The Book of 2 Chronicles

Word Study

"opened," Hebrew pathach (פָּתַח), to open, throw open. Note the timing: "in the first year of his reign, in the first month." Hezekiah did not wait, did not consolidate power first, did not attend to politics before piety. His very first official act was to reopen the house of God. His father Ahaz had "shut up the doors of the house of the LORD" (chapter 28:24); Hezekiah "opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them." The reign of the son begins by reversing the last act of the father. Where Ahaz closed, Hezekiah opened.

"repaired," chazaq (חָזַק), to strengthen, make firm, mend. Where Ahaz stripped and broke the vessels, Hezekiah "repaired." The word chazaq for "repaired" is the same root as Hezekiah's own name (Chizqiyahu, "the LORD strengthens"); the strengthening king strengthens the doors. This is the true order of revival: first the house of God, first the worship, first the LORD. Everything else in the chapter, the cleansing, the sacrifices, the song, the joy, flows from this first opened door.

Explanation

Hezekiah wasted no time. In the very first month of the very first year of his reign, before anything else, he reopened and repaired the doors of the temple that his wicked father Ahaz had shut. He put God first, immediately and deliberately. This single act signals the whole character of his reign: the restoration of true worship. Revival began with reopening the way to God.

Gospel Focus

Hezekiah "opened the doors of the house of the LORD" that his father had shut, and in this he is a picture of Christ, who opens what sin has closed. Ahaz shut the door; Hezekiah opened it; but only the Lord Jesus opens it forever, "he that openeth, and no man shutteth" (Revelation 3:7). Where sin bars the way to God, Christ throws it open: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9). And note Hezekiah's priority, God first, God immediately, "in the first month." "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). True revival, personal or corporate, always begins here: not with programs or politics but with reopening the way to God, putting Him first, mending what has been broken in our worship. If your heart's door to God has been shut by neglect or sin, do as Hezekiah did, without delay, in the first month: open it and repair it, for the God who strengthens stands ready to come in.

Word Study

"be not now negligent," Hebrew al-tishshalu (אַל־תִּשָּׁלוּ) from shalah, be not slack, be not careless. Having called the Levites to sanctify themselves and cleanse the house, Hezekiah motivates them with the dignity of their calling. "My sons, be not now negligent (shalah)", do not be slack or careless in this holy work, and the reason follows: "for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense." The remedy for negligence is a fresh sight of the greatness of one's calling. These men had been idle under Ahaz; now Hezekiah reminds them who chose them and for what.

"to stand before him," la-amod le-phanav (לַעֲמֹד לְפָנָיו), to attend Him as a servant attends a king. Four verbs pile up the honor: chosen, to stand before Him, to serve, to minister. To "stand before" the LORD is the language of a courtier standing ready in the king's presence, a place of nearness, privilege, and readiness. Election is unto service: "the LORD hath chosen you", not merely to a status but "to stand before him... to serve him... to minister unto him." The chosen are the serving.

Explanation

Hezekiah calls the Levites "my sons" and urges them not to be slack or careless, because God Himself had chosen them for the high privilege of standing in His presence, serving Him, and ministering to Him. He motivates them not by threat but by reminding them of the dignity of their calling. When we grasp how great a privilege it is to be chosen by God for His service, negligence becomes unthinkable. The cure for spiritual laziness is a renewed sense of the honor of belonging to God.

Gospel Focus

"The LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him" speaks directly to every believer, for under the new covenant all God's people are made priests. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). We too are "chosen" and called "to stand before him... to serve him." And like the Levites, we are prone to grow "negligent", slack, careless, cold. Hezekiah's remedy is ours: remember who chose you and for what. You have been chosen, not for idleness but for nearness and service; you have been given access to "stand before him" that Ahaz's generation had lost. "Let us not be weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9). The honor of the calling is the cure for coldness in it. If you have grown slack in prayer, in worship, in service, hear Hezekiah: "My sons, be not now negligent", the God of heaven has chosen you to stand in His presence. Rise, sanctify yourself, and serve.

Word Study

"made reconciliation," Hebrew va-yechatteu (וַיְחַטְּאוּ) from chata in the intensive, to purge from sin, to un-sin. Cleansing the building was not enough; the people themselves needed atonement. So "the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar." The sin offering does not merely symbolize; by the shed and sprinkled blood it "made reconciliation."

"atonement," kaphar (כָּפַר), to cover, to make propitiation. The blood was sprinkled "to make an atonement (kaphar) for all Israel." The words for reconciliation and atonement are the great sacrificial terms of the law. And note the scope: not for Judah only but "for all Israel", the king's heart reached even to the estranged northern tribes. The whole apparatus of substitution is here: the innocent victim killed, the blood sprinkled on the altar, and by that blood the guilty reconciled to God. This is the heart of Old Testament worship, restored under Hezekiah after Ahaz had shut it down: "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). The building could be cleaned by hands, but the people could be cleansed only by blood.

