2 Chronicles 31 explained: Hezekiah Restores Temple Support

Tearing down other shrines (v. 1)

Straight after the Passover in Jerusalem, the crowds went out and smashed standing stones, wooden poles linked to the goddess Asherah, and local hilltop altars. They did this across Judah and even in northern areas beyond it, and only then went home.

Putting the temple in order (vv. 2-4)

Hezekiah brought back the rotating shifts of priests and Levites (temple assistants), and paid for the regular daily, weekly and festival offerings from his own wealth, as earlier kings had done. He then told the people of Jerusalem to give the priests and Levites their share, so they could devote themselves to God's law.

Heaps of gifts (vv. 5-10)

People brought the first part of each harvest and a tenth of their produce and animals, piling it up from the wheat harvest in early summer through the fruit and grape harvest in autumn. When the king asked about the piles, the chief priest Azariah said everyone had eaten well and this was the surplus, which he saw as a sign of God's blessing.

Storerooms and managers (vv. 11-15)

Hezekiah had storerooms prepared at the temple, and the gifts were brought in under named Levites. Others were put in charge of sharing the stores out among priests in their towns, old and young alike.

Who received a share (vv. 16-19)

Portions went by family records to priests, Levites, and their wives and children, and the text links this to their faithfulness in setting themselves apart for God. The mention of boys from three years old is puzzling, and scholars are unsure whether it reflects a custom or a copying slip for a different age.

The writer's verdict (vv. 20-21)

The chapter ends by calling Hezekiah good, right and faithful, someone who worked with his whole heart and so prospered. This book often links faithfulness with success, though the very next chapter brings a foreign invasion.

Key verse: 2 Chronicles 31:21

Something to think about

When a group or cause depends on people's giving, what makes you trust it enough to give, or hold back?