Re-Opening the House of the Lord God of Israel |
2 Chronicles 29:1-36 2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks] |
Hezekiah began to [rule] when he was 25 years old & he [ruled] 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah, [Zechariah’s] daughter. [Hezekiah] did [what] was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all David, his [forefather] had done. |
In the 1st year [of] the 1st month [Hezekiah ruled,] he opened [the locked] doors of the house of the Lord & repaired them. He brought in the priests & Levites & gathered them together into the east street. |
[Hezekiah] said to them, You Levites, hear me & sanctify yourselves now & sanctify the house of the Lord God of your [forefathers] & carry the filthiness out of this Holy Place. For our [forefathers] have [sinned] & have done [what] is evil in the eyes of the Lord our God & have [abandoned] Him. |
[They] have turned their faces away from the [Lord’s residence] & turned their backs [on Him.] |
[Isaiah 1:4 Ah, sinful nation, a people [weighed down] with [sin]. A seed of evil-doers, children [people who corrupt others.] They have [abandoned] the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger. They [have turned their backs & have gone away.] |
Also, they have shut up the doors of the [covered] porch [of the Lord’s house] & have put out the [continual] lamps. [They] haven’t burned incense, nor offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. [Therefore, the [anger] of the Lord was upon Judah & Jerusalem. |
[God] has delivered them into trouble, to astonishment & to hissing as you see with your eyes. |
[2 Chronicles 24:18 And they left the house of the Lord God of their [forefathers] & served groves & idols: and [fury] came upon Judah & Jerusalem for [these sins of theirs.] |
Lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword & our wives & [children] are in captivity for this. It is in my heart to make a covenant [contract] with the Lord God of Israel now, [so] that His fierce [fury] may turn away from us. |
My sons, [don’t neglect what needs to be done] now: for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him & that you should minister to Him & burn incense. |
Then, the Levites arose: Mahath, [Amasai’s] son; Joel, [Azariah’s] son, [from the descendants] of the Kohathites. And [from the descendants] of Merari, Kish, [Abdi’s] son; Azariah, [Jehalelel’s] son. [From the descendants] of the Gershonites: Joah, [Zimmah’s] son; & Eden, [Joah’s] son. |
And of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri & Jeiel. And of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah & Mattaniah. And of the sons of Heman: Jehiel & Shimei. And of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah & Uzziel. They gathered their [relatives] & sanctified themselves. |
[They] came, according to the [command] of king [Hezekiah] by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the [Lord’s] house. The priests went into the inner parts of the [Lord’s] house, to cleanse it. |
[They] brought out [into the courtyard of the Lord’s house anything unclean] that they found in the temple of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry [outside] to the Brook Kidron. |
Now, they began on the 1st day of the 1st month to sanctify & on the 8th day of the month, they came to the [covered] porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the [Lord’s] house in 8 days. And [on] the 16th day of the 1st month, they [finished.] |
Then, they went to king Hezekiah & said, We have cleansed all of the [Lord’s] house & the altar of burnt offering, with all [its] vessels, the shewbread table, with all [its] vessels. |
[Also,] we have prepared & sanctified all the vessels king Ahaz, [had] cast away in his transgression [when he ruled.] [Look,] they are [in front of] the altar of the Lord. |
[2 Chronicles 28:24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God & cut [into] pieces the vessels of [God’s] house & shut up the doors of the [Lord’s] house & [Ahaz] made [himself] altars in every corner of Jerusalem.] |
Then, king Hezekiah rose early & gathered the rulers of the city & went up to the [Lord’s] house. They brought 7 bulls, 7 rams, 7 lambs & 7 [male] goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary & for Judah. |
And [Hezekiah] commanded the priests, [Aaron’s descendants,] to offer them on the altar of the Lord. [When] they killed the bulls, the priests received the blood & sprinkled it on the altar. [Also,] when the rams [were] killed, they sprinkled the blood on the altar. |
They also killed the lambs & they sprinkled the blood on the altar. They laid their hands [on the male] goats that were brought for the sin offering & priests killed them. With their blood, [the priests] made reconciliation upon the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. |
For the king commanded that the burnt offering & the sin offering should be made for all [of] Israel. [Hezekiah put] the Levites in the [Lord’s] house with cymbals, [lyres] & harps, according to the [command of king] David & [from] Gad, the king’s seer [prophet who has divine visions] & Nathan the prophet. |
The Lord [commanded this] through His prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments David [made] & the priests with trumpets. Hezekiah commanded [them] to offer the burnt offering on the altar. |
When the burnt offering began, the [songs to] the Lord also began with the trumpets & the instruments [appointed] by king David of Israel. And all the congregation worshiped, the singers sang & the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burned offering was finished. |
When they [ended the] offering, king [Hezekiah] & all [who] were present with him, bowed themselves & worshiped. [Also,] king Hezekiah & the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David & Asaph, the seer. |
They sang praises with gladness & bowed their heads & worshiped. Then, Hezekiah said, Now [that] you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come & bring sacrifices & thank offerings to the [Lord’s] house. The congregation brought in sacrifices & thank offerings. |
[Those with a willing heart brought] burnt offerings. The congregation brought: 70 bulls, 100 rams, 200 lambs, all for burnt [offerings] to the Lord. [There] were 600 oxen & 3,000 sheep for the consecrated things. [There weren’t enough] priests to [skin & to fillet] all the burnt offerings. |
[Therefore,] the Levites helped them until the work was [done] & until other priests had sanctified themselves. The Levites [had been] more [responsible] than the priests, by sanctifying] themselves. |
[There] were [an] abundance of burnt offerings, with the fat of the peace offerings & the drink offering for every burnt offering. So, the service [for the Lord’s] house, was [put] in order. And [king] Hezekiah & all the people rejoiced, that God had prepared the people. For [this] thing was done suddenly. |