The Book of 2 Chronicles

Word Study

"brake... in pieces," Hebrew shibberu (שִׁבְּרוּ) from shavar, to shatter. Worship led straight to action. "When all this was finished", when the passover was over, the people did not simply go home warmed; they "went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces." Genuine encounter with the true God produces intolerance of idols. They shattered the pillars, cut down the Asherah-poles, and threw down the high places and altars, and note the reach: "out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh." The reform crossed the old border into the northern territory.

"utterly destroyed them all," le-khalleh (לְכַלֵּה), to make an end, finish completely. Note the thoroughness: "until they had utterly destroyed them all." They did not leave a remnant of idolatry standing. This is what real revival looks like on the ground: not merely a feeling in the temple but a purging of the false gods in every city. The heaps of offerings later in the chapter and the heaps of broken idols here belong together; the same fire that kindles true worship consumes false worship. Only after the idols were gone did they return "every man to his possession."

Explanation

The passover was not an isolated religious high; it changed how people lived. As soon as the feast ended, the worshippers fanned out across the land, even into the northern territories, and destroyed every idol, sacred pole, high place, and pagan altar they could find, "until they had utterly destroyed them all." Real worship of the true God cannot coexist with idols. The people's first act after meeting God was to tear down the false gods that had ruined them. Only then did they go home.

Gospel Focus

"They brake the images in pieces... until they had utterly destroyed them all" shows that true worship of God always purges the idols. When the Thessalonians turned to the living God, they "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9), the turning to God and the turning from idols are one movement. Repentance is not only embracing the true God but demolishing the false ones, and doing it thoroughly, "until they had utterly destroyed them all." Half-measures leave a root that grows back. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). The idols of the heart, whatever we love, trust, or serve in the place of God, must be broken, not merely admired less. When Christ truly comes into a life, He does not share the throne; He casts down "every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Ask what images still stand in the cities of your heart, and, in the strength of the God you have met, go out and break them in pieces, until they are utterly destroyed.

Word Study

"firstfruits," Hebrew reshith (רֵאשִׁית), the first and best. When Hezekiah commanded the people to give the priests' and Levites' portion (v4), the response was immediate and lavish: "as soon as the commandment came abroad," they "brought in abundance the firstfruits (reshith)." The word reshith, "firstfruits," means the first and best, given to God before oneself, an act of faith that trusts Him for the rest. Notice the speed too: "as soon as the commandment came abroad." There was no reluctance to overcome, no arm-twisting needed; the willingness was already there, kindled by the revival.

"abundantly," la-rov (לָרֹב), in great quantity, plentifully. Of the tithe as well it is written, "the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly (la-rov)," and the word "abundantly" is repeated to stress the overflow. This is the natural fruit of a revived heart: not grudging, minimal, calculated giving, but glad abundance. Hearts that have received grace give freely. The tithe was the appointed portion, but they went beyond mere duty into abundance. Generosity is one of the truest thermometers of the heart's condition before God, and here the reading is high.

Explanation

The moment Hezekiah's command to support the priests and Levites went out, the people responded with overflowing generosity, bringing the first and best of their crops, their new wine, oil, honey, and every kind of produce, along with abundant tithes. There was no reluctance; they gave freely and lavishly. A heart that has been revived by God's grace becomes an open-handed heart. Genuine worship overflows in generous giving to God's work and God's servants.

Gospel Focus

The people "brought in abundance the firstfruits... and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly", a beautiful picture of grace-born generosity. Giving God the "firstfruits," the first and best, is an act of faith and love: "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase" (Proverbs 3:9). Under the new covenant, the same open-handedness marks a heart touched by grace: "every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Macedonian churches, in deep poverty, gave "to their power... yea, and beyond their power" because they "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:3-5), the same order as here: revived hearts, then abundant gifts. And the deepest ground of our giving is the immeasurable gift of God: "for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor" (2 Corinthians 8:9). The measure of our generosity is a measure of how deeply we have grasped His. Where God has revived a heart, He opens a hand.

