"I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments." - PSALM 119:60
Live for God!
"I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments." - PSALM 119:60
Live for God!
The books of Samuel and Kings emphasized the work of the prophets and the northern kingdom. We will study the same time period again in Chronicles, which emphasizes the southern kingdom and the religious work of the priests & Levites.
It was the duty of the priests and Levites to teach the children of Israel their responsibility to God and to prove the lineage of the Messiah so that there could be no question as to the fulfilment of the prophecies concerning Him. They also needed to keep genealogies to prove that they were of the bloodline of Levi or Aaron in order to do Levitical or priestly work and receive tithes, and ordinary Israelites needed to keep genealogies to prove property rights. Here in 1 Chronicles 1, the Israelites are given their roots and their place among the nations of the world. Here we see that Abram, the one to whom the promises were given, was indeed the seed of Adam through Seth, the one who was blessed above his brothers. We are also given a brief history of all the relatives of Isaac and Jacob – nations with whom the people of God would interact, and how they came to be.
Dear Lord, thank You for these careful records that show us so clearly how You keep Your promises!
1Ch 2:7 The son of Carmi was Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing.
The family of Judah is given a lot of attention in these genealogies because of the Messianic promise that the sceptre would not depart from Judah, Gen.49:10. Until the time of David, no one knew which branch of the family would be given this honor. It seems that these genealogies were collected through the years and edited by someone (perhaps Ezra) after the time of the captivity. (Note the names of the descendants of Jeconiah in 1 Chr.3:17ff.) These genealogies are mostly just lists of names, but occasionally, there is an additional comment – the one thing that really stands out about that person. Maybe Achar (Achan, Josh.7:1) did a lot of good things. But what was he remembered for?
Lord, I pray that I will live so that I will be remembered as one who served You faithfully. Most of all, I pray that I will be remembered by Your Son when He comes again to take His faithful followers to their eternal reward.
1Ch 3:17 and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son, (ESV)
One of the interesting (and difficult) things about genealogies is that sometimes people are called by different names in different places. One example of this is Jeconiah, who is also called Coniah and Jekoiachin. Another difficulty is that sometimes a person is mentioned as the son of someone – and another time as the son of someone else! For example, in 1 Chr.3:19, Zerubbabel is the son of Pedaiah, but in Ezra 3:1, Hag.1:1, and Mt.1:1, he is the son of Shealtiel. One probable explanation is that Shealtiel died childless and Pedaiah raised up a son to him according to the Levirite law – and that son was Zerubbabel. There are also gaps in some genealogies. For example, Uzziah (Mt.1:8) was really the great-great-grandson of Joram. And so also Abiud, Mt.1:13, is mentioned as a descendant of Zerrubabel, but probably not his son, as the sons listed in Chronicles do not have that name. The important thing about the genealogy in this chapter is that it shows that the lineage of the Messiah survived the captivity.
Almighty God, we praise You for Your amazing power to bring about Your purpose on earth. We thank You for preserving the lineage of Your son in the most difficult of times, and we thank You for preserving Your word, also through the most difficult of times, so that we can have it this day. May we value it and glorify You by obeying it.
1Ch 4:9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." 10 And Jabez [lit. “he will cause pain”] called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested.
Someone wrote a whole book on this verse called “The Prayer of Jabez.” I don’t know what is in the book, but the part of the prayer that really touches my heart is where Jabez prays that he may not cause pain. I try to remember to pray this whenever I get in the car to drive somewhere. These verses show us that we can rise above our past and above what others think of us. Jabez DID cause pain at one time, his name and his family background put him in a “box” that could cause others to think that he would act in a pain-giving way, but with God’s help he rose above what others expected.
Dear loving Father, we bring our broken lives and the messes that we have made in life to You, trusting that, by Your providence and by us heeding Your words, we can overcome our pasts and be a blessing to others.
