2 Chronicles 30:21
And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD. And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD.
The verse belongs to Hezekiah's first Passover at Jerusalem, held after the idolatrous shrines set up under Ahaz were cleared from the streets, nearly a century before Josiah's reform. Those Israelites present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, while the priests and the Levites led praise to the Lord every day with loud instruments and music. The seven days were spent by the people in offering peace offerings and learning what God wanted them to do. Each day the Levites taught the good knowledge of the Lord, with teaching priests reading the book of the law publicly to the people.
The great gladness was the joy of a united worshiping multitude in praising a gracious and merciful God, expressing their shared gratitude. Those who had prepared their hearts to seek God found pardon, making the gathering one of great profit to all present. The seven days of gladness and daily praise expressed obedience to the statutes recorded by Moses, especially those in the book of the covenant in Deuteronomy, and that obedience made Hezekiah's reign prosperous.
The feast passed so quickly that the worshipers chose to remain another seven days to learn more fully the way of the Lord. The passage addresses the position of God's people and calls people of every age to give themselves wholly to the Lord. Their response is accompanied by deep feeling, with a sense of the Lord's blessing on the meeting.