1 Chronicles 23: 1 – 32
Passing the baton
23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were officers and judges, 5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.” 6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore, they were assigned as one father’s house. 12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first. 19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second. 21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all. 24 These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and above. 25 For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”; 26 and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above; 28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, 29 both with the showbread and the fine flour for the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes; 30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening; 31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the LORD; 32 and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the LORD.
Have you ever participated in track relay races? A relay race is run by a team of four runners. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania we have a popular race that has been a part of the local culture for decades. It is called the Penn Relays.
In a relay race the first runner carries a baton. After running a specified distance, called a “leg” the runner hands the baton to the next team member. The exchange must occur within a zone a few meters long. Timing is crucial. If the runners do not exchange the baton within this zone, the team is disqualified. The length of the race varies from four hundred to six thousand meters. In some relays each team member runs an equal distance, but in others run different distances.
The relay race is not necessarily won by the team that runs the fastest, but by successfully passing the baton in the exchange zone. That’s right; races are won or lost in the passing of the baton. Teams can be disqualified by a bad pass. Passing the baton is essential to win the race.
the following is needed to qualify for a good pass:
1. Both runners must be running so that they do not lose time.
2. There must be trust and confidence that the team member will hand it over properly.
3. A runner receiving the baton cannot look back or swerve out of his lane.
4. It requires knowledge of each other’s ability.
5. The runner passing the baton must tell the other runner when to go. If he says, “Go!” too early, he won’t have time to catch him and give him the baton.
6. It also requires strict obedience to the rules.
A lesson to be learned throughout the Bible is the importance of passing the baton from one generation to another.
It is not enough to run the race. We also pass our mission to the next generation. We must hand off the baton, at the right time, and must do it well.
A man that successfully passed a baton to the next generation is the Old Testament story of King David and Solomon.
David had a dream to build a house for the Lord. Despite his good intentions, ample preparations, it remained an unfulfilled dream.
“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.” (1 Chronicles 28:2).
David passed the baton to Solomon. David’s dream became Solomon’s destiny.
“9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”” (1 Chronicles 28:9-10).
All that David had without Solomon was a dream.
God provides the design for our vision. David without Solomon was a dream. Solomon without David was a destiny unfulfilled.
“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;” (1 Chronicles 28:11-12).
David had the dream. Solomon had the destiny. Both were committed to God’s design.
When the younger full of strength and energy joins forces with the elder full of experience and wisdom the results can be powerful and long-term.
No generation stands independent of its predecessors or those that follow. Generations overlap. Each generation is equipped with men and women created for that generation.
Every generation stands on the shoulders of those that went on before. We build, not destroy, the foundation that is laid for us. The church’s success is determined by its ability to survive and excel from generation to generation.
Many times, the mission, vision, purpose, or plan of God outlives a person. To see it fulfilled it must be successfully passed to the next generation. We often think of generations in terms of age, but it could mean much more than this. Instead of experiencing generational friction and misunderstanding we need to strive for unity and continuity.
We run the race together, as a team, and pass the baton from one to another.
David’s lifelong dream and heart’s desire became Solomon’s intense passion. David saw the completed work in his mind even though he did not live to see it completed. Yet, he knew it would be.
“17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.” (1 Kings 8:17).
“And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.” (1 Kings 5:5).
“36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;” (Acts 13:36).
The temple took seven years to build, was a wonder of the world, and was built according to David’s dream and God’s design. God has planted a piece of eternity in the hearts of men. We do our part and then successfully pass the baton to the next generation. Thus, we keep the mission alive, and the church marches on!
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the genuineness of the Levites involved in the work of God by tracing their genealogies, and to show how they were divided into twenty-four groups so that each group would follow the previous one consecutively in order to ensure the continuation of their important ministry. In the Tabernacle/Temple this consisted of assisting the priests in their daily activities, leading the worship in song, ensuring the security of the Tabernacle/Temple and teaching the people the Law.
23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
The description of David as ‘old and full of days’ connects him with the patriarchs, Its significance was that the person in question had had a long and satisfactory life, and was thus favored by YHWH. Because of his age David now handed over the throne to Solomon who was made king over Israel (1 Kings 1). David was the kind of man who found it difficult to fully relinquish the reins. It had to take his prophet Nathan and his wife Bathsheba to make this action occur.
2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
In view of his age David gathered together all the princes of Israel together with the priests and the Levites, in order to deal with the matters which follow. This would be essential. He wanted to brief his loyal servants concerning their responsibilities towards the young Solomon to adequately fulfil the obligations that he was laying on him.
3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand.
The first stage at this time was to number the Levites who were over thirty years old. That was the original age at which Levites commenced their full duties (Numbers 4.3, 23). In other words, it was the age when they were fully responsible. Their numbers came to thirty-eight thousand.