1Ch 5:20 And when they [tribe of Reuben] prevailed over them, the Hagrites [descendants of Hagar/Ishmael] and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him.
Despite the fact that the northern kingdom had one evil king after the other, and that most of the population followed in their footsteps, it is so encouraging to read that there were some faithful Israelites who trusted in God and were rewarded.
Dear almighty God, today we bring our own nation before You. We acknowledge that we as a whole and our leaders do sin and act corruptly in many ways. We pray that, no matter how our leaders act, we will cry out to You in our fight against Satan, put our trust in You and be blessed by You.
1Ch 6:31 These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there.
If you do a word search on “house” you will find that “house of the Lord” or a similar phrase appears at least 48 times in this book alone – and even more times in 2 Chronicles. This is the theme of the book – the building of the temple, the worship, those who served in it and what they did, and God’s relationship to His house. Kings were judged by how they treated the house of God. (Think of King Uzziah.) Let’s pay special attention to the “house of God” as we read 1 & 2 Chronicles. This house in Chronicles is but a shadow of the house that God was planning all along – the house of which we today are living stones. “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,” 1 Pet.2:5. Notice in 1 Chr 6:31 that “the ark rested there.” The ark was the special place of God’s presence – and so today God dwells with those who are in His house!
Dear Father, what a privilege it is to be priests to You in Your house and to have such a close relationship with You that You dwell with us! May we be careful to treat Your house with the respect that it – and You – deserve.
1Ch 7:13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.
It seems that Naphtali did not amount to much as far as the nation of Israel is concerned. There is only one verse about this tribe! Being in the north, the land of Naphtali was the first to suffer under the attack of Syria, 1 Ki.15:20, and Assyria, 1 Ki.15:29. Isaiah says that Naphtali was “lightly esteemed,” and “heavily oppressed,” 9:1. In verse 2 he calls it “Galilee of the Gentiles.” BUT “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” Humble Naphtali was exalted by the greatest Light of all – the Messiah, who made Galilee His home and chose many of His apostles from there. We serve an awesome God who brings the mighty to nothing and makes someone ordinary into someone special!
Lord, when I consider the works of Your hands, who am I that You should notice me, even love me and turn my darkness to light! May I always be humble in my own eyes so that I will never exalt myself above Your laws so that You are the One who receives the glory in everything.
1Ch 8:34 The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah.
Merib-Baal (striver with Baal) is mainly known by his other name: Mephibosheth (dispeller of shame), 2 Sam.4:4. Here Jonathan’s descendants are listed down to the 14th generation! Jonathan’s descendants prospered because he saw in David a man after God’s own heart. Therefore, Jonathan befriended him and was happy to give up his “right” to the kingdom so David could be king. Jonathan saved his life, and made a covenant with him. In return, David honored Jonathan by showing kindness to Mephibosheth. And so we see this family prospering for the next 350 years! Would it not be amazing and wonderful if God blessed some act of kindness on our part to bless a family for fourteen generations? I think of the person – whoever it was – who introduced the gospel to the great-great-great-great-grandfather of our son-in-law. That’s 7 generations of blessings already!
Dear God, You know the end from the beginning, but we do not! Please help us to spread as much kindness as we can, every day, knowing that we are to be Your instruments to bring about goodness in the lives of others in ways we cannot fathom. Help us especially to sow the seed of the kingdom, trusting You to give the increase.
1Ch 9:26 For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. 27 And they lodged all around the house of God because they had the responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning.
With regard to duties in the Tabernacle in the days of Moses, the descendants of the three sons of Levi – Gershon, Kohath and Merari – had specific duties in caring for and transporting specific parts of the tabernacle, eg. coverings & curtains, furniture, and boards, Numbers 3 & 4. In the days of Samuel and David, when the tabernacle was no longer being carried from place to place, the sons of Korah (descendants of Kohath) were appointed by Samuel and David to be gatekeepers at the place where the tabernacle was. They were in charge of opening and closing the entrances to the tabernacle, taking care of the furnishings, baking the showbread, and taking care of the flour, oil and wine needed for the daily sacrifices. Some lived near the tabernacle, and later they lived in rooms next to the temple. Others lived in outlying villages and came to work for 7-day shifts. The four chief gatekeepers were in charge of the treasury. Note that a plurality of men were chosen to look after the treasury – a way to curb any possible corruption.
