A big temple needs lots of gate keepers
I Chronicles 26:1-19
I Chronicles 26
2 And the sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,
3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.
4 ¶ Moreover the sons of Obed-edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth,
5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him.
6 ¶ Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability.
7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men.
8 ¶ All these were of the sons of Obed-edom, they and their sons and their brethren, able men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-edom.
9 ¶ And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men.
10 ¶ Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first),
11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.
12 ¶ Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the LORD.
13 And they cast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father’s house.
14 The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate;
15 to Obed-edom the South Gate, and to his sons the storehouse.
16 To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the ascending highway—watchman opposite watchman.
17 On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the storehouse two by two.
18 As for the Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar.
19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari.
In I Chronicles 23-26 we see David’s division of the Levites into specific duties – all 38,000 of the men. Click here to see the notes on I Chronicles 23-25. The last group of Levites described in this section of I Chronicles are the porters (aka gate keepers) – 4,000 of them (Korahites). Hey! It was a big temple, and they worked shifts as well. So, what were these guys responsible for, exactly? Well, the temple was a holy place just like the tabernacle which preceded it. Access was limited to those people and things that would not defile it. These men were charged with controlling that access to prevent the defiling of the temple.
And who watches the money?
I Chronicles 26:20-28
I Chronicles 26
21 The sons of Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: Jehieli.
22 The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of the LORD.
23 Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites:
24 Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries.
25 And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.
26 ¶ This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things which King David and the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated.
27 Some of the spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the LORD.
28 And all that Samuel the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren.
These Levites, serving as porters (gate keepers), included two major stewardships over treasuries – the one over the treasuries of the temple (verses 20-22), with their offerings and valuable equipment, and the other over the treasuries of dedicated objects (verses 23-28). These objects included the spoils of war going all the way back to Samuel.
The external-affairs officers
I Chronicles 26:29-32
I Chronicles 26
30 ¶ Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king.
31 Among the Hebronites, Jerijah was head of the Hebronites according to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men at Jazer of Gilead.
32 And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the affairs of the king.
These 6,000 Levites served as scribes and judges assigned to areas outside Jerusalem. Also, they were likely involved in the collection of taxes and tithes.
Now for the rotating national guard
I Chronicles 27:1-15
I Chronicles 27
2 ¶ Over the first division for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand;
3 he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month.
4 Over the division of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
5 The third captain of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
6 This was the Benaiah who was mighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son.
7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
10 The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
11 The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
12 The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
13 The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division were twenty-four thousand.
Each unit had 24,000 men of Israel serving for one month each year. That’s a rotating army of 288,000 – on 1 month and off 11. Of the twelve generals, eight of them were from the Tribe of Judah, David’s tribe.
These must be the census takers
I Chronicles 27:16-24
I Chronicles 27
17 over the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok;
18 over Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael;
19 over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel;
20 over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;
21 over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;
22 over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
23 ¶ But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because the LORD had said He would multiply Israel like the stars of the heavens.
24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for wrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.
The section lists the officers presumably involved in the census David had commissioned Joab to do back in I Chronicles 21 (see notes). Twelve tribes are mentioned, though it is a very odd list; Gad and Asher are omitted and Aaron is added. Verses 23-24 specifically deal with that census issue by shedding a little more light on the issue – taking into consideration God’s promise to Abraham back in Genesis 15:5 (see notes) and Genesis 22:17 (see notes).
Look at the stipulations of these verses:
Genesis 15:5 (see notes) Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Genesis 22:17 (see notes) blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
God’s promise to Abraham was that his seed would be so numerous that they could not be numbered. Yet, David commissioned Joab to try it anyway, though Joab stopped short of numbering the minor men. It would appear that God was very displeased with David’s attempt to number the innumerable back in I Chronicles 21 (see notes).
And finally, the civil leaders
I Chronicles 27:25-34
I Chronicles 27
26 Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground.
27 And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine.
28 Baal-hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil.
29 And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys.
30 Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys,
31 and Jaziz the Hagrite was over the flocks. All these were the officials over King David’s property.
32 ¶ Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons.
33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion.
34 After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then Abiathar. And the general of the king’s army was Joab.
Verses 25-31 provide us with another list of twelve. These are the royal stewards, the heads of the civil service. You will notice that they aren’t all Jewish in this list.
Old Man David explains how he became king
I Chronicles 28:1-8
I Chronicles 28
2 ¶ Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it.
3 But God said to me, “You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’
4 However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel.
5 And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
6 Now He said to me, “It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father.
7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’
8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.
