(24) Made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar.--Literally, made sin offering of their blood. (Comp. Leviticus 9:15.) The meaning may be seen by reference to Leviticus 4:30, seq. The priest dipped his finger in the blood of the victim and touched the horns of the altar with it, and then poured the blood at the base of the altar.

For the king commanded . . . Israel.--For for all Israel the king had commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering; or, for "For all Israel," said the king, "is the burnt offering and the sin offering." The expression all Israel includes the northern kingdom. (Comp. Hezekiah's invitation to its people to attend the Passover, 2Chronicles 30:1.)

Verse 24. - They made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar; Revised Version, and they made a sin offering with their blood. etc.; Hebrew, piel future of חָמָא. The piel conjugation occurs in all fourteen times - seven times rendered "cleanse;" twice, "purify;" twice, "offer for sin;" once, "purge;" once, as here, "make reconciliation;" and once (Genesis 31:39, "I bare the loss of it"), to "bear loss." This last instance, being the very first occurrence of the word in this conjugation, beautifully harmonizes with the simple and most elementary idea of the doctrine or facts underlying the word. To make... atonement; Hebrew, לְכַפֵד, piel infinitive. This word, which in the one kal occurrence of it (Genesis 6:14) means "to pitch, or cover with pitch," occurs in piel eighty-six times, and is rendered "atone" or "make atonement" sixty-six times, seven times "reconcile" or "make reconciliation," the other renderings being such as "pacify," "purge," "forgive," "cleanse," "be merciful," "put it off," i.e. "expiate" (margin). We are so distinctly twice told that these sacrifices were for all Israel, that it may be taken for granted that the desire of Hezekiah was to include the northern kingdom - with which, under Hoshea, in subjection to the Assyrian king, times were now very hard and ominous of the end - in the benefits of the expiatory offerings now made (so see vers. 5, 6, 10-12 of next chapter).

29:20-36 As soon as Hezekiah heard that the temple was ready, he lost no time. Atonement must be made for the sins of the last reign. It was not enough to lament and forsake those sins; they brought a sin-offering. Our repentance and reformation will not obtain pardon but in and through Christ, who was made sin, that is, a sin-offering for us. While the offerings were on the altar, the Levites sang. Sorrow for sin must not prevent us from praising God. The king and the congregation gave their consent to all that was done. It is not enough for us to be where God is worshipped, if we do not ourselves worship with the heart. And we should offer up our spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and devote ourselves and all we have, as sacrifices, acceptable to the Father only through the Redeemer.And the priests killed them,.... The seven he goats; for of the killing of the bullocks, rams, and lambs, mention is made before, 2 Chronicles 29:2.

and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; typical of the reconciliation and atonement made for the whole spiritual Israel of God by the sacrifice of Christ:

for the king commanded that the burnt offering, and the sin offering, should be made

for all Israel; not only for the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and for as many of the rest of the tribes as were come over to them, and dwelt among them; but even for the ten tribes also, sadly guilty of idolatry, and for whose reformation and good this pious prince was concerned, see 2 Chronicles 30:1.