2Ch 29-32 | TNotes | STEP | 29:1 After a co-regency with his father, Ahaz, Hezekiah became king in his own right and reigned from 715 to 686 BC .

29:1 ^a After a co-regency with his father, Ahaz, Hezekiah became king in his own right and reigned from 715 to 686 BC.
Summary for 2Chr 29:3-4: 29:3-4 ^b Hezekiah’s first act as king was to repair the doors of the Temple (29:3 ^c). The verb used (yekhazzeqem, “he made them strong”) is a deliberate pun on the name of King Hezekiah (yekhizqiyyahu, “Yah makes strong”). This action provided a setting for the king’s speech to the priests and Levites (29:5-11 ^d).
Summary for 2Chr 29:5-11: 29:5-11 ^e Hezekiah’s speech used vocabulary typical of exile to describe the failure of the nation. As in the days of the separation under Rehoboam (12:1 ^f; see 13:10 ^g), the people had been unfaithful when they abandoned the Lord.
Summary for 2Chr 29:12-36: 29:12-36 ^h To begin the process of sanctifying the Temple, these Levites began with their own sanctification. First, they all purified themselves, probably by bringing offerings (cp. 30:15 ⁱ); then they began to cleanse the Temple. Two separate acts were required to restore the Temple: purification (the removal of pollution, 29:15-17 ^j) and sanctification (the rededication of the Temple for holy worship, 29:20-36 ^k). 29:12 ^l Kohath ... Merari ... Gershon were the three sons of Levi; their descendants had become the three main clans of the tribe of Levites (see Exod 6:16 ^m).
29:21 ⁿ The bulls, ... rams, and lambs were for the burnt offering, and the male goats were for the sin offering (see Lev 1 ^o; 4:1–5:13 ^p).
Summary for 2Chr 29:31-36: 29:31-36 ^q The purification and rededication of the Temple was followed by individual offerings and sacrifices by the people.

• The thanksgiving offerings were also called praise offerings, peace offerings, or offerings of well-being (see Lev 3 ^r).
29:34 ^s The Chronicler shows surprise and delight at the people’s spontaneity and at the great number of devoted praise offerings consumed as part of the thanksgiving festivities. These things indicated that the Lord himself had prepared the people’s hearts for the event, far beyond what the priests and Levites had anticipated.

‏ 2 Chronicles 30

Summary for 2Chr 30:1-27: 30:1-27 ^t This account of Hezekiah’s celebration of Passover reflects the Chronicler’s concern with the unity of Israel, the spiritual preparedness of the people, and the success of following the formula for restoration given by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (7:14 ^u).
Summary for 2Chr 30:2-3: 30:2-3 ^v a month later than usual: The law made provision for the delayed observance of the Passover if an individual inadvertently was ceremonially unclean or was away on a long journey (Num 9:9-11 ^w); Hezekiah’s Passover followed the spirit if not the letter of those provisions. The delayed Passover provided opportunity for national unity and spiritual renewal.
30:5 ^x Hezekiah dispatched couriers from Beersheba ... to Dan, the traditional designation for the entire nation, including even the now-desolate territories of Israel’s northern tribes.
Summary for 2Chr 30:9-11: 30:9-11 ^y The northern kingdom had been conquered by the Assyrians (2 Kgs 17:5-28 ^z), and many of its people were taken into exile in Assyria. People from other conquered lands now lived there. Most of these foreigners, as well as those Israelites left by the Assyrians, regarded the conquest of Israel as proof that the Lord—the God of Israel—was impotent. They laughed at the thought of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to honor him.
30:11 ^aa Some people ... humbled themselves, fulfilling the first criterion in Solomon’s formula (7:14 ^ab).
30:14 ^ac Several challenges faced Hezekiah before Passover could be observed. Although the Temple had been purified, the city was not pure. The first task of the assembled multitude was to remove all pagan altars, which they disposed of in the Kidron Valley, where they could be burned.
30:15 ^ad The priests were inadequately prepared for the great number of people who came. The problem might have involved the priests who came from outside the city and had not been a part of the earlier purification. However, the response of the people outstripped that of the professional clerics, to their great shame.
Summary for 2Chr 30:17-19: 30:17-19 ^ae A large number of pilgrims who traveled great distances from foreign lands did not have an opportunity to receive the proper purification ceremonies and were unfit to participate in the ceremony. Hezekiah allowed the pilgrims to eat the Passover without participating in the sacrificial ritual and in an impure state, and he prayed that God would accept their worship. Hezekiah was following the formula for restoration (see 7:14 ^af).
30:20 ^ag God’s response to Hezekiah’s prayer showed that he is more concerned with the attitude of the heart than with strict attention to ritual details.

