Then Hezekiah the king rose early ,.... Took the first opportunity to attend the worship of God, and set an example to his people: and gathered the rulers of the city ; the elders of the people, the chief magistrates in Jerusalem: and went up to the house of the Lord ; the temple, to worship there. read more
And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah ,.... To make atonement in a typical way, having respect to the sacrifice of the Messiah, for the sins of the king, his family and court, among whom idolatry had prevailed in the times of his father; and for the cleansing of the temple, which had been polluted by the idolatries of Ahaz; and for the expiation of the whole land; seven of... read more
So they killed the bullocks ,.... The seven bullocks, that is, the priests killed them: and the priests received the blood ; into basins provided for that purpose: and sprinkled it on the altar ; according to the law of Moses, Leviticus 1:5 and so they did with the rams and lambs. read more
And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation ,.... Which were to make atonement for the sins of both: and they laid their hands on them ; signifying thereby that they were vicarious sacrifices to be offered up in their own room and stead, and that they deserved to die, as these creatures would: transferring as it were hereby their sins unto them, for which they were to be sacrificed, and to make atonement, as an emblem of the imputation of... read more
And the priests killed them ,.... The seven he goats; for of the killing of the bullocks, rams, and lambs, mention is made before, 2 Chronicles 29:2 . and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make atonement for all Israel ; typical of the reconciliation and atonement made for the whole spiritual Israel of God by the sacrifice of Christ: for the king commanded that the burnt offering, and the sin offering , should be made for all Israel ; not only for the... read more
They brought seven bullocks , etc. - This was more than the law required; see Leviticus 4:13 , etc. It ordered one calf or ox for the sins of the people, and one he-goat for the sins of the prince; but Hezekiah here offers many more. And the reason appears sufficiently evident: the law speaks only of sins of ignorance; but here were sins of every kind and every die - idolatry, apostasy from the Divine worship, profanation of the temple, etc., etc. The sin-offerings, we are... read more
They laid their hands upon them - That is, they confessed their sin; and as they had by their transgression forfeited their lives, they now offer these animals to die as vicarious offerings, their life being taken for the life of their owners. read more
The reformation of Hezekiah-the thing done suddenly. Hezekiah was the thirteenth of the twenty kings of the line of Judah; but when his reign of twenty-nine years had run to its end, as many as two hundred and eighty-two yearn had sped away of the three hundred and ninety-two of the duration of the line up to the date of the Captivity. It may also be remembered that, of the seven reigns following upon that of Hezekiah, two (those of Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin) lasted only three months each.... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 29:20-36
The temple being cleansed, we have here an account of the good use that was immediately made of it. A solemn assembly was called to meet the king at the temple, the very next day (2 Chron. 29:20); and very glad, no doubt, all the good people in Jerusalem were, when it was said, Let us go up to the house of the Lord, Ps. 122:1. As soon as Hezekiah heard that the temple was ready for him he lost no time, but made it appear that he was ready for it. He rose early to go up to the house of the... read more