Fatherly Advice and Final Instructions - 1 Chronicles 22-24

This is Episode #128 and today we’ll read 1 Chronicles chapters 22-24 together.   David gives fatherly advice and final instructions before he dies and the genealogy of the Levites is taken to a new level after House of the Lord is built.  

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Transcript

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.   This is Episode #128 and today we’ll read 1 Chronicles chapters 22-24 together.   David gives fatherly advice and final instructions before he dies and the genealogy of the Levites is taken to a new level after the House of the Lord is built.  

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I'm your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me - from the beginning - simply reading God's word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

1 Chronicles Chapter 22:

Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

David’s Preparations for the Temple

So David gave orders to gather the resident aliens that were in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God’s house. David supplied a great deal of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the fittings, together with an immeasurable quantity of bronze, and innumerable cedar logs because the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David. David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly great and famous and glorious in all the lands. Therefore, I will make provision for it.” So David made lavish preparations for it before his death.

Then he summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. “My son,” David said to Solomon, “It was in my heart to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, but the word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for my name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before me. But a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel 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. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he said about you. Above all, may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he puts you in charge of Israel so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will succeed if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.

“Notice I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord — 3,775 tons of gold, 37,750 tons of silver, and bronze and iron that can’t be weighed because there is so much of it. I have also provided timber and stone, but you will need to add more to them. You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron — beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon: “The Lord your God is with you, isn’t he? And hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has handed the land’s inhabitants over to me, and the land has been subdued before the Lord and his people. Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Get started building the Lord God’s sanctuary so that you may bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy articles of God to the temple that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

1 Chronicles Chapter 23:

The Divisions of the Levites

When David was old and full of days, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites. The Levites thirty years old or more were counted; the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand by headcount. “Of these,” David said, “twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple, six thousand are to be officers and judges, four thousand are to be gatekeepers, and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the instruments that I have made for worship.”

Then David divided them into divisions according to Levi’s sons: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

Ladan’s sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel — three.

Shimei’s sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran — three. Those were the heads of the families of Ladan.

Shimei’s sons: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah. Those were Shimei’s sons — four. Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became one family and received a single assignment.

Kohath’s sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel — four.

Amram’s sons: Aaron and Moses.

Aaron, along with his descendants, was set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense in the presence of the Lord, to minister to him, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

Moses’s sons: Gershom and Eliezer.

Gershom’s sons: Shebuel was first.

Eliezer’s sons were Rehabiah, first; Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very numerous.

Izhar’s sons: Shelomith was first.

Hebron’s sons: Jeriah was first, Amariah second, Jahaziel third, and Jekameam fourth.

Uzziel’s sons: Micah was first, and Isshiah second.

Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi.

Mahli’s sons: Eleazar and Kish.

Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth — three.

These were the descendants of Levi by their ancestral families — the family heads, according to their registration by name in the headcount — twenty years old or more, who worked in the service of the Lord’s temple. For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he has come to stay in Jerusalem forever. Also, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service” —  for according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted —  “but their duty will be to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the Lord’s temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God’s temple —  as well as the rows of the Bread of the Presence, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of volume and length. They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening. Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed festivals, they are to offer them regularly in the Lord’s presence according to the number prescribed for them. They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.”

1 Chronicles Chapter 24:

The Divisions of the Priests

The divisions of the descendants of Aaron were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. Together with Zadok from the descendants of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the descendants of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service. Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of ancestral families were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral families were from Ithamar’s. They were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.

The secretary, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the officers, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites. One ancestral family was taken for Eleazar, and then one for Ithamar.

The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,

the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,

the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

As for the rest of Levi’s sons:

from Amram’s sons: Shubael;

from Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.

From Rehabiah:

from Rehabiah’s sons: Isshiah was the first.

From the Izharites: Shelomoth;

from Shelomoth’s sons: Jahath.

Hebron’s sons:

Jeriah the first, Amariah the second,

Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

From Uzziel’s sons: Micah;

from Micah’s sons: Shamir.

Micah’s brother: Isshiah;

from Isshiah’s sons: Zechariah.

Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi,

and from his sons, Jaaziah his son.

Merari’s sons, by his son Jaaziah:

Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

From Kish, from Kish’s sons: Jerahmeel.

Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

Those were the descendants of the Levites according to their ancestral families. They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites — the family heads and their younger brothers alike.

Close

I am blessed to belong to a church family where the men take seriously their obligation to teach the next generation.  Frequently, I catch glimpses of men teaching boys to be men.  That's what I see here when I read chapter 22.  This conversation between David and his son Solomon warms my heart.  He actually blesses Solomon and the work of his hands.  On some level, I sense this is very important instruction for the fathers and sons of today.

Now, again, this is an abbreviated genealogy.  We know this because – as Exodus tells us – there was four hundred years between Levi and Moses.  Realizing these details tends to help us slow down in our reading and ask more often, “What’s going on here?”  Remember, reading the Bible is not supposed to be a checkoff item.  It’s meant to change us.  But it’s a process.  It’s a habit formed over a lifetime.  Just keep at it.  How do you feel about being almost one-third of the way through the Old Testament?  Let me know at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.