| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| |
|
| 1 Hezekiah began to reign being twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. |
Hezeklah – Signifying "strength of Jehovah." R3462:3
Reckoned in the Lord's sight as one of the three most acceptable kings of Judah. R3462:3
Nine and twenty years – Link No. 39 in the chain of Bible chronology. B50; R1980:4
|
| 2 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done. |
That which was right – His entire reign was one of reformation. R3462:3
He was not double-minded but with his whole heart he sought to do right, to do the Lord's will. R4812:2, R3462:3
It is supposed that Isaiah, who was related to the royal family, was Hezekiah's tutor and helped guide him into right ways. R2379:2
Teaches the necessity for having a positive or strong will, rightly directed. R4812:2
|
| 3 He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and repaired them.
|
In the first month – He was already well instructed and thoroughly consecrated to the Lord at the time of his entrance to kingship. R2379:3
|
| 4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them into the open place eastward; |
Priests – Typical of God's saintly or sanctified people. R4812:4
Levites – Typical of the household of faith. R4812:4
|
| 5 and he said to them, Hear me, ye Levites: hallow yourselves now, and hallow the house of Jehovah the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the sanctuary. |
Sanctify now yourselves – Before the cleansing of the Temple began the king directed the priests and Levites first to sanctify themselves. R4812:3
No one is properly ready to serve God in any form or work until he has come to a sanctified condition of heart. R4812:4
"Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord's house." (Isa. 52:11) R4812:4
House of the LORD – The great King commands his consecrated people to purify the Temple of God, which is the Church. R4812:4
|
| 6 For our fathers have transgressed, and done evil in the sight of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and have turned their backs. |
|
| 7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered up burnt-offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel. |
The God of Israel – Jehovah, to whom the price was to be paid. E449
|
| 8 Therefore the wrath of Jehovah has been upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to vexation, to desolation, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. |
|
| 9 And behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. |
|
| 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us. |
|
| 11 My sons, be not now negligent; for Jehovah has chosen you to stand before him, to do service unto him, and to be his ministers and incense-burners. |
|
| |
|
| 12 Then the Levites rose up, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalleleel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; |
|
| 13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; |
|
| 14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. |
|
| 15 And they gathered their brethren, and hallowed themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah. |
|
| 16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse it, and carried forth all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah, into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it to carry it forth into the brook Kidron. |
Uncleanness – Typical of the idols and traditions of men in the form of venerable creeds of the past defiling the Temple of God. R4813:4, R3463:4
|
| 17 And they began on the first of the first month to hallow, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of Jehovah; and they hallowed the house of Jehovah eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. |
|
| 18 And they went in to king Hezekiah, and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the table of the bread to be set in rows, and all its vessels; |
We have cleansed – If any have fallen into worldliness, sin, worship of Mammon, etc., there should be first a cleansing, a reformation. R3463:2
A great reformation came in the days of Luther, Melancthon and others. R3463:4
"Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." (2 Cor. 7:1) F409
All the vessels – The vessels of the Lord's house must be cleansed of all defilements--their human traditions, heathen philosophies and superstitions. R4813:4
|
| 19 and all the vessels that king Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression have we prepared and hallowed, and behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah. |
All the vessels – Probably including certain brass plates and borders which King Asa had removed from the altar and tables for use in other places. R3462:6
|
| |
|
| 20 And Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah. |
|
| 21 And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats for a sin-offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them upon the altar of Jehovah. |
Seven – A symbol of perfection or completeness, thus intensifying the matter. R3463:1
A sin offering – Shadows and types of the true sacrifices for sins by which the Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world. R685:4
Altar of the LORD – Jehovah, to whom the price was paid. E449; R685:4
|
| 22 And they slaughtered the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar; and they slaughtered the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar; and they slaughtered the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar. |
|
| 23 And they brought near the he-goats of the sin-offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them. |
|
| 24 And the priests slaughtered them, and they made purification for sin with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel; because for all Israel, said the king, is the burnt-offering and the sin-offering. |
An atonement – Not the regular atonement day sacrifice, because the proper day had passed; the sacrifices offered were effective merely for the remainder of the year. R3463:1
The Lord's people, after a reformation, should appeal to God for at-one-ment with him, for forgiveness of sins. R3463:2
For all Israel – Exhibiting Hezekiah's generous spirit. R3463:2
The whole nation seems to have come to a realization of its low condition and need of an uplift. R3463:1
Hezekiah recognized that the divine promises were made to all the seed of Abraham. R2379:5
|
| |
|
| 25 And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with lutes, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of Jehovah through his prophets. |
|
| 26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. |
|
| 27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer up the burnt-offering on the altar. And at the moment the burnt-offering began, the song of Jehovah began, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. |
|
| 28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, all the time until the burnt-offering was finished. |
|
| |
|
| 29 And when they had ended offering the burnt-offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped. |
|
| 30 And king Hezekiah and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to Jehovah with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and bowed their heads and worshipped. |
Sang praises with gladness – The work of reestablishing the true religion was not to be accomplished in a doleful manner. R3463:5
|
| |
|
| 31 And Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to Jehovah, come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart, burnt-offerings. |
Thank offerings – The Lord's truly consecrated today rejoice to be free from the sins of the past and worship the Lord with thank-offerings and praise. R3463:5
|
| 32 And the number of the burnt-offerings, which the congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt-offering to Jehovah. |
|
| 33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. |
|
| 34 Only the priests were too few, and they could not flay all the burnt-offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them, until the work was ended, and until the priests had hallowed themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to hallow themselves than the priests. |
|
| 35 And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and with the drink-offerings for the burnt-offering. And the service of the house of Jehovah was set in order. |
|
| 36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people; for the thing was done suddenly. |
|