2 Chronicles 30

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

30:1-27 This account of Hezekiah’s celebration of Passover reflects the Chronicler’s concern with the unity of Israel, the spiritual preparedness of the people, and the success of following the formula for restoration given by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (7:14).

Verse 2

30:2-3 a month later than usual: The law made provision for the delayed observance of the Passover if an individual inadvertently was ceremonially unclean or was away on a long journey (Num 9:9-11); Hezekiah’s Passover followed the spirit if not the letter of those provisions. The delayed Passover provided opportunity for national unity and spiritual renewal.

Verse 5

30:5 Hezekiah dispatched couriers from Beersheba . . . to Dan, the traditional designation for the entire nation, including even the now-desolate territories of Israel’s northern tribes.

Verse 9

30:9-11 The northern kingdom had been conquered by the Assyrians (2 Kgs 17:5-28), and many of its people were taken into exile in Assyria. People from other conquered lands now lived there. Most of these foreigners, as well as those Israelites left by the Assyrians, regarded the conquest of Israel as proof that the Lord—the God of Israel—was impotent. They laughed at the thought of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to honor him.

Verse 11

30:11 Some people . . . humbled themselves, fulfilling the first criterion in Solomon’s formula (7:14).

Verse 14

30:14 Several challenges faced Hezekiah before Passover could be observed. Although the Temple had been purified, the city was not pure. The first task of the assembled multitude was to remove all pagan altars, which they disposed of in the Kidron Valley, where they could be burned.

Verse 15

30:15 The priests were inadequately prepared for the great number of people who came. The problem might have involved the priests who came from outside the city and had not been a part of the earlier purification. However, the response of the people outstripped that of the professional clerics, to their great shame.

Verse 17

30:17-19 A large number of pilgrims who traveled great distances from foreign lands did not have an opportunity to receive the proper purification ceremonies and were unfit to participate in the ceremony. Hezekiah allowed the pilgrims to eat the Passover without participating in the sacrificial ritual and in an impure state, and he prayed that God would accept their worship. Hezekiah was following the formula for restoration (see 7:14).

Verse 20

30:20 God’s response to Hezekiah’s prayer showed that he is more concerned with the attitude of the heart than with strict attention to ritual details. • healed the people: Cp. 7:14.

Verse 25

30:25 In this joyful celebration, no one was regarded as a foreigner, and those who had been estranged were reunited.

Verse 26

30:26 No celebration like this had occurred since the days of Solomon. Hezekiah put into place the conditions for covenant faithfulness equal to those during the time of David and Solomon.