II Chronicles Chapter 31
Please read: II Chronicles 31 –
After a two-week celebration of the Passover the people became involved in a great project. Because of the work God had done in their hearts and because of the great leadership of King Hezekiah, a cleansing started happening in all of Judah and even into parts of Israel. They began to clear out the idols and altars that did not belong. The Bible says that they tore them all down. It was only after this project was finished did the Israelites of the northern kingdom return to their homes.
Hezekiah then instituted the practices and organization of the Levites and the Priests that David had set up when he was king. Once again, the courses were set up, meaning the Levites did things in shifts. There was plenty of work for them to do besides their responsibilities to care for things in the temple the people had started bringing in tithes of all sorts. They brought in so much that the Levites could not keep up and the gifts started mounting up in heaps. These tithes consisted of first fruits of their crops and animals and money. God was blessing the people and the land in huge ways.
Let's Reflect
1. The Levites, Priests and their families were able to live off all that was brought to the temple by the people. When the king questioned them about the heaps of tithes what did they say that demonstrates the people had given in great abundance?
2. What did King Hezekiah instruct them to do with the heaps of things the people had given to God and the temple?
3. In verses 12-15 we see recorded the names of those who were in charge of various things in the temple. Think about this for a moment, their names are recorded rather than the names of the sons of the king or those in charge of the armies. Where was the emphasis placed during the reign of King Hezekiah?
4. There was so much given by the people that they were able to also support those Levites who did not live within the city of Jerusalem. There was a group of men who were assigned to carry portions to the old and very young of the Levite families. This would not have included the young men, because they were engaged in the work at the temple. According to verse 17, at what age did they begin serving in the temple?
5. All of the Levites and the priests (those Levites who came from the line of Aaron) were kept track of whether they lived in Jerusalem or in other cities. They kept a census of the people. At what age was the name of a child of a Levite recorded in the census?
6. We have seen example after example that when the kings became powerful, they forgot about God. Hezekiah was different. He purposed to be different. What does the Bible say about his reign?
