2 Chronicles 31:2-21
The People Bring Gifts to the Lord
Hezekiah put the priests and Levites in groups based on their duties. The priests sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. The Levites served the Lord by giving thanks and singing praises at the gates of his house. The king gave some of his own possessions to the temple. He gave them for the morning and evening burnt offerings. He gave them for the burnt offerings for every Sabbath day. He gave them for the burnt offerings for every New Moon feast. And he gave them for the burnt offerings for every yearly appointed feast. He did it in keeping with what is written in the Law of the Lord. Hezekiah gave an order to the people who were living in Jerusalem. He commanded them to give to the priests and Levites the share they owed them. Then the priests and Levites could give their full attention to the Law of the Lord. The order went out. Right away the people of Israel began to give freely. They gave the first share of the harvest of their grain, fresh wine, olive oil and honey. They also gave the first share of everything else their fields produced. They brought a large amount. It was a tenth of everything. Here is what the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah brought. They brought a tenth of their herds and flocks. They also brought a tenth of the holy things they had set apart to the Lord their God. They put them in piles. They began doing it in the third month. They finished in the seventh month. Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the piles. When they did, they praised the Lord. And they blessed his people Israel.
Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. Azariah the chief priest answered him. He said, “The people have been bringing their gifts to the Lord’s temple. Ever since they began to bring them, we’ve had enough to eat. We have even had plenty to spare. That’s because the Lord has blessed his people. So we have a large amount left over.” Azariah was from the family line of Zadok.
Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the Lord’s temple. And it was done. The people were faithful. They brought in their offerings and a tenth of everything they produced. They also brought the gifts they had set apart to the Lord. Konaniah the Levite was in charge of everything they brought. His brother Shimei was next in command after him. Konaniah and his brother Shimei had helpers who worked with them. Their names were Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah. King Hezekiah and Azariah had appointed them. Azariah was the official in charge of God’s temple.
Kore the Levite guarded the East Gate. He was in charge of the offerings people chose to give to God. He handed out the offerings made to the Lord. He also handed out the gifts that had been set apart to the Lord. Kore was the son of Imnah. Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah helped Kore. They were faithful in helping him in the towns of the priests. They handed out gifts to their brother priests, group by group. They gave the gifts to old men and young men alike.
In addition to that, they handed out gifts to the males who were three years old or more. The names of those males were listed in their family history. All of them would enter the Lord’s temple. They would carry out their duties each day. Each group did all the different things it was supposed to do. Kore and his Levite companions also handed out gifts to the priests. The priests were listed by their families in their family history. Those Levites also handed out gifts to the Levites who were 20 years old or more. Each group did all the different things it was supposed to do. Those groups included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community. All of them were listed in their family history. They were faithful in setting themselves apart to serve the Lord.
Some of the priests lived in other towns or on farms around their towns. They were from the family line of Aaron. Men were chosen by name to hand out shares to those priests. They gave a share to every male among them. They also gave a share to everyone whose name was written down in the family history of the Levites.
That’s what Hezekiah did all through Judah. He did what was good and right. He was faithful to the Lord his God. He tried to obey his God. He worked for him with all his heart. That’s the way he worked in everything he did to serve God’s temple. He obeyed the law. He followed the Lord’s commands. So he had success.
2 Chronicles 32:1-33
Sennacherib Warns Jerusalem
Hezekiah had been completely faithful to the Lord. However, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and marched into Judah. Sennacherib surrounded the cities that had high walls around them. He got ready to attack them. He thought he could win the battle over them. He thought he could take them for himself. Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to Jerusalem to fight against it. So he asked his officials and military leaders for advice. He asked them about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city. They gave him the advice he asked for. They gathered together a large group of people. They blocked all the springs. They also blocked the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they asked. Then Hezekiah worked hard repairing all the broken parts of the wall. He built towers on it. He built another wall outside that one. He built up the areas that had been filled in around the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.
He appointed military officers over the people. He gathered the officers together in front of him in the open area at the city gate. He gave them words of hope. He said, “Be strong. Be brave. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. The king of Assyria has a huge army with him. But there’s a greater power with us than there is with him. The only thing he has is human strength. But the Lord our God is with us. He will help us. He’ll fight our battles.” The people had great faith in what Hezekiah, the king of Judah, said.
Later Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and all his forces surrounded Lachish. They prepared to attack it. At that time, Sennacherib sent his officers to Jerusalem. They went there with a message for Hezekiah, the king of Judah. The message was also for all the people of Judah who were there. The message said,
“Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, says, ‘Why are you putting your faith in what your king says? Why do you remain in Jerusalem when you are surrounded? Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will save us from the power of the king of Assyria.” But he isn’t telling you the truth. If you listen to him, you will die of hunger and thirst. Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship at one altar. You must burn sacrifices on it”?
