What I Noticed Today (1 Chronicles 23-25)
1 Chronicles 23
1 Chronicles 23 explains how David reorganized the ministry of the Levites.
In verses 1-23, since the ark was now in Jerusalem, the Levites who were responsible for carrying the ark and the temple furnishings were re-assigned to caring for the tent of meeting, the sanctuary, and the service of the temple priests.
- David had the Levites over 30-years old counted and found there were 38,000 men.
Note: Levites were not allowed to enter into service to the Lord until they were 30-years old (Numbers 4:3).
- He ordered 24,000 of them to be in charge of the Lord’s temple, 6,000 to be officers and judges, and 4,000 to praise the Lord with musical instruments.
- David divided them into division according to Levi’s sons; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
- Arron’s descendants (Aaron’s father was Amram, a descendant of Kohath) were set apart for service to the most holy things and minister before the Lord.
- Moses’ descendants (Moses’s father was Amram, a descendant of Kohath) were listed among the tribe of Levi.
In verses 21-32, David summarized the Levitical duties and assignments.
- David lowered the age for Levites to enter service to the Lord to those over 20-years old.
- The Levite’s duty was to assist the sons of Aaron (priests) in the service of the Lord’s temple.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- David enjoyed great success because the Lord was with him. But with that success, he became prideful. This allowed Satan to tempt him to number the people and even caused him to ignore the advice of his own commander.
- But when he realized his sin, David humbly admitted his error, submitted to God’s judgment, repented of his sin and was obedient in restoring his relationship with the Lord.
- How much are we like David today? We attribute our success to our own efforts, become prideful, and enter into sin! This sin separates us from God, but our relationship can be restored through admission, submission, repentance, and obedience.
1 Chronicles 24-26
It is tempting to gloss over these chapters full of names! But in slowing down, I came to appreciate just how organized David was as he established himself as king.
In 1 Chronicles 23, David began organizing the Levites. In 1 Chronicles 24-26, David further organized the Levitical priests, musicians, gatekeepers, treasurers, and judges.
1 Chronicles 24
In verses 1-19, the priests were organized under Aaron’s two surviving sons; Eleazar and Ithamar.
- A total of 24 groupings of priests were established to serve in the Lord’s temple in shifts.
- Eleazar’s descendants outnumbered Ithamar’s by 2:1, so Eleazar got sixteen shifts, and Ithamar got eight shifts.
- The shifts were assigned by lot and recorded by Shemaiah, the secretary.
In verses 20-31, the Levites who were not priests were also divided into 24 groups.
- Verse 20. Amram with his descendant Shubael, and Shubael’s descendant Jehdeiah.
- Verse 22, the descendants of Rehabiah and his son Isshiah.
- Verse 23, the descendants of Hebron.
- Verses 24-25 the descendants of Uzziel.
- Verses 26-30 the descendants of Merari.
Note: In this section, the use of ancestral names and the practice of skipping generations in genealogies make it difficult to determine the succession with precision.
- The roles were assigned by lot.
1 Chronicles 25
David may have been a man of war, but he was also a musician, and music played an important part in the daily worship of God.
In verses 1-31, the musicians were assigned from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun.
- The music ministry included the gift of prophecy (1 Chronicles 25:1).
- Asaph had four sons, Jeduthun had six, and Heman had 14, for a total of 24 groups.
- Each of the 24 groups was composed of 12 men, for a total of 288 men.
- The shifts were assigned by lot and recorded by the secretary.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