Levites over twenty-five years of age had always been able to take up subsidiary duties in service in the Tent of Meeting, presumably as a kind of apprentice (Numbers 8.23-26), but they were subservient to their elders. They could not fulfil the full duties until they had served a five-year apprenticeship. However, this was all to change. In view of the changed duties of the Levites David now intended to reduce their age for commencing service to twenty years of age for the reasons stated in verses 24-27. This would increase the number of serving Levites in view of the requirements of the Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Tent (and late the coming Temple).
4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were officers and judges, 5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”
The duties of the thirty-eight sub-clans was as follows:
• Twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of YHWH.
• Six thousand had responsibility for interpreting the Law as officers and judges.
• Four thousand were doorkeepers.
• Four thousand were musicians and singers.
It will be noted that there are no long genealogies given here. Rather the concern is with the spread of the families of Levites and with their connections. The names of leaders of the family tribes are provided, and their sons, but no more.
6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The division into courses was on the basis of their descent from the three sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
We are now given details of the descendants of Gershon, commencing with his sons and going down to his grandsons.
7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei.
In 6.17 the sons of Gershon were named as Libni and Shimei (compare Exodus 6.17; Numbers 26.58). This is the first mention of Ladan. However, this may well indicate a change of name as was common in Israel, with LBN’ becoming LDN. In 6.20 Libni’s firstborn son is named Jahath. Here he is named Jehiel, possibly a similar change of name. A change of name to a similar name might well have been fashionable on a Levite achieving the age of maturity. Alternately these may be the names of two descendants of Gershon, with Libni having produced Ladan.
We now have described the most important members of the house of Ladan (Libni). These became heads of father’s houses.
8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all.
Here we learn that Ladan (Libni) had three sons. Previously only the firstborn has been mentioned, and that as Jahath. Now these three are mentioned, Jahath (Jehiel), Zetham and Joel. Three indicated completeness. It indicated that God was pleased with Ladan.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan.
One of Libni’s descendants was named Shimei. Shimei begat three sons, Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran. (For the sudden jump to a descendant in a genealogical passage compare, for example, 2.6-7). The repetition of three sons indicates the completeness of the clan, which is divided into sub-clans (father’s houses). Ladan, Jehiel, Zetham, Joel, Shimei, Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran apparently formed eight sub-clans.
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei.
This Shimei begat four sons, Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These seemingly formed sub-clans, with Jeush and Beria forming one between them. They formed three sub-clans.
11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore, they were assigned as one father’s house.
The order of importance of the four sons is now given. Jahath as firstborn was the chief. Jeush and Beriah together made up one father’s house because they had few children, and grandchildren. Nature played its course in the formation of clans and sub-clans. Eight sub-clans plus three sub-clans equal eleven in all, But if we exclude Shimei out of the eight, seeing his sub-clan as gathered up into his sons, we have ten sub-clans for Gershom.
The sons of Kohath are as mentioned previously, but it is the line of Moses that is now followed, not the line of Aaron.
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
Exodus 6.18 lists the sons of Kohath as “18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.”
Here we are given the descendants of Amram through the line of Moses, because Aaron, as ‘Priest’, is dealt with elsewhere. It is from Moses, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel that the Levite sub-clans will develop.
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever.
Aaron’s genealogy is not provided here because he was not just an ordinary Levite, but one who was sanctified to the most holy things, and thus his sons alone had access into the Holy Place in the Tabernacle. He and his descendants alone could burn incense before YHWH on the altar of incense in the Holy Place, and minister to Him there, and lead the worship of His Name on behalf of the people.
14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.
While Moses was a prophet (man of God) and ‘the servant of YHWH’, that status did not pass on to his sons. His place was taken by Joshua the servant of YHWH and Eliezer the High Priest acting together. What his sons did receive, however, was the right to be Levites, with Levite privileges (which at least one misused - Judges 18.30, “30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.”).
15 The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer.
The sons of Moses were Gershom (Exodus 2.22; 18.3) and Eliezer (Exodus 18.4), born to him through Zipporah his Midianite wife (Exodus 2.21).
16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the first.
Gershom presumably had a number of sons, but Shebuel was seemingly his firstborn and head of the family tribe.
17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, who became chief of the family tribe. But we are assured that Rehabiah was particularly fruitful and had many sons. At a time when family fruitfulness was a sign of being worthy, this was important. He is mentioned again in 26.25. His firstborn was named Isshaiah the chief (24.21). Descended from him was the Shelomoth who oversaw the treasury of dedicated gifts in the time of David (26.26).
18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first.
Izhar was Amram’s brother, and was the son of Kohath, son of Levi.
Izhar had one son named Shelomith (a variant of Shelomoth) and became chief of his father’s household. Selomoth had a descendant named Jahath (24.22).
19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
Hebron was Amram’s brother and the third son of Kohath, son of Levi.
The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the chief, Amariah, Jahaziel and Jekameam. Thus, Hebron had four sons of whom Jeriah was chief of his family tribe.
20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.
