1 HEZEKIAH began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

3 ¶ He [HEZEKIAH] in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. [What had previously happened the Temple and its doors that made them need repair and to be opened? In about 740 B.C. Ahaz became king in Judah when his righteous father, Jotham, died. Ahaz did evil in the sight of the Lord and worshipped Baal.
▪ "And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 28:24)
◦ When Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah became king of Judah, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 29:2).]

4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, [ What were the responsibilities of the Levites? those who are responsible for Temple service - all being from the tribe of Levi. Who are the priests and what are their responsibilities? The firstborn sons after the lineage of Aaron the priests are a subset of the tribe of Levi. The priests primary responsibility is dedicated to the offering of sacrifices - tradition held that the Priests were the only ones who could prepare the offerrings as well, but the Law was that all Levite men could prepare the sacrifices.. All being holders of the priesthood have assigned Temple related activities] and gathered them together into the east street,

5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. [Verses 5-7 King Hezekiah asks the Levites to return to their former duties. We can see that the temple was not longer being used for worshiping God as it had been designed to do. Therefore we can assume that those Levites who earned their keep so to speak by serving in the house of the Lord would have been left to make a living by either working in another trade or profession, since no one was going to the temple. We also know from 2 Kings 16:15-16 that at least some of the priests apparently maintained their roles as sacrificers and administrators of religion when Judah went from the Lord to idolatry. so, at least some of the priests maintained the same profession throughout the time when the gods changed.]

6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, [referring to Ahaz and his rule where the Temple was shut down and the Lords rule was abandoned] and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. [ Are we ever guilty of that today - if so how do we turn away our faces from the habitation of the Lord today? Like ancient Judah, we do that if we fail to keep the commandments and ignore temple covenants and obligations.]

7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. [ The temple was shut down - it served no purpose to the people - they did not get the blessings from it. Do we ever shut up the doors of the temple? If so how - When? when we don't attend.]

8 Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, [ the warth was that the Lord with held his hand - or the blessings that were given them when they kept their temple covenants and used the temple for the proper purpose were removed.] and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, [everyone witnessed the miracles performed in their behalf] and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. [ With those blessing removed, the men have lost when at war - and have be made captives because they gave not kept the covenants made. ]

10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, [What is the signifigance of the covenant process?Sides are chosen (to cut) and ownership is given through the process. An owner pf property provide special provisions that the owner can protect his property under the law. This protection is not provide to those whom he does not own. ] that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

11 My sons, [speaking specifically to the Levite men] be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense. [you have a mission from the Lord to serve him in priesthood ordinances - specifically Temple ministry in this case]

12 ¶ Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:

13 And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:

14 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel. [Verse 12-14 demonstrate that the order (Levical Priesthood) is lineage based, those who accepted to return to fulfill their duties were as Priests and Levites were shown forth from their respective genelogy, father to son.]

15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.

16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. [The priests were the only ones permitted to enter the inner portion of the temple - so the priest brought the garbage to the porch and the Levites - those who were not priests disposed of the filth collected by the priests.] And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.

17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth [the number eight always points to a new beginning, purification, or the Atonement. It is found in association with temples, ordinances, or other holy themes. To help illustrate this, it helps if we first understand that the symbolism of eight is directly related to the symbolism of seven. In Genesis, we read: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished . . . And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made” (Gen. 2: 1-2). Seven, therefore, in the Hebrew tradition means finished, whole, or complete. What then becomes of the eighth day? The eighth day then becomes the first day of a new period. In other words, not the beginning, but a new beginning. By exploring a few scriptures, we see that this new beginnings represents purification the Atonement of Christ. For example, animals used for sacrifices stayed with the mother seven days, and then were slain on the eigth day. These animals were symbolic of Christ as an eternal sacrifice. Similarly, the priests of Aaron under Moses were to purge seven days, and on the eighth day they could enter the tabernacle, being purified, and make an atoning sacrifice. We learn in Ezekial that “upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord” (Ezekiel 43:26-27). ] day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.

19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD. [ Those Priests and Levites that accepted the challenge to return to the temple, to cleanse it have completed the job that they were assigned by the King. The Temple is now clean and ready for proper worship. ]

20 ¶ Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. [Notice were Hezekiah begins - with the leaders. Why is it important to get the leaders involved at the very start - before he calls all of Israel to tthe temple? Hezekiah gets the leaders fully involved by having them sacrifice as well, and they do with apparently no dissension among the ranks. This requirement was a good test as the leaders would have to give of their substance to sacrifice, as opposed to just paying Hezekiah lip service. The result is there are a lot of sacrifices. see verse 29-33 ]

21 And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah.[ the law required see Lev. iv. 13, one calf or ox for the sins of the people, and one he-goat for the sins of the prince; but Hezekiah here offers many more. And the reason appears sufficiently evident: the law speaks only of sins of ignorance; but here were sins of every kind and every die-idolatry, apostasy from the Divine worship, profanation of the temple. The sin-offerings, we are informed, were offered, first for the KINGDOM-for the transgressions of the king and his family; secondly, for the SANCTUARY, which had been defiled and polluted, and for the priests who had been profane, negligent, and unholy; and, finally, for JUDAH-for the whole mass of the people, who had been led away into every kind of abomination by the above examples. ] And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

22 so they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.

23 And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:

24 And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation [Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning “again”; con, meaning “with”; and sella, meaning “seat.” Reconciliation, therefore, literally means “to sit again with.” To be seen again with God. ] with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement [Russell M. Nelson said: “In the English language, the components are at-one-meant, suggesting that a person is at one with another. Other languages employ words that connote either expiation or reconciliation. Expiation means ‘to atone for.’ Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning ‘again’; con, meaning ‘with’; and sella, meaning ‘seat.’ Reconciliation, therefore, literally means ‘to sit again with.’…In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means ‘to cover’ or ‘to forgive.’ Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat, meaning ‘a close embrace’—no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace….While the words atone or atonement, in any of their forms, appear only once in the King James translation of the New Testament, they appear 35 times in the Book of Mormon. As another testament of Jesus Christ, it sheds precious light on His Atonement.” (Ensign, Nov. 1996, pp.34-5 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 85)) ] for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.

26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.

28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.

30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. [Just to make sure the leaders were not just telling the King what he wanted to hear, or just giving lip service - Hezekiah makes sure they each offer a sacrifice from thier own substance.] And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.

32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. [ The leaders appearred willing and responded with alot of offerings. ]

34 But the priests were too few, [tradition required that the Priests were the ones to prepare the offerrings for the altar, but there was way to much to sacrifice. Lev1:2-8 ] so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, [so tradition was abandonded and the law was followed. The Law provided that the Levites could assist the priests in preparing the offerrings.] and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. [the priests were not as complelled to return to Temple service as were the Levites in general. Why we are not sure why, and no reason is provide we might suggest that the answer was an obvious one. It could very well be that the Priests had continued to sell their services, so to return to the temple might have been a real sacrifiec as many had developed lucrative businesses using their prestiage, influence and office for gain - it might have even involved pride because many would have been making more with their services outside of the temple and to return would require giving up future income. The Levites as a whole on the other hand would not have maintained the same priviledge as the Priests. As a group they would have had to find jobs and work wherever they could - so it was probably eaiser for them to return to temple service as they were already a little humblier. Additionally, 2 Kings 16:15-16 informs us that some priests were involved in idolatrous activities, as a result they might have felt guilty and would have needed to do some serious repenting to sanctify themselves before they were worthy to return to worship the Lord in the Temple. ]

35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.

36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly. [It did not take long - every one was ready they just needed someone to get them started.]