First Chronicles 23:14

The Bible says in First Chronicles 23:14-32, “Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.[15] The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.[16] Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.[17] And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.[18] Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.[19] Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.[20] Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.[21] The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.[22] And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.[23] The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.[24] These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.[25] For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:[26] And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.[27] For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:[28] Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;[29] Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;[30] And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even;[31] And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:[32] And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.” Notice in verse thirteen that Moses is called “the man of God.” That would be a great compliment if anyone would ever describe you in that way. Among the great goals of life is to serve God, and walk with God, and learn from God, and love God. We have a chance to do these things through faith in Christ.

David was also a man of God and therefore he wanted to have everything arranged for the temple worship once the temple was built. That was a big undertaking that took a lot of planning. It could only be done if the Lord provided the opportunity. David said in verse twenty-five, “The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people.” David knew that God had given them this opportunity and he took advantage of it. In order to accomplish something for God, you must recognize what God has given you the opportunity to do, and then take advantage of that opportunity. Some people are so caught up in their own lives that they do not see what could be done for the Lord. David was a man of God and therefore he understood what he needed to do. Verse twenty-seven is an interesting verse. It tells how long David worked on this project of getting ready for the building of the temple: to the end of his life. It says, “For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above.” Even with his “last words” David kept working on his plan and on this opportunity that God had given to him. Never give up; never stop; never retire from the work of God, and then you will be a “man of God.”

The Bible says in First Chronicles 24:1-8, “Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.[2] But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Elezar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.[3] And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.[4] And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.[5] Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.[6] And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.[7] Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,[8] The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,” Notice the phrase “chief men” in verse three. Every one of us has different abilities according to God’s plan for us. A leader like David looks for the right people for the right job. That makes all the difference in the world.

The rest of chapter twenty-four continues to list those that were chosen for these positions as priests and Levites in the work that had to be done in the temple. And then in chapter twenty-five we see the emphasis that David made on preparing for the spiritual music that would take place in the temple work and worship. The Bible says in First Chronicles 25:1-8, “Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:[2] Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.[3] Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD.[4] Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth:[5] All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.[6] All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.[7] So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.[8] And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.” This is a great passage of scripture about the importance of music in serving God. David knew that, and so he gathered and organized all the singers and musicians that he could. Notice that it says in verse three that Jeduthun “prophesied with a harp.” To prophesy is to speak forth the Word of God. In other words, a form of preaching is to deliver the Word of God with music and with singing. Some people have the gift to speak and to deliver God’s Word, and others have the gift to make music to deliver God’s Word. Heman had seventeen children, and all of them, the boys and the girls, were involved in music. What a tremendous musical family that David added to his group. It says about this family in verse six, “All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.”

The Bible says in First Chronicles 25:9-12, “Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve:[10] The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:[11] The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:[12] The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:” The rest of this chapter continues this list of twenty-four names. There is a lot of detail in the Bible, but there is much more that we do not know. There is a lot of detail about the lives of each of these people that we do not know, but we will know one day. When we are in heaven, we will meet each believer from ages past, and it will be wonderful to know how God worked in each of their lives.

The Bible says in First Chronicles 26:1-14, “Concerning the divisions of the porters: Of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.[2] And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,[3] Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh.[4] Moreover the sons of Obed-edom were, Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth,[5] Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth: for God blessed him.[6] Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father: for they were mighty men of valour.[7] The sons of Shemaiah; Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brethren were strong men, Elihu, and Semachiah.[8] All these of the sons of Obed-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service, were threescore and two of Obed-edom.[9] And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen.[10] Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons; Simri the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;)[11] Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.[12] Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the LORD.[13] And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.[14] And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counseller, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.” Notice the phrase in verse thirteen, “And they cast lots…” We may not totally understand this method of making decisions that was sometimes used in the Old Testament, but God gives us a lot of freedom to make decisions and then God stands behind the decisions that we make. For example, you do not have to pray and ask God if you can go get a glass of water. You can, if you want to. But you can also make the decision yourself and go do it. Jesus said, “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Bible says in First Chronicles 26:15-27, “To Obed-edom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.[16] To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.[17] Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.[18] At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.[19] These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari.[20] And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.[21] As concerning the sons of Laadan; the sons of the Gershonite Laadan, chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite, were Jehieli.[22] The sons of Jehieli; Zetham, and Joel his brother, which were over the treasures of the house of the LORD.[23] Of the Amramites, and the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites:[24] And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures.[25] And his brethren by Eliezer; Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.[26] Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated.[27] Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the LORD.” It is worth noticing something that is said several times in these verses. In verse twenty it says, “Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.” In verse twenty-two it says, “which were over the treasures of the house of the LORD.” In verse twenty-four it speaks of Shebuel who “was ruler of the treasures.” And in verse twenty-six it says, “Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things.” We see that keeping the finances in order was very important. There is a practical side to serving the Lord, and the finances of any organization must be carefully controlled and taken care of. Ministries have been ruined because this did not happen. One of the values of having a secular job for years is that knowledge can be gained about the value of a dollar. Jesus worked for many years in a carpenter shop before He became a preacher. Paul worked as a tent maker to help support himself as a missionary. How can someone who has never had a secular job preach to those who must labor in secular jobs every day?

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