Explanation

The restoration was not complete until atonement was made for the people. The priests offered the sin offering, sprinkling the blood on the altar to make reconciliation and atonement "for all Israel", Hezekiah's heart reaching even beyond Judah to the northern tribes. It was not enough to clean the temple building; the sin of the people had to be covered by the blood of a substitute. This is the beating heart of the whole sacrificial system: atonement through shed blood.

Gospel Focus

"They made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel", every word points forward to the cross. The animal sacrifices could never truly take away sin; "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). They were shadows of the one true sacrifice, Jesus Christ, in whom God Himself provided the atonement. On the cross, God manifest in flesh came "to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17); "for it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell... having made peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:19-20). What the priests did in shadow with the blood of goats, Christ accomplished in reality with His own blood: "we have now received the atonement" (Romans 5:11). And as Hezekiah's atonement reached "for all Israel," so Christ's reaches to all: "he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The altar of 2 Chronicles 29 is a road sign pointing to Calvary. Come to the one atoning sacrifice, and receive the reconciliation He has made.

Word Study

"the song of the LORD," Hebrew shir Yahweh (שִׁיר יְהוָה), the LORD's own song, sacred praise. The burnt offering, wholly consumed on the altar, ascended to God; and with it ascended "the song of the LORD... with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David." This restores "the instruments ordained by David", the whole Davidic pattern of temple music that Ahaz had silenced. Where the previous chapter left the lamps out and the house shut, here the trumpets sound and the singers sing. Redeemed worship is a singing worship; when atonement is made, the heart cannot keep silent.

"began... began also," the two beginnings are joined in one moment. The timing is exquisite: "when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also." Sacrifice and song rise together in the same instant. Worship is here reborn as both offering and praise, and the two are inseparable. Praise is grounded in sacrifice; the song of the LORD begins when the offering begins. The offering going up and the song going up are one act of worship.

Explanation

At the exact moment the burnt offering began to be offered, the singing and instrumental praise began too, according to the pattern David had established. Sacrifice and song were joined in a single act of worship. The restoration of the sacrifices immediately brought back the restoration of joyful praise. Where Ahaz had silenced the temple, Hezekiah filled it again with music. True worship offers both sacrifice to God and song from a grateful heart.

Gospel Focus

"When the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also", sacrifice and praise rise together, and this is the pattern of Gospel worship. Our praise rests on the finished offering of Christ. Because the true Burnt Offering has been offered once for all, "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1), and the song can begin. Christian worship is a singing worship precisely because atonement has been made: "singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19), "singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16). Our sacrifice now is "the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Hebrews 13:15). Where the blood of Christ is trusted, the song of the LORD begins; a heart that has received the atonement cannot stay silent. If your worship has fallen silent, return to the altar, look afresh at the one offering of Christ, and the song will begin again. The offering and the song rise together, then and now.

Word Study

"prepared," Hebrew hekhin from kun (כּוּן), to establish, make ready, dispose. The chapter ends in joy, and the joy is traced to its true source. "Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared (kun) the people." The whole revival, so quickly accomplished, was not merely the fruit of Hezekiah's leadership or the people's willingness; behind it stood God, who "had prepared the people." The same word used of Jotham preparing his ways (chapter 27:6) is here used of God preparing His people's hearts.

"suddenly," pithom (פִּתְאֹם), unexpectedly, all at once. And "the thing was done suddenly (pithom)", the transformation was swift, unexpected, all at once. After the long darkness of Ahaz, revival came quickly when God prepared the way. Hezekiah opened the doors and called the Levites, but God prepared the hearts, and so the work was done "suddenly" and with joy. The human agents acted, but the credit goes upward: God "had prepared the people." Every genuine revival is, at bottom, a work God prepares.

Explanation

The chapter closes with rejoicing. Hezekiah and all the people were glad, and the reason given is that "God had prepared the people", the revival had come swiftly and unexpectedly because God Himself had made the people's hearts ready. Hezekiah had done his part in opening the temple and calling the Levites, but the deeper cause of the sudden, joyful turnaround was God's own preparing work. The credit for revival belongs to God, who alone can ready a people's hearts to respond.

Gospel Focus

"God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly" is a beautiful summary of how revival works. Human leaders can open doors, call for repentance, and set worship in order, but only God can prepare the heart. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). When God prepares a people, the change can come "suddenly", swiftly, unexpectedly, after long seasons of coldness. This is our hope in dark days: the same God who turned Judah around in a single month after the reign of Ahaz can prepare hearts again. So we labor, opening doors and calling people to the LORD, but we pray, knowing that the increase is God's: "so then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:7). And when the work comes, the joy and the glory go to Him. Do not despise the day of small beginnings or the long night of decline; the God who "prepared the people" can do a sudden and glad work still. Open the door, and trust Him to prepare the hearts.