1 Chronicles 9:1 – 44 “So all Israel was recorded in the genealogies written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
These were some of the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh who lived in Jerusalem: Uthai son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, a descendant of Perez son of Judah. From the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. From the Zerahites: Jeuel and 690 relatives. From the Benjamites: Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah; Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; and 956 of their relatives according to their genealogy. All these men were heads of their families.
From the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin; Azariah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of God’s temple; Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; and 1,760 of their relatives, the heads of their families, able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, a descendant of Merari;
Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph; Obadiah son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.
These were the gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their chief; he was previously stationed at the King’s Gate on the east side. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites. Shallum son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives from the Korahites were assigned to guard the thresholds of the Tent, just as their fathers had been assigned to guard the entrance to the dwelling of the LORD.
In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him. Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust. So they and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the house of the LORD—the house called the Tent. The gatekeepers were stationed on the four sides: east, west, north, and south. Their relatives came from their villages at fixed times to serve with them for seven-day periods. But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God. They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they were responsible for guarding it and opening it every morning. Some of them were in charge of the articles used in worship, to count them whenever they were brought in or taken out. Others were put in charge of the furnishings and other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, frankincense, and spices. And some of the sons of the priests mixed the spices.
A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with baking the bread. Some of their Kohathite brothers were responsible for preparing the rows of the showbread every Sabbath.
Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night. All these were heads of Levite families, chiefs according to their genealogies, and they lived in Jerusalem.
The Descendants of Saul
Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah. Abdon was his firstborn son, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They too lived alongside their relatives in Jerusalem. Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal. The son of Jonathan: Merib-baal, who was the father of Micah. The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Jarah; Jarah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri was the father of Moza. Moza was the father of Binea. Rephaiah was his son, Elasah his son, and Azel his son. And Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.
It’s likely that Chronicles 1 and 2 were originally one book compiled by Ezra, who led the first group of Israelites back from Babylon to resettle Jerusalem. The ten tribes comprising the Northern Kingdom of Israel were carried off into captivity by the Assyrians. Later, the kingdom of Judah was captured by the Babylonians and many of its citizens taken to Nineveh. But in 559 B.C., something miraculous occurred.
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’ ” So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.” (Ezra 1:1 – 6)
Led by Ezra, a large group of Jews did move back to Jerusalem. But how were things to be re – structured? It wasn’t simply a question of rebuilding houses and the temple; there were the duties of the priests and Levites to be re – instituted. 1 Chronicles 9 indicates those who returned to Jerusalem and describes their duties – gatekeepers, bakers, musicians, and other temple servants. The comments about these people are fascinating. The head gatekeepers also kept track of the temple treasury and were accountable for defending it. One man was singled out to bake the showbread, presumably because his skills were exemplary. Others were tasked with arranging the showbread.
Notice that the musicians stayed in the temple complex and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night. Psalm 134:1 says, “Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!” Anyone who has ever led worship knows that it’s much easier to keep going when you have an audience. Those who conducted worship at night had an audience of One, the One True Living God.
APPLICATION: Why would Ezra list all those working in the new and much smaller temple in Jerusalem? Even though Solomon’s temple lay in ruins, worship still needed to continue. For Ezra and all those who accompanied him, their focus had to be on God and not on externals; otherwise, they would have become completely disheartened. Ezra’s lists were both ways of keeping track of everyone and also a means of encouraging the priests and Levites to be diligent in their work. Just because these people had returned to Jerusalem did not automatically guarantee that they would fulfill their assignments properly. As a matter of fact, once Ezra was no longer around, work on the temple stopped and people began building their own houses, settling farms, etc. It was this gloomy news that caused Nehemiah to beg leave and to come to Jerusalem, where he carried out further reforms.
Every supervisor knows that there are those who can be trusted to work without being closely monitored and there are those who must be watched constantly. If we are followers of the One True Living God, then everything we do should be done for His glory. No task is too menial to be dedicated to God. What is our motivation for working? Do we work as steadily without an audience as we do when someone is watching? Remember those temple musicians; they were exempt from other duties, but only because they were on duty 24/7. As believers, so are we.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to fulfill Your Call on our lives, whether or not we have a human audience, knowing that You are the One for whom we work. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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