Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites--each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites--for the burnt offerings and peace offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for singing praises at the gates of the LORD's dwelling. Sermons
I. THE SERVICE OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE; that, namely, of the priests and the Levites (ver. 2). This service was threefold: 1. Discharging sacred functions at the altar; doing for the people that which only consecrated men could do - presenting their sacrifices to Jehovah, thus standing between their fellows and their God, and constituting a medium of communion between them and him. 2. Inquiry into and acquisition of all possible knowledge of the Law (2 Chronicles 17:9; Deuteronomy 33:10). 3. Conducting the service of song (ver. 2), and teaching the people the Law which they had themselves learned. There are many in the Christian Church who have undertaken to offer to their Divine Lord a consecrated life; and it devolves on them to yield to him their strength in these three ways. (1) Ministration in his house or elsewhere; the special service which the minister of Christ, as such, can render; praying to God for his people, or helping them to draw nigh to God - a very valuable, indeed inestimable, service. (2) Earnest thought and inquiry; becoming more and more fully acquainted with the mind of Christ as that is revealed in his Word or in his providence, or through the experience or research of other servants of his. (3) Utterance of the truth thus acquired; by teaching or preaching, in the sanctuary, or the school, or the house, personally or instrumentally. For the advancement of the kingdom of Christ it is needful that there should be a large number of men, answering to the priests and Levites, who shall regularly give a consecrated life to the service of the Lord. II. THE SERVICE OF THE SUBSTANCE. We have a very interesting instance here recorded of the full and cheerful dedication of the substance to the cause of God. Led as well as taught by Hezekiah, the people responded with tithes and firstfruits, so that there were "heaps "in the temple courts, even when everything had been taken that was required (Ver. 10). Even the remainder was "this great store." The scene suggests the truths: 1. That the offer of our substance is a most appropriate method of sacred service. How can we better express our gratitude to the great Giver of every good thing of every kind than by dedicating to him and to his service some serious proportion of the produce of our strength and skill? 2. That those who urge others to show this grace should be forward to illustrate it themselves (ver. 3). 3. That from those who have the greater privileges may be expected a very clear encouragement by example (ver. 4). 4. That, if rightly addressed, the people of God may be trusted to make a lair and even a liberal response (vers. 5, 6). 5. That such service, rendered in a religious spirit, will draw down the Divine blessing in abundance (ver. 10; and see Malachi 3:10). - C.
Until they had utterly destroyed them all. Mark the word "utterly." It is for want of that word that so many men have failed. Many men have cut off the heads of weeds. Any man can do that. The weed is in the root, and the root is not straight down in the earth, so that it can be taken out easily; after a certain depth it ramifies, and care must be taken that we get out every fibre and filament, and having got it out, turn it upside down, and let the sun do the rest. A man has undertaken to abstain from some evil pursuit for a month: he has clipped off the top of the weed and looks just as well as anybody else, but he is not; he has still the root in him, and that must be taken out, though he be half murdered in the process.(J. Parker, D.D.) (J. Parker, D. D.) I. BREAK IN PIECES ALL OUR IMAGES. 1. Self-righteousness. 2. Bacchus. 3. Lust. 4. Business; false measures and false weights. 5. Pride. II. CUT DOWN THE GROVES. Groves are the places where the images have been set up. There was nothing mark you, positively sinful in the grove; but they have been used for sinful purposes, and therefore down they must come. We would specify — 1. The theatre. 2. The tavern. 3. So-called recreation, dancing, etc. 4. Evil books. Light literature, the moral of which is anything but that of piety and goodness. III. THROW DOWN THE HIGH PLACES AND ALTARS, ETC. God had said that He would have but one altar, namely, at Jerusalem. There should be a casting down of everything in connection with the true worship that is not according to the law of God and the word of God. ( C. H. Spurgeon.) I. IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF THOSE MEANS WHICH ARE CONGENIAL WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE DISPENSATION UNDER WHICH WE LIVE. The men of Israel were fully justified in doing as described in the text. They lived under a Theocracy, and idolatry was high treason. We live under a different dispensation. "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal." To destroy the idolatry which still reigns in our land we must go forth and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hezekiah's proclamation of the Passover and its consequences as described in the preceding chapter suggests how this has to be done. 1. Distinctly (ver. 1). 2. Boldly. In spite of ridicule (ver. 10). 3. Affectionately (ver. 6-9). 4. Prayerfully (ver. 18). II. BY OURSELVES LIVING CONSISTENTLY WITH THE PROFESSION WE MAKE, AND THE GREAT CAUSE WE HAVE ESPOUSED. Our lives must be characterised — 1. By sincerity and uprightness (2 Chronicles 31:20, 21). 2. By joy and praise (2 Chronicles 30:21). 3. By self-denial and sacrifice (2 Chronicles 30:24). III. WITH A DETERMINATION TO TAKE NO REST TILL THE OBJECT WE HAVE IN VIEW IS FULLY ACCOMPLISHED. "Until they had utterly destroyed them all." (H. Townley.) 5323 gate Last Journey and Death, 1858 --Concluding Remarks. Tithing The Whole Heart Chronicles |
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