David assembles the leaders of Israel for the purpose of handing the task of building the temple over to his son Solomon. David himself had wanted to build a temple for God, but God said “no.” David explains why in verse 3 – too much a man of war. More explanation is given in I Chronicles 22:2-19 (see notes). David reviews the process of how he was selected by God to become the King of Israel, and makes it clear that God has selected Solomon his son to continue.
David now turns to Solomon
I Chronicles 28:9-21
I Chronicles 28
10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”
11 ¶ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat;
12 and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things;
13 also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD.
14 He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service;
15 the weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand.
16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each table, and silver for the tables of silver;
17 also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl;
18 and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
19 “All this,” said David, “the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans.”
20 ¶ And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”
David gives his charge to Solomon right in front of all Israel for them to hear. Verses 9-10 serve to set the stage for Solomon’s rule. With all of David’s faults, he was chosen by God as “a man after his own heart” (I Samuel 13:14, see notes). David knew how important it was as king to stay focused on the One True God. David presents to Solomon the plans for the temple which, according to verse 19, he had gotten by the hand of God himself. It included the design of the structure and all the furniture and utensils – everything.
Free will offerings for the temple
I Chronicles 29:1-9
I Chronicles 29
2 Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance.
3 Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver:
4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;
5 the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”
6 ¶ Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly.
7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.
8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.
9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
David donates to the temple project an immense amount of personal wealth. Then the leaders of Israel give a substantial free will offering for the building of the temple as well. So…how do you feel after giving your contribution for the work of the temple? I Chronicles 29:9, “Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.” Simply said, they rejoiced.
David prays to God while Israel listens
I Chronicles 29:10-21
I Chronicles 29
“Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
And You are exalted as head over all.
12 Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
13 “Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And of Your own we have given You.
15 For we are aliens and pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.
16 ¶ “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.
17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.
18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You.
19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.”
20 ¶ Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” So all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.
21 ¶ And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
He thanks God for his greatness. He prays for Solomon to seek after God with his whole heart. Now…time for sacrifices. The next day they made 3,000 sacrifices of animals of significant size. That would be an all-day job.
Solomon anointed King of Israel…again
I Chronicles 29:22-25
I Chronicles 29
23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon.
25 So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
An incident took place in I Kings 1:5-53 (see notes) previous to this occasion in which Solomon’s half brother, Adonijah, tried to hijack the throne? Zadok, the priest, quickly anointed Solomon as king in a private ceremony. That was the first anointing. This second anointing referred to in verse 22 here takes place publicly. It was not Ezra’s purpose in writing the Book of Chronicles for the returning exiles to rehash this well-known political brawl that was already well documented in I Kings.
Goodbye David
I Chronicles 29:26-30
I Chronicles 29
27 And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.
28 So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place.
29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
30 with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.
Well, it’s over. After 40 years of successes…it’s over – “seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.” Those 33 years were the highlight of Israel’s national history. David possessed all the land that God had promised to Abraham. That was not the case with Saul before David, nor any of David’s successors. For complete details on God’s promise to Abraham and the fulfillment under David, click here.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
Psalm 127
Psalm 127
1 ¶ Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Notice the introduction to this Psalm, “A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.” Here’s a Psalm that reads like a chapter from the Book of Proverbs. Based upon the subtitle, it seems likely that this may be one of the last Psalms written by David with his son Solomon in mind, although that is just conjecture; we don’t know the circumstances for the writing of this one. As a matter of fact, there’s not even agreement among scholars that David wrote this Psalm at all. The subtitle in the KJV says “Song of Degrees” rather than “Song of Ascents as here in the NKJV. Here’s the entry from Easton’s Bible Dictionary regarding this introduction:
Song of Degrees: song of steps, a title given to each of these fifteen psalms, 120–134 inclusive. The probable origin of this name is the circumstance that these psalms came to be sung by the people on the ascents or goings up to Jerusalem to attend the three great festivals (Deut. 16:16). They were well fitted for being sung by the way from their peculiar form, and from the sentiments they express. “They are characterized by brevity, by a key-word, by epanaphora [i.e., repetition], and by their epigrammatic style…More than half of them are cheerful, and all of them hopeful.” They are sometimes called “Pilgrim Songs.” Four of them were written by David, one (127) by Solomon, and the rest are anonymous.
And children are a blessing from God – lots of them. This Psalm covers three areas of Jewish activity and potential anxiety; those include the house (verse 1), the city (verse 1) and the family (verses 3-5).