible idolater, Hezekiah serves the One True Living God. How has this spiritual change come about? The answer lies in the character of Hezekiah’s mother, Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah, the priest. Just as evil has passed through the royal line, so righteousness and the fear of the Lord have passed from generation to generation through the priests who have remained faithful.
Wicked King Ahaz cut the implements of the temple into pieces, installed a huge altar he had copied from the Syrians in place of the altar of the Lord, and eventually locked the temple doors. All this time, the priests and Levites have been waiting for someone to give them permission to fulfill their duties. As soon as Hezekiah calls, the priests and Levites consecrate themselves and begin cleaning out the filthy fetish objects from the temple. It takes eight days to clear out all these things, and the Levites haul all of them off to the Kidron valley and presumably burn them.
It takes eight additional days to consecrate everything in the temple. Finally, the priests and Levites report their success to Hezekiah. The very next day, Hezekiah calls a solemn assembly and all the city officials join Hezekiah, the priests, and the Levites at the temple. Hezekiah offers seven bulls, seven rams, seven male goats, and seven lambs as praise offerings and as sin offerings. The priests blow trumpets while the Levites who are musicians play all the other instruments and sing praises.
Inspired by Hezekiah’s example, the general public bring sacrifices, thank offerings, and burnt offerings. Altogether, there were burnt offerings of seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. Despite Hezekiah’s encouragement, many of the priests had failed to consecrate themselves, so the Levites had to assist them with the offerings. Everyone is amazed because what could have taken many months has been accomplished successfully in a few short weeks.
APPLICATION: In the Star Wars movie series, Luke Skywalker is the hero while Darth Vader is the arch – villain. In the beginning, we are given the impression that Darth Vader has killed Luke’s father. It is only later in the series that Darth Vader informs Luke, “Luke, I am your father. Come over to the dark side.” Yes, Luke’s beloved father has become his worst enemy and is now urging Luke to join him in his evil schemes.
Having King Ahaz for a father must have been almost as bad as learning that your beloved father has become the enemy of all that is right in the universe. But Ahaz died when he was thirty – six years old, and Hezekiah became king when he was twenty – five years old. The difference between their ages is only eleven years. There are two possibilities: first, Ahaz might have been older when he ascended the throne and died when he was older, or second, Hezekiah might have been the son of one of Ahaz’s brothers. Ahaz offered his sons as live burnt offerings to Moloch and the Israelites also killed Maaseiah, another son, who must have been a teenager. Perhaps Ahaz had no true sons left to succeed him. If Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz’s brother, he could be considered as a kind of son, or Ahaz might have adopted him to serve as heir to the throne.
Growing up at a distance from King Ahaz could help explain why Hezekiah was far more righteous than Ahaz. At any rate, Hezekiah wasted no time in cleansing the temple and reinstituting worship. Hezekiah had to ginger up the priests and Levites, all of whom had relaxed on remaining consecrated during Ahaz’s reign. After all, why go through all those motions the temple was closed? But now revival has come and it’s time to put everything right.
Hezekiah’s story proves that we are not bound to repeat the sins of our fathers. King Ahaz was as evil an idolator as ever lived, and yet, Hezekiah brought revival to Judah. What made the difference? Hezekiah worshiped the Lord and Ahaz ran around honoring every demon he could find and shunning the Lord. The lesson is clear: God honors those who honor Him. God never promises that we will not suffer; however, He does promise in Hebrews 13:5 – 6:” I will never leave you, nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Today, let us turn to the only God who can save us from evil and from ourselves! Let us truly serve and worship the One True Living God!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for saving us. Lord, help us to follow Hezekiah’s example, not using our families or friends or excuses but truly serving and worshiping You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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