“And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them.” — 1 Chronicles 9:27
Have you ever thought about who opens your church before each service? In Portland, one of several faithful men goes to the building early on Sunday morning to unlock inner doors and turn on some lights in preparation for Sunday school. Then he returns ahead of everyone else to unlock the outside doors and be a security person. Most of these men live nearby.
Generations of my family have lived on or near the Apostolic Faith campground across the street from the church. During my early childhood, my grandparents lived there in a small house, and my grandfather helped with maintenance. Later, my uncle and his family moved into that house, and he also did maintenance. When I was grown, my parents lived in houses that were adjacent to the campground property.
Why did my family members live where they did? They had a heart for the work of the Gospel and wanted to help with the day-to-day maintenance and operation of the church properties. Serving God was their joy.
Having a heart for the work of the Gospel will mean being willing to perform “small” tasks in God’s service. One minister told of an occasion when he stopped by his home church and was a little frustrated because there were no paper towels in the restroom dispenser. He wondered who had cleaned the church last and why the paper towels had not been replenished. Then the Spirit of God spoke to his heart, and he realized he knew where the supply of paper towels was kept, where the key to the dispenser was, and how to resupply it. He did the task himself! The Lord was helping him see the importance of doing his part, even in small matters.
Today’s text tells of Levites and gatekeepers who stayed near the house of God so they could take care of the daily details. It seems many of them lived in different villages, but they came in rotation to participate in the maintenance and care of the Temple and surrounding grounds. These people were dedicated to the service of God, and are examples to us today.
Have you ever thought about what role you can have in service for God? Many seemingly insignificant efforts are needed for a church to operate, and a successful organization has people behind the scenes who are regularly doing their parts. If God is calling you, be willing to say yes and be faithful in whatever you do.
This chapter mentions several specific groups of inhabitants in Jerusalem following the exile. In addition to the family heads and tribal remnants (verses 1-9), there were three groups of individuals who were responsible for the religious duties: the priests (verses 10-13), the Levites (verses 14-16), and the Nethinims (verses 17-34). At the close of the chapter (verses 35-44), Saul’s genealogy is repeated in preparation for the writer’s focus on King David. A genealogy similar to the one in this chapter can be found in Nehemiah 11, but the names differ. Scholars have varying viewpoints for this, but it is possible that this list was made shortly after the exiles returned, and Nehemiah’s list was made later.
“The book of the kings” in verse 1 does not refer to 1 and 2 Kings in the Bible. Rather, it was a reference to records from the Jewish archives.
A distinction was made between “the Israelites” mentioned in verse 2, who were the general inhabitants of the land, and the three groups who had religious duties. The priests were assigned to deal with sacred matters, and the Levites were to help them. Nethinims means “given ones” and their responsibility was to help the Levites with the menial duties of Israel’s worship. While there were many priests who returned to Israel after the exile, for an unknown reason very few Levites came back. Also, the number of returning Nethinims was not large, and consequently, the duties of those who did come became greater and their names were included in this list.
The three names in verse 10 could have been families of priests. During David’s reign, twenty-four groups of priests were organized to serve in rotation. There were many priests who were committed to the service of God (see verse 13).
Porters in verse 17 were the gatekeepers who opened and closed, as well as guarded, the sanctuary entrances. Additionally, they helped with other worship duties. According to verse 20, their genealogy traces back to Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. David instituted the organizational system of the priests and Temple workers, but preliminary organizing may have been started by Samuel, or he may have given some concepts to David.
Verses 25 and 27 indicate that these people may have also worked in rotation, staying near the sanctuary during their time of service and then returning to their villages. Their responsibilities included supervision of the tithes and also of the “ministering vessels,” which were counted before and after their use (see verse 28). These may have been particularly expensive items.
Verses 35-44 restate Saul’s lineage. They start the writer’s transition from Saul to David, which is developed in subsequent chapters.
I. The genealogies
C. The record of the returning remnant (9:1-44)
1. The restoration (9:1-2)
2. The inhabitants of Jerusalem (9:3-44)
a. The tribal remnants (9:3-9)
b. The priests (9:10-13)
c. The Levites (9:14-16)
d. The duties of the Levites (9:17-34)
(1) The Temple guards (9:17-27)
(2) The Temple servers (9:28-32)
(3) The Temple singers (9:33-34)
e. The house of Saul (9:35-44)
Dedicated people can be an inspiration to help us be willing to serve God in whatever capacity He chooses.
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