Day 118: 1 Chronicles 26-29

(The previous post covered the beginning of Solomon's reign, the building of the temple, and the division of labor within the temple.)

1 Chronicles 26

(This chapter covered the Doorkeepers of the Temple.)

(Verses 1-12: the division of the doorkeepers, also known as "gatekeepers" or "porters.")

¹ For the courses of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.
² And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the first-born, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,
³ Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.
⁴ And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth,
⁵ Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him.
⁶ Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor.
⁷ The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brethren were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah.
⁸ All these were of the sons of Obed-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men in strength for the service; threescore and two of Obed-edom.
⁹ And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, valiant men, eighteen.
¹⁰ Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief, (for though he was not the first-born, yet his father made him chief),
¹¹ Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.
¹² Of these were the courses of the doorkeepers, even of the chief men, having offices like their brethren, to minister in the house of Jehovah.

(Verses 13-19: the lot for each family of the doorkeepers.)

¹³ And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to their fathers' houses, for every gate.

(Again, all of the doorkeepers had to draw lots regardless of their individual experience.)

¹⁴ And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a discreet counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.
¹⁵ To Obed-edom southward; and to his sons the store-house.
¹⁶ To Shuppim and Hosah westward, by the gate of Shallecheth, at the causeway that goeth up, watch against watch.
¹⁷ Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and for the store-house two and two.
¹⁸ For Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.
¹⁹ These were the courses of the doorkeepers; of the sons of the Korahites, and of the sons of Merari.

(The doorkeepers were divided according to the lot they drew. These men were descendents of Korah and Merari, two of Levi’s sons.)

(Verses 20-25: overseers for the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.)

²⁰ And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.
²¹ The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers' houses belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli.
²² The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of the house of Jehovah.
²³ Of the Amramites, of the Izharites, of the Hebronites, of the Uzzielites:
²⁴ and Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler over the treasures.
²⁵ And his brethren: of Eliezer came Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son.

(Verses 26-28: Shelomith, an important leader of the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.)

²⁶ This Shelomoth and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers' houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated.
²⁷ Out of the spoil won in battles did they dedicate to repair the house of Jehovah.
²⁸ And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated, whosoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomoth, and of his brethren.

(Verses 29-32: other servants for the kingdom of Israel.)

²⁹ Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges.

(Chenaniah and his sons were responsible for administrative duties, like scribes or secretaries.)

³⁰ Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valor, a thousand and seven hundred, had the oversight of Israel beyond the Jordan westward, for all the business of Jehovah, and for the service of the king.
³¹ Of the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even of the Hebronites, according to their generations by fathers' houses. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Jazer of Gilead.
³² And his brethren, men of valor, were two thousand and seven hundred, heads of fathers' houses, whom king David made overseers over the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, and for the affairs of the king.

(The business of God and service of the king was covered. Men were responsible for lands east and west of the Jordan.)




1 Chronicles 27

(This chapter covered leaders of the tribes and officers of the kingdom.)

(Verses 1-15: Leaders over the army of Israel.)

¹ Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the heads of fathers' houses and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers that served the king, in any matter of the courses which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year-of every course were twenty and four thousand.

(This began the list of Israelite generals and captains, and their officers, who served the king by leading his army divisions that were on duty each month of the year. Each division served for one month and had 24,000 troops.)

² Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
³ He was of the children of Perez, the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month.
⁴ And over the course of the second month was Dodai the Ahohite, and his course; and Mikloth the ruler: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
⁵ The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, chief: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
⁶ This is that Benaiah, who was the mighty man of the thirty, and over the thirty: and of his course was Ammizabad his son.
⁷ The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
⁸ The fifth captain for this fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
⁹ The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
¹⁰ The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
¹¹ The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zerahites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
¹² The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
¹³ The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zerahites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
¹⁴ The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
¹⁵ The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

(Each of the twelve divisions was named with their leader.)

(Verses 16-22: the leaders of each tribe.)

