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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