Uzziel was Amram’s brother and the fourth son of Kohath.
Uzziel had a son named Micah who became chief of the family tribe. Micah had brother name Isshiah, who seemingly also formed a family tribe. Micah in turn had a descendant named Shamir (24.24), while Isshaiah had a descendant named Zechariah (24.25).
Thus there were nine sub-clans of the sub-tribe of Kohath. These were Shebuel, Rehabiah, Shelomith, Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, Jekameam, Micah, Isshaiah.
The importance of these names to Israel was that people would ‘trace’ their descent to one or another. But it is probable that, apart from Priests and Levites, and David descendents, where it was very important, few could really trace their descent back by more than five generations. The tracing would to a certain extent be by family ‘memory’, which would be accepted as reasonable evidence, and some descent would be by adoption.
The third son of Levi was named Merari. He had two sons, Mahli and Mushi.
21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
Mahli in turn had two sons, Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.
But Eleazar died leaving no sons, only daughters, and these intermarried with the sons of Kish in accordance with Numbers 36.6-7. YHWH was their inheritance. Thus, Eleazar’s sub-clan would continue through a daughter and her husband.
23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
Mushi had three sons who formed sub-clans, thus with the two sons of Mahli making five in all. Ten sub-clans of Gershon, nine of Kohath and five of Merari make twenty-four in all.
The Scripture now carefully explains the responsibilities of the Levites, whilst also making clear that David in his dying days altered the age of Levite service so that it began at twenty. This was important for him as the ‘all Israel’ who had returned from Exile had a duty to conform to the Law of Moses, and to order the service of the new Temple aright. It is a reminder that we too must ensure that the Lord’s house and its services are properly maintained and run, simply because it is the Lord’s and not ours.
24 These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and above.
We are now informed that the names we have been considering were the names of heads of fathers’ houses who were over the thirty-eight sub divisions of the Levites (verses 3-4).
25 For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”;
David now gives his reason for doing what he had. It was because YHWH, Israel’s God, had at last given them rest under his rule, so that He might dwell among them in Jerusalem forever.
Please notice how David has already begun to ‘limit’ YHWH to Jerusalem. This was indeed the danger of the later Temple as Ezekiel would make clear. In all reverence he felt that, in providing Him with a house of cedar (contrary to His wishes) he could be sure of YHWH’s presence forever. But he had not considered the sins of kings and peoples. He would have been horrified to know that one day YHWH would desert the Temple to be with His true people in exile (Ezekiel 9.3; 10.4, 15-22; 11.22-23). There is only one Jerusalem in which YHWH can dwell forever, and that is in the Temple of His people (2 Corinthians 6.15-18).
26 and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.”
The reason why he had reduced the lower age limit for Levite service was because the Levites were no longer responsible for the dismantling of the Tabernacle and for carrying the Tabernacle and its furniture from place to place.
27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above;
These were David’s last words with regard to the ordering of worship, but probably not his last words spoken on his deathbed. By them he decreed the reduction in the lower age limit for Levite service to twenty years old
28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God,
Their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron, assisting them in different ways in the service of the house of YHWH. Notice that the service of the Levites does not include entry into the Holy Place, the Sanctuary itself. They have entry into the courts, and the chambers attached to the outside of the coming Temple, and have a responsibility for purifying holy things, preparing them for the use of the priests. But they could not enter the Sanctuary.
29 both with the showbread and the fine flour for the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes;
Part of that responsibility included cooking the showbread, preparing the fine flour for the meal offering, and activity about it, which could include cooking and soaking. And this was in accordance with whatever size was required. Thus, they performed the lowlier tasks for the priests. (They could not, however, prepare the holy anointing oil or the incense).
30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening;
Another responsibility would be to stand morning and evening in the courts of the Tent to thank and praise God before the entrance to the Sanctuary, so that praise continually rose to YHWH, in the same way as the sacrificial smoke of the altar arose continually.
31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the LORD;
This does not mean that they had the responsibility for offering and sacrificing the offerings and sacrifices. That was the duty of the priests. It refers to their initial part played in the preparation of the offerings and sacrifices which were to be offered. They could help to bring the beasts to the priest, after checking them for imperfection, and lift them into place, and then take away the hides and the priests’ portions for storage in the Temple chambers. They were responsible to ensure that all the required sacrifices, whether on the sabbaths, or the new moons, or on set feasts, were duly available and fit to be offered.
32 and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the LORD.
And finally, without entering the Holy Place, they were under charge from the priests, and from the Holy Place, and from the Tent of Meeting (and later the Temple) to do all that was necessary for its smooth running, including the cleaning of the holy vessels once they were brought out of the Holy Place, and the maintenance of furniture which periodically had to be replaced. This was part of their service for the house of YHWH. They were the ‘servants’ of the priests. But, of course, the dirty work of general cleaning and polishing in the courts and the outer chambers was left to the Nethinim, and later the ‘servants of Solomon’ (Temple slaves).
