Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Chronicles 29:16

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Chronicles 29:16. And the priests went — The priests and Levites cleansed first the courts both of the priests and of the people. On this labour they spent eight days. Then they cleansed the interior of the temple; but as the Levites had no right to enter the temple, the priests carried all the dirt and rubbish to the porch, whence they were collected by the Levites, carried away, and cast into the brook Kidron; in this work eight days more were occupied, and thus the temple was purified in sixteen days.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Hezekiah’s religious reforms (29:1-31:21)

Immediately he became king, Hezekiah began a thorough reformation of Judah’s religion. This was prompted partly by the preaching of the prophet Micah (Jeremiah 26:17-19; see notes on 2 Kings 18:1-12).

The Chronicler gives a detailed account of Hezekiah’s work, particularly that part of it which affected the temple, the priests and the Levites. Hezekiah called a meeting of priests and Levites and told them plainly that neglect of the temple was the reason for God’s anger with Judah. Their first job was to clean the rubbish out of the temple and prepare it for the recommencement of religious services (29:1-11). The temple was so filthy that a large group of Levites took more than two weeks to clean and prepare the building for use again (12-19).
Hezekiah then held a service in which sacrifices were offered for the cleansing and rededication of the king, the nation and the temple (20-24). All this was accompanied by the music and singing of the Levites as arranged by David (25-30).
When the service was finished, the people were invited to make personal offerings. They responded so promptly and generously that the priests were spiritually unprepared for, and physically unable to cope with, the renewed activity in the temple. The Levites, who showed more enthusiasm, had to be called in to help (31-36).

After the rededication of the temple, Hezekiah held a great Passover Feast. His reforms began too late for the Passover to be held in the first month of the year (the time specified in the law), so it was postponed one month (cf. Numbers 9:10-11). Hezekiah invited the scattered northerners who had escaped captivity, but most were not interested (30:1-12).

Those who gathered for the feast cleansed Jerusalem of all traces of false religion. Their zeal for religious purity stirred up the priests and Levites to hurry and ceremonially cleanse themselves in time for the feast. Certain visitors to Jerusalem arrived too late for the seven day purification ritual before the Passover, and joined in the feast while still unclean. On Hezekiah’s request, God forgave them (13-22). The occasion was so joyous that the feast was extended one week (23-27).

Once the city of Jerusalem and its temple had been cleansed, the people went out and cleansed the country areas (31:1). Having removed false religion, Hezekiah made plans for the proper functioning of the nation’s true religion. First he divided the priests and Levites into groups according to David’s plan (see 1 Chronicles 23:1-32). Then he arranged for their proper support through the orderly payment of tithes and offerings by all the people (2-7).

People responded so generously that Hezekiah prepared special storage places for all the sheep, cattle and produce they offered. He also appointed officials to administer the stores, and made a register of all those eligible for support, to ensure there was no dishonesty in the administration (8-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

WITHIN SIXTEEN DAYS THE LEVITES CLEANSE THE TEMPLE

"Then the Levites arose, Mahath, the son of Amasai, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah. And the priests went in unto the inner part of the house of Jehovah, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron. Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Jehovah; and they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within the palace, and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of showbread, with all the vessels thereof. Moreover all the vessels which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah."

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The “inner part” means here, not the holy of holies in particular, but the interior generally. The priests alone might enter the temple building. The Levites might penetrate no further than the inner court.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 29

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years ( 2 Chronicles 29:1 )

Now it is interesting to me that as wicked as was Ahaz, Hezekiah was a very good, spiritual king. Perhaps he saw the folly of his father. Perhaps he saw what his father's reign had done for the nation. But it is interesting how that such an ungodly man as Ahaz could have a son as Hezekiah who was so spiritual. And Hezekiah began to reign, but Hezekiah was strongly influenced by Isaiah the prophet. And no doubt the relationship of Hezekiah and Isaiah is the reason why Hezekiah was such a good king.

Now Hezekiah, when he began to reign, immediately sought to undo the blasphemous work of his father, in the tearing down of all of these idols and images that his father had established and set up.

He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. In the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and he repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and he gathered them together into the east street, and he said, Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. And they have shut up the doors of the porch, they put out the lamps, and they have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to the hissing, as you see with your eyes. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. And it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent [talking to the priests]: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense ( 2 Chronicles 29:2-11 ).

So here the first thing that Hezekiah does is re-establish the worship of Jehovah. The temple had been shut. It would have been filled with just a lot of junk, filthiness, pollution, and the doors had been shut. They had not been offering the daily sacrifices. They had not been keeping the light of the menorah lit. They had just forsaken the worship of Jehovah God completely during the reign of Ahaz. And it is Hezekiah's purpose to re-establish now. Calling the priests together and saying, "Okay now, you fellows, sanctify yourselves and let's get back. I'm determined to make a covenant to worship God." And so Hezekiah was the instrument to forestall the judgment of God in the fact that he was turning the people back to the worship of God once again.

