2. For their sake; because they will be blessed in their deed, and after 2 Chronicles 2:3. For our own sake; that we may not be overburdened, and may do all that we do more carefully and thoroughly.
IV. KNOW WHEN TO STOP, AND WHEN TO PROCEED; when to draw a boundary-line, and when to cross it. These dutiful Levites understood their duty well.
1. They did not intrude into the priests' domain; they stopped short "at the inner part of the house" (2 Chronicles 2:16).
2. At the same time, they went beyond the actual letter of instruction by "preparing and sanctifying the vessels which Ahaz had cast away," and by bringing these "before the altar of the Lord." It is a great thing to know what are the limits beyond which it is not right or wise for us to go. But it is a still greater thing to have so deep an interest in our work and so fervent a love for our Lord that we are not to be confined to any limits by literal instructions; that we gladly and eagerly go beyond these, if we can only render a larger and fuller service to our Master and to his cause.
V. DO OUR WORK THOROUGHLY AND SPEEDILY. "They sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days" (2 Chronicles 2:17). "We have cleansed all the house of the Lord,… with all the vessels thereof" (2 Chronicles 2:18). To do all that is required, leaving nothing undone because it is trivial or because it is not likely to be observed; and to do all without delay, losing no time, accomplishing everything within the days expected of us;—this is the way to do Christian work, to do our duty as disciples of Jesus Christ.
VI. HAVE THE DAY OF ACCOUNT IN VIEW. "They went in to Hezekiah the king," etc. (2 Chronicles 2:18). We may not be accountable to any human master; but to a Divine One we are (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Then "every work" will be "brought into judgment." Let us therefore labour, that we may then be "accepted of him."—C.
2 Chronicles 29:20-24
Confession, propitiation, consecration.
By the sacrifices now offered to Jehovah, by the sin offerings and the burnt offerings, the king and the representatives of the people laying their hands upon the heads of the slain animals (2 Chronicles 29:23), three distinct sentiments were expressed, three several spiritual states were passed through—confession of sin, atonement offered for sin, consecration of themselves to the service of God. Here was made the most public and solemn acknowledgment that could be made of the guilt which the nation had incurred by its apostasy; here was an appeal made to the mercy of God in his appointed way of sacrificing the goats and of laying the hand upon their heads; and here was, through the burnt offerings, a formal and deliberate dedication of themselves to Jehovah for the future. These three experiences are the radical and essential experiences through which penitent and godly men must always pass.
I. CONFESSION. Not always, not often national, as on this occasion (text). Net always, not often now, admission of idolatrous reaction. But always confession of sin—of departure from God, of the neglect of his holy will, of a rebellious exalting of our will against his, of unlikeness to him in the spirit we have been breathing and in the principles on which we have been acting, of doing or saying or being that which has grieved his Holy Spirit. And our confession of sin is likely to be heard and accepted, not because it is couched in the most approved language, but because it is the most simple and honest utterance of our hearts.
II. PROPITIATION. Not that God asks now of us a sacrifice for sin. There has been "one sacrifice [offered] for sins for ever." He is "the Propitiation for the sins of the whole world." But we come to plead that one Sacrifice as offered for our sins; we come to God to pray that that one Propitiation may be accepted on our behalf. We come to "lay our hand on that dear head" of Christ, the Lamb of God. We ask that the abounding and abiding mercy of God may, for his sake, cover our guilt and rest upon our soul And thus, by a living faith, we apply and appropriate to ourselves "the common salvation"—that "righteousness which is through the faith of Christ." Thus is our sin "borne away" into the land of utter forgetfulness, and we ourselves are "brought nigh by the blood of Christ."
III. CONSECRATION. The consumption of the entire animal in the burnt offering symbolized the entire consecration of the offerer to the Lord. This was the significance of those offerings now presented (2 Chronicles 29:24). Hezekiah and his people now offered themselves anew unto the Lord God of their fathers. Their sin being purged, themselves having been forgiven and accepted, they dedicated themselves to God for the coming time. With us:
1. Consecration attends our entrance upon the Divine life; when we seek the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, we "yield ourselves unto God as those alive from the dead."
2. Consecration is a spiritual act continually renewed. It should be an act in which we offer to our Divine Redeemer our whole selves;
(2) our whole life, thenceforwards—at all times, in every sphere, under all conditions.—C,
2 Chronicles 29:26-36
The public worship of God.
The record of the latter part of the proceedings on this solemn occasion at Jerusalem may well suggest to us some aspects of public worship at all times.
