1 Chronicles 23:1-32

LESSON ELEVEN 23-24

THE LEVITES AND THEIR DUTIES
15. THE LEVITES AND THEIR WORK (Chapter 23)

INTRODUCTION

The successful functioning of the Temple required a careful organization of the priesthood. All of the Levites were appointed special assignments with regard to the Temple.

TEXT

1 Chronicles 23:1. Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2. And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3. And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. 4, Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and Judges 5. and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. 6. And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7. Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. 8. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers-' house of Ladan. 10. And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11. And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they became a fathers-' house in reckoning.
12. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name forever. 14. But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Leviticus 15. The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16. The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. 17. And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18. The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20. The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah 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 only: and their brethren Kish took them to wife. 23. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder and Jeremoth, three.
24. There were the sons of Levi after their fathers-' houses, even the heads of the fathers-' houses of those of them that were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from twenty years old and upward. 25. For David said, Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath given rest unto his people; and he dwelleth in Jerusalem for ever: 26. and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the service thereof. 27. For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered, from twenty years old and upward. 28. For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God; 29. for the showbread also, and for the fine flour for a meal-offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all manner of measure and size; 30. and to stand every morning to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at even; 31. and to offer all burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Jehovah; 32. and that they should keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, for the service of the house of Jehovah.

PARAPHRASE

1 Chronicles 23:1. By this time David was an old, old man, so he stepped down from the throne and appointed his son Solomon as the new king of Israel. 2. He summoned all the political and religious leaders of Israel for the coronation ceremony. 3. At this time a census was taken of the men of the tribe of Levi who were thirty years or older. The total came to 38,000. 4, 5. Twenty-four thousand of them will supervise the work at the Temple, David instructed, six thousand are to be bailiffs and judges, four thousand will be temple guards, and four thousand will praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have made. 6. Then David divided them into three main divisions named after the sons of Levithe Gershom division, the Kohath division and the Merari division.

7. Subdivisions of the Gershom corps were named after his sons Ladan and Shime-i. 8, 9. These subdivisions were still further divided into six groups named after the sons of Ladan: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, Joel; and the sons of Shime-iShelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. 10, 11. The subclans of Shime-i were named after his four sons: Jahath was greatest, Zizah was next, and Jeush and Beriah were combined into a single subclan because neither had many sons.

12. The division of Kohath was subdivided into four groups named after his sons Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13. Amram was the ancestor of Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his sons were set apart for the holy service of sacrificing the people's offerings to the Lord. He served the Lord constantly and pronounced blessings in his name at all times. 14, 15. As for Moses, the man of God, his sons Gershom and Eliezer were included with the tribe of Leviticus 16. Gershom's sons were led by Shebuel, 17. and Eliezer's only son, Rehabiah, was the leader of his clan for he had many children. 18. The sons of Izhar were led by Shelomith. 19. The sons of Hebron were led by Jeriah. Amariah was second in command, Jahaziel was third, and Jekameam was fourth. 20. The sons of Uzziel were led by Micah, and Isshiah was the second in command.

21. The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22. Eleazar died without any sons, and his daughters were married to their cousins, the sons of Kish. 23. Mushi's sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
24. In the census, all the men of Levi who were twenty years old or older were classified under the names of these clans and sub clans; and they were all assigned to the ministry at the Temple. 25. For David said, The Lord God of Israel has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem. 26. Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its instruments from place to place. 27. (This census of the tribe of Levi was one of the last things David did before his death.) 28. The work of the Levites was to assist the prieststhe descendants of Aaronin the sacrifices at the Temple; they also did the custodial work and helped perform the ceremonies of purification. 29. They provided the Bread of the Presence, the flour for the grain offerings, and the wafers made without yeast (either fried or mixed with olive oil); they also checked all the weights and measures. 30. Each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing thanks and praise to him. 31. They assisted in the special sacrifices of burnt offerings, the Sabbath sacrifices, the new moon celebrations, and at all the festivals. There were always as many Levites present as they required for the occasion. 32. And they took care of the Tabernacle and the Temple and assisted the priests in whatever way they were needed.

COMMENTARY

A further proof that David was deeply concerned about the Temple is evident in his careful organization of the Levites with respect to their Temple duties. When David became very old and his health failed, he proclaimed Solomon to be king in his place. David's son, Adonijah, forced his hand in this matter (I Kings, chapter 1). The military census which Joab had taken did not include the Levites. It was necessary that a careful count of this tribe be made so proper work assignments could be given. The Levite males thirty years of age and older were counted. There were thirty eight thousand. Twenty four thousand had assigned responsibility with regard to the Temple. Six thousand would serve as officers and judges. The officers were overseers of work outside the Temple which pertained to the functioning of the Temple. The Levitical judges had responsibility in those matters which had to do with decisions pertaining to the Temple. The doorkeepers would be charged with the security of the Temple. Four thousand Levites had charge of the musical instruments such as harps and cymbals as these would be used in Temple services. The census would indicate the particular Levitical family to which each Levite belonged. Responsibilities were assigned which agreed with the kind of service that the Kohathite, Gershonite, or Merarite could perform. 1 Chronicles 23:7-11 name certain leaders of the Gershonite family. Nine households were counted. Three of these belonged to Shimei and six belonged to Ladan (Libni). In Moses-' day the Gershonites had charge of the tent materials in the moving of the Tabernacle. Now they were appointed other tasks relating to services at the Temple. 1 Chronicles 23:12-20 concern the Kohathites. Kohath, Levi's son, had four sons. Amram was the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. Aaron's separation or selection for the high priesthood was an important event in Israel's history. His responsibilites were to sanctify the most holy things, to regard Jehovah's appointments in the tabernacle as most sacred; to burn incense before Jehovah, the sweet odor of dutiful service, the symbol of prayer; to minister unto him, to carry out every detail of the ritual; to bless in his name forever, to be Jehovah's agent in mediating his grace to men. Moses-' sons, Gershom and Eliezer, were heads of houses and shared Kohathite obligations. Moses is here called the man of God, a most honored descriptive phrase. No false prophet in Biblical record is ever called a man of God. The Kohathite assignments in Moses-' day had to do with the sacred furniture of the tabernacle which they carried on their shoulders or arms. The priests who officiated at the altar were members of this family. Their duties would be of this highest order in the Temple. 1 Chronicles 23:21-23 concern the Merarites. Merari was Levi's third son (Genesis 46:11). Gershon was represented by nine houses, Kohath by eleven, and Merari by four. Altogether there were twenty-four divisions of the tribe of Levi. In Moses-' day the Merarites had to transport the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets of the tabernacle. They probably assisted in cutting wood and carrying water for the Temple. Verse three in the present chapter indicated that the Levites were numbered beginning at age thirty. Verse twenty four states that the enumeration began at age twenty. It is possible that David understood that more Levites would be needed than could be provided under the thirty year limitation. Among the last directives (1 Chronicles 23:27) given by David was the one which lowered the age limit to twenty years. A summary of the tasks reveals a variety of exercises that had to be done to keep the Temple functioning. Work in the courts, in the rooms built in the Temple walls, officiating at the altar, and serving in the Temple proper would involve many men. Preparing shewbread, processing the meal offerings, presenting daily sacrifices, and discharging added responsibilities during the sabbath days and special feast days required many willing hands. The whole Temple routine was amazingly involved and wonderfully demanding. It was the heart of Jehovah's government of His people. It was the life line of the total relationship of Israel to Jehovah. It was peculiarly the charge of the Levites to keep this institution functioning.