1 Chronicles 9:1-44 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 8:1-40. At first this might seem like nothing more than a list of names, but the Holy Spirit taught me some powerful lessons we can learn from this passage. Can I share them with you? Let’s go!
On verses 1-34: Starting in 605 BC, and then again in 597 BC and 586 BC, the people of Judah are deported to Babylon in three stages (This three stage deportation is described in 2 Kings 24-25). The Old Testament writers see this deportation as God’s way of disciplining the people of Judah for their unfaithfulness to Him (v1). Now the Chronicler fast forwards several decades to 538 B.C. when Cyrus King of Persia has conquered Babylon and allows the Israelites to return to their towns (v2). What was Cyrus’ reason for letting the Judahites return to Jerusalem? It’s because Cyrus believed that God had appointing him to build a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem. As Ezra 1:2-4 says:
Ezra 1:2-4 (NIV)
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.
3 Anyone of his people among you–may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
4 And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.'”
So here in 1 Chronicles 8:1-34 the Chronicler lists people who returned to Jerusalem, including Israelites from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh (v3-9), priests (v10-13), Levites who served in the temple but who were not priests (v14-16), including gatekeepers (v17-27), temple servants (v28-32) and musicians (v33-34). All of them have been allowed by Cyrus of Persia to return to Jerusalem to help him build a temple for the Lord and to restore the worship of the Lord in Jerusalem.
What can we learn from this?
- Quickly scan this chapter and you will see that Cyrus sent a large team made of different members with different roles to help restore worship of the Lord in Jerusalem. What’s a lesson here? If you want to restore the worship of God in your life, it takes a team. You can’t do it by yourself. That’s why being part of a good local church is important. There are things you can’t do alone – you need others to pray with, to speak into your life, to build relationships with, to be on mission with and to serve and to be served by. Are you a committed part of your church?
- In verses 17-27 the Chronicler devotes ten verses to talking about how 212 gatekeepers were installed to guard the gates of the house of the Lord on every side, day and night. Notice how many times the Chronicler uses the words “gatekeeper” and “guard”. What can we learn from this? You need to guard your worship of the Lord. That means protecting the things you use to worship God. Just as the gatekeepers guarded 4 sides (north, south, east, west), here are four sides to your worship of the Lord that you need to guard: guard your daily time with God, guard your Sundays to worship God with your church, guard your time in a small group, and guard the condition of your heart. It’s about not allowing other things to get in the way of these different sides to your worship of the Lord. How well do you guard your worship of God?
- In verses 28-32 the Chronicler describes some of the administrative and logistical tasks associated with running a house of worship for the Lord, such as taking care of furnishings, preparing materials, taking stock of equipment. What does that teach us? To run at its best, the church needs excellent administration and organization. That way we don’t allow resources, opportunities and ultimately souls to slip through our fingers. How well do you take care of the ministry that God has entrusted to you? How organized, responsible and careful are you? What is one area of your life or ministry where you can serve with greater excellence? In whatever we do, let’s serve the house of the Lord with great care and excellence.
- In verse 33 the Chronicler says that the musicians “stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night”. This again speaks of the importance of music as it relates to the worship of the Lord and how those in charge of that ministry needed to dedicate their full time (“day and night”) toward it. This verse also reminds me that you and I are called the temple of the Lord and that God has placed a musician – the Holy Spirit – to work in our hearts day and night, leading us to worship the Lord. That means that at every point of your life – whether things are bright like the day or dark like the night – the Holy Spirit is there to lead you to worship. With the Holy Spirit, you have everything you need to turn whatever situation you face into a time of worshiping and drawing near to God. So whatever situation you may be facing today, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you back to the feet of Jesus in worship.
On verses 35-44: Here the Chronicler basically repeats the genealogy of Saul as the Chronicler gets ready to talk about Saul’s death in the next chapter.
Heavenly Father, thank You for all the truths I can learn from Your Word today. Thank You for showing me that worshiping You requires that I be an active part of a team, that is, Your church. Please help me every day to guard every side of my worship of You, including my daily time with You, my time with my church, and the condition of my heart. May I not allow anything to get in the way of my worship of You. I pray that every ministry in my church would be done with excellence and care, starting with me. And thank You for placing in me Your Holy Spirit, the most powerful and humble temple servant, who lives in me and leads me to worship You. Holy Spirit, lead me today to the feet of Jesus in worship. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