“ ‘Don’t you know what I and the kings who ruled before me have done? Don’t you know what we’ve done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to save their lands from my power? The kings who ruled before me destroyed many nations. Which one of the gods of those nations has been able to save his people from me? So how can your god save you from my power? Don’t let Hezekiah trick you. He’s telling you lies. Don’t believe him. No god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my power. No god has been able to save his people from the power of the kings who ruled before me. So your god won’t save you from my power either!’ ”
Sennacherib’s officers spoke even more things against the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah. The king also wrote letters against the Lord. His letters made fun of the God of Israel. They said, “The peoples of other lands have their gods. But those gods didn’t save their people from my power. So the god of Hezekiah won’t save his people from my power either.” Then the officers called out in the Hebrew language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall. They were trying to scare them and make them afraid. That’s because they wanted to capture the city. They were comparing the God of Jerusalem to the gods of the other nations of the world. But those gods were only statues. They had been made by human hands.
King Hezekiah cried out in prayer to God in heaven. He prayed about the problem Jerusalem was facing. So did Isaiah the prophet. He was the son of Amoz. The Lord sent an angel. The angel wiped out all the enemy’s fighting men, commanders and officers. He put an end to them right there in the camp of the Assyrian king. So Sennacherib went back to his own land in shame. He went into the temple of his god. There some of his own sons, the people closest to him, killed him with their swords.
So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. He saved them from the power of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. He also saved them from all their other enemies. He took care of them on every side. Many people brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord. They brought expensive gifts for Hezekiah, the king of Judah. From then on, all the nations thought well of him.
Hezekiah’s Pride, Success and Death
In those days Hezekiah became sick. He knew he was about to die. So he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord answered him. He gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud. He didn’t give thanks for the many kind things the Lord had done for him. So the Lord became angry with him. He also became angry with Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah had a change of heart. He was sorry he had been proud. The people of Jerusalem were also sorry they had sinned. So the Lord wasn’t angry with them as long as Hezekiah was king.
Hezekiah was very rich. He received great honor. He made storerooms for his silver and gold. He also made them for his jewels, spices, shields and all kinds of expensive things. He made buildings to store the harvest of grain, fresh wine and olive oil. He made barns for all kinds of cattle. He made sheep pens for his flocks. He built villages. He gained large numbers of flocks and herds. God had made him very rich.
Hezekiah blocked up the upper opening of the Gihon spring. He directed the water to flow down to the west side of the City of David. He had success in everything he did. The rulers of Babylon sent messengers to him. They asked him about the miraculous sign that had taken place in the land. Then God left Hezekiah to test him. God wanted to know everything in Hezekiah’s heart.
Hezekiah did many things that showed he was faithful to the Lord. Those things and the other events of his rule are written down. They are written in the record of the vision of the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz. That record is part of the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. Hezekiah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s family are. The whole nation of Judah honored him when he died. So did the people of Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh became the next king after him.
2 Chronicles 33:1-20
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 55 years. Manasseh did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. The Lord had driven out those nations to make room for the Israelites. Manasseh rebuilt the high places. His father Hezekiah had destroyed them. Manasseh also set up altars to the gods that were named Baal. He made poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. He even bowed down to all the stars and worshiped them. He built altars in the Lord’s temple. The Lord had said about his temple, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple Manasseh built altars to honor all the stars in the sky. He sacrificed his children in the fire to other gods. He did it in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He practiced all kinds of evil magic. He took part in worshiping evil powers. He got messages from people who had died. He talked to the spirits of people who have died. He did many things that were evil in the eyes of the Lord. Manasseh made the Lord very angry.
Manasseh had carved a statue of a god. He put it in God’s temple. God had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the temple. He had said, “My Name will be in this temple and in Jerusalem forever. Out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel I have chosen Jerusalem. I gave this land to your people who lived long ago. I will not make the Israelites leave it again. But they must be careful to do everything I commanded them. They must follow all the laws, directions, and rules I gave them through Moses.” But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray. They did more evil things than the nations the Lord had destroyed to make room for the Israelites.
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people. But they didn’t pay any attention to him. So the Lord brought the army commanders of the king of Assyria against them. They took Manasseh as a prisoner. They put a hook in his nose. They put him in bronze chains. And they took him to Babylon. When Manasseh was in trouble, he asked the Lord his God to help him. He made himself very humble in the sight of the God of his people. Manasseh prayed to him. When he did, the Lord felt sorry for him. He answered his prayer. The Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
After that, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David. It was west of the Gihon spring in the valley. It reached all the way to the entrance of the Fish Gate. It went around the entire hill of Ophel. Manasseh also made the wall much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the cities in Judah that had high walls around them.
Manasseh got rid of the false gods. He removed the statue of one of those gods from the Lord’s temple. He also removed all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem. He threw them out of the city. Then he made the Lord’s altar look like new again. He sacrificed friendship offerings and thank offerings on it. He told the people of Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places. But they offered them only to the Lord their God.
The other events of Manasseh’s rule are written down in the official records of the kings of Judah. These records include his prayer to his God. They also include the words the prophets spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. Everything about Manasseh is written in the records of the prophets. That includes his prayer and the fact that God felt sorry for him. It includes everything he did before he made himself humble in the Lord’s sight. It includes all his sins and the fact that he wasn’t faithful to the Lord. It includes the locations where he built high places. It includes the places where he set up poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. And it includes the places where he set up statues of other gods. Manasseh joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in his palace. Manasseh’s son Amon became the next king after him.
