Once the worship of the Lord had been restored, it had to be maintained. There were two aspects to this. First, the opportunities for idolatry had to be reduced; and under Hezekiah’s leadership, all the local shrines to the worship of Baal were destroyed (II Chronicles 31:1). Second, Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites, in accordance with the structure first established in Leviticus, to serve their months of service in the system of sacrifices and offerings (31:2-3).

The king himself provided the animals for the burnt offerings (31:3); but the people would need to provide the tithes and offerings for the support of the priests and Levites (31:4). That’s what they started to do: “As soon as the word spread, the people of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything” (31:5).

Over the next few months all these supplies began to heap up in abundance (31:7). “When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel” (31:8). Indeed, Hezekiah questioned the chief priest Azariah about why there was such abundance. Azariah answered, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty to spare; for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this great supply left over (31:10)

The reason the priests and Levites were to receive these portions was “so that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord” (31:4). If they had not been priests and Levites – that is, if they had been farmers, like everyone else – then they would have been working their own farmland. Because the crops and herds were fruitful in those years, that would mean they would have experienced the same abundance as everyone else. But because of the high value placed on teachers and worship leaders, these individuals were not to spend their days growing crops: they were to devote themselves to the law of the Lord – without them and their families being denied the fullness of blessing that everyone else was receiving.

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We live in the land of plenty, O Lord, and yet we often feel impoverished, and hesitant in our tithes and offerings. Grant to us generosity of spirit, we pray, for the sake of your work and your kingdom, with the resolution that none of your people should go hungry.