旧约 - 历代记下(2 Chronicles)第29章

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.
He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.
In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them.
He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side
and said: "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.
Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the LORD'S dwelling place and turned their backs on him.
They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel.
Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes.
This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.
Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.
My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense."
Then these Levites set to work: from the Kohathites, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; from the Merarites, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; from the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
from the descendants of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; from the descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD.
The priests went into the sanctuary of the LORD to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the LORD'S temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the LORD. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.
They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the LORD. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: "We have purified the entire temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles.
We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the LORD'S altar."
Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the LORD.
They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the LORD.
So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.
The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.
The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
He stationed the Levites in the temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king's seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the LORD through his prophets.
So the Levites stood ready with David's instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.
Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the LORD began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel.
The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.
When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped.
King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped.
Then Hezekiah said, "You have now dedicated yourselves to the LORD. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the LORD." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs--all of them for burnt offerings to the LORD.
The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats.
The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their kinsmen the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been.
There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished.
Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.
历代志下第廿九章   第 29 章 

  圣经所记载的伟大宗教复兴 

  代下 29:1> 29:1 希西家的事迹见列王纪下 18 章。 

  代下 29:11> 我若曾经失去事奉的动力,可以重新肩负责任吗?可以怎样做? 

  29:11 神所拣选、在圣殿中事奉的利未人,因亚哈斯的恶行( 28:24 )已难再供职。但是希西家吩咐他们重新事奉,提醒说是耶和华拣选他们事奉的。 

  我们虽不至于面对像亚哈斯那样的昏君,但是压力或责任会使事奉变得闲懒、失去动力。你事奉的职位是神赐的,不要忽略你的责任。如果你在事奉中表现懒散,不管是存心退后或是环境所迫,你都要寻找机会重新再来。神会赐你方法,使你再负起责任。这时,你就要像利未人一样地随时候命( 29:12-15 )。 

  代下 29:21> 希西家为什么要献祭?他所献的祭有何含意?我今天在神面前最需要献上的祭又是什么? 

  29:21 在旧约中,献祭是神指定、使人藉此可以亲近神、与祂和好的方法。希西家所献上的赎罪祭,是人因为无意犯了罪而要献上,好求神赦免的一种祭。(对于神规定人要献祭的原因,以及祭物当怎样献上,请参利未记 1 章的注释)。 

  代下 29:22> 祭坛上的血预表了什么?这种在数千年前的宗教礼仪,与我今天有何关系? 

  29:22 洒在祭坛上的血,代表无罪的祭牲代替献祭者的罪。祭牲死了,使献祭的罪人得以存活。直到神完全圣洁的儿子耶稣基督降世为人,在十字架上舍去祂无罪的生命,使犯罪作恶的人类得免罪的刑罚时,这种礼仪才完成了历史使命(参来 10:1-4 )。 

  代下 29:30> 当时神的话语是用什么途径传递给百姓的? 

  29:30 先见是藉着异象或异梦得到从神而来的信息,并把它对以色列人或外邦人传讲出来的人。 

  代下 29:31> 会众所献的感谢祭有何特色?若我今天要感谢神,我又会用什么方式去表达? 

  29:31 感谢祭是平安祭的一种(参利 7:12-15 ),是人对神表示恩感。作为平安祭,它又象征与神和好并恢复交往。──《灵修版圣经注释》