1Ch 10:9 And they [Philistines] stripped him [Saul] and took his head and his armor, and sent word through-out the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people.
1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.
Why did the Philistines think that Saul died? Why did he really die? Today so many people think that the world came into existence by chance. So many think that if we just do good, we will go to heaven. So many think that they can’t change and do what God expects of them. The point is – we cannot rely on our own thoughts as being true, only on what God has revealed.
We praise You, O God, for You have created all things and You have made a way whereby we can escape the corruption that is in the world through lust and be partakers of Your divine nature. Help us to stop making excuses for our sins, as Saul did, but accept the consequences of our actions and turn to You and You alone as the healer of our hearts, desiring above all to be more and more like You each day.
1Ch 11:18 So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD.
What was it about David’s leadership that inspired his men to be willing to risk their lives, not just to follow him and obey him as their commander-in-chief, but to give their all, going above and beyond what David expected? For one thing, it is evident that David led by example. He was right out in the front of the battle, inspiring others to follow. He also took men who were directionless and looked down upon and gave them a noble purpose, I Sam.22:2. They were “on fire” for David and his cause, and from this verse (1Chr.11:18) we see that David let those men know that he truly valued their love and loyalty.
Today I would like to encourage us to think about what Jesus has done for us. Can I say that I am truly “on fire” for Christ to the extent that these men were for David? Is it possible that I have lost sight of how directionless my life would be without Him? Have I lost sight of the noblest purpose of this life? How much do I want to hear Jesus say, “Well, done good and faithful servant!”?
Saul spent the last 8-10 years of his life pursuing David. David is just 20-30 years old during this time, 2 Sam.5:4. When David flees from Saul, he first goes to Gath, then flees, pretending to be insane, and hides at various strongholds in the desert. This is where 400 men who were discontent or in debt or distress came to him, 1Sam.22:1-2. Among them are those listed in 1 Chr.12:8-18, warriors from Gad and about thirty (1 Chr.12:18, ESV) men of Benjamin (Saul’s tribe) and Judah. After about 4 years of narrow escapes from Saul, David decides to go back to Gath, makes himself useful to the king, and then asks for a village where he can live. Achish, king of Gath, gives him the town of Ziklag as a base, and for the next 4 years or so, in return, David goes on raids against the enemies of Judah and sends booty to Achish (who thinks David is raiding his enemies). There David is joined by ambidextrous warriors of Benjamin, kinsmen of Saul, 1 Chr.12:1-7. Shortly before the battle with the Philistines which costs Saul’s life, warriors of Manasseh (north if Ephraim) also defect to David at Ziklag, 1 Chr.12:19-22. David’s army now numbers 600, 1 Sam.30:9. After the death of Saul, David and his army move to Hebron and David reigns over Judah alone for 7 ½ years, 2 Sam.5:4. It seems that the events in 1 Chr.12:23-40 take place at the end of those 7 ½ years, after the death of Ishbosheth, 2 Sam.4:1-12. I particularly like the description of the men from Issachar:
1Ch 12:32 of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;
Dear Lord of wisdom, we also live in times that are difficult to understand. Please help us to “read” our times according to Your revealed word so that we do not get sucked into the culture of our times that is against Your teaching. We pray that we will influence our nation by being a light in our communities, and by raising our children to live godly in their generation.
1Ch 13:11 And David became angry because of the LORD's outbreak against Uzza; therefore that place is called Perez Uzza to this day. 12 David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How can I bring the ark of God to me?"
