2 Chronicles 29 Study Notes

29:1-2 Hezekiah: Thirteenth king of Judah; son of Ahaz; devoted to God; protected miraculously from Sennacherib of Assyria. Just as it looked as if things were so bad they could never be set right again, Hezekiah became king and led Judah in returning to God. With the highest compliment the Chronicler could pay a king, he compared Hezekiah to David because of his pursuit of righteousness.

29:3 Soon after becoming king, Hezekiah opened the doors of the temple again and undid the damage that Ahaz had caused.

29:4 Hezekiah knew that if he wanted to undertake a reformation, he would have some willing allies whom he could count on for support—the priests and Levites—who had gone unemployed during Ahaz’s last years.

29:5 Hezekiah instructed them to clean the temple physically and to cleanse it spiritually.

29:6-7 While not mentioning his father’s name, Hezekiah confessed that Ahaz had turned his back on worship at the Lord’s temple.

29:8-9 Hezekiah saw that Judah’s unfaithfulness had brought on the curse that had been predicted (Dt 28:15,25; 1Kg 9:6-9).

29:10 Hezekiah intended to restore the covenantal relationship that Judah was supposed to have with their God. The Lord (Yahweh) is his covenantal name (Ex 3:14-15).

29:11 Hezekiah appealed to their professional pride as well as the need for the nation to return to God.

29:12 The Chronicler continues to draw a parallel between Hezekiah and David by mentioning the names of the leading Levites and the various divisions of the tribe they represented, as established by David (1Ch 23:6). The Kohathites included the division of Aaron, who made up the priesthood. The Merarites and Gershonites, descended from two other sons of Levi, were the guards, workers, musicians, and assistants to priests in the various duties associated with the temple.

29:13-14 The descendants of David’s three main musicians—the Asaphites . . . Hemanites, and Jeduthunites—participated in this renewal (1Ch 25:1).

29:15-19 Before the priests could do anything in the temple, they first had to cleanse themselves so they would be in a state of spiritual and ritual purity; otherwise, they would contaminate the temple as they were trying to purify it. Once they had taken care of this, they could remove all the things that did not belong there, particularly whatever was associated with idolatry. The Kidron Valley was used as a garbage dump where trash was burned (15:16; cp. 2Kg 23:4,6). They worked methodically by starting at the gate and moving toward the holy place and the most holy place. When they were finished, they reported on their work to the king.

29:20-24 Hezekiah began the services in the temple with a sin offering, the type of sacrifice that was intended to atone for unwitting violations of the law (Lv 4:3-34). There were seven of each animal as a symbol of completeness. He and the priests followed the rules as given by God to Moses. Hezekiah did not usurp the privileges of the priests, but he did participate in the actual ceremony by laying his hands on the heads of the sacrificial animals, signifying that as the king he was looking to the Lord for forgiveness.

29:25-26 Hezekiah followed the precedents that had been established by David. He particularly saw to it that the music that had played such an important role for David was made a part of temple worship.

29:27-29 Next to be offered were burnt offerings, the sacrifice that expressed a person’s total devotion to the Lord (Lv 1:1-17). As soon as the offering began, the musicians joined in.

29:30 These songs of praise by David and Asaph might have been the same as some of our psalms.

29:31-33 Now that the temple and the priests were ready, Hezekiah called for a sacrificial feast by the priests and the public. The different types of sacrifices were offered to God, including thanksgiving offerings . . . Burnt offerings signified devotion to God. Those who had willing hearts were able to offer these sacrifices, pledging their faithfulness to the Lord.

29:34-35 Killing and sacrificing these animals was hard work. Not enough priests were in a state of purity to be able to get it all done. Levites, who did not have priestly privileges, were called upon to do everything short of actually offering the sacrifices on the altar. They were able to assist by slaughtering and skinning animals.

29:36 Hezekiah’s revival started on the inside and then moved outward. He did not begin by smashing idols and then compelling the people to come to the temple, possibly against their will. He began with the restoration of the temple and a service of renewal and devotion. He made sure that right from the beginning there was music. After he had gone through the initial ceremony with the priests, he invited anyone who cared to do so to join in the joyful celebration, and the people complied. The revival became contagious. Hezekiah had not just reinstituted some ancient rules, but God had prepared the people so their hearts were changed. Just a short while before, everyone had been forced to share in the anger and misery of Ahaz. Now there was a brand new excitement, for it had come about suddenly.