And so they gathered their brothers, they sanctified themselves, according to the commandment of Hezekiah, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, they brought out all the uncleanness that was found there in the temple of the LORD and they carried it down to the brook Kidron ( 2 Chronicles 29:15-16 ).

And dumped it down there in the bottom of the valley.

And they began the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of the LORD: and they sanctified the house of the Lord ( 2 Chronicles 29:17 ).

So they started going through sanctifying everything. Now there was a ritual by which things had to be sanctified and the purification rites. There was a whole ritual to it, and it took several days. And they would go one area at a time sanctifying the holy of holies again, then sanctifying the holy place, sanctifying the table of showbread, sanctifying the oil of incense, sanctifying the candles, and it took eight days, actually, to formulate the oil that was burned in the candles. Getting so you'd have the sanctified oil to burn in the sanctified lamp and the whole thing. And so they started this process. The first day of the first month they began this process of sanctification. And it was coming, of course, now you're in the first month; you've got the great Feast of the Passover coming up. But they didn't have time to get everything all set for the Feast of the Passover in the first month.

Now there was a provision in the law of Moses that if a person could not observe the Feast of the Passover in the fourteenth day of the first month that he could do it on the fourteenth day of the second month. And so they determined that they would have the Feast of the Passover once more. It's something that was back in their history. They hadn't done it for a long time, and they determined that they were going to start the feast again, that they would observe the Feast of the Passover unto the Lord.

And so they sent messages throughout all the land inviting the people to come to the Feast of the Passover in the second month. And it is interesting that they even sent messages on up into the northern kingdom, into the areas of Samaria in the northern kingdom, inviting the people that they should come. And so there was this great celebration of the Feast of the Passover. They restored the worship of the temple and all. And then in chapter 30 we get the Passover. But in the restoration of the worship in the temple, verse 2 Chronicles 29:27 :

And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offerings upon the altar. And when the burnt offerings began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David the king of Israel ( 2 Chronicles 29:27 ).

David had invented a lot of musical instruments and ordered the singers and all. And as they started to burn the sacrifice, they began to sing and worship God once more. And so the beautiful sight, really, of the worship of God re-instituted there in the temple.

All of the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all of this continued until the burnt offering was finished ( 2 Chronicles 29:28 ).

Now the burnt offering was the offering of consecration. They offered a sin offering because they had sinned against God. But then the burnt offering. You remember he said, "I have made a covenant to serve the Lord." That's what the burnt offering was all about. The burnt offering was the offering of consecration. It is the consecration of my life to serve God.

And so the Bible said, "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you'll present your bodies as a living sacrifice," not as sin sacrifice, but a burnt offering sacrifice, "holy and acceptable unto God" ( Romans 12:1 ). In other words, "Here, God, is my body. I sacrifice my body to you. That is, I am consecrating my body and my life to serve You." That's what the burnt offering sacrifice was all about, the offering of consecration.

And so Hezekiah the king, the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and Asaph the seer ( 2 Chronicles 29:30 ).

So they began to sing the songs with which you are familiar.

And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in the sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart, burnt offerings ( 2 Chronicles 29:30-31 ).

Now sometimes there is a mistaken notion that we can legislate righteousness. It's impossible. The worship of God must always arise out of a free heart. You cannot force people to worship God. That always has to come from the free heart. It should never come out of coercion. It should never come out of pressure. Whatever you give, yourself, that which you have, should always be done freely and willingly from your heart. So the people, as many as were of a free heart came and worshipped.

And Hezekiah rejoiced [verse 2 Chronicles 29:36 ], and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done in a hurry ( 2 Chronicles 29:36 ).

Actually, this was a hurried up deal.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The cleansing and rededication of the temple ch. 29

Ahaz had closed the temple and had set up other centers of worship throughout the land (2 Chronicles 28:24-25). Hezekiah reopened the temple and cleansed it in preparation for reusing it (2 Chronicles 29:3; 2 Chronicles 29:5). Whereas the writer of Kings described Hezekiah’s religious reforms in only one verse (2 Kings 18:4), the Chronicler devoted three chapters to them (chs. 29-31). Hezekiah wanted to rededicate the nation to God (2 Chronicles 29:10).