Try to imagine David’s feelings on this day. He imagines it is going to be the best day of his life – the culmination of all his years of struggle. He has arranged for the whole nation to come together to witness that the Lord is with him and them. But God kills Uzzah, which both angers (humiliates?) and frightens David because it shows the exact opposite! What was supposed to be a day of ultimate blessing has turned to disaster. Did David try to save face by carrying on as though nothing had happened? No! He immediately stopped all proceedings until he could find out what had displeased God.
Today I want to encourage us to consider what happens when God corrects us – either directly through His word, or indirectly through circumstances or the rebuke of others. Do I feel humiliation and the anger that comes from it? Of course! But how do I handle it? Is my goal to fear God or to lift myself up?
1Ch 14:2 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel.
There were three things David did to establish stability in the nation. 1. Establish himself as a spiritual leader by bringing the ark to Jerusalem. 2. Build his capital city and establish his family (possibly also by making treaties by marriage, as the mother/s of the children in verses 5-7 are not given). 3. Establish himself as a military leader by defeating the Philistines. In each case, David recognized that his success was not due to his own abilities (“the Lord had established him”) or worthiness (“for the sake of His people Israel”). The mother of the children listed in verse 4 is Bathsheba, 1 Chr.3:5. It is interesting to note that Jesus’ legal lineage is through Joseph and is given in Matthew. Jesus’ biological lineage is through Heli (assumed to be Mary’s father), and is given in Luke. The legal and biological ancestors of Jesus are the same through David, but Joseph was descended through Solomon, and Mary through his brother, Nathan.
Dear Lord, the One who resists the proud and exalts the humble. As we build our careers and families, may we establish ourselves as spiritual leaders by submitting to Your Son, the captain of our salvation. Then may we give You the glory is every accomplishment, recognizing that anything we do is not by our own power or because of our own worthiness.
1Ch 15:16 Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy.
In chapter 13 we see that when David acted without authority (using a cart instead of Levites to carry the ark), God was angered. In this chapter we find that David adds instrumental music in the corporate worship of God. Up to this time, the only instruments used in public worship were 2 silver trumpets, Num.10:2,10; Lev.23:24, 25:9. So why was God not angered by David’s seeming lack of authority when bringing in other instruments? The answer is in 2 Chr.29:25: And he [Hezekiah] stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet [prophets of David’s time]; for thus was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. We see then that David did have authority for these instruments! However, in New Testament worship, no musical instruments are authorized. Christians are to make melody in their hearts, Eph.5:19.
Dear loving Father, we thank You for Your wisdom in giving us the ability to make music with our voices, to marry words and music so that it brings joy to our hearts as we sing Your praises, comfort to our hearts as we sing of Your promises and resolve to our hearts as we sing of Your commandments. May the melody in our hearts and the words on our lips be beautiful in Your sight, O Lord.
1Ch 16:7 On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the LORD: [This psalm is also recorded for us in the Psalms – 105:1-15, 96:1-13, 106:1,46-48.]
The psalms give us such insight into the heart of this man “after God’s own heart,” 1 Sam.13:14. David experienced every emotion that springs from hardship, betrayal, grief, fear and loss to being incredibly blessed from both a worldly and spiritual perspective. He sank to the depths of sin, even to the point of being a murderer, and rose to the pinnacles of spirituality and a closeness with God to which we all aspire. He laid bare his heart to us in these psalms – and God has seen fit to gift to us his reflections, as well as the reflections of other great men of God, so that we can use them to strengthen our own hearts in every situation we face.
Dear Lord, our Lord, Your words are so precious to us! We cannot praise and thank You enough for Your great wisdom in providing for our every emotional need, as well as our every spiritual need – all in Your amazing revelation to us.
1Ch 17:19 O LORD, for Your servant's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.
