1 Chronicles 23:1-32
1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.
4 Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges
5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.
6 And David divided them into coursesa among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites were, Laadan,b and Shimei.
8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.
9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.
10 And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina,c and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house.
12 The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
13 The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.
14 Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.
16 Of the sons of Gershom, Shebueld was the chief.
17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief.e And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomithf the chief.
19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.
21 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethreng the sons of Kish took them.
23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
24 These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.
25 For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:
26 And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.
27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numberedh from twenty years old and above:
28 Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;
29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan,i and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;
30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even;
31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:
32 And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 23:3. Thirty years. So Moses had commanded. Numbers 4:3. But now it would seem from 1 Chronicles 23:24, that David numbered the levites from the age of twenty, the number at thirty not being sufficient.
1 Chronicles 23:4. Twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house; not as officers, but domus ministerio, servants who performed the hard work for the priests. The splendour of David's kingdom required establishments.
1 Chronicles 23:6. David divided them into courses. The levites served from week to week; the priests also, as in the next chapter, were divided into twenty four courses. The sanhedrim examined their persons to see that they were perfect, and their birth to see whether they were the sons of Aaron. If maimed, they were not allowed to approach the altar, but to perform inferior services, and so had meat; and in cases of need, as when unclean for the dead, a priest might officiate during such time of sickness, though unclean.
REFLECTIONS.
No tribe had God blessed more than the small tribe of Levi. The poll of the men able to do service, besides the priests, was thirty eight thousand. Consequently, the population of that tribe could not be less than two hundred thousand. Equally biassed by virtue and interest, they had been more faithful to the religion of their fathers than others; and God, through the long and severe times of Philistine oppression, had remarkably blessed and preserved them from evil. May we and our children learn from this, and a thousand other instances, to abide under the covenant protection of Israel's God.
We learn farther, that not only Levi, but all the tribes prospered in proportion as they were faithful to the Lord. David was liberal to the priests and levites; and they in return were grateful and assiduous. They suppressed vice, they cherished virtue, and diffused knowledge through the land; and we never read, till after Solomon's fall, that any man murmured to pay his tithes and taxes to God and his king; for the servants were worthy, and the oblations so paid, oblations on which the worshipper was partially allowed to feast, bore no proportion to the hundredfold prosperity which was heaped upon the land. Thus God, who was bounteous to his people, required the heart, and a grateful return of mercies.
The priests and the levites served the Lord by courses. This was in every view a happy arrangement. Every one had bread to eat, and the people had a circulation of talents in the reading and expounding of the law, as we find examples in the book of Deuteronomy, in the psalms, and in the sermons of the prophets. The holy prophets also circulated their labours through the land; and the Lord Christ, and his apostles, proceeded on the same plan. Hence the mode of one settled minister to a congregation, is not sufficiently warranted by example in the holy scriptures. And the early bishops, one of whom was in every town, which we should call a market- town, had deacons under them, which made a circulation of gifts, and a diversity of instruction. He who undertakes the sole instruction of a large congregation, should indeed be a man of singular talents.
Here we cannot but rejoice to find Moses, the man of God, still living in the numerous branches of his family. He had sought no princely preferments for his sons; but the laws of the father were still in the mouths of his children. Well, that was treasure, and that was the utmost of the father's wishes. Truly we have an instance here, that God shows mercy unto thousands of generations in them that love him, and keep his commandments.