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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Chronicles 29:20 - 29:36
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The Service of the Temple Set in Order
v. 20. Then Hezekiah the king rose early, full of anxious zeal to complete the cleansing of the Temple, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. Since all the people of his kingdom could not be reached, he wanted at least the princes of Jerusalem to be the representatives of the people.
v. 21. And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats, the number seven being the sacred number, for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sins of the king and his predecessors, and for the Sanctuary, for the priests themselves and for the desecration of the Sanctuary, and for Judah, for all the members of the nation who had consented to the introduction of idolatry. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord, to make an atonement for all the trespasses and sins as indicated.
v. 22. So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar, as the ritual of sacrifices required, Lev_8:14-24; likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. They killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
v. 23. And they brought forth the he-goats for the sin-offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them, thus signifying that the act of atonement, while made directly by the princes, was done for the entire nation.
v. 24. And the priests killed them; and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, for the purpose of obtaining a purification for sin, Lev_14:20, to make an atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel. The sacrifices agreed, in general, with the precepts of Leviticus 4.
v. 25. And he set the Levites, those designated for that work, 1Ch_16:4; 1Ch_25:6, in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, the former being a guitarlike zither or lute, and the latter a small harp, according to the commandment of David and of Gad, the king's seer, and Nathan, the prophet, for the latter two had advised and assisted David in arranging the Temple service; for so was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets, the Lord Himself having acted through the agency of His prophets.
v. 26. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, those invented and introduced by David, and the priests with the trumpets, for the blowing of these was their special privilege, Numbers 10.
v. 27. And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar, when everything was in readiness for the service. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David, king of Israel, the instruments of David governed and led the entire orchestra as it played with full force in the intervals of the psalm or psalms.
v. 28. And all the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang, the psalm was intoned, and the trumpeters sounded; and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished, the musical performance of praise being continued during the whole time of the offering.
v. 29. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped, in grateful adoration.
v. 30. Moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded, they had done so before the beginning of the service, the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, some of the psalms composed by the royal singer, and of Asaph, the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, literally, "unto gladness," until their hearts were lifted up in ecstasy; and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
v. 31. Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord, by having filled their hands with the sacrifices of atonement; come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord. The sin and trespass-offerings having been made in order to remove the guilt of the king and the people, peace-offerings were now in order to establish the relation of the covenant between Jehovah and His people once more. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, with which sacrificial meals were connected; and as many as were of a free heart, in making vows to Jehovah, burnt offerings.
v. 32. And the number of the burnt offerings which the congregation brought was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord, presented by the rulers of the people for the nation or congregation.
v. 33. And the consecrated things, the animals presented as thank-offerings, were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
v. 34. But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings, a task which they were supposed to perform themselves; wherefore their brethren, the Levites, did help them, it being a case of unavoidable necessity, of an emergency, till the work was ended, and until the other priests, those who came in from the outlying cities, had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests, they displayed greater alacrity than the priests, probably because the latter had become more deeply involved in idolatry under Ahaz.
v. 35. And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, that was the second reason why the Levites were drafted into service, with the fat of the peace-offerings and the drink-offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order, the newly consecrated Temple reopened for the service of Jehovah.
v. 36. And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people, had made their hearts willing with such promptness; for the thing was done suddenly, with unexpected readiness on the part of the majority of the nation. One of the surest proofs of true piety is the rejection of idolatry in every form and the eager participation in the worship of the true God.