MPV Commentary

3. In the first year of his reign, in the month of Nisan, Hezekiah opened the doors of the Lord's temple, which had been closed by his father.

He repaired and embellished them (compare 2 Kings 18:16).

4-5. The east street, or court of the priests, was where Hezekiah gathered the priests and Levites to instruct them on the immediate purification of the temple. This order did not involve removing idols, as it's unlikely any were present given that the doors had been shut (2 Chronicles 29:3). Instead, the temple and its courts had become polluted by various impurities due to their forsaken state.

6-7. Our ancestors have committed a grave offense - Ahaz and his contemporaries turned away from God's presence and abandoned His worship. They even closed the doors of the temple porch, effectively halting all sacred rituals.

8-9. As a result, the Lord's wrath was upon Judah and Jerusalem. Hezekiah recognized that the nation's calamities were a direct consequence of their apostasy from God. The country had been ravaged by wars, its resources depleted, and many families suffered the loss of loved ones still in foreign captivity.

10-11. Now it is my intention to make a covenant with the Lord God (Psalm 89:3). Convinced of the sin and bitter consequences of idolatry, Hezekiah aimed to reverse his father's policy and restore the worship of the true God in all its ancient purity and glory. His decision to begin this resolution at the start of his reign demonstrates his genuine piety and conviction that righteousness exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34).