David had what he thought, and what the prophet Nathan thought, was a great idea. But God’s plan far exceeded David’s wildest imaginings. All God wanted was for David to do what He had commanded. “Have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel… ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’” Because David had done what God commanded, He bestowed on David an incredible blessing – an enduring “house” and an everlasting throne. Because of the meaning the word “kingdom” had in David’s experience, I doubt David had an inkling of the true greatness of that kingdom: the world-wide scope and spiritual nature of that everlasting throne and the forever King who would sit on it. And because of the meaning the word “church” generally has today, we might allow ourselves to lose sight of the true nature of the Lord’s kingdom and fail to see the drawing power of the gospel and the true church in its simplicity.
Dear Father, as David prayed for his “house,” we now pray for the “house” that You have blessed us to be a part of. May we sow the pure and simple seed of the kingdom and water it, fully trusting that You will give the increase. We also pray for the forever home that You have promised to Your faithful children. We know that we do not have an inkling of the wonder that awaits those who are faithful to You, but we pray that You will bring it to pass in each of our lives.
1Ch 18:17 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief ministers at the king's side.
The literal meaning of Cherethites and Pelethites is “executioners” and “runners.” In other words, these men were David’s personal body guard – and such, their duties included executing those to whom the king meted out punishment and acting as couriers or messengers. The ESV says that David’s sons were “priests,” certainly not to God, but to David; that is “chief ministers” (NKJV) or “royal advisors” (NIV). By holding such positions, you can see then how easy it was for
Absalom to abuse his power and nearly succeed in tearing the kingdom away from his father. As we age, we become more and more dependent on our children. They become our advisors, our powers of attorney.
Dear Lord, I pray that we will live in such a way that we will keep our children’s respect, and thus influence them to remain faithful to You above all, and secondly faithful to our trust in them to help us when we are no longer competent to help ourselves. May the way Christians care for their aging parents show Your wisdom for family living to the world – and may that magnify Your name.
1Ch 19:4 Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved them [half of their beards, 2 Sam.10:4], and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 5… the men were greatly ashamed.
How do you feel when someone humiliates you or makes fun of you or teases you in a belittling way? Children often do this to each other, especially siblings. In our culture we don’t seem to see anything wrong in sarcasm or cutting speech that gets a laugh out of those who hear us. A husband who would never think of lifting a finger to his wife, verbally snipes at her. The frustrated heart of a wife who is outwardly but not inwardly submissive is often revealed by her belittling him. A Christian’s speech is to be “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen,” Eph.4:29 (NIV)
Today I challenge each of us to think about our speech. Do I always speak of others in a respectful way, even if I don’t agree with their words or actions? When I tease someone, do they think it is funny? When victimized by sarcasm, do I volley back with something even more cutting? What do we allow our children to say to each other and to other children? What is the motive behind my speech? To “score off” someone, or to build him/her up?
2Sa 21:15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him saying, “You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."
The account above mentions a fourth incident regarding the giants, one that is not mentioned in Chronicles. These verses remind us so much of our life’s battles. “At war again” – Satan never stops tempting us. “David…fought” – fighting is our responsibility, day in and day out. “David grew faint” – no matter how seasoned we are as soldiers of Christ, how honed our fighting skills are, or how much of a spiritual leader we are, there are times when every soldier grows faint. “Bearing a new sword” – Temptations always have new twists and turns to catch us off our guard. “But Abishai…came to his aid" – we cannot successfully fight alone. We need our brothers and sisters so much! Most of all we need the Lord! “You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel” – The life of our King was quenched in His battle against Satan, but the Lamp of Israel was NOT quenched! He rose from the dead, turning temporary defeat into eternal victory, not for himself alone, but for all of us who follow in His footsteps.