I. ANTICIPATIVE SERVICE. David, who lived several generations before, bad his hand in that good work. The Levites played with "the instruments of David King of Israel" (2 Chronicles 29:27); and they "sang praise with the words of David and of Asaph" (2 Chronicles 29:30). A very great and admirable service have those men rendered to Christian worship who have written hymns that are sung in all the Churches. In the words which they have given us, sweet and strong, our hearts ascend to God in adoration, are poured forth in praise, are humbled in confession, renew their vows in glad self-surrender. Few men have rendered their race a truer or greater service than those who have thus contributed to the worship of many generations.
II. THE SERVICE OF SACRED SONG. "And the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded." This part was rendered by the Levites, and no doubt it did much to brighten the engagements of that hallowed time. "The service of song in the house of the Lord" constitutes a very important part of public worship, for two reasons..
1. Therein and thereby all the spiritual attitudes and actions which become us in the near presence of God are expressed—reverence, aspiration, penitence, submission, gratitude, etc.
2. Therein all the worshippers can join. It would not have been possible for all those who were in the temple to take audible part in the music and song without discord and confusion. But it is possible, and in every way desirable and delightful, for every voice among us (furnished, as we are, with all appliances) to bring its note of praise to the worship of the Lord. And thus there is ensured or there is facilitated—
III. COMMON PARTICIPATION. In this sacred service, on this great occasion, every one took his part and had his share. "All the congregation worshipped" (2 Chronicles 29:28) "The king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped." (2 Chronicles 29:29). It is best when all the people can take an audible part in public worship, u m the service of song. They can then and thus more readily enter into the spirit of it. But when this may not be, it is open to every one to take an appreciative and appreciated part by an unbroken, spiritual sympathy with all that is said and done; by an active, intelligent acquiescence, signified by the bowed head or by the final "Amen" when the ministering voice is silent. The unuttered sympathy of all reverent, earnest worshippers is a common participation, which, we may make quite sure, is observed and honoured in heaven.
IV. THE SERVICE OF CONTRIBUTION. "And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings" (2 Chronicles 29:31). The people gave of their own possessions freely as an offering to the Lord. This service of contribution should always be regarded as an integral part of Divine worship. It should be rendered as reverently as an act of prayer or praise.
1. It is—or it should be, as it certainly may be-an offering that comes from the heart as well as from the hand.
2. It is an eminently appropriate service; for what can be more fitting than that, when and where we are recognizing the fulness and greatness of God's gift to us, we should then and there offer him our humble, grateful gifts in response?
3. It is acceptable to the Lord whom we serve.
V. REVERENT JOY. "And they sang praises with gladness" (2 Chronicles 29:30); "And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people" (2 Chronicles 29:36). What was more fitted to fill their hearts with overflowing joy than the feeling that they, as a nation, had returned unto the Lord, and had renewed their covenant with him; that he had accepted them; that "his anger was turned away;" that they might now look forward to a time when they would dwell in the light of his countenance and walk in his loving favour? It was an hour for the exuberance of the people's heart, from the heart of the king to that of the humblest citizen of Judah. And there is no time when joy, reverent joy, is more becoming to ourselves than when we are worshipping in the sanctuary of Christ. There we are conscious of our reconcilation to our heavenly Father, in him who is our Divine Saviour; there we feel the nearness of our glorious Redeemer who is "present in the midst of us;" there we pour forth our gratitude and love, and there we renew our happy bends of holy service unto "him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood;" there we realize our substantial and abiding union with all his people, our fellow-citizens in the kingdom and fellow-workers in the vineyard of Christ; and there we anticipate the purer joys and the nobler service of the heavenly land. Sacred joy is the true key-note of the strain when we meet in the sanctuary and engage in the worship of Christ.—C.
HOMILIES BY T. WHITELAW
2 Chronicles 29:1, 2 Chronicles 29:2
The accession of Hezekiah.
I. HIS PERSON.
1. His name. Hezekiah, "The might of Jehovah;" Hizkiyah (2 Kings 18:1); Hiskiyahu (2 Chronicles 29:1; Isaiah 36:1; Isaiah 37:1, Isaiah 37:3); with which last corresponds Hazakijau, or Hazakiau, of the Assyrian inscriptions.
2. His parentage. His father Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:27), to whom while yet a lad he must have been born (see homily on 2 Chronicles 28:1-27); his mother Abijah, "Father of Jehovah"—in shortened form, Abi (2 Kings 18:2), the daughter of Zechariah, "a citizen of Jerusalem" (Josephus), perhaps the son of Jeberechiah, a contemporary of Ahaz (Isaiah 8:2)," not improbably the favourite prophet of Uzziah" (Stanley).
