2 Chronicles 31:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we have an account of what happened after the Passover. What had been lacking in the careful preparation before it was made up by something better, a true use of it afterward. When the religious duties of a Lord’s Day or communion service are over, we must not think the work is done. No, that is when the hardest part begins, because we must show the effect of the ordinance in a holy life.

That is what happened here. When the Passover was finished, there was still more to do. They took up the work with energy and destroyed all the signs of idolatry, the false worship of images and sacred groves (2 Chronicles 31:1). The king, Hezekiah, had done all he could in this work before (2 Kings 18:4), but the people found hidden traces of false religion that escaped the king’s officers, so they went out to see what else they could do (2 Chronicles 31:1).

This happened right after the Passover. The comfort of fellowship with God should stir up holy anger against sin, especially against anything that offends God. If our hearts have burned within us during worship, that fire should burn away the waste of corruption. Then we can say, “What more do I have to do with idols?”

Their zeal in destroying the images, groves, high places, and altars showed itself in several ways. First, they did this not only in the cities of Judah and Benjamin, but also in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh. Some think these were cities that had come under the protection and rule of the kings of Judah. Others think that, since Hoshea, king of Israel, did not stop them, their zeal carried them into many parts of his kingdom as well. At the very least, those who came from Ephraim and Manasseh to keep the Passover, as many did (2 Chronicles 30:18), destroyed their own idols and groves, and did the same for others they could influence or get permission to help.

We should not only reform ourselves, but do all we can to help reform others too. Second, they destroyed everything. They did not spare any idol out of affection, respect, or habit. It did not matter how old, costly, beautiful, or well supported the idols were, they all had to be torn down. Those who truly set themselves against sin will set themselves against all sin.

Third, they did not go back to their homes, though they had been away for a long time, until this was done. They could not be at ease, or feel safe in their cities, while the images and groves, those betrayers and destroyers of their country, were still standing. Perhaps Isaiah pointed to this when, a little before, he spoke of a day when people would throw away the very idols they had made themselves. What a striking change that would be (Isaiah 2:20; Isaiah 31:6, 7).

Hezekiah also restored the divisions of the priests and Levites that David had appointed, and that had lately fallen out of use (2 Chronicles 31:2). The temple service was put back into its proper order, running once again in the old channel. Each person was made to know his task, his place, his time, and what was expected of him. Good order helps a good work move forward.

The priests were assigned their turns for burnt offerings and peace offerings. The Levites were assigned their turns too, some to assist the priests, others to give thanks and praise, as recorded earlier (1 Chronicles 23:4-5). All this was done in the gates or courts of the Lord’s tent. The temple is called a tent here because the privileges of the temple were things that could move, and this temple itself was soon to be removed.

Hezekiah also set aside part of his royal income to support the altar. The people were still responsible for the daily offerings, and for those on the Sabbaths, new moons, and feasts. But rather than let them be burdened by the cost, he gave from his own estate, or from the royal treasury, for all these offerings (2 Chronicles 31:3). It was a generous act of devotion. He cared both for God’s honor and for his people’s relief, as a faithful servant to God and a tender father to his people.

Princes and great men should count it well spent when they use their wealth to support and encourage religion in their land. He also issued an order first to the people of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 31:4), because they lived nearest the temple and both benefited from it and were able to set an example for others. Later this was extended to, or at least accepted by, the cities of Judah, so that they would carefully bring in their dues according to the law for the priests and Levites.

This duty had long been neglected, and that neglect had helped the work of God fall into disorder, for a poor support often leads to a poor ministry. But Hezekiah, having been liberal himself, could with good reason call his subjects to be fair toward the temple service. Notice also the goal he had in restoring the priests’ and Levites’ portion, he wanted to encourage them in the law of the Lord, in studying it and doing their duty according to it.

It is right that ministers should not only be maintained, but encouraged. They should not only be kept at their work, but also have enough to live comfortably, so they can do it with joy. At the same time, they are not to be supported in idleness, pride, or luxury, but in the law of the Lord, by obeying it themselves and teaching others to know it well.

The people responded by bringing in their tithes very quickly. They only needed to be called on, and as soon as the command went out, the firstfruits and all the holy gifts were brought in properly (2 Chronicles 31:5-6). What the priests needed for themselves and their families, they used. The rest was piled up in heaps (2 Chronicles 31:6). Through the harvest season those heaps kept growing as the crops were gathered, for God was to receive his share from all of it. A custom may limit how a tenth is collected, but it cannot excuse leaving out the tenth altogether.

When the harvest was over, the heaps were finished (2 Chronicles 31:7). Then Hezekiah asked about them. He questioned the priests and Levites about why they were not using what had been brought in, but were storing it up instead (2 Chronicles 31:9). They answered that they had already used what they needed for themselves and their families, and for their winter supply, and that this was the extra that remained (2 Chronicles 31:10). They were not piling it up out of greed. They were showing how rich a provision God had made for them by his law, if only it were gathered in faithfully. Those who carefully give God his due out of their estates bring a blessing on all they have. Since they began bringing in the offerings, the Lord has blessed his people (see Haggai 2:19).

“Test me,” says God, “if you do not trust me otherwise. Bring the tithes into the storehouse, and see whether I will not pour out a blessing on you” (Malachi 3:10, Malachi 3:11; Ezekiel 44:30). God invites his people to prove his faithfulness in this way.

The king and the princes also showed their approval of this work (2 Chronicles 31:8). They gave thanks to God for his kind providence, which gave them something to give, and for his grace, which gave them willing hearts to give it. They also blessed the people, meaning they praised them for doing well now, without reminding them harshly of their former neglect.

It is worth noticing that after they had tasted the sweetness of God’s ordinance in the recent, joyful Passover, they were so willing to support the temple service. People who have felt the benefit of a settled ministry, that is, a regular and faithful teaching ministry, will not resent the cost of maintaining it.