Word Study

"enough to eat, and... left plenty," Hebrew akhol ve-savoa ve-hother (אָכוֹל וְשָׂבוֹעַ וְהוֹתֵר), to eat and be satisfied and have a surplus. Hezekiah asks about the offerings, and the chief priest Azariah gives a striking testimony: "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty." The threefold Hebrew, "eat and be satisfied and have surplus," describes a generosity that not only met the need but overflowed it. And Azariah names the reason: "for the LORD hath blessed his people." When the people began to give, God began to bless, and the more they gave, the more there was. This is the paradox of God's economy: the giving people are the blessed people.

"great store," he-hamon ha-zeh (הֶהָמוֹן הַזֶּה), this great abundance. It was the sheer size of the heaps that prompted Hezekiah's question in the first place. The heaps did not empty the givers; they were the sign that "the LORD hath blessed his people." Malachi would later put the same principle as a promise: "prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). Here, in Hezekiah's day, there was not room enough, and they had to build chambers to store it (v11).

Explanation

When Hezekiah asked about the great heaps of offerings, the chief priest explained that ever since the people began giving, there had been more than enough, they ate their fill and still had a large surplus, because "the LORD hath blessed his people." The people's generosity and God's blessing went together: as they gave, He provided, until there was so much left over that new storerooms had to be built. God is no man's debtor; those who give to Him find themselves blessed with abundance.

Gospel Focus

"We have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people", this is the joyful arithmetic of God's kingdom, where giving leads to abundance, not lack. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth" (Proverbs 11:24); "give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38). This is not a promise that giving makes us materially rich, God is not a vending machine, but a principle that the God who owns all things will never let the generous heart be finally impoverished: "my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). The people gave the firstfruits in faith, and God gave back a "great store." He calls us to test Him in this very thing (Malachi 3:10), and the experience of Hezekiah's people is His answer: open your hand, and the LORD will bless His people. The way up in God's kingdom is the way of open-handed giving, for He gives back with a "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over."

Word Study

"with all his heart," Hebrew be-khol levavo (בְּכָל־לְבָבוֹ), with his whole heart, undividedly. The Chronicler sums up Hezekiah with a threefold description: he "wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God." Good (tov), right (yashar), and truth (emeth), his conduct was morally good, straight, and faithful, and all of it "before the LORD his God," done in God's sight and for His sake. Then the secret of it all: "in every work that he began... to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered." The phrase "with all his heart" echoes the great commandment, "thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5). Hezekiah was not half-hearted or divided like Amaziah (chapter 25:2); he sought God wholly.

"prospered," hitzliach (הִצְלִיחַ) from tsalach, to succeed, be effective, come to good. The result is stated flatly: "and prospered" (tsalach). This is the Chronicler's recurring theme at its clearest: wholehearted devotion to God is the root of true success. Note the order, exactly the reverse of the world's: he did not prosper and then seek God; he sought God with all his heart, and therefore prospered. Success followed devotion, as it always does in God's economy.

Explanation

The Chronicler sums up Hezekiah's reforms with the highest praise: everything he did was "good and right and truth before the LORD his God." And he gives the secret of it: in every single thing Hezekiah undertook, whether in worship, in the law, or in obeying God's commands, his aim was to seek God, and "he did it with all his heart, and prospered." His success was the direct fruit of his wholehearted devotion. He was not divided or half-hearted; he gave God his whole heart, and God prospered him.

Gospel Focus

"He did it with all his heart, and prospered" states the great principle of the whole book: wholehearted devotion to God is the path of true blessing. The Lord Jesus named the first and great commandment as loving God "with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37), for God is not honored by a divided heart. "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8); but "blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart" (Psalm 119:2). Whatever we do, we are called to do it "heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23). And notice the order once more, the reverse of the world's: Hezekiah did not seek prosperity and stumble into godliness; he sought God with all his heart, and prosperity followed. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God... and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). The way to a fruitful, God-blessed life is not to chase success but to seek God wholeheartedly, in worship, in His word, in obedience, and to leave the prospering to Him. Give God not a portion of your heart but the whole of it, as Hezekiah did.