II. HIS REIGN.
1. Its commencement.
2. Its close. After twenty-nine years-upwards of a quarter of a century; a long time for a thoughtful sovereign to bear the responsibilities of a crown, even had the period been peaceful, much more when it was full of trouble and anxiety, both on account of the social and religious degeneracy of his own people, and the threatenings and dangers arising from foreign foes. It was hardly wonderful that Hezekiah's health should have broken down under the intense strain to which it was subjected.
3. Its contents. These may be gathered from 2 Kings (18-20.), 2 Chronicles (29-32.), and Isaiah (36-39.). The principal events were:
(10) The reception of a blasphemous letter from Sennacherib, with the prayer to which it led (2 Chronicles 32:20; 2 Kings 19:8-34; Isaiah 37:8-35).
(11) The destruction of Sennacherib's army (2 Chronicles 32:21; 2 Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36).
(12) The extension of Hezekiah's fame in consequence of this deliverance (2 Chronicles 32:23).
III. HIS CHARACTER.
1. Good. "He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done" (verse 2). With this agrees the testimony of 2 Kings (2 Kings 18:5, 2 Kings 18:6), that,his piety
2. Energetic. Sufficiently apparent from the above-recited record of his life. Besides being a pious sovereign, he was a military commander of pronounced skill and undaunted courage (2 Chronicles 32:3-8), a wise and judicious civil administrator (2 Chronicles 32:27-30), a zealous and unwearied religious reformer (ch. 29-31.), a student and patron of letters (Proverbs 25:1), an antiquarian and a poet (2 Chronicles 32:27; 2 Kings 23:12; Isaiah 38:9-20). In short, Hezekiah was "one of the most splendid princes that ever adorned the throne of David, and whose reign of nine and twenty years exhibits an almost unclouded picture of persistent struggles against the most embarrassed and difficult circumstances, crowned with elevating victories" (Ewald, 'History of Israel,' 4:172).
Learn:
1. That Divine grace is stronger than hereditary corruption.
2. That God can raise up great men when such are demanded by the times.
3. That the hidden root of all true nobility in man is faith in God, and steadfast adherence to truth and right.—W.
2 Chronicles 29:3-19
The purification of the temple.
I. THE GATHERING OF THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (2 Chronicles 29:4.)
1. When? In the first year of the king's reign, in the first month (2 Chronicles 29:3, 2 Chronicles 29:17), but whether of that reign (Caspari) or of the ecclesiastical year (Bertheau, Keil, Jamieson, Ochler in Herzog) cannot be determined. In either case it was not long after his accession. The acts evinced
2. Where? In "the broad place on the east;" either the inner court of the temple (Bertheau), or the open space in front of the temple towards the east (Keil), which will depend upon whether the doors of the temple had been opened prior to the assembling of the priests.
3. Why? To invite their co-operation in the work of cleansing the sanctuary Ahaz had shut up (2 Chronicles 28:24), and of re-establishing the worship Ahaz had abolished. For these purposes and as a preliminary thereto, according to one view, the king had already opened the temple doors; according to another, he only did so when the work of cleansing commenced.
II. THE WORDS ADDRESSED TO THEM BY THE KING. (2 Chronicles 29:5-11.) Hezekiah regarding them without distinction as Levites—not speaking to the Levites as distinguished from the priests, as if these were not present, though they certainly (2 Chronicles 29:34) "hung back from the revolution which swept away the neglect which the head of their order, Urijah, must in some measure have countenanced", and, exhorting them with fatherly affection (2 Chronicles 29:11), set before them three things.
1. The work which required to be done.
2. The reasons why it needed to be done.
3. The argument why they should do the work. The Lord had selected them to be his temple ministers—the Levites and priests together to stand before ]aim and serve him, the priests to burn incense upon his altar. (N.B.—This is an indirect proof that "Levites" in 2 Chronicles 29:5 includes the "priests.") Hence
III. THE RESPONSE GIVEN BY THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES TO THE KING. (2 Chronicles 29:12-16.)
1. The absent members of the order were collected. Fourteen Levites had heard the king's speech—two from each of the great families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari; two of the sons of Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel, the son of Kohath (Exodus 6:18), and in Moses' time the head of the family of Kohath (Numbers 3:30); two of the sons of Asaph, who belonged to the family of Gershon; and two of the sons of Heman, who again proceeded from the family of Kohath; and two of the sons of Jeduthun, an offshoot from the family of Merari (on these names see Exposition). Responding with alacrity and gladness to the king's summons, they went forth and mustered the whole body of their brethren in Jerusalem. The work to which they had been called should be done by a united body, all hands and one heart—a good model for the Christian Church.
