2 Chronicles 29 — Read & Listen Online

Hezekiah Cleanses the Father's House

Chapter 29.

Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of our Father, according to all that David his father had done. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of our Father and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them in the eastern square, and said to them, "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of our Father, the God of your fathers, and carry the filth out of the Holy Place. For our fathers were unfaithful and did what was evil in the eyes of our Father; they abandoned him, turned their faces away from the dwelling of our Father, and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the Holy Place to our Father, the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of our Father came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. For our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with our Father, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for our Father has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, to be his ministers, and to burn incense.

Then the Levites arose: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. They gathered their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in to cleanse the house of our Father, as the king had commanded by the words of our Father. The priests went into the inner part of the house of our Father to cleanse it, and they brought out into the court all the uncleanness they found in the temple of our Father. The Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron. They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of our Father. For eight days they consecrated the house of our Father, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of our Father, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils. ^a All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded during his reign, when he was unfaithful, we have made ready and consecrated; they are now before the altar of our Father."

Worship Returns to the Father's House

Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the officials of the city, and went up to the house of our Father. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of our Father. So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. They slaughtered the rams and threw the blood against the altar, and they slaughtered the lambs and threw the blood against the altar. Then the goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. The priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the king had commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

He stationed the Levites in the house of our Father with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the command of David, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from our Father through his prophets. The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of our Father began as well, along with the trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped. King Hezekiah and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to our Father with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises joyfully, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Then Hezekiah said, "You have now consecrated yourselves to our Father. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of our Father." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings. The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to our Father. And the consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. But the priests were too few and could not skin all the burnt offerings, so their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished and until the priests had consecrated themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. Besides the abundant burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of our Father was restored. And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what our Father had done for the people, for it had all happened so suddenly.

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