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Cor.15:57)
1Ch 21:16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, "Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father's house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
The city of Jerusalem was built on Mt. Zion, surrounded on three sides by steep valleys, and thus easy to defend. At the back of the city was a ridge that was slightly higher: Mt. Moriah. Now you can picture the angel above this ridge and how his sword would stretch out over Jerusalem. David had asked for God’s forgiveness before the plague started, but asking forgiveness and full self-surrender are two different things! It was only when David offered to give his life and his family’s lives for the lives of his subjects that God’s heart was moved to stop the plague. Not only that, but God was moved to reveal to David the exact spot where, over 400 years previously, He had promised to choose for them to bring their offerings, Dt.12:13-14. When God sent fire from heaven to the altar David built, David said, “This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel,” 1 Chr.22:1.
Father, I pray that I will never repent with my lips only, but fully surrender my heart and actions to You.
1Ch 22:5 Now David said, "Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it." …
1Ch 22:14 Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the LORD one hundred thousand talents of gold [3,750 tons!] and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure… 16 Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and the LORD be with you."
In today’s terms, the gold alone was worth US$1.8 hundred billion! Nothing was too much trouble, no expense was to be spared for “the house of the Lord.” Why did David do this? He wanted the house of God to be famous and glorious throughout all countries.
Dear Lord, today You have also built a house for Your name. May we spare no trouble and no expense to make Your house famous and glorious throughout all countries! I pray that Your word will prick the hearts of men and women to prepare to take the trouble to go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation, and I pray that the hearts of their brethren will be pricked to provide the necessary funds.
From Chronicles we see that David made a lot of preparations for Solomon to become king, even before the hasty coronation that took place when Adonijah tried to make himself king in 1 Ki.1. In 1 Chr.23 the Levites are organized into different divisions to take turns doing the different jobs necessary for the proper worship of God in His house as well as to be “officers and judges” among the people. (It was the Levites’ job to teach the Law to the Israelites in their various towns and base their judgments on that, Dt.16:18-20, 17:9-11). Law and order in a nation is so important!
Today I want to encourage us to pray for and thank God for the leaders in our congregations – the ones who have prepared to teach us Your laws, the ones who have their senses exercised to discern good and evil, who can counsel those entangled in sin and protect the flock from troublemakers – and also those who serve us by simply and faithfully attending to things in the background so that there is good order in our work and worship.
In this chapter we see that the priests were broken up into 24 divisions. In other words, they would spend 2 weeks per year ministering in the temple. Even in the organization of the work of the temple, David did not make this decision himself, but it was given to him by the Holy Spirit, 1 Chr.28:12-13. And so today, the house of the Lord is organized by direction of the Holy Spirit – both by role (eg. elders, deacons, evangelists and teachers) and by work (eg. how money is to be collected and used). God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, 1 Cor.14:33. Peace is only possible when there is order.
Dear Lord, help us to accept the roles that You have given us in the congregation, in society and at home. Help us to acknowledge deep in our hearts that Your wisdom so far exceeds ours that we will not only accept our roles, but rejoice in them!
1Ch 25:7 So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.
1Ch 15:22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful;
These men did not just pick up an instrument and play it; they did not just hear a song once and then they could sing it; they had to learn and work to become skilful. So it is with the way we praise God today. Not all of us naturally have good voices. Not all of us even naturally know how to carry a tune! But we can work to improve the way we praise God. I have known of several who could not even carry a tune – but they had someone teach them, and now they can even lead singing!
Today I encourage each of us to think of some area in our service to God where we can improve. Is it in teaching, encouraging, singing, studying, praying, speaking to others about the Lord? Let’s give Him our best! And if we need to learn how to do something better, why not ask someone to teach us!
1Ch 26:24 Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries.
Moses had two sons: Gershom and Eliezer. It is the descendants of these two sons who were over the temple treasury and the treasury of the dedicated things – the things won in battles that were dedicated to the Lord by Israel’s generals Samuel, Saul, Saul’s general Abner, David, and David’s general Joab. As we saw in chapter 22, this involved a huge sum of money, and most likely other valuable items. It seems that Moses, who received the testimony that he was faithful in all his house (meaning his dealings with the Israelite nation), Heb. 3:5, was also faithful in passing this characteristic of faithfulness to his posterity.