2. The duty of personal sanetification was scrupulously attended to. God's work must be done in God's way; always with fear and trembling, never with irreverent presumption; always in the beauty of holiness, never in the uncleanness of sin.
3. The work was divided between the Levites and the priests. To each was assigned that for which he was qualified and had been appointed; the cleansing of the temple proper to the priests, since these alone could enter the holy place; the removal of that which the priests brought from the interior of the sanctuary into the porch to the Levites, who bore it thence to the brook Kidron, which flowed through the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the east of the temple hill. So should all in the Christian work be content to do the work to which they are called, and for which they are qualified. As all have not the same gifts, so all are not intended for the same spheres of Christian activity.
4. The work was carried on until it was completed. It began with the purification of the buildings exterior to the temple, which occupied eight days. In eight days more they had finished the temple proper, both the porch and the sanctuary. On the sixteenth day they made an end. How much good work is begun by Christian people without being ended! ]tow many become weary in well-doing before they have half completed what they have put their hands to!
5. A report of the work done was carried to the king. The whole house of the Lord had been cleansed, all its furniture and utensils purified, the vessels found wanting replaced.
Learn:
1. That God can be worshipped only in the beauty of holiness.
2. That as God calls none of his servants to uncleanness, he can be served only by the clean.
3. That God's house—whether heart or church—should be studiously guarded against defilement.
4. That God's people, like God himself, should be unwearied in doing good.
5. That God's servants must one day render to him an account of their works.—W.
2 Chronicles 29:20-36
The re-dedication of the temple.
I. THE TIME OF THE CEREMONY. Early on the following morning. Hezekiah lost not a moment in entering upon the good work his heart contemplated (2 Chronicles 29:10), rising up with next day's dawn, gathering the rulers of the city, and proceeding with them to the house of the Lord. In this he acted in accordance with Jehovah's instructions to Moses at Sinai (Exodus 34:2); with the example of Abraham (Genesis 22:2), Jacob (Genesis 28:18), Moses (Exodus 24:4), Joshua (Joshua 3:1), Job (Job 1:5), and other good men who selected the morning hours for executing good resolutions, and especially for acts of devotion; with the practice of God himself, who had been ever forward in blessing his people by sending to them his messengers the prophets (2 Chronicles 36:15; Jeremiah 7:13, Jeremiah 7:25; Jeremiah 25:3, Jeremiah 25:4). Perhaps Hezekiah also felt that if wicked men rose up with the dawn and even "prevented" the daylight in order to prosecute their nefarious works (Job 24:14), yea, that his own subjects had risen up early to corrupt themselves (Zephaniah 3:7), much more ought he to bestir himself and awake up early to begin the splendid work of temple-dedication on which he had resolved.
II. THE PARTIES TO THE CEREMONY.
1. The king himself. Hezekiah, as the vicegerent of Jehovah and head of Jehovah's people, led the way. This the sort of kingship after which sovereigns should aspire—kingship in works of faith and labours of love.
2. The princes of the city—again, in their individual capacities and in their representative characters—joined in the ceremonial. So had they done at Sinai (Exodus 24:11), and in the wilderness (Numbers 21:18); in the days of Solomon (2 Chronicles 5:2), and in those of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 23:20). Happy is that nation whose nobility are ever foremost in noble deeds!
3. The priests and the Levites were present to do their respective offices, to sacrifice upon the altars of Jehovah, and to play upon the instruments of David; two necessary parts in all Old Testament worship—the former to make atonement, the latter to express that which should ever be its fruit (Romans 5:11).
4. The people, or a portion of them, were there as assenting parties to the transaction.
III. THE STEPS IN THE CEREMONY.
1. The presentation of sacrifice.
2. The accompaniment of music. Hezekiah reinstituted the Levitical service of music, according to the Divine ordinance communicated through David, Gad, and Nathan (1 Chronicles 23:5); and on this particular occasion "he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps;" and "the priests with the trumpets" (1 Chronicles 15:16, 1 Chronicles 15:24). When the burnt offering began, i.e. either when the slaying of the victims commenced, or when the carcases were lifted to the altar to be consumed, the temple courts rang with the strains of instrumental and vocal music—"the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded"—until the offering was finished, until the last ember died upon the altar, and the last wreath of smoke vanished in the air. Meanwhile the congregation, standing round in the court as spectators, "worshipped."
