--- title: "2 Chronicles 31 - Study King James Bible with the biblical illustrator" description: "Read 2 Chronicles 31 with the biblical illustrator commentary. 1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, a" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31" --- [ Read](/kjv/2-chronicles/31)[ Commentary](/study/2-chronicles/31)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/2-chronicles/31) Audio 1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.*** 2 ¶ And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. 3 *He appointed* also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, *to wit*, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as *it is* written in the law of the LORD. 4 Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. 5 ¶ And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all *things* brought they in abundantly.** 6 And *concerning* the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid *them* by heaps.* 7 In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished *them* in the seventh month. 8 And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 And Azariah the chief priest of 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 left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left *is* this great store. 11 ¶ Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared *them*,* 12 And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated *things* faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite *was* ruler, and Shimei his brother *was* the next. 13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and 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.* 14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, *was* over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things. 15 And next him *were* Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in *their* set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small:** 16 Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, *even* unto every one that entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses; 17 Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses; 18 And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness:* 19 Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, *which were* in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites. 20 ¶ And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought *that which was* good and right and truth before the LORD his God. 21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did *it* with all his heart, and prospered. [2 Chronicles 30](/study/2-chronicles/30) [2 Chronicles 32](/study/2-chronicles/32) ## Commentary To verse 1 [2 Chronicles 31:1](/kjv/2-chronicles/31/1) *Until they had utterly destroyed them all.* **Utterly** Mark the word “utterly.” It is for want of that word that so many men have failed. Many men have cut off the heads of weeds. Any man can do that. The weed is in the root, and the root is not straight down in the earth, so that it can be taken out easily; after a certain depth it ramifies, and care must be taken that we get out every fibre and filament, and having got it out, turn it upside down, and let the sun do the rest. A man has undertaken to abstain from some evil pursuit for a month: he has clipped off the top of the weed and looks just as well as anybody else, but he is not; he has still the root in him, and that must be taken out, though he be half murdered in the process. (*J*.*Parker, D*.*D*.) **Reform must lead to regeneration** To utterly destroy an idol first, even were it possible, would not be lasting. What must come first in the order of time? Religious enthusiasm, religious conviction; deep, intense spiritual fellowship with God; a look into heaven; vital sympathy with the Cross; a purification of hand and life and tongue, and body, soul, and spirit, by the Passover rightly eaten; and then what giants will go forth with axes of lightning to smite pillar and asherah and idol and every vain thing. Men cannot strike finally if they sot only as reformers. Reform is an active word, and is to be regarded with great favour, and is the only word that is permissible under some circumstance; but the greater word is regeneration. Reform that does not point to regeneration is a waxen flower that will melt when the sun is well up in the heavens. (*J. Parker, D. D.*) **Reform** There**are three effects which ought always to follow our solemn assembly on the Lord’s day. We should go home and-- ** I.**Break in pieces all our images. **1.**Self-righteousness. **2.**Bacchus. **3.**Lust. **4.**Business; false measures and false weights. **5.**Pride. ** II.**Cut down the groves. Groves are the places where the images have been set up. There was nothing mark you, positively sinful in the grove; but they have been used for sinful purposes, and therefore down they must come. We would specify-- **1.**The theatre. **2.**The tavern. **3.**So-called recreation, dancing, *etc.* **4.**Evil books. Light literature, the moral of which is anything but that of piety and goodness. ** III.**Throw down the high places and altars, etc. God had said that He would have but one altar, namely, at Jerusalem. There should be a casting down of everything in connection with the true worship that is not according to the law of God and the word of God. (*C. H. Spurgeon*.) **Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, unto their own cities.*****--*** **Home missionary zeal** In evangelising our own countrymen we must proceed-- ** I.**In the employment of those means which are congenial with the spirit of the dispensation under which we live. The men of Israel were fully justified in doing as described in the text. They lived under a Theocracy, and idolatry was high treason. We live under a different dispensation. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.” To destroy the idolatry which still reigns in our land we must go forth and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hezekiah’s proclamation of the Passover and its consequences as described in the preceding chapter suggests how this has to be done. **1.**Distinctly (verse 1). **2.**Boldly. In spite of ridicule (verse 10). **3.**Affectionately (verse 6-9). **4.**Prayerfully (verse 18). ** II.**By ourselves living consistently with the profession we make, and the great cause we have espoused. Our lives must be characterised-- **1.**By sincerity and uprightness ([2 Chronicles 31:20-21](/kjv/2-chronicles/31/20-21)). **2.**By joy and praise ([2 Chronicles 30:21](/kjv/2-chronicles/30/21)). **3.**By self-denial and sacrifice ([2 Chronicles 30:24](/kjv/2-chronicles/30/24)). ** III.**With a determination to take no rest till the object we have in view is fully accomplished. “Until they had utterly destroyed them all.” (*H*.*Townley*.) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31","name":"2 Chronicles 31 - Study King James Bible with the biblical illustrator","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read 2 Chronicles 31 with the biblical illustrator commentary. 1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator","name":"the biblical illustrator"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles","name":"2 Chronicles"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-biblical-illustrator/2-chronicles/31","name":"31"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```