Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Chronicles
29 -31. Chapter 29 Hezekiah became king when
he was 25 years old, and he reigned 29 years
in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah, the
daughter of Zechariah, and he did what was right
in the sight of the Lord, according to all that
his father David had done. In the first year
of his reign, in the first month, he opened the
doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.
Then he brought in the priests and the Levites
and gathered them in the east square and said
to them, Hear me, Levites, now sanctify yourselves,
sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers,
and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.
For our fathers have trespassed and done evil
in the eyes of the Lord our God. They have forsaken
him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling
place of the Lord, and turned their backs on
him. They have also shut up the doors of the
vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned
incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy
place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath
of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and
he has given them up to trouble, to desolation,
and to jeering, as you see with your eyes. For
indeed because of this our fathers have fallen
by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and
our wives are in captivity. Now 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, do not be negligent now, for the Lord
has chosen you to stand before him, to serve
him, and that you should minister to him and
burn incense. Then these Levites arose, Mahath
the son of a Messiah, and Joel the son of Azariah,
of the sons of the Quotites, of the sons of Merari,
Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of
Jehalel. Of the Gershonites, Joah the son of
Zema, and Eden the son of Joah. Of the sons of
Elizaphan, Shimri, and Jael. Of the sons of Asaph,
Zechariah, and Mataniah. Of the sons of Haman,
Jael, and Shimei. And of the sons of Jedusun,
Shemaiah, and Uziel. And they gathered their
brethren, sanctified themselves, and went according
to the commandment of the king, and the words
of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.
Then the priests went into the inner part of
the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought
out all the debris that they found in the temple
of the Lord to the court of the house of the
Lord, and the Levites took it out and carried
it to the brook Kidron. Now they began to sanctify
on the first day of the first month, and on the
eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule
of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of
the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth
day of the first month they finished. Then they
went in to King Hezekiah and said, We have cleansed
all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt
offerings, with all its articles, and the table
of the showbread with all its articles. Moreover,
all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign
had cast aside in his transgression. And they
brought seven bulls, 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. So they
killed the bulls, and the priests received the
blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise,
they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood
on the altar. They also killed the lambs and
sprinkled the blood on the altar. Then they brought
out the male goats for the sin offering before
the king and the assembly, and they laid their
hands on them. And the priests killed them, and
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.
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, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan
the prophet. For thus was the commandment of
the Lord by his prophets. The Levites stood with
the instruments of David, and the priests with
the trumpets. Then Hezekiah commanded them to
offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when
the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord
also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments
of David, king of Israel. So all the assembly
worshipped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters
sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering
was finished. And when they had finished offering,
the king and all who were present with him bowed
and worshipped. Moreover, King Hezekiah and the
leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise
to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph
the seer. So 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 into
the house of the Lord. So the assembly brought
in sacrifices and thanked offerings, and as many
as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.
And the number of the burnt offerings which the
assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred
rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for
a burnt offering to the Lord. The consecrated
things were six hundred bulls and three thousand
sheep. But the priests were too few, so that
they could not skin all the burnt offerings.
Therefore their brethren, the Levites, helped
them until the work was ended and until the other
priests had sanctified themselves. For the Levites
were more diligent in sanctifying themselves
than the priests. Also the burnt offerings were
in abundance, 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. Then Hezekiah and all
the people rejoiced that God had prepared the
people, since the events took place so suddenly.
And Hezekiah sent all Israel and Judah, and also
wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they
should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem
to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel.
For the king and his leaders and all the assembly
in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover
in the second month. For they could not keep
it at the regular time, because a sufficient
number of priests had not consecrated themselves,
nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem.
And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly.
So they resolved to make a proclamation throughout
all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they
should come to keep the Passover to the Lord
God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not
done it for a long time in a prescribed manner.
Then the runners went throughout all Israel and
Judah with the letters from the king and his
leaders, and spoke according to the command of
the king. Children of Israel, return to the Lord
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Then he will
return to the remnant of you who have escaped
from the hand of the kings of Assyria. And do
not be like your fathers and your brethren, who
trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers,
so that he gave them up to desolation, as you
see. Now do not be stiff -necked, as your fathers
were, but yield yourselves to the Lord, and enter
his sanctuary, which he has sanctified for ever.
And serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness
of his wrath may turn away from you. For if you
return to the Lord, your brethren and your children
will be treated with compassion by those who
lead them captive, so that they may come back
to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious
and merciful, and will not turn his face from
you if you return to him. So the runners passed
from city to city through the country of Ephraim
and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but they laughed
at them and mocked them. Nevertheless, some from
Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves
and came to Jerusalem. Also the hand of God was
on Judah to give them singleness of heart to
obey the command of the king and the leaders
at the word of the Lord. Now many people, a very
great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep
the feast of unleavened bread in the second month.
They arose and took away the altars that were
in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense
altars and cast them into the brook Kidron. Then
they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth
day of the second month. The priests and the
Levites were ashamed and sanctified themselves,
and brought the burnt offerings to the house
of the Lord. They stood in their place according
to their custom, according to the law of Moses,
the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood
received from the hand of the Levites, for there
were many in assembly who had not sanctified
themselves. Therefore the Levites had charge
of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone
who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord.
For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim,
Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed
themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary
to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for
them, saying, May the good Lord provide atonement
for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God,
the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not
cleansed according to the purification of the
sanctuary. And the Lord listened to Hezekiah
and healed the people. So the children of Israel
who were present at Jerusalem kept the feast
of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness.
And the Levites and the priests praised the Lord
day by day, singing to the Lord accompanied by
loud instruments. And Hezekiah gave encouragement
to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge
of the Lord, and they ate throughout the feast
seven days, offering peace offerings and making
confession to the Lord God of their fathers.
Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast
another seven days. and they kept it another
seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of
Judah gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and
seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to
the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand
sheep, and a great number of priests sanctified
themselves. The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced,
also the priests and Levites, all the assembly
that came from Israel, the sojourners who came
from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt
in Judah. so there was great joy in jerusalem
for since the time of solomon the son of david
king of israel there had been nothing like this
in jerusalem then the priests the levites arose
and blessed the people and their voice was heard
and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling
place to heaven chapter 31 now when all this
was finished all israel who were present went
out to the cities of judah and broke the sacred
pillars in pieces cut down the wooden images,
and threw down the high places and the altars
from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh,
until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then
all the children of Israel returned to their
own cities, every man to his possession. And
Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests
and the Levites according to their divisions.
Each man according to his service, the priests
and Levites, for burnt offerings and peace offerings,
to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the
gates of the camp of the Lord. The king also
appointed a portion of his possessions for the
burnt offerings, for the morning and evening
burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the
Sabbaths, and the new moons, and the set feasts,
as it is written in the law of the Lord. Moreover,
he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem
to contribute support for the priests and the
Levites, that they might devote themselves to
the law of the Lord. As soon as the commandment
was circulated, the children of Israel brought
in abundance the first fruits of grain and wine,
oil and honey, and of all the produce of the
field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe
of everything. And the children of Israel and
Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought
the tithe of oxen and sheep. Also the tithe of
holy things which were consecrated to the Lord
their God they laid in heaps. In the third month
they began laying them in heaps, and they finished
in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the
leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed
the Lord and his people Israel. Then Hezekiah
questioned the priests and the Levites concerning
the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest from
the house of Zadok answered him and said, Since
the people began to bring the offerings into
the house of the Lord, we have had enough to
eat and have plenty left. For the Lord has blessed
his people, and what is left is this great abundance.
Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms
in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them.
Then they faithfully brought in the offerings,
the tithe, and the dedicated things. Cononia
the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his
brother was the next. Asahel, Jerimoth, Jezebed,
Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers
under the hand of Cononia and Shimei his brother
at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah
the ruler of the house of God. Kor the son of
Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the east gate,
was over the freewill offerings to God to distribute
the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things.
And under him were Eden, Menyamin, Jeshua, Shimeiah,
Amaria and Shecania his faithful assistants in
the cities of the priests, to distribute allotments
to their brethren by divisions, to the great
as well as the small. Besides those males from
three years old and up who were written in the
genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered
the house of the Lord his daily portion for the
work of his service by his division. And to the
priests who were written in the genealogy according
to their father's house, and to the Levites from
twenty years old and up according to their work,
by their divisions, and to all who were written
in the genealogy, their little ones, and their
wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company
of them, for in their faithfulness they sanctified
themselves in holiness. Also for the sons of
Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of
the common lands of their cities, in every single
city, There were men who were designated by name
to distribute portions to all the males among
the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies
among the Levites. Thus Hezekiah did throughout
all Judah, and he did what was good and right
and true before the Lord his God. And in every
work that he began in the service of the house
of God, in the law and in the commandment to
seek his God, he did it with all his heart, so
he prospered. I hope you enjoyed today's reading
as much as I did and I look forward to seeing
you again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.