IV. THE MEANING OF THE CEREMONY.
1. Confession of sin. This idea was generally comprehended in the presentation of sin offerings, and particularly set' forth in the imposition of the officiating priest's hands upon the victim's head. The sin thus confessed was the sin of the nation as represented by its royal house, its sanctuary, and its people. All of these, the occupants of the throne and the members of the royal family, the ministers of the sanctuary, the priestly order and the Levitical alike, the common people of the realm, both in Israel and in Judah, had been guilty of trespass and apostasy.
2. Propitiation for guilt. The blood of the sin offering, when poured out before and sprinkled on the horns of the altar—in particular when done in the holy of holies—was designed to make atonement for the people's sins, to cover up from the eyes of a holy God the wickedness of which they had been guilty, and so to reconcile them to God (Le Job 6:30).
3. Expression of self-surrender. This was symbolized by the burning of the carcases of both the sin and the burnt offerings. As the bodies of the animals whose blood had been brought within the sanctuary for reconciliation were all devoted to Heaven or given up as food to Jehovah, so the nation whose guilt had been put away by that same blood of atonement surrendered itself to Jehovah to be consumed by the fire of a new zeal for his glory.
4. Utterance of thanksgiving. This the significance of the musical accompaniment to the sacrificial ritual. It gave an outlet to the gratitude and joy of the reconciled and pardoned worshipper.
V. THE CLOSE OF THE CEREMONY.
1. A national act of worship. "The king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped" (verse 29). It was worship of the right sort:
2. A royal word of invitation. "Hezekiah answered and said" (verse 31)—declaring the fact of their consecration to Jehovah, and desiring them to show their acquiescence in the same by personal acts of worship and sacrifice—"Come near, and bring sacrifices and thank offerings unto the Lord." Practice the best vindication of profession (James 2:14); obedience the only true justification of faith (Romans 16:19); the sacrifice of one's wealth the most reliable index that one has consecrated his heart.
3. A popular outburst of liberality. "The congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings."
Lessons.
1. Union is strength, in religion as in other things.
2. The inspiration of all acts connected with religion should be the glory of God.
3. In religion all things are of God, the preparation of the heart no less than the direction of the hand.—W.
2 Chronicles 29:31
The revival of religion in Church or state.
I. PREPARATORY STEPS. In order to secure such an awakening of religious life as took place in Judah under Hezekiah, three things are indispensable.
1. Confession of sin. "Our fathers have trespassed," etc. (2 Chronicles 29:6). As all religion begins with saying, "Father, I have sinned" (Luke 15:18), so the first symptoms of reviving life in souls that have been apathetic is acknowledgment of their trespass (Psalms 51:3).
2. Cleansing of the sanctuary. "We have cleansed all the house of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 29:18). As the visible Church is a temple of the Lord (Psalms 132:14; Matthew 18:20; Ephesians 2:21, Ephesians 2:22; 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 3:6), this may symbolize the removing from its doctrine, worship, and practice of everything that is contrary to the mind and will of God as revealed in the Scriptures; and again, as the individual heart is a habitation of the living God (1 Corinthians 6:19), it may suggest the duty,, of purging. it from every known sin' (2 Corinthians 7:1).
3. Renewal of the covenant. Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel" (2 Chronicles 29:10); and the same must be done by all, whether communities or individuals, who would experience a quickening in their religious life. Unnecessary now, as in the days of Hezekiah, to offer slain victims and make propitiation for sin, that having been done once for all by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:11-14), it is still indispensable to appropriate the reconciliation and make the self-surrender to which Hezekiah's offerings pointed.
II. CERTAIN RESULTS. A revived condition of the religious life of either Church or individual will discover itself in three things, as it did with Hezekiah and his people.
1. Self-consecration. Already expressed in the act of covenant-making, this will reveal itself in the life that proceeds therefrom. Christian individuals in the Church, recognizing themselves to be not their own, but bought with a price, will lay themselves upon the altar as a willing sacrifice (Romans 12:1).
2. Gladness. "And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang," etc. (2 Chronicles 29:28). Joy an invariable accompaniment of a revived condition of religion in the soul or in the Church (Psalms 149:2, Psalms 149:5; Isaiah 65:14, Isaiah 65:18; Habakkuk 3:18; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 1:4).
3. Liberality. "And the congregation brought in sacrifices," etc. (2 Chronicles 29:31). Generosity in giving almost necessarily follows on a heightened experience of Divine grace. "Freely ye have received, freely give."—W.
2 Chronicles
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