Reorganization of the Levitical System

Hezekiah continues his religious reforms, restoring the priestly courses David had established and commanding the people to bring in their tithes and firstfruits for the priests as prescribed by God's law. One of the reasons God had designed this system was so that the Levites, who served as God's ministry in the Old Testament, could "devote themselves to the Law of the Lord" (verse 4). Rather than spending most of their time in other vocations or laboring in the field to provide for themselves and their families, God wanted the priests and Levites to be able to spend most of their time delving into His principles and instructions and teaching them to His people. God has similar desires for His ministry and people today (see Acts 6:1-7; 1 Corinthians 9:11; Galatians 6:6). (To see what God's Word has to say on the subject of tithing and the financing of His ministry today, request or download our free booklet What Does the Bible Teach About Tithing?).

The Levites were greatly blessed through the people's response to Hezekiah's commands, being abundantly provided for. And the people of the nation responding were, in turn, greatly blessed themselves for enabling far more godly instruction to come their way.

Hezekiah was a living testimony to the well-known proverb, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). Interestingly, this verse is one of the "proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied" (see Proverbs 25:1). The last verse of the current reading summarizes what a great king and great man of God Hezekiah was.