1 Chronicles 23:1 – 32 “The Divisions of the Levites
When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.
The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000. “Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, 4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”
Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
The Gershonites (Numbers 3:21-26; Numbers 4:21-28; Numbers 4:38-41) The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan. And the sons of Shimei : Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei—four in all. Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment.
The Kohathites (Numbers 3:27-32; Numbers 4:1-20; Numbers 4:34-37) The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before 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.
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first. The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second.
The Merarites (Numbers 3:33-37; Numbers 4:29-33; Numbers 4:42-49) The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
Levite Duties Revised
These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the LORD. For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.” For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.
They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them. So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the LORD.”
In the beginning, the Levites set themselves apart by killing those who were involved in the orgies sparked by the worship of the golden calf Aaron created while Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. (Did Aaron narrowly miss being killed?) Because the Levites were willing to be obedient, God set them apart as a group to minister to Him. During the wanderings in the wilderness, the Levites had specific duties assigned involving the Tabernacle, setting it up, taking it down, and transporting it. But once the Israelites reached the Promised Land, nobody thought to re – assign duties now that the Tabernacle no longer had to be carried. Now David has taken up this administrative task.
“YIPES!” you respond. “How boring can you get? This chapter is nothing but lists. Why even read this stuff?” You are responding this way because you aren’t worried; when Jesus died on Calvary, the huge veil in the temple in Jerusalem that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom, indicating that God through Jesus Christ was making a way for all mankind to come to Him. For you to worship is simple, and you don’t have to prove your family’s origins. But these lists were compiled at a time when it was crucial to be able to prove one’s lineage. It’s likely that Ezra, the priest who led the first group of Jews back from Babylon to Jerusalem compiled these lists as a means of reminding those returning from exile of the organization David established. The second chapter of Ezra describes men who claimed to be from the priestly line but who could not prove it. There were those who returned from Babylon who struggled to prove that they were actually Jews and therefore allowed to take part in the worship in the temple. For those people, genealogy meant the difference between being accepted as Jews or being barred from worship in the temple for ten generations. Families in these lines enjoyed certain privileges that also set them apart. It was no small thing to be able to prove your Levitical heritage.
APPLICATION: These days, DNA testing and websites such as ancestry.com are extremely popular. Most people would like to be able to prove that they come from good families. One of the many evils of slavery that persist to this day is the fragmentation of families that has left people grasping to learn where their ancestors came from.
Look at what the Levites had to do: For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.
They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them. So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the LORD.”
The Levites had to take orders from the priests, doing all the grunt work in the temple – cleaning, purifying holy things, baking the show bread and displaying it, etc., etc. But those Levites were also to stand every morning and evening to give thanks and praise to the Lord. The motto of the Benedictine order is “Ora et Labora,” meaning “pray and work.” For centuries, the Benedictines have prayed at set times, interspersing their prayers with practical work. In that time, the Benedictines have accomplished wonderful things that have greatly benefitted the world. Those old – time Levites could have readily identified with the Benedictines. Nowadays there is a great deal taught about mindfulness, taking time to reflect on one’s life and surroundings. But if you turn your heart toward God, mindfulness simply becomes another description of prayer. May all of us find ways to combine prayer with our work, so that we will have times of refreshing. Ora et Labora!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to realize that any work to which You have called us is sacred and let us take times to pray as well. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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