• healed the people: Cp. 7:14 ^ah.
30:25 ^ai In this joyful celebration, no one was regarded as a foreigner, and those who had been estranged were reunited.
30:26 ^aj No celebration like this had occurred since the days of Solomon. Hezekiah put into place the conditions for covenant faithfulness equal to those during the time of David and Solomon.

‏ 2 Chronicles 31

31:1 ^ak Following the purification and rededication of the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the people, Hezekiah initiated the third stage of his reform, purifying the entire land of pagan objects of worship, not only in Judah but also in the territories of the north.
Summary for 2Chr 31:3-10: 31:3-10 ^al Provisions for the Temple came from both the king and his subjects. Israel united in its support of the Temple, and the response was far greater than anticipated or required.
31:6 ^am The tithes of the animals that piled ... up in great heaps might refer to the proceeds from the sale of animals rather than the animals themselves. The law permitted the people to exchange the yield of the field for money (Deut 14:24-26 ^an) and to consume the meat at their homes (Deut 12:15 ^ao).
31:10 ^ap The people’s great generosity is reminiscent of when the Tabernacle was first constructed (Exod 36:3-5 ^aq).
Summary for 2Chr 31:14-19: 31:14-19 ^ar A great number of Levites, most from provincial towns, were eligible for service. Small groups of them came to Jerusalem on a rotation system for short terms of office (see 1 Chr 24:1-19 ^as). All Levites were entitled to portions of the offerings given at the Temple.

‏ 2 Chronicles 32

Summary for 2Chr 32:1-23: 32:1-23 ^at The Chronicler summarizes in twenty-three verses the lengthy account of the siege against Jerusalem (cp. 2 Kgs 18:17–19:37 ^au; Isa 36–38 ^av). God’s response to the attack of King Sennacherib of Assyria was a blessing that resulted from Judah’s and Hezekiah’s faithfulness in seeking the Lord.
Summary for 2Chr 32:3-5: 32:3-5 ^aw Sennacherib’s attack did not come as a surprise; Hezekiah provoked it by breaking a treaty (2 Kgs 18:7 ^ax, 20 ^ay). Because water was critical to both attacker and defender in siege warfare, Hezekiah made sure that Sennacherib’s army would not have access to the city’s water supply. In one of the most famous engineering feats of ancient times, Hezekiah’s tunnel connected the fresh waters of the Gihon Spring to the pool of Siloam, making water accessible from within the city walls. This famous tunnel is almost one-third of a mile long (approximately 580 yards [530 meters]) and about six feet [2 meters] high. The famous Hezekiah inscription, discovered in the tunnel in 1880, describes how the excavators met to join the two ends. Although much of the tunnel consisted of natural underground aqueducts, it was a tremendous strategy for protecting the citizens of the city.
Summary for 2Chr 32:10-19: 32:10-19 ^az The Assyrian king’s threats clarified the critical issues for the people of Jerusalem. The real question was whether or not to trust in God. The enemy king suggested that Hezekiah could not be trusted (32:11-12 ^ba) because he had offended the Lord by tearing down God’s shrines and altars. However, just the opposite was true. This reform was Hezekiah’s greatest act of faithfulness to the Lord. The question came down to whether God could be trusted against the power of Assyria (32:11-15 ^bb).
32:21 ^bc The fate of Sennacherib is reported similarly to the account in Kings (see 2 Kgs 19:35-37 ^bd).
Summary for 2Chr 32:22-23: 32:22-23 ^be The Chronicler’s conclusion provides a fitting end to the story: The disaster for Assyria resulted in domestic peace for Judah, and both the Lord and Hezekiah received honor from other nations.
32:26 ^bf The humble repentance of both Hezekiah and the people pleased God, so the Lord’s anger did not fall on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.
Summary for 2Chr 32:27-30: 32:27-30 ^bg Hezekiah’s wealth marked him as a king like Solomon.
32:31 ^bh The details of the visit by the Babylonian envoys is recorded more fully in 2 Kgs 20:12-20 ^bi. The Chronicler provides a commentary on God’s purposes in that visit.