2 Chronicles 30:16

And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God,.... The priests in their place, and the Levites in theirs, in which they were ordered to stand when they offered sacrifice: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites; the blood either of the burnt offerings before mentioned, or of the passover lambs, which the Levites slew, and received the blood of them in basins; and which the priests took of them, and sprinkled, not on the door posts of houses, as in Egypt, but on the altar round about, and which none but priests might do, Leviticus 1:5.

30:13-20 The great thing needful in attendance upon God in solemn ordinances, is, that we make heart-work of it; all is nothing without this. Where this sincerity and fixedness of heart are, there may yet be many things short of the purification of the sanctuary. These defects need pardoning, healing grace; for omissions in duty are sins, as well as omissions of duty. If God should deal with us in strict justice, even as to the very best of our doings, we should be undone. The way to obtain pardon, is to seek it of God by prayer; it must be gotten by petition through the blood of Christ. Yet every defect is sin, and needs forgiveness; and should be matter to humble, but not to discourage us, though nothing can make up for the want of a heart prepared to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 30:16-17 . The priests sprinkled the blood — Of the sacrifices upon the altar; which they received of the hand of the Levites — Who killed and flayed the sacrifices, which the priests, if they had been sanctified, should have done, as was observed on 2 Chronicles 29:34 . For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified — Abundance of people that came to keep this passover were not clean according to the law, and therefore many more sacrifices were to be offered for their cleansing than would otherwise have been necessary: which was one reason why the Levites were employed in the work, for the priests were not of a number sufficient to perform this duty. The reader must observe that besides the paschal-lamb, the offering of all the sacrifices, which were appointed to accompany it, are included in keeping the passover.

After their manner - According to the Mishna, the custom was for the priests to stand in two rows extending from the altar to the outer court, where the people were assembled. As each offerer killed his lamb the blood was caught in a basin, which was handed to the nearest priest, who passed it on to his neighbor, and he to the next; the blood was thus conveyed to the altar, at the base of which it was thrown by the last priest in the row. While basins full of blood were thus passed up, empty basins were passed down in a constant succession, so that there was no pause or delay. Which they received of the hand of the Levites - Ordinarily, the blood was received at the hand of the offerer. But the greater number of the Israelites 2 Chronicles 30:17 who had come to keep the feast were involved in some ceremonial or moral defilement, from which there had not been time for them to purify themselves. On account of this uncleanness, they did not slay their own lambs, but delegated the office to the Levites.

(16) In their place. —‘ Omdām. This word is used in this sense only in Daniel, Chronicles, Nehemiah. (Comp. 2Chronicles 34:31 ; 2Chronicles 35:10 .) After their manner—i.e., “according to their order” (1Chronicles 6:31). According to the law . . . of God.—Another reference to the Pentateuchal legislation. (See 2Chronicles 23:18; 2Chronicles 24:6; 2Chronicles 14:4; 2Chronicles 17:9.) Sprinkled . . . Levites.—Rather, sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites. On this occasion the Levites, and not the laymen who presented the victims, slew the lambs and handed the blood to the priests to be dashed against the altar. The reason of this breach of the ordinary rule is given in next verse.

16-18. the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites—This was a deviation from the established rules and practices in presenting the offerings of the temple. The reason was, that many present on the occasion having not sanctified themselves, the Levites slaughtered the paschal victims (see on [465]2Ch 35:5) for everyone that was unclean. At other times the heads of families killed the lambs themselves, the priests receiving the blood from their hands and presenting it on the altar. Multitudes of the Israelites, especially from certain tribes (2Ch 30:18), were in this unsanctified state, and yet they ate the passover—an exceptional feature and one opposed to the law (Nu 9:6); but this exception was allowed in answer to Hezekiah's prayer (2Ch 30:18-20).

Standing in their place, according to their right, i.e., according to the prescribed arrangement (see on 1 Chronicles 6:17 ), the priests sprinkled the blood (of the paschal lambs) from the hand of the Levites, they handing it to them. This was not the rule: in the case of the paschal lamb, the father of the family who slew the lamb had to hand the blood to the priest, that it might be sprinkled upon the altar; here the Levites did it for the reasons given in 2 Chronicles 30:17 . Because many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, the Levites presided over the slaying of the paschal lambs for every one who was unclean, to sanctify (the lambs) to the Lord (see also on 2 Chronicles 35:6 , 2 Chronicles 35:11 ). רבּת, stat. constr. before the noun with a preposition, stands as neuter substantively: there was a multitude in the assembly who...רבּת, in 2 Chronicles 30:18 is to be taken in a similar manner, not as an adverb (Berth.). וגו מאפרים רבּת is in apposition to העם מרבּית, a multitude of people, viz.: Many of Ephraim ... had not purified themselves, but ate the passover in an illegal fashion, not according to the precept (cf. Numbers 9:6 ). This clause explains how it happened that the Levites presided at the slaying of the passover for those who had not sanctified themselves, i.e., they caught the blood and gave it to the priests. Had this been done by persons levitically unclean, the expiatory sacrificial blood would have been defiled.

The eating of the paschal lamb or the participation in the passover meal was indeed allowed only to the clean; but yet it was not so holy an act, i.e., did not bring the people into such immediate contact with God, who was present at His altar, that those who were not clean might not, under some circumstances, be admitted to it. Here it was allowed, for Hezekiah had prayed for them that God might forgive the transgression of the law.