Study Desk

Then they went to King Hezekiah and said, "We have purified the entire Temple of the Lord , the altar for burnt offerings and its utensils, and the table for the holy bread and all its utensils.

When Ahaz was king, he was unfaithful to God and removed some things from the Temple. But we have put them back and made them holy for the Lord . They are now in front of the Lord 's altar."

They brought seven bulls, seven male sheep, seven lambs, and seven male goats. These animals were an offering to remove the sin of the people and the kingdom of Judah and to make the Temple ready for service to God. King Hezekiah commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these animals on the Lord 's altar.

Then the priests brought the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the people there. After the king and the people put their hands on the goats,

the priests killed them. With the goats' blood they made an offering on the altar to remove the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God. The king had said that the burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

For burnt offerings they brought a total of seventy bulls, one hundred male sheep, and two hundred lambs; all these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord .

There were not enough priests to skin all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and other priests could be made holy. The Levites had been more careful to make themselves holy for the Lord 's service than the priests.

And Hezekiah and the people were very happy that God had made it happen so quickly for his people.

King Hezekiah sent messages to all the people of Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. Hezekiah invited all these people to come to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord , the God of Israel.

So they made an announcement everywhere in Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, telling the people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord , the God of Israel. For a long time most of the people had not celebrated the Passover as the law commanded.

But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun were sorry for what they had done and went to Jerusalem.

Since many people in the crowd had not made themselves holy, the Levites killed the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean. The Levites made each lamb holy for the Lord .

Although many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves for the feast, they ate the Passover even though it was against the law. So Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, " Lord , you are good. You are the Lord , the God of our ancestors. Please forgive all those who try to obey you even if they did not make themselves clean as the rules of the Temple command."

The Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy to the Lord . The Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with loud music.

Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who showed they understood well how to do their service for the Lord . The people ate the feast for seven days, offered fellowship offerings, and praised the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

Then all the people agreed to stay seven more days, so they celebrated with joy for seven more days.

When the Passover celebration was finished, all the Israelites in Jerusalem went out to the towns of Judah. There they smashed the stone pillars used to worship gods. They cut down the Asherah idols and destroyed the altars and places for worshiping gods in all of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.

King Hezekiah appointed groups of priests and Levites for their special duties. They were to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to worship, and to give thanks and praise at the gates of the Lord 's house.

Hezekiah gave some of his own animals for the burnt offerings, which were given every morning and evening, on Sabbath days, during New Moons, and at other feasts commanded in the Lord 's Teachings.

Kore son of Imnah the Levite was in charge of the special gifts the people wanted to give to God. He was responsible for giving out the contributions made to the Lord and the holy gifts. Kore was the guard at the East Gate.