Gatekeepers were a special, important subgroup of Levites who were in charge of opening, closing and guarding the doors to the temple complex, 1 Chr.9:23,27, making sure no one unclean entered, 2 Chr.23:19. They were in charge of collecting the free-will offerings of the people, 2 Ki.22:4, and it seems they kept track of what was in the temple storerooms, 2 Ki.23:4. We find descendants of gatekeepers guarding the doors of the storerooms in Neh.12:25.
Dear Lord, how wonderful it would be if each of us were, like Moses and these gatekeepers, so faithful in our houses, that our descendants, 400 years later, were still faithful servants to you! May it be so, dear Lord!
1Ch 27:1 And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers' houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.
David did not keep a large standing army, as that would be a waste of public resources. He instead called up 1/12 of his army each month to keep them ready for war, as needed. Their captains were chosen from David’s mighty men, listed in 2 Sam.23 and 1 Chr.11: 1. Jashobeam, the first of the first of the first rank of three mighty men. 2. Dodai, the second of the first three. 3. Benaiah, captain of the second rank of three mighty men and captain of David’s personal bodyguard. He became Solomon’s commander-in-chief. 4. Asahel, one of the 30, David’s cousin, the brother of Joab who was killed by Abner in the very beginning of David’s reign. He was therefore captain posthumously in an honorary sense, his son Zebadiah being captain in his stead. 5. Shamhuth, the third of the first three mighty men. The rest of the captains belonged to the group of the thirty mighty men. The twelfth captain was a descendent of Othniel, the first judge of Israel, Jud.3:7. He was also Caleb’s brother and won Caleb’s daughter as his bride for conquering Kirjath Sepher, Josh.15.
Dear Almighty God, as these men proved themselves worthy of captaincy through their mighty deeds, we know that our Lord was made our perfect Captain through the things which He suffered, especially His mighty deed of sacrificing Himself on the cross for us, thus gaining a mighty victory over Satan. As we come to the end of another year, help us to reflect on the mighty deeds of the Captain of our salvation, love Him more, and be more determined than ever to follow Him implicitly.
1Ch 28:9 "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
“Know the Lord” – what a wonderful goal for the new year! Paul said that he “counted all things loss” so that he could know God, Phil.3:7-11. We don’t want to just know about God, but know Him, know what pleases Him and why it pleases him so that we can “serve Him with a loyal heart.” God searches our motives, and all we do for Him must be done with a willing mind. This does not mean that we will always feel like doing what pleases God, but we set our will in line with God’s will and do it anyway. In this way we seek God, and God makes a wonderful promise that we will find Him. Through experiencing the wonderful results of our obedience, we “find” Him by coming to know that His will is best, “find” how much He really does love us, and “find” a wonderful peace that passes understanding.
Dear Lord, I pray that, on this first day of a new year, You will bless each one of us as we renew our commitment to come to know You. I pray that we will learn much from Your word in the year ahead and, because of the impact Your word makes on our lives, be a light and blessing to all around us.
1Ch 29:13 "Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. 15 For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope.
David was an exceedingly wealthy man. He could have thought, “Since I have so much, it is not really fair to expect poorer people to give.” Or the people could have thought, “David has so much more money than we do – we shouldn’t be expected to give.” How sad when people, poor or rich, fail to give, thus failing to be blessed! What a wonderful bless-ing the whole nation received because both rich and poor gave to the Lord what they could from a willing heart! How could they do this? They realized that everything they had really belonged to God, and that this world is not our home.
Dear God from whom all blessings flow, I pray that Your children everywhere will be of such a willing mind as were these people so that You can bless us so that we can bless others by helping them in their needs, and especially in their spiritual needs by sending out preachers so that the whole world will hear the saving gospel!