Hezekiah Is King of Judah
2 Chronicles 29, verse 1. Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 2. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to everything his father David had done.
Cleansing the Temple
2 Chronicles 29, verse 3. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 4. Then he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them in the East Square, 2 Chronicles 29, verse 5. and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and cast out the uncleanness from the holy place; 2 Chronicles 29, verse 6. for our fathers trespassed and did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God. They forsook Him, they turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord and turned their backs on Him. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 7. They also shut up the doors of the temple, put out the lamps, and did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 8. Therefore the Lord turned His anger against Judah and Jerusalem, and as you see with your eyes, He gave them up to terror, to desolation, and to jeering. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 9. For indeed, because of this our fathers fell by the sword, and our wives, our sons, and our daughters are in captivity. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 10. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, to turn the fierce wrath of His anger from us. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 11. Now do not be negligent, for the Lord chose you to stand before Him and serve Him, to minister to Him and burn incense.” 2 Chronicles 29, verse 12. Then these Levites arose: the sons of Kohath, Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah; 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; 2 Chronicles 29, verse 13. of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 2 Chronicles 29, verse 14. of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 15. And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 16. Then the priests went into the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness they found in the temple of the Lord and in the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 17. They began to sanctify it on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. They sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 18. And they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed everything in the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 19. Moreover, we have prepared and sanctified all the articles King Ahaz polluted in his reign and his apostasy. We have prepared and sanctified them all, and there they are before the altar of the Lord.”
Worship Is Restored
2 Chronicles 29, verse 20. Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 21. He offered seven calves, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 22. So they sacrificed the calves, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they sacrificed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 23. Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 24. And the priests sacrificed them. They presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 25. And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David and Gad the king's seer and Nathan the prophet; for this was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 26. The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 27. Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, they started to sing to the Lord with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 28. So all the assembly worshiped. The singers sang and the trumpeters sounded until the burnt offering was finished. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 29. And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 30. And King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the prophet. So they sang praises with gladness, and bowed their heads and worshiped. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 31. Then Hezekiah spoke up and said, “Now that you have cleansed your hands for the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 32. And the number of the burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy calves, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 33. And there were six hundred consecrated calves and three thousand sheep. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 34. But there were not enough priests, so they could not skin all the burnt offerings. Therefore their brethren the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 35. There were many burnt offerings, with the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. 2 Chronicles 29, verse 36. Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.