Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Chronicles 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 31
"Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake in pieces the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, and brake down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities." — 2 Chronicles 31:1 (ASV)
Jerusalem had been cleansed (2 Chronicles 30:14), and now the land had to be purged. Hezekiah, therefore, gave his sanction to a popular movement directed as much against the “high places,” which had been maintained since the times of the patriarchs, as against the remnants of Baal worship or the innovations of Ahaz (see the note on 2 Kings 18:4).
The invasion of the northern kingdom, “Ephraim and Manasseh,” by a tumultuous crowd from the southern one, and the success the movement achieved, can only be explained by the weakened state of the northern kingdom (see the note at 2 Chronicles 29:24).
"And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of Jehovah." — 2 Chronicles 31:2 (ASV)
The tents - This literally means “the camps.” The temple is called the “camp of Yahweh” by an apt metaphor. The square enclosure—with its gates and stations, its guards and gatekeepers, its changing of the guard, its orderly arrangement, and the tabernacle, or tent, of the great commander in the center—very much resembled a camp.
"[He appointed] also the king`s portion of his substance for the burnt-offerings, [to wit], for the morning and evening burnt-offerings, and the burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of Jehovah." — 2 Chronicles 31:3 (ASV)
The king’s portion - Amid the widespread neglect of the observances commanded by the Law, the tithe system had naturally fallen into disuse. Hezekiah revived it, and to encourage the people to give what was due, he cheerfully set the example of paying the full proportion from his own considerable possessions (Compare to 2 Chronicles 32:28–29).
His tithe was, it seems, especially devoted to the purposes mentioned in this verse. Over the course of a year, these purposes required nearly 1,100 lambs, 113 bullocks, 37 rams, and 30 goats, in addition to vast quantities of flour, oil, and wine for the accompanying meat and drink offerings.
"Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of Jehovah." — 2 Chronicles 31:4 (ASV)
That they might be encouraged... that is, to devote themselves wholly to their proper work: the service of the sanctuary and the teaching of God’s Law (2 Chronicles 17:7–9), and not engage in secular occupations .
"And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first-fruits of grain, new wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly." — 2 Chronicles 31:5 (ASV)
Honey — See the margin. It is doubtful whether bee-honey was subject to the offering of firstfruits. The kind intended here may therefore be the type that, according to the historian Josephus, was made from dates.
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