Verses 1-6, “Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession. And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord. The king also appointed a portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the Law of the Lord. Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord their God they laid in heaps.”
After the celebration of the Passover, the work continued as those who attended went out and removed all places for idol worship. Removing any reminder of prior sin and cutting off any opportunity for future sin, is evidence of true revival. You cannot say you have repented without action that follows. Hezekiah's leadership in turning back to God had a broad reaching influence on those even outside of Judah, in the northern kingdom of Israel. He also reestablished the roles of the priests and called for the people to support the priests and Levite's financially so they could serve God all the time. This call was not a suggestion, but a command to tithe according to the Law of Moses. The king even gave a portion of his personal possessions to demonstrate his own obedience to the law.
The new testament refers to this same principal of supporting those in full time service to the Lord, with a warning to those who do not give generously. Galatians 6:6-10, “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” It is for our spiritual benefit that those who shepherd us and teach us the word are freed up to focus on spending time with the Lord in His word, in prayer and worship. If they do not have the time to receive from God, they have nothing to give us.
Verses 7-15, “In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, 'Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance.' Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. And under him were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in the cities of the priests, to distribute allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.”
When the people began tithing, they were blessed by God for their obedience, which allowed them to give even more. This meant that the priests collected an abundance, over and above what they needed. So both the people and the priests were blessed by God. We should not give with the hope of receiving material blessing in return, but we know that there is a promise of spiritual reward as we store up treasure in Heaven, by contributing to the kingdom of God. If you are one of a few that have submitted to God in the area of giving, consider that you also might be used greatly to distribute the excess that you receive from God. Even outside of money, you will experience being blessed richly instead of never having enough. This is being content!
Malachi 3:8-10, “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it." We may not be under the law, but God has not changed His mind about being generous and giving. There are plenty of new testament examples of those who gave everything to support the ministry, and they were never criticized for being foolish. In fact, Jesus calls the one who gathers possessions for himself and does give to God a fool. Luke 12:20-21, “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Verses 16-21, “But those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they sanctified themselves in holiness. Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites. Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered.”
We cannot serve God half-heartedly and expect to prosper. When you submit yourself to keeping the first commandment, to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; then your ways will be blessed. Once Hezekiah's heart was fully surrendered, he made sure that the Levites (God's servants) were provided for from the offerings brought to the temple. Remember that the Levites were not allowed to own land, but were allocated common land in which to live. This made it more likely that they would rely upon God, not their own abilities, to provide. God brought the Jews through the wilderness, not giving them a permanent dwelling place, for the same reason...to teach them reliance upon Him. Unfortunately for them, it took forty years instead of eleven days to learn that lesson, due to their own stubbornness. Their example was written as a strong warning to us, or at least to those who have ears to hear.
I Corinthians 10:1-12, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.' Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
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