¹⁶ Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah:
¹⁷ of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of Aaron, Zadok:
¹⁸ of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:
¹⁹ of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel:
²⁰ of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:
²¹ of the half -tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
²² of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.

(Verses 23-34: officers in king David's government.)

²³ But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under, because Jehovah had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of heaven.
²⁴ Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but finished not; and there came wrath for this upon Israel; neither was the number put into the account in the chronicles of king David.

(David’s numbering of the Israelites was not finished because God’s anger on Israel came before the numbering was completed. Therefore, the number of the Israelites at this time was not recorded.)

²⁵ And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah:
²⁶ And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub:
²⁷ and over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: and over the increase of the vineyards for the wine-cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite:
²⁸ and over the olive-trees and the sycomore-trees that were in the lowland was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash:
²⁹ and over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:
³⁰ and over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite.
³¹ All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David's.

(David’s rulers/officials were named. These men were in charge of David’s substance: property, goods, possessions.)

³² Also Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counsellor, a man of understanding, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons:

(Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe.)

³³ And Ahithophel was the king's counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend:
³⁴ and after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the captain of the king's host was Joab.

(Remember, Ahithophel sided with Absalom and once his counsel was ignored, he killed himself (2 Samuel 17:23). Joab was mentioned again as David’s general.)




1 Chronicles 28

(King David publicly endorsed Solomon.)

¹ And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that served the king by course, and the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers, and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, unto Jerusalem.

(David assembled the whole congregation.)

(Verses 2-8: David's final instructions before he died.)

² Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: as for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and for the footstool of our God; and I had made ready for the building.
³ But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood.

(David said to the entire congregation that God told him to not build the temple because he had been a man of war. What was really going on here?
1) David could have been wrong and remembered his interaction with God wrong.
2) David could have been trying to distract everyone from the fact that he was a tenth generation bastard.
3) He could also have been trying to hide that God's actual response (2 Samuel 7) was that David had initiated his will instead of asking God what He wanted, and Nathan had initially supported David.)

⁴ Howbeit Jehovah, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel;

(God chose David to be the king of Israel. God chose Judah to be the prince/ruler: Genesis 49:10.)

⁵ And of all my sons (for Jehovah hath given me many sons), he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of Jehovah over Israel.
⁶ And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
⁷ And I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and mine ordinances, as at this day.

(David made the entire congregation aware of Solomon being king and God’s intentions regarding him and his kingdom.)

⁸ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of Jehovah, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Jehovah your God; that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you for ever.

(Verses 9-10: David spoke to Solomon.)

⁹ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Jehovah searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

(David was giving his "charge" to Solomon in front of the whole congregation. He told Solomon to serve God with a perfect heart and a willing mind. God searches all hearts and He understands all imaginations of the thoughts.

Imagination is a conscious brain ability that animals do not have. We can intentionally remember and we can intentionally imagine. This passage stated God can take forward with imagination all our thoughts to determine their outcome. Again, this was another passage that showed God knows what we will do as a response of our thoughts...our choices.)

¹⁰ Take heed now; for Jehovah hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.

(Verses 11-19: plans for the temple.)

¹¹ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch of the temple, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper rooms thereof, and of the inner chambers thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat;
¹² and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of Jehovah, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasuries of the house of God, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things;
¹³ also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and for all the vessels of service in the house of Jehovah;

(David gave Solomon the pattern (model, plan) for the temple and all the surrounding buildings, courts, and even the items within the temple.)

¹⁴ of gold by weight for the vessels of gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; of silver for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service;
¹⁵ by weight also for the candlesticks of gold, and for the lamps thereof, of gold, by weight for every candlestick and for the lamps thereof; and for the candlesticks of silver, silver by weight for every candlestick and for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick;
¹⁶ and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver;
¹⁷ and the flesh-hooks, and the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl;
¹⁸ and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot, even the cherubim, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.

(David also gave Solomon the plans/model for the amount of material (gold, silver, etc.) needed to build the temple and its parts.)

