Hezekiah's Temple Restoration and Religious Reforms
2 Chronicles 29:1-36
1Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.2He did what was upright in the eyes of the LORD, just as David his father had done.3In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and strengthened them.4He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the eastern street.5He said to them, "Hear me, Levites. Now consecrate yourselves and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and remove the impurity from the holy place."6For our fathers were unfaithful and did what was bad in the eyes of the LORD our God; they forsook him, turned their faces away from the tabernacle of the LORD, and turned their backs.7They also shut the doors of the Hall, quenched the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.8Therefore the wrath of the LORD came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of trembling, horror, desolation, and hissing, as you now see with your own eyes.9Behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his burning anger may turn away from us.11My sons, do not now be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and to serve him with offerings and incense.12Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites; from the sons of Merari: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.13From the sons of Elizaphan came Shimri and Jeiel and Jeiel; from the sons of Asaph came Zechariah and Mattaniah.14From the sons of Heman came Jehiel and Jehiel and Shimei; from the sons of Jeduthun came Shemaiah and Uzziel.15They assembled their brothers, consecrated themselves, and came according to the king's command in the word of the LORD in order to purify the house of the LORD.16The priests entered the inner part of the house of the LORD to purify it, and they carried out all the uncleanness they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD; the Levites then removed it to the Kidron Valley outside.17They began the consecration on the first day of the first month. On the eighth day of the month they reached the Hall of the LORD and consecrated the house of the LORD for eight days; they finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.18They came before King Hezekiah and reported, "We have purified the entire house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, the table of the rows with all its utensils."19We have also prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz had discarded during his reign because of his unfaithfulness, and they are now before the altar of the LORD.20King Hezekiah rose early, assembled the city officials, and went up to the house of the LORD.21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. He commanded the sons of Aaron the priests to offer them on the altar of the LORD.22They slaughtered the cattle, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.23They brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.24The priests slaughtered them and applied their blood to the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had declared that the burnt offering and the sin offering were for all Israel.25He stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD 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 had come from the LORD through his prophets.26The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests stood with trumpets.27Hezekiah ordered the burnt offering to be offered on the altar. As soon as the offering began, the song to the LORD and the trumpets began, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel.28The whole assembly bowed down while the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded the trumpets until the burnt offering was finished.29When the offering was completed, the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped.30King Hezekiah and the officials directed the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David and Asaph the seer. They praised until great joy arose, and then they bowed down and worshiped again.31Hezekiah said, "Now that you have dedicated yourselves to the LORD, draw near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and everyone whose heart was willing brought burnt offerings.32The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy cattle, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs, all as a burnt offering to the LORD.33The consecrated offerings consisted of six hundred cattle and three thousand sheep.34However, the priests were too few to skin all the burnt offerings, so their brothers the Levites assisted them until the work was finished and until the priests had consecrated themselves, because the Levites were more upright in heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.35There were also many burnt offerings with the fat of the peace offerings and drink offerings accompanying the burnt offerings, and thus the service of the house of the LORD was established.36Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had so suddenly provided for the people.