"When there is a financial crisis, the first thing we think about is money. When there is a communications crisis, our prime concern is to learn how to talk the language of the modern generation. When there is a church attendance crisis, we make it our chief aim to get numbers up. If Hezekiah had responded to a military threat in a military way, the Assyrians would have understood that. Army would have been matched against army, with dire consequences for Judah. But instead he and his people first look up to God." [Note: Wilcock, p. 247.]

Hezekiah carried out his clean-up job hurriedly to prepare for the celebration of the Passover (2 Chronicles 29:17; 2 Chronicles 29:26; 2 Chronicles 30:1). The Kidron Valley was a convenient place to dump unclean things since it lay just east of the temple area. Hezekiah first offered a sin offering to atone for the guilt of Judah (2 Chronicles 29:21). Then he sacrificed burnt offerings of worship (2 Chronicles 29:27) and led the people in worship (2 Chronicles 29:29), joyful singing (2 Chronicles 29:30), and willing sacrificial giving (2 Chronicles 29:31). All the people of Judah who reverenced Yahweh rejoiced over the king’s re-establishment of the temple services (2 Chronicles 29:35-36).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it,.... Into the holy place, where the candlesticks and shewbread tables stood, into which none but priests might enter, but not into the most holy place, the innermost of all; for none but the high priest might go into that, and only on the day of atonement; though in case of necessity, as for repairs, others might go into it, and so perhaps now to cleanse it, if any pollution was there:

and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord; into the court of the priests, where the Levites might be, and were:

and the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron; which ran through the valley of the son of Hinnom, into which all unclean things, and the filth of the temple and sacrifices, were usually carried and cast, see 2 Kings 18:12.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:   13 And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:   14 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.   15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.   16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.   17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.   18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the showbread table, with all the vessels thereof.   19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.

      We have here busy work, good work, and needful work, the cleansing of the house of the Lord.

      I. The persons employed in this work were the priests and Levites, who should have kept the temple clean, but, not having done that, were concerned to make it clean. Several of the Levites are here named, two of each of the three principal houses, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari (2 Chronicles 29:12; 2 Chronicles 29:12), and two of each of the three families of singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, 2 Chronicles 29:13; 2 Chronicles 29:14. We cannot think these are named merely because they were chief in place (for then surely the high priest, or some of the heads of the courses of the priests, would have been mentioned), but because they were more zealous and active than the rest. When God has work to do he will raise up leading men to preside in it. And it is not always that the first in place and rank are most fit for service or most forward to it. These Levites not only bestirred themselves, but gathered their brethren, and quickened them to do according to the commandment of the king by the word of the Lord. Observe, They did according to the king's command, but with an eye to God's word. The king commanded them what was already their duty by the word of God, and, in doing it, they regarded God's word as a rule to them and the king's commandment as a spur to them.

      II. The work was cleansing the house of God, 1. From the common dirt it had contracted while it was shut up-dust, and cobwebs, and the rust of the vessels. 2. From the idols and idolatrous altars that were set up in it, which, though kept ever so neat, were a greater pollution to it than if it had been made the common sewer of the city. The priests were none of them mentioned as leading men in this work, yet none but they durst go into the inner part of the house, no, not to cleanse it, which they did, and perhaps the high priest into the holy of holies, to cleanse that. And, though the Levites had the honour to be the leaders in the work, they did not disdain to be servitors to the priests according to their office; for what filth the priests brought into the court the Levites carried to the brook Kidron. Let not men's usefulness, be it ever so eminent, make them forget their place.

      III. The expedition with which they did this work was very remarkable. They began on the first day of the first month, a happy beginning of the new-year, and one that promised a good year. Thus should every year begin with the reformation of what is amiss, and the purging away, by true repentance, of all the defilements contracted the foregoing year. In eight days they cleared and cleansed the temple, and in eight days more the courts of the temple, 2 Chronicles 29:17; 2 Chronicles 29:17. Let those that do good work learn to rid work and get it done. Let what is amiss be amended quickly.

      IV. The report they made of it to Hezekiah was very agreeable, 2 Chronicles 29:18; 2 Chronicles 29:19. They gave him an account of what they had done, because it was he that set them on work, boasted not of their own care and pains, nor did they come to him to be paid, but to let him know that all things that had been profaned were now sanctified according to law, and were ready to be used again whenever he pleased. They knew the good king had set his heart upon God's altar, and longed to be attending that, and therefore they insisted most upon the readiness they had put that into--that the vessels for the altar were scoured and brightened. Those vessels which Ahaz, in his transgression, had cast away as vessels in which there was no pleasure, they gathered together, sanctified them, and laid them in their place before the altar. Though the vessels of the sanctuary may be profaned for a while, God will find a time and a way to sanctify them. Neither his ordinances nor his people shall be suffered to fail for ever.