2 Chronicles 29:34

_BUT THE PRIESTS WERE TOO FEW, SO THAT THEY COULD NOT FLAY ALL THE BURNT OFFERINGS: WHEREFORE THEIR BRETHREN THE LEVITES DID HELP THEM, TILL THE WORK WAS ENDED, AND UNTIL THE OTHER PRIESTS HAD SANCTIFIED THEMSELVES: FOR THE LEVITES WERE MORE UPRIGHT IN HEART TO SANCTIFY THEMSELVES THAN THE PRIESTS._ The priests were too few ... wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them. The skins of beasts intended as peace offerings might be taken off by the officers, because in such cases the carcass was not wholly laid upon the altar; but animals meant for burnt offerings, which were wholly consumed by fire, could be flayed by the priests alone, not even Levites being allowed to touch them, except, as here, in cases of unavoidable necessity (2 Chronicles 35:11). The duty being assigned by the law to the priests ...

20-36 As soon as Hezekiah heard that the temple was ready, he lost no time. Atonement must be made for the sins of the last reign. It was not enough to lament and forsake those sins; they brought a sin-offering. Our repentance and reformation will not obtain pardon but in and through Christ, who was made sin, that is, a sin-offering for us. While the offerings were on the altar, the Levites sang. Sorrow for sin must not prevent us from praising God. The king and the congregation gave their consent to all that was done. It is not enough for us to be where God is worshipped, if we do not ourselves worship with the heart. And we should offer up our spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and devote ourselves and all we have, as sacrifices, acceptable to the Father only through the Redeemer....

Verse 2 Chronicles 29:34. _THEY COULD NOT FLAY ALL THE BURNT-OFFERINGS_] Peace-offerings, and such like, the Levites might flay and dress; but the whole burnt-offerings, that is, those which were _entirely_ _consumed_ on the altar, could be touched only by the priests, unless in a case of necessity, such as is mentioned here. _THE LEVITES_ WERE _MORE UPRIGHT IN HEART_] The _priests_ seem to have been very backward in this good work; the _Levites_ were more ready to help forward this glorious reformation. Why the former should have been so backward is not easy to tell; but it appears to have been the fact. Indeed, it often happens that the higher orders of the priesthood are less concerned for the prosperity of true religion than the lower. Why is this? They are generally too busy about _worldly things_

THE LEVITES WERE MORE UPRIGHT ETC - See the marginal reference. Urijah, the high priest, had participated to some extent in the impieties of Ahaz 2 Kings 16:10. He and many of the priests may, therefore, have looked coldly on the reforming zeal of Hezekiah....

EXPOSITION The important reign of Hezekiah extends over this and the following three chapters, counting in all ninety-seven verses. The parallel, for the contents of the first three of these chapters, with their sixty-four verses, is limited to the small number of _six_ verses (2 Kings 18:1), which in its turn is very much fuller (2 Kings 18:7.) in the subject of our 2 Chronicles 32:1. The reason of this so various disposition of matter is by no means wrapt in mystery, our writer's main object being clearly best subserved in exhibiting the moral and religious aspects of the inner history of Judah, as distinguished from its foreign politics—so, for brevity's sake, to denominate them. T

BUT THE PRIESTS WERE TOO FEW, SO THAT THEY COULD NOT FLAY ALL THE BURNT OFFERINGS,.... Take off the skins of them, which used to be done by the priests, Leviticus 1:6, WHEREFORE THEIR BRETHREN THE LEVITES DID HELP THEM TILL THE WORK WAS ENDED; assisted in the flaying of the sacrifices, until they had gone through the service of this time, and the skins of all the sacrifices were flayed off: AND UNTIL THE OTHER PRIESTS HAD SANCTIFIED THEMSELVES; who had been negligent of it, or had defiled themselves by idolatry: FOR THE LEVITES WERE MORE UPRIGHT IN HEART TO SANCTIFY THEMSELVES THAN THE PRIESTS; were more ready to do it, and did it with greater cheerfulness and good will; were not backward to do it, but did it at once....

6. REFORMATION UNDER HEZEKIAH CHAPTER 29 Hezekiah and the Beginning of the Revival _ 1. The record of his reign (2 Chronicles 29:1)_ 2. The purification of the temple (2 Chronicles 29:3) 3. The restored worship (2 Chronicles 29:20) 4. The great offerings (2 Chronicles 29:31) Compare Chapter s 29-32 with 2 Kings 18-20 and the annotations given there. The reformation which took place under the reign of the godly son of ungodly Ahaz was a thorough and remarkable one. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all his father David had don

2 Chronicles 29:1 to 2 Chronicles 32:33. THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH (see notes on 2 Kings 18:2 f., 2 Kings 18:13; 2 Kings 18:19; 2 Kings 20:1). The Chronicler in this long section writes, from his own point of view, much that is quite unhistorical. The three main subjects treated by him here are Hezekiah's reopening of the Temple, the Passover, and the appointment of the Temple officials. In...

_the_other _priests_ R.V. THE PRIESTS....

14. THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH (29-32) TEXT 2 Chronicles 29:1. Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old; and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah 2. And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done. 3. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and repaired them. 4. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east, 5. and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. 6. For our fathers have trespassed, and done that