2 Chronicles 31
The abolition of idolatry, which here is not attributed to Hezekiah himself (cf. 2 Kings 18:4), is produced in the people following the king's faithfulness. Let us note that the overthrow of idols in the midst of Judah and Israel does not take place until God's temple had been opened and purified, and the worship reestablished as at the beginning (2 Chron. 31:1-4).
This fact is very important: It is useless to undertake the overthrow of error if one has not begun by establishing the truth based upon the Word of God. Moreover, the power to overthrow evil will never be entirely effective if that which has been built is not unadulterated truth, as the Word teaches us. If our enemies can prove to us that in many points we ourselves are not on the ground of the Word which we are defending, we have lost all authority in the contest. When the people, gathered at Jerusalem, had tasted the great joy accompanying the blessings recovered, they understood that it was impossible to allow a foreign religion to co-exist alongside the worship of the true God.
In saying these things, let us not forget that before celebrating the Passover the people had already removed "the altars that were in Jerusalem; and... all the altars for incense" and had thrown them into the brook Kidron (2 Chron. 30:14). This does not in any way weaken what we have just said. It is evident that was impossible to associate the celebration of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with idolatrous practices. The place where the Passover was celebrated and where God dwelt in the assembly of His people had to be completely purified from every foreign element before the feast could be celebrated. It is the same today in respect to the Lord's table: it cannot be associated with the world's religion, and should this happen, it will never be a powerful motive for holy conduct, as represented by the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Purification from all idolatry was all the more serious because the people had already experienced its benefits at Jerusalem; now purification must be complete, absolute. Ephraim and Manasseh, however few in number, having joined themselves to Judah for the Passover, were responsible to make the same arrangements at home as were taken in Judah. If they had acted otherwise, they would have associated their past idolatry with the worship of Jehovah, which would have been monstrous. Thus, "all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the columns, and hewed down the Asherahs, and demolished the high places and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all" (2 Chron. 31:1). The unity of the people which had just been realized in the primordial feast of the Passover was now put into practice through common action against that which dishonored the Lord.
After these things Hezekiah establishes the order of the priesthood, pays personally out of his own possessions for the sacrifices and solemn feasts, and commands that those employed in the service of the sanctuary be not neglected. Today, as then, it is necessary to observe the order befitting the house of God, but in no way is this an order established by man; the Word alone must determine and regulate this order. In this, as in all things, it is necessary to adhere to "the law of the Lord" (2 Chron. 31:4). In order to know the order and plan of the house of God, let us not consult our own thoughts, but rather the Scriptures such as the First Epistle to the Corinthians and the First Epistle to Timothy. There we will find this plan in its entirety as the Holy Spirit has revealed it to us. In no way can we dispense with the what the Word teaches us as to assembly order nor as to any other matter; nor can we substitute our own organizational plan.
At the king's command, the people abundantly brought in the tithes for the benefit of the priests and Levites, "that," says Hezekiah, "they might be encouraged in the law of Jehovah" (2 Chron. 31:4). The servants of God need to be encouraged in their work by the interest and cooperation of God's people. When true piety accompanies restoration according to God love is always active toward the Lord's laborers, and the faithful do not allow these dear servants, their brothers, to lack in anything. This activity of love is totally different from a fixed salary for services rendered, a salary given for certain functions with which the laborer is charged. The object of the tithe was to encourage the Levites in the law of Jehovah, not to give them a means of earning their living. Even at a time when they were given by law and consequently were not the fruit of grace, how different were such principles from what professing Christendom today thinks about the ministry!
The people take the king's command to heart; the tithe is brought in liberally and goes far beyond what was enjoined by the law of Moses. (See Deut. 14:26-29; 18:3-7; 26:12; Num. 18:12-19.) Hezekiah and the princes, witnesses of this liberality, bless the Lord and His people Israel. Likewise the apostle Paul when considering the work of grace in the hearts of the brethren, whether at Philippi, or at Thessalonica, gave thanks to God, acknowledging all the good produced by the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and also blessed those who had been the instruments of this liberality. This zeal brings abundance; each one eats and is satisfied, and plenty is left over. The situation was the same when the Lord multiplied the loaves. Here Hezekiah is a weak type of the king according to God's counsels, of whom it is said: "[He] will satisfy her needy ones with bread." Divine service is considerably augmented by this prosperity, fruit of God's grace in the heart. It is quite otherwise when the world enriches the servants of God. Here order rules in the distribution (2 Chron. 31:14-19) and many are occupied with this. A ministry consisting exclusively in caring for material needs is not an unimportant function. Such occupations are modest, no doubt, and do not stand out, but without them the order of God's house would suffer. In Nehemiah 13:10-14 we see the consequences that neglecting the tithes had on the entire service and worship of God.
All these organizational details completed, Jehovah delights to bear witness to Hezekiah and tell us that he had His approval. Would He be able to say the same of us? "Thus did Hezekiah throughout Judah, and wrought what was good and right and true before Jehovah his God" (2 Chron. 31:20). What an adornment for the believer are these three things: goodness, uprightness, and truth! This was Christ's adornment as man; it made the psalmist's lips overflow with praise when he saw Him who was "fairer than the sons of men" adorned with "truth and meekness and righteousness" (Psa. 45:4). We are also told (2 Chron. 31:21), that Hezekiah's every work was undertaken "to seek his God" and that he "did it with all his heart." What a beautiful testimony is rendered to this man of God! An undivided heart, a simple eye, occupied with seeking his God: this was the secret of his spiritual life, and the Word adds: "[He] prospered."
This portrait of Hezekiah concludes the first division of his history, a division completely omitted in the book of Kings, and one which presents his moral history in its relation with the service of Jehovah. The following chapter will occupy us with his attitude in relation to a world hostile to God.