2 Chronicles 30:17
Ver. 17. For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified,.... Or purified from uncleanness, contracted either by idolatry, or through such things which, according to the ceremonial law, made them unclean, and from which they had not now time to cleanse themselves according to the law:therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for everyone that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord; this they did for the masters of families, who were ceremonially unclean, who otherwise might have killed their passover lambs themselves, seeEx 12:6, but now the Levites did it for them, that their passovers might be sanctified and consecrated to the Lord; for, as Philo the Jew says {r}, one day in a year the whole sacrificed, everyone acted as a priest, and brought and slew his own sacrifice, meaning at the passover.{r} De Vita Mosis, l. 3. p. 686. & de Decalogo, p. 766. 2 Chronicles 30:18Ver. 18. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun,.... All which were of the ten tribes, where idolatry had prevailed for a long time:had not cleansed themselves; from impurity contracted by idolatry and other things:yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written; because they ate it in their uncleanness, which was not according to the law, that required that such should be clean that ate of any holy things, see Joh 18:28 but since these people came a great way off, and there was no deferring it to another month, the king chose rather they should be admitted to eat of it, though in their uncleanness:but Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, the good Lord pardon everyone; God, who is gracious and merciful, and of his goodness, grace, and mercy, forgive such who, though ceremonially unclean, ate of the passover, and especially since they were sincere and cordial in their services; and therefore he hoped that this breach of the ceremonial law would not be laid to their charge. Goodness is such a well known attribute of God, that the very Heathens ascribe it to their deities; hence we read of a temple of the "good god", the gods being the givers of good things to men; Jupiter, or Jove, the supreme god, is supposed to be meant {s}.{s} Pausan. Arcadica, sive, l. 8. p. 513. Vid. Ciceronem de Nat. Deor. l. 3. prope finem. 2 Chronicles 30:19Ver. 19. That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers,.... Who was heartily desirous of worshipping God, and observing his ordinances, which had been enjoined their fathers, and they had kept; though Aben Ezra, as Kimchi observes, refers this to Hezekiah,whose whole heart he directed, or prepared to seek the Lord, &c. by prayer and supplication for everyone of the said persons:though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary: according to the ceremonial law, which the service of the temple required; since, though they were attended with a ceremonial impurity, had a moral purity, and their hearts were right with God. 2 Chronicles 30:20Ver. 20. And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah,.... Heard his prayer, and accepted of it, and granted what he desired:and healed his people; that is, forgave their sins, as Kimchi interprets it; forgiveness being expressed by healing, for which he refers to Ps 41:4 to which may be added Ps 103:3 and which was known either by a prophet sent to declare it, or by not punishing them for their offence. 2 Chronicles 30:21Ver. 21. And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness,.... Which, according to the law of Moses, were always to follow the passover, Ex 12:18and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord; or instruments of strength {t}; so called not from the matter of them, or manner in which they were made, but either from the sound of them, as our version, or from the strength and power of God, which they set forth in praise; the Targum is,"with instruments of praise,''and so the word is sometimes used, see Ps 8:2 compared withMt 21:16, the priests blew with trumpets, and the Levites played on harps, psalteries, &c. and this they did every day when the sacrifices were offered, during the seven days of unleavened bread.{t} ze ylkb "cum instrumentis fortitudinis", Vatablus. 2 Chronicles 30:22Ver. 22. And Hezekiah spake comfortably to all the Levites,.... Or "to the heart" {u} of them, such things as were very encouraging to them to go on in the work and worship of God, commending their singing, exhorting them to diligence in instructing the people, promising them his favour and protection:even those that taught the good knowledge of the Lord; who instructed the people well in his word, worship, and ordinances; though some restrain this to their skill in singing the praises of God, both vocally and instrumentally, and their abilities and diligence in teaching others:and they did eat throughout the feast: or did eat the feast; that is, the sacrifices of it; not the Levites only, but the king, and all the congregation:offering peace offerings; part of which belonged to the Lord, another part to the priests, and a third to the offerers, on which they feasted with their friends; and this they did throughout all the seven days of the feast:and making confession to the Lord God of their fathers; confessing their sins of omission and commission they had been guilty of; owning the goodness, grace, and mercy of God towards them; blessing and praising his name for the restoration of his worship and ordinances among them.{u} bl le "ad cor", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. 2 Chronicles 30:23Ver. 23. And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days,.... They consulted among themselves, and with the king and his nobles about it, who all agreed to it:and they kept other seven days with gladness; not altogether in the same manner they had kept the preceding seven days; they did not slay and eat passover lambs, nor did they eat unleavened bread, but offered peace offerings, and feasted upon them; and sung the praises of God, and attended to the instructions of the priests and Levites, being in a very agreeable frame of mind for religious exercises. 2 Chronicles 30:24Ver. 24. For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation one thousand bullocks, and seven thousand sheep,.... He separated them, as Kimchi interprets it, from his own herds and flocks; or out of his own substance, at his own expense purchased them; or lifted them up, as the word signifies, as heave offerings to the Lord; and gave them to the people for thank offerings to feast upon:and the princes gave to the congregation one thousand bullocks, and ten thousand sheep: for the same purposes, following the king's example:and a great number of priests sanctified themselves; besides those who had before, that they might be fit to offer this great number of sacrifices. 2 Chronicles 30:25Ver. 25. And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and Levites,.... The people that were gathered together out of the several cities of Judah, which no doubt was the largest congregation, with whom the priests and Levites are joined, as being of that kingdom, and dwellers in Jerusalem, where their office lay:and all the congregation that came out of Israel; out of the ten tribes, particularly Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, 2Ch 30:18, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced; the proselytes, even such as were circumcised, who ate of the passover, and kept the feast of unleavened bread, as well as the other days of rejoicing, the former of which none might partake of but circumcised persons; and it can hardly be thought that any other would come out of Israel on such an occasion, seeEx 12:48. 2 Chronicles 30:26Ver. 26. So there was great joy in Jerusalem,.... Not merely carnal, expressed in eating and drinking, and making merry with one another, but spiritual, on account of the restoration of temple service, and the feasts of the Lord:for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem; not the like joy, so spiritual, sincere, and hearty; nor such a number of persons rejoicing together on such an occasion; nor for so many days together, which were as many as at the dedication of the temple by Solomon. 2 Chronicles 30:27Ver. 27. Then the priests the Levites arose,.... The priests who were of the tribe of Levi; for there were some in Israel that were not, but were made of any of the people, as in the times of Jeroboam; though some supply the copulative "and"; so the Targum: "and blessed the people"; which was the proper work and business of the priests to do; though, while they were blessing, the Levites might be singing:and their voice was heard; meaning not by the people, though undoubtedly it was, but by the Lord; the Targum is,"their prayer was heard or received;''for the blessing was delivered in a petitionary way, Nu 6:24, and was no other than a request that God would bless them, which he did:and their prayer came up to his holy dwellingplace, even unto heaven; see Ps 3:4 by what means it was known their prayer was heard and accepted cannot be said; there might be some visible token of it, as the people were dismissed, and departed.
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