2 Chronicles 30:23

THEY DECIDE TO CELEBRATE ANOTHER SEVEN DAYS

"And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days; and they kept other seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the assembly for offerings a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the assembly a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. And all the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even unto heaven."

This additional week of feasting and celebration was made possible by the generous contributions of the king and the princes.

"Their voice was heard ... even unto heaven" (2 Chronicles 30:27). Hezekiah's respect for the temple had not blinded him to the sublime fact that "God dwelleth not in temples made with hands," and that his throne is in the heaven of heavens.

One may wonder why this observance of the passover was not reported in Kings, but the reason is not far to seek. Kings carries an abbreviated report of both the Northern and Southern Israels, whereas the Chronicles focuses attention upon the Southern Kingdom only; and this passover celebration pertained particularly to Judah and Jerusalem. Furthermore, all of the information that has come down to us from that remote period is fragmentary. No important arguments can be logically founded upon what this or that source does not contain.