God’s Word for You

2 Chronicles 31:9-18 Pointing to our Jesus

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, May 30, 2025

9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. 10 Azariah the chief priest of the family of Zadok, answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the House of the LORD, we have eaten and had enough, and even plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.” 11 Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the House of the LORD, and this was done. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Conaniah, a Levite, was in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was second. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismaciah, Mahath and Benaiah were supervisors under Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah. Azariah was the chief officer in charge of the temple of God. 14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God. He distributed the contributions made to the LORD and also the holy offerings. 15 Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike. 16 A distribution was made to the males three years old and up whose names were in the genealogical records—all who would enter the temple of the LORD to carry out their orders day by day, according to their responsibilities and their divisions, 17 apart from the distribution that was made to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 18 They included all the little children, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.

An organizational paragraph like this one can make the attention of the typical reader or listener wander a little. But there are some wonderful things we learn in this passage. First of all, good organization is a gift God gives only to some. Some of us have a habit of study and research that does not go hand-in-hand with a nice tidy office, and sometimes this telescopes outward into some lack of organization in church boards and committees. On the other hand, some of our people have marvelous organizational skills and something like a visionary approach that helps groups to know what they need to do and when.

Second, we find that it was King Hezekiah personally who ordered storerooms to be prepared for the piles of offerings. These storerooms would need to have their former contents removed or consolidated, then they would need to be thoroughly cleaned, and the contents recorded as it was brought in: so many ephahs of grain, so many baths of wine, so many cubits of spun cloth, and so on.

Ten men and two supervisors were placed in charge of these storerooms. Since they were Levites, their positions might have been permanent, but since there were twelve of them, they could also have had a rotating “officer of the month” or some other schedule.

Another man, Kore the Levite, was placed in charge of distributing the gifts, with six men under him. They made distributions in Jerusalem to the priests and Levites, and also out in the thirteen towns of priests and Levites that had been assigned by Joshua (Joshua 21:13-19).

One of the men serving under Kore was Jeshua, which is one of the ways that the name “Jesus” was spelled in Hebrew. We remember that the name Jesus with related names from the same root word (Joshua, Hosea, Jeshua and Isaiah) are given to several men in the Old Testament with a far different sense than that by which it was assigned to our Savior. Those men in the Old Testament, such as Joshua the servant of Moses, the prophets Isaiah and Hosea, and the Levite in our text here in 2 Chronicles, are types that point ahead to Christ in various ways, including our Jeshua here.

Joshua, the servant of Moses and his successor, led the people into the Promised Land, which was something that Moses was unable to do. And in the fullest sense our Jesus brings us into eternal life, something that the Law was unable to accomplish. “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Hosea (or Hoshua) the prophet prefigured the grace of God to sinners by the example of his marriage. He was commanded to marry an unfaithful prostitute, and he proclaimed that her children were children of her adultery by naming them “Not Mine” and “Not Loved” (Hosea 1:6, 1:9). But then he was commanded by God to buy his divorced wife back just as Christ paid the price for our sins, and Hosea renamed the children “Beloved” and “My People” (2:23). In the fullest sense, Jesus our Lord has purchased and won us with his own blood, and he has loved us and made us his very own people.

Isaiah (or Yishiyahu) was the prophet who proclaimed the coming of Jesus more fully than any other, and announced the crucifixion that was coming in the most vivid terms in his 53rd chapter, the very center of the second half of his great book. In the fullest sense, Jesus Christ is the only fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies, for he is the one who took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). He was pierced for our transgressions, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and no other. By his wounds and only by his wounds are we healed (Isaiah 53:5)

The Jeshua of our text was named “The Lord is our Salvation” in anticipation of the promises of God. He was one responsible for giving out the gifts to the consecrated priests, but then also to “all the little children, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community.” And in the fullest sense, Jesus our Lord gives his gifts of life and salvation not only to a few faithful servants, but to all: Men, women, wives, little children, sons and daughters—to all who put their faith in him.

In many countries, especially where Spanish or Portuguese is spoken, we hear the name Jesus or Jesu as a fairly popular boy’s name. There is nothing wrong with this, because it is similar to our use of Isaiah or Joshua, which remain popular names in certain English-speaking countries. However, groups that take on the name “Jesus” meaning Jesus Christ, whether a special society or monastic group, should be careful that they are not claiming to have a holier or more righteous path to heaven on account of their name. All who follow Jesus had been called Christian since the earliest days (Acts 11:26), and even when it was a name used in derision (Acts 26:28) it is taken in the same way, as an honorable name given to all of Jesus’ followers; not just a certain few.

This is the wonderful truth proclaimed by the name of Jesus: “God has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to life through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9-10).

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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