Paul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Chronicles 30:1 - 30:12

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Chronicles 30:1 - 30:12


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The Festival Proclaimed by the King

v. 1. And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, to the entire congregation adhering to the worship of Jehovah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, the chief tribes of the northern kingdom, as many of them as were left after the bulk of the people had been led into captivity by the king of Assyria, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel, for he was anxious to restore the observance of the festival, as in ancient days.

v. 2. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem,
upon the occasion of the rededication of the Temple, to keep the Passover in the second month, as the Lord had provided for in cases of emergency, Num_9:10-11.

v. 3. For they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently;
they were slow about putting away the personal defilements and about returning to Jerusalem; neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem, the time had been too brief to summon them all for a general celebration.

v. 4. And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.

v. 5. So they established a decree,
they settled the matter, resolved upon their course of action, to make proclamation throughout all Israel, the entire country occupied by the tribes, from Beersheba, in the extreme south, even to Dan, in the far north, that they should come to keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem; for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written, with an attendance of all the men of the congregation, as the precept of the Lord required; it had been celebrated more as a local festival.

v. 6. So the posts,
special runners, acting as messengers of the king, went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria; for both Pul and Tiglath-pileser had taken away large numbers of Israelites captive into Northern Media, the latter in two campaigns, 2Ki_15:29; 2Ki_17:6.

v. 7. And be not ye like your fathers and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see;
for the territory of the northern tribes was now lying desolate.

v. 8. Now, be ye not stiff-necked as your fathers were,
the picture being that of a stubborn animal refusing to yield to guidance, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, submitting to His guidance by giving Him their hand, and enter into His Sanctuary which He hath sanctified forever; and serve the Lord, your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.

v. 9. For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive,
through their intercession and the power of their example, so that they shall come again into this land; for the Lord, your God, is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you if ye return unto Him. This appeal to repentance is always held out before every sinner, bidding him return to the Lord in true penitence.

v. 10. So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun,
toward the north and northwest. But they laughed them to scorn and mocked them, the majority of those invited ridiculed the messengers and even openly insulted them.

v. 11. Nevertheless, divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem;
they heeded the invitation, because their hearts were struck by the appeal of the king. Even so there are always some in the great mass of people who heed the invitation of the Gospel and accept Jesus, their Savior.

v. 12. Also in Judah,
rather, "in Judah, on the other hand," by way of contrast, the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord; they were practically unanimous in their acceptance of the invitation. There is always a better opportunity for the Word of God in a community where it is in general use.