2 Chronicles 31:1-21
1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were presenta went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
2 And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD.
3 He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD.
4 Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD.
5 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
6 And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps.b
7 In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.
8 And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel.
9 Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.
11 Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambersc in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them,
12 And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next.
13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.
14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things.
15 And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small:
16 Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even unto every one that entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses;
17 Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;
18 And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness:
19 Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites.
20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.
21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people
The *Kingdom called Judah
2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 31
Hezekiah organises *sacrifices and gifts – 2 Chronicles 31:1-21
v1 After the end of the *feast, all the *Israelites who were there went to the towns of Judah. There they broke up the stone columns that people used to *worship false gods. They cut down the images of the female god *Asherah. And they destroyed the *altars and the high places where people *worshipped false gods. They destroyed those things in all the territories of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had done that, the *Israelites returned home to their own towns.
v2 Hezekiah appointed groups of priests and *Levites for their special duties. Among those duties, they gave the *sacrifices by fire and the *sacrifices for peace. They served the *LORD. And they thanked him and they praised him at the gates of the *LORD’s *temple. v3 The king provided for *sacrifices by fire from his own possessions. He provided for the *sacrifices by fire in the mornings and in the evenings. He provided for the *sacrifices by fire for the *Sabbaths, the new moons and the other *feasts. He was obeying the law of the *LORD. v4 Hezekiah spoke to the people who lived in Jerusalem. He ordered them to give to the priests and to the *Levites what was due to them. Then the priests and the *Levites could give all their time to the study of the *LORD’s law. v5 As soon as the order went out to the *Israelites, they obeyed it. They brought gifts of their finest grain, new wine and oil. They brought gifts of honey and of all that they had gathered from their fields. And they brought a great amount, even a tenth of all that they had. v6 The people from *Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah brought gifts. They brought a tenth of their *cattle and sheep. They gave a tenth of the holy things to the *LORD their God. They put these things in heaps. v7 The people began the heaps in the third month and they finished them in the 7th month. v8 When Hezekiah and his officials came, they saw the heaps. They praised the *LORD and they blessed his people *Israel.
v9 Hezekiah asked the priests and the *Levites about the heaps. v10 Azariah, the chief priest from Zadok’s family, answered him. ‘The people began to bring their gifts to the *LORD’s *temple. Since then, we have had all that we wanted to eat and we have had plenty to spare. The *LORD has blessed his people. So all this is what remains.’
v11 Hezekiah ordered the priests to prepare *storerooms in the *LORD’s *temple. So, they did it. v12 The priests brought in all the gifts. These included the 10th part of all that the people had. And they brought in all the holy things that the people gave to the *LORD. The *Levite, Conaniah had control over these things, and his brother, Shimei was his assistant. v13 Conaniah and his brother, Shimei were over men who controlled the work. These men were Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath and Benaiah. King Hezekiah and Azariah, who was the officer in control of God’s *temple, had chosen them.
v14 Imnah’s son, Kore the *Levite was in control of the special gifts that the people gave to God. He was responsible to give out the gifts that people made to the *LORD and the holy gifts. Kore was the guard at the East Gate. v15 Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah helped Kore in the towns where the priests lived. They gave out from the gifts to the members of their own families in groups. They gave to both the young and to the old alike.
v16 They also gave a share to all the males, 3 years old or older, who were in their family’s list. When they were old enough, these young men would come into the *LORD’s *temple daily. They would do the special work for each day that those lists showed. v17 The lists of the priests showed them in the order of their fathers’ names. But the list of the *Levites only showed those who were 20 years old or older. It showed them in the order of the work that they had to do. v18 Also, the very young children, wives, sons and daughters received shares from the gifts. This included all the families of the priests and of the *Levites. That was because they always kept themselves holy to serve the *LORD.
v19 Some of Aaron’s *descendants, the priests, lived on farms near the towns or in other towns. There were men in each place whose task was to give to these priests their part of the gifts. They gave of the gifts to all who were in the family lists of the *Levites.
v20 This is what Hezekiah did in Judah. He did what was good and right and he obeyed the *LORD his God. v21 He tried to obey God in all that he did for the *LORD’s *temple. He tried to obey God’s laws and God’s commands. He gave himself to all that he did for God. So, he had success.
Verse 1 After the *feasts, the people went through the towns of Judah and *Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh). They destroyed all the *altars and images that were for the *worship of false gods. Hezekiah had to destroy the metal snake that Moses made (2 Kings 18:4; Numbers 21:8-9). This snake had become an object to *worship.
Verses 2-8 Hezekiah introduced again the groups of priests and *Levites. In fact 24 groups helped in the service of the *temple. The groups served in turn. This was as David had organised them (1 Chronicles chapter 25). They gave the *sacrifices and they led the *worship in the *temple.
The king gave the animals for the regular *sacrifices. In a year, this would be about 1100 young sheep, 113 *bulls, 37 male sheep and 30 goats. Also, there would be flour, oil and wine to go with the animal *sacrifices.
Hezekiah told the people in Jerusalem to give what was due to the priests and to the *Levites. So then the priests and the *Levites could spend all their time in their work. The people obeyed the king. They brought grain, new wine and oil. They brought honey and fruit. They gave a tenth of all that they had.
Also, the people in the towns of Judah brought their gifts. They gave a tenth of all that they had. They put all these things in heaps. They started to give soon after the *feast of bread without *yeast. The third month was the time of the grain harvest. The 7th month was the end of the fruit harvest. So, they completed the heaps when the harvests had ended.
Hezekiah and his officials praised the *LORD.
Verses 9-10 It seems that Hezekiah was surprised at the size of the heaps. He wanted to know whether the gifts were sufficient for the priests and for the *Levites. Azariah told him that they had more than enough. There had been a good harvest and the people gave their gifts. Azariah saw that the good harvest came from God.
Verses 11-15 There would have been *storerooms in the *temple area. Maybe Hezekiah told the priests to clear these and to make them ready to store the heaps. Also, it may be that they needed to provide more *storerooms.
When the rooms were ready, the priests brought in all the gifts. These gifts were the regular 10th that the people gave to the *LORD. In addition, people brought in as holy gifts to the *LORD other gifts.
Hezekiah and Azariah appointed a team of men to manage the stores.
There was another team of 6 men under Kore’s authority. They were responsible for the supply of the gifts to the priests’ families and to the *Levites’ families.
Verses 16-19 They gave shares of food from the stores to all male *Levites who were three years old or older. It may be that the young *Levite boys went with their fathers to serve in the *temple. *Israelite mothers fed their babies at their breasts until they were about three years old. So, those younger than three did not need a share of the food.
The priests had shares of food because they served in the *temple. Also, the *Levites who were over 20 years of age had shares because of their work. In addition to these, all the families of the priests and of the *Levites received food from the stores.
In the days of Moses, the *Levites started their work at the age of 30. But David changed this and he made them start at 20 years of age (1 Chronicles 23:24).
Those priests and *Levites who lived in the country or in other towns received their share of the gifts.
Verses 20-21 Hezekiah was a good king. He was loyal to the *LORD his God. He organised the *worship of God in the *temple. He encouraged his people to serve and to obey God. He was sincere in his trust in the *LORD God. Because of his trust in God, he was successful.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
feast ~ a large meal; but in this book a feast is often a special time when the people came together to worship God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Asherah ~ a female god.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
Levite ~ a person who belongs to the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
Sabbath ~ the Sabbath was the 7th day of the week, which God told the *Israelites to keep as a special day.
cattle ~ bulls and cows.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
storeroom ~ a room that people keep stores in.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
yeast ~ something that people put into bread; it causes the bread to rise as it bakes.