The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/1_chronicles/23.htm

David is growing old and near the sleep of death, and he makes his son Solomon the King of Israel. But before he dies, he reorganizes (my word, not God’s), the Levites.

Remember, the Levites did not receive in inheritance in the land of Israel as their tribe was to minister to the people; and they received a small portion within each tribe in which to live and raise crops, etc. The job of the Levites was to carry the Ark of the Covenant, to tear down and carry the portable temple, and wherever they settled, to reconstruct the temple so worship and sacrificial services could take place. And like Moses’ brother Aaron (Levites), to serve as priests.

But now that a brick and mortar temple is about to be built, they will no longer have to carry the ark or the portable temple, so David has conducted a census of them and assigned them their various new duties.

In Chapter 24, there is a review of the genealogy of the sons of Aaron and how the Levites were divided. Note that as you read this and other geneaologies throughout the Bible, you will undoubtedly come across multiples of the same name. This is because like today, there are many “John’s” in this world, I’m not the only one. And even if we use our last name, there are still many “John Tracy’s” in this world. I say this because you will notice the name “Kish” in this chapter. Kish was the father of Saul, but he wasn’t the only “Kish” to be born. And sometimes to differentiate people, they called that as “son of”, for example “Joshua, the son of Nun”. But not always, so realize there the Levite Kish is different than the Benjamin Kish who was the father of Saul.

Not only were the Levites in charge of the temple and the priesthood, they were also charged with the worship music, because as we read in the book of psalms (songs), praising God with music is encouraged during worship. Chapter 25 reviews the Levites who would be musicians. Just like today, most churches have designated pianists, or organists, or those in the church choir; back in the day, they were Levites.

Chapter 26 details the gatekeepers and those in charge of the treasury (you always have to have a church treasurer to manage the money).

And finally, David established the military divisions, appointed the heads of the tribes, and appointed other “State” officials, for example, the chief of the King’s treasury.

Many of these chapters may seem mundane to read, like reading your neighbors genealogy book. But you can always find hidden messages from God within these chapters, for example, the importance of including praise music in your worship, and while it isn’t necessarily in black and white, the suggestion that it is helpful to have church members assigned special duties, such as treasurer, music director, elders, etc.

Other than that, I don’t have many insights about the chapters I read today. So, I’ll end with another song in my favorites list.