1 Chronicles 27:1-34 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 27:1-34. Let’s go!
On verses 1-22: Here the Chronicler gives attention to the commanders and officers who served King David and led his army which consisted of 12 divisions of 24,000 men each. Several of the army commanders listed here are also named among David’s mighty men in 1 Chronicles 11 and 2 Samuel 23, such as Jashobeam (v2), Benaiah (v5), Asahel (v7), Ira (v9), Sibbekai (v11), Abiezer (v12) and possibly others too. These men came from various backgrounds but all became leaders who served David and led his army divisions.
What can we learn from this?
- For any team to move forward and be successful in the long run, there needs to be clarity on who the leader is. Is there a team you belong to where the question of “Who is our leader?” needs to be answered more clearly?
- Notice that Benaiah’s dad Jehoiada was a famous priest (and one of the most famous priests in Israel’s history) (v5). Most sons would follow the vocational calling of their fathers. Yet in Benaiah’s case, Benaiah had a calling that was different from his dad’s. Benaiah would become one of the greatest warriors in Israel’s history. Later on, Benaiah’s son (whom Benaiah would name after his own dad Jehoiada) would become King David’s senior advisor (v34). Three generations, three different callings. It goes to show that God has a unique calling for every person. Or to put it more accurately: all of us are called to worship Jesus, to become more like Jesus, to serve Jesus with our talents, to lead others to Jesus and to love His spiritual family the church. It is ultimately the same calling that God has given all of us. But how exactly we express this calling in terms of our vocation may not be exactly the same from person to person.
- Just as God plucked Benaiah out of a priest’s family and made him into a great military warrior, God can pluck any person from any background and turn them into a great leader in His kingdom. Just as David’s army required capable leaders from different backgrounds, the Lord’s army requires capable leaders from different backgrounds to lead His people.
1 Chronicles 27:23-24 (NIV)
23 David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.
24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.
On verses 23-24: Here the Chronicler alludes to the ill-advised census that David took in 1 Chronicles 21, a census that displeased the Lord. Verses 23-24 may give us some more clues as to why that census displeased God so much. It seems to me that instead of just counting the men who were 20 years old or more and who were able to serve in the army (which was the traditional way of doing a census – see Numbers 1:3; Numbers 26:2), David may have also tried to count all the men who were 20 years old or under in Israel and include them in the number of his fighting men. Thus he could get a greatly inflated number. For example, compare the 1.1 million figure in 1 Chronicles 21:5 (which apparently included all the men in Israel both above and under 20 years old) versus the 288,000 (i.e. 24,000 soldiers X 12 divisions) in 1 Chronicles 27 who regularly served “on duty month by month throughout the year” (v1). Also, by including men under 20 in his army, David would potentially be putting their young lives at risk. This would be offensive to God, who had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky (v23) and who presumably wanted to preserve this younger generation to help fulfill that promise. It seems that David began to count the men 20 years old or under but was stopped by the plague, and thus the inflated count was not included in the official records (v24).
1 Chronicles 27:31 (NIV)
31 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these were the officials in charge of King David’s property.
On verses 25-31: Here the Chronicler lists the people who helped take care of King David’s property, from vineyards (v27) and oil supplies (V28) to livestock (v29-31). Just as King David trusted certain individuals with taking care of his property, our King, Jesus Christ, has trusted us with taking care of His property. As a follower of Jesus, see every form of wealth that you have as ultimately belonging to God, and see yourself as just a steward who has been put in charge to take care of these things for His sake (see Job 41:11 and Luke 16:10). As a mentor of mine likes to say, “What you think you own is actually on loan.”
1 Chronicles 27:32-34 (NIV)
32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hacmoni took care of the king’s sons.
33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.
34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was the commander of the royal army.
On verses 32-34: Here the Chronicler lists some of David’s closest advisors. It’s a reminder that we can’t do life alone. We need people who can speak into our lives and give us wise, godly advice.
Holy Spirit, thank You for all the great lessons we can learn from Your Word today. Thank You for the calling You have on my life to be a servant and a leader in Your kingdom. May I be good and faithful steward of all the property and wealth You have entrusted to me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
