Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Bible in one year 6/27/2022 1Chronicle Chapter 21-24 By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible in one year 6/27/2022 1Chronicle Chapter 21-24

King David census, preparations for the Temple and organization of the Levites

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & Counseling

1Chronicles21 David’s sinful census

            Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “ Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.:(v.1-2). But Joab replied, “ May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. May lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”(v.3). The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.(v.4). Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.(v.5). Actually God permitted Satan to prompt David to take a census of the people, and David insisted on doing it, contrary to Joab’s advice (2Sam.24:1). Though not inherently wrong, the action demonstrated David’s reliance on numbers of warriors rather than on God. The census took about ten months to complete (2Sam.24:5-8). The 800,000 from Israel in 2Sam.24:9 may not have included the 300,000 listed in 1Chron.27, which would make the total (as here) 1,100,000. The 470,000 in Judah may not have included the 30,000 of 2 Sam.6:1, which would bring the total (as here) to 500,000. Or perhaps the Chronicles figure represents a round number.

            The consequences of sin often affect others. The Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people “ Enough! Withdraw your hand”. (vv.14-15). Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. King David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. The amount was about three hundred ounces of gold and paid for the whole property on which the Temple would be built. (2Sam.24:24) records only the purchase of the threshing floor and oxen.

David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar  of burnt offering. (vv.25-26). Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.(vv.26-30).

1 Chronicles Chapter 22 David’s preparations for the Temple

            Then David said, “ The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”(v.1) so David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. (v.2). He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David. (vv.3-4). David said, “ My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.(v5).

            Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon : “ My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But his word of the Lord came to me. ‘ You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon; and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. (vv.6-10).

            Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. (vv.11-13).Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the Temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.(v.19).

1 Chronicles Chapter 23 David’s Organization of the Levites

            When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. The Levites thirty year old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. David said, Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”(vv.1-5). David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (v.6).The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Heborn and Uzziel four in all. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister before him and to pronounce blessing in his name forever. The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.(vv.13-14).

 There was the descendants of Levi by their families –the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord.(v.24). Foreseeing the need for added manpower when the Temple would be built, David lowered the age of service to twenty.       

 The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duty at the house of God. They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.(vv.28-31).

1 Chronicles Chapter 24 Dividing the Levites into twenty-four groups

            These were the divisions of the sons of Aaron: The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a descendant of Ithamar a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar;s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. (vv.1-5). Dividing the priests into twenty-four groups meant that each group would serve for two weeks out of the year. The way the Jewish year was divided meant that their service would gradually move around the calendar. This arrangement was reinstituted after the exile and continued into N.T. times (Luke1:5).

The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites-one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar. The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, second, Jedaiah, third, Harim, fourth, Seorim, fifth, Malkijah, sixth, Mijamin, seventh, Hakkoz, eighth, Abijah, ninth, Jeshua, tenth, Shecaniah, eleventh, Eliashib, twelfth, Jakim, thirteenth, Jeshebeab, fifteenth, Bilgah, sixteenth, Immer, seventeenth, Hezir, eighteenth, Happizzez, nineteenth, Pethahiah, twentieth, Jehezkel, twenty-first, Jakin, twenty-second, Gamul, twenty-third, Delaiah, twenty-fourth, Maaziah. (vv.7-18).

 

Bibliography,

 Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986 

 

     

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