1 chronicles 23 provides insight into King David’s priorities. After the new temple was completed, the responsibilities of the priests would have to change. There would no longer be a need to pack up and carry the Tabernacle and its contents. The moving crew needed new assignments. The chapter begins, “When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel“. It is worth pointing out; the Bible puts a high value on long life. There is an image of being filled by the years, rather than being emptied by time as we tend to think today. Next God’s general took an assessment of resources and allocated them. “The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand“. The age requirement of 30 years was given in Numbers chapter 4. Having been part of many moving crews, I am sure this is because “careful” and “Twenty Something” do not belong in the same sentence. David then divided the resources. “Twenty-four thousand are to [Work in] the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments“. Have you noticed praise being pushed out of your busy day?
As before, the roles of the Priest and Levites were divided by clan. There is a special note that, “Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever“. All Levites were ministers, but only the descendants of Aaron were allowed to be priests. The role of the priest was quite exclusive. There is an extreme level of worthiness associated with offering sacrifice before God on another’s behalf. Hebrews 5: 3 explains that Jesus was the ultimate High Priest because He is without sin; whereas the earthly priest must first offer sacrifice for himself. And Hebrews 4:14 adds, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need“.
As the chapter concludes, we read, David commanded the inclusion of “workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord“. And the explanation is, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service“. I am amazed how few people experience real refreshing rest. The “work hard, play hard” philosophy has become almost universal. In contrast Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light“. Finally the chapter ends with an important idea. We read another duty of the temple servants: “They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening“. Praise and rest seem to be bound together. Are you in need of real refreshing? Try expressing your praise to God!