¹⁹ All this, said David, have I been made to understand in writing from the hand of Jehovah, even all the works of this pattern.

(David gave credit to God for giving him the understanding to create this model.)

(Verses 20-21: David's final charge to Solomon.)

²⁰ And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed; for Jehovah God, even my God, is with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until all the work for the service of the house of Jehovah be finished.
²¹ And, behold, there are the courses of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee in all manner of work every willing man that hath skill, for any manner of service: also the captains and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.

(David made Solomon aware of the Levites and the others who were commanded to help in this venture.)




1 Chronicles 29

(This chapter covered the end of king David's reign.)

¹ And David the king said unto all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Jehovah God.

(David continued speaking in front of the whole congregation.)

² Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the brass for the things of brass, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
³ Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

(David gave his own treasures to the temple which also included stone. He called it "the house of my God." This was personal to David.)

⁴ even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, wherewith to overlay the walls of the houses;

(In addition to what David collected for the temple, he gave 112 tons of gold and 262 tons of refined silver.)

⁵ of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah?
⁶ Then the princes of the fathers' houses, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work, offered willingly;
⁷ and they gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and of iron a hundred thousand talents.
⁸ And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of Jehovah, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

(The leaders of Israel also gave willingly. Aside from the precious stones they offered, there was about 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins (darics), 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of brass, and 3,750 tons of iron collected from this offering.)

⁹ Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Jehovah: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

(Verses 10-20: David blessed God before all the people.)

¹⁰ Wherefore David blessed Jehovah before all the assembly; and David said, Blessed be thou, O Jehovah, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

(This is the first time in the Bible that God is addressed directly as a "father" over His people.)

¹¹ Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Jehovah, and thou art exalted as head above all.
¹² Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou rulest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
¹³ Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
¹⁴ But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
¹⁵ For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.
¹⁶ O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh of thy hand, and is all thine own.
¹⁷ I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, that are present here, offer willingly unto thee.

(God tries (to examine, test, prove) our hearts and has pleasure in uprightness. David recognized God, built his faith in God through understanding and experience, and referenced Justice. All that was left to turn this into a prayer was a request...)

¹⁸ O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee;
¹⁹ and give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.

(David made a request to God for the people and Solomon. Was God's giving Solomon madda understanding as documented in 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1 the fulfillment of David's prayer?)

²⁰ And David said to all the assembly, Now bless Jehovah your God. And all the assembly blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Jehovah, and the king.

(Verses 21-30: the end of David's reign, the beginning of Solomon's reign.)

²¹ And they sacrificed sacrifices unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel,
²² and did eat and drink before Jehovah on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto Jehovah to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.

(Solomon was anointed king a second time in front of the entire congregation.)

²³ Then Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
²⁴ And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.
²⁵ And Jehovah magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
²⁶ Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
²⁷ And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
²⁸ And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

(David died and Solomon was king of Israel. What happened to the story from 1 Kings 1 about Abishag (the virgin that kept David warm)? What happened to the story (also from 1 Kings 1) about Adonijah exalting himself and attempting to take the kingdom from Solomon? How would Adonijah have been able to convince the people he was king instead of Solomon when David twice stated in front of everyone that Solomon was king?)

²⁹ Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer,
³⁰ with all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

(We have seen, this book focused on king David's actions as king. While the Book of 2 Samuel covered the same time period, it covered more of David's personal story. Would we get even more resolution on what God said to David when He prevented David from building the house for God? Would we get even more resolution on how Satan was able to stand against David?)

(The Book of Nathan the Prophet??? The Book of Gad the Seer???)

(The Book of 1 Chronicles was the eighth of the twelve books that made up the historical section of the Old Testament. The Book of 1 Chronicles covered the same time period as the Books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel: The kingships of Saul and David. The Book of 2 Chronicles covered the same time period as the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings, however, the focus was Judah. Many experts believed the Books of Chronicles were compiled by Isaiah (~683 BC) and Ezra (~461 BC) from the records of scribes and prophets from 1279-461 BC.)

Day 119