SBC Banner

2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

April 12, 2023

2nd Chronicles 30

  1.  Recap. King Hezekiah has taken over after the death of his father, King Ahaz. Ahaz had forsaken the Lord and led the people into idol worship. Hezekiah leads the people back to the Lord. He begins this national revival by first getting the priest, Levites and temple back in order. We studied in the previous chapter how Hezekiah commanded the priest and the Levites to consecrate themselves according to the law of Moses and remove the unclean things from the temple that his father had allowed. After the priest and Levites were consecrated and the temple purified, Hezekiah led the people to restart the worship of the Lord with burnt offerings. The people of Jerusalem were excited about the return to the worship of the Lord. This was all done in the first month of his reign.

  2. Verses 1-5. After they reestablished the service of the Temple, Hezekiah called for the nation to reestablish the Passover celebration. Hezekiah sent word throughout Judah and to those who were left in the Northern kingdom. At this point many in the North were taken into exile. If you recall from our lessons in Kings, the rich and powerful were the ones taken into captivity. The poor were left behind. Hezekiah sends word to those living in the South and the North to come to Jerusalem for the biggest of the three annual feasts, the Passover. (Exodus 23:14-17 & Leviticus 23 :1-44). There were three main annual Jewish religious festivals — 1. Unleavened Bread (Passover / Firstfruits); 2. Weeks (Pentecost); and 3. Feast of Tabernacles. The Festival of Unleavened Bread (includes Passover) was held in the first month of the Jewish religious calendar. It was initiated to commemorate the Exodus (the ‘going out’) from Egypt when God led his chosen people out of slavery (see Exodus 12: 1-20). The Jews were to eat unleavened bread (bread made without yeast) to remember that the Israelites didn’t have time to let their bread rise before leaving Egypt. The first day of the festival is often referred to as Passover because the Israelites smeared blood on their doorposts so the Angel of Death would pass over and not harm their first-born. In commemoration of the Passover, each family killed and roasted a sacrificial lamb whose blood saved them from death. Normally, Passover was kept in the first month (Numbers 9: 1-5). However, there were special circumstances under which Passover could be kept in the second month (Numbers 9:5-14). Because they could not keep it at the regular time, here, under Hezekiah, they kept it in the second month. The month was important, but the heart of the people was more important, so God gave grace for moments when the people couldn’t keep the Passover on the right month. Even though Passover was one of the three feasts that deserved special emphasis (Exodus 23:14-17), it had not been celebrated since the time of Solomon. Remember from our Kings study, when the kingdoms split into the North and South, King Jeroboam prohibited the people in the North from traveling south for the annual feast (1st Kings 12:25-30).

  3.  Verses 6-9. Hezekiah’s letter. Hezekiah sends the letter to people in the North telling them to return to the Lord. Coming back to the temple for worship was symbolic of turning back to God. Hezekiah tells the people who remain, who weren’t taken in exile, to journey south to worship God. Hezekiah tells them that their act of obedience will bring about favor for their loved ones who are held captive. Hezekiah challenges them to seek God and his mercy by returning to the worship of the God of their ancestors. He speaks to them not as aliens but as brothers united in the faith. Also see Deuteronomy 30.

  4.  Verses 10-12. The couriers went out to the North carrying the letter of King Hezekiah. Many scorned the couriers and mocked them, but there were some folks in the North who humbled themselves and received the king’s invitation to return to Jerusalem. The people in Judah received the letter gladly and were extremely glad to return to the capital city to worship the Lord in his temple. The people of Judah had seen what happened by serving the false Gods and idols. They were ready for something better.

  5.  Verses 13-14. A great number of people from the north and south assembled for Passover in the second month. When they arrived, the people removed the false altars and threw them into the trash heap. Since the people were returning to God, eliminating the false altars was the right thing to do.

  6.  Verses 15-20. Passover began on the 14th day of the second month. The priest and Levites were ashamed because they were not prepared. They quickly got themselves ready to perform their duties. They began the service of the Passover and even killed the Passover lambs for all the people despite the people not having time to consecrate themselves or their lambs. The rules were suspended because the people’s hearts were in the right place. The law prescribed that the people prepare themselves, but there wasn’t enough time for that. Exodus 12, Numbers 9. Hezekiah intercedes for those who were not ceremonially clean and the Lord heard his prayer and gave grace.

  7.  Verses 21-22. There was special gladness for those who had come from the northern tribes. They had never before experienced such obedient and joyful worship, where they praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD. The gathering at this Passover was not only given to worship, but also to teaching. Hezekiah encouraged the Levites to teach the people the word of God. This remnant of the remnant of the northern tribes and many in Judah came to God in ignorance, and in His mercy, God received them (2 Chronicles 30: 18-20). Yet God didn’t want to leave them in ignorance, so He used the Levites who taught the knowledge of the LORD. They celebrated the festival for the commanded 7 days. They ate their assigned fellowship offerings and praised God.

  8.  Verses 23-27. The whole assembly agreed to keep the feast another seven days: This was a remarkable and wonderful response to their experience of worship, teaching, and fellowship. They wanted to make the necessary sacrifices to continue the feast for another week, and they did it with gladness. This was substantially supported by King Hezekiah with a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep. Since the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem: Since those days there had not been a Passover in Jerusalem so widely and enthusiastically celebrated. The priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people: According to Numbers 6:22-27, it was the duty of the priests to bless the people with these words: The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. As the priests obeyed this command, their voice was heard, even to heaven and the people were indeed blessed.

click here to select another lesson