May 20th
1 Chronicles,
27
The
organisation of Public service
1: Now the children of Israel after
their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds,
and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which
came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of
every course were twenty and four thousand. 2: Over the first course for the
first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and
four thousand. 3: Of the children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of
the host for the first month. 4: And over the course of the second month was
Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course
likewise were twenty and four thousand. 5: The third captain of the host for
the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his
course were twenty and four thousand. 6: This is that Benaiah, who was mighty
among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his
son. 7: The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab,
and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four
thousand. 8: The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite:
and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 9: The sixth captain for the
sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were
twenty and four thousand. 10: The seventh captain for the seventh month was
Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty
and four thousand. 11: The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the
Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
12: The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the
Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 13: The tenth
captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and
in his course were twenty and four thousand. 14: The eleventh captain for the
eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in
his course were twenty and four thousand. 15: The twelfth captain for the
twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were
twenty and four thousand.
The
leaders of the Tribes
16: Furthermore over the tribes of Israel:
the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites,
Shephatiah the son of Maachah: 17: Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel:
of the Aaronites, Zadok: 18: Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of
Issachar, Omri the son of Michael: 19: Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah:
of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: 20: Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea
the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah: 21:
Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of
Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner: 22: Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham.
These were the princes of the tribes of Israel. 23: But David took not the
number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he
would increase Israel
like to the stars of the heavens. 24: Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number,
but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither
was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.
David’s
administrators
25: And over the king's treasures was
Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the
cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of
Uzziah: 26: And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the
ground was Ezri the son of Chelub: 27: And over the vineyards was Shimei the
Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi
the Shiphmite: 28: And over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in
the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was
Joash: 29: And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and
over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: 30: Over
the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the
Meronothite: 31: And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the
rulers of the substance which was king David's.
David’s
counsellors
32: Also Jonathan David's uncle was a
counseller, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with
the king's sons: 33: And Ahithophel was the king's counseller: and Hushai the
Archite was the king's companion: 34: And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son
of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the general of the king's army was Joab.
1 Chronicles,
28
Solomon
to build the Temple
1: And David assembled all the princes of
Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that
ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and
captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and
possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty
men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem. 2: Then David the king stood
up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I
had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the
LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: 3:
But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou
hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. 4: Howbeit the LORD God of Israel
chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for
he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of
my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all
Israel: 5: And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath
chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over
Israel. 6: And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my
courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7:
Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my
commandments and my judgments, as at this day. 8: Now therefore in the sight of
all Israel
the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for
all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land,
and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. 9: And
thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a
perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and
understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will
be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. 10:
Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the
sanctuary: be strong, and do it. 11: Then David gave to Solomon his son the
pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof,
and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of
the place of the mercy seat, 12: And the pattern of all that he had by the
spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round
about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the
dedicated things: 13: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and
for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the
vessels of service in the house of the LORD. 14: He gave of gold by weight for
things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for
all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of
service: 15: Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps
of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for
the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for
the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. 16: And by weight
he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver
for the tables of silver: 17: Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls,
and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason;
and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: 18: And for the altar
of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of
the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant
of the LORD. 19: All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing
by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. 20: And David said to
Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be
dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail
thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service
of the house of the LORD. 21: And, behold, the courses of the priests and the
Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God:
and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing
skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people
will be wholly at thy commandment.
1 Chronicles,
29
An
offering for the Temple
1: Furthermore David the king said unto all
the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and
tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD
God. 2: Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold
for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the
brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of
wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers
colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. 3:
Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of
mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my
God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, 4: Even three
thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of
refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal: 5: The gold for
things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work
to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate
his service this day unto the LORD? 6: Then the chief of the fathers and
princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds,
with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly, 7: And gave for the
service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand
drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand
talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8: And they with whom
precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD,
by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9: Then the people rejoiced, for that
they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to
the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
David’s
prayer
10: Wherefore David blessed the LORD before
all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our
father, for ever and ever. 11: Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power,
and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven
and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted
as head above all. 12: Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest
over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make
great, and to give strength unto all. 13: Now therefore, our God, we thank
thee, and praise thy glorious name. 14: But who am I, and what is my people,
that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things
come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. 15: For we are strangers
before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are
as a shadow, and there is none abiding. 16: O LORD our God, all this store that
we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine
hand, and is all thine own. 17: I know also, my God, that thou triest the
heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine
heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy
thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. 18: O LORD
God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the
imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart
unto thee: 19: And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy
commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and
to build the palace, for the which I have made provision. 20: And David said to
all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation
blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and
worshipped the LORD, and the king.
Solomon
crowned king
21: And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the
LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day,
even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their
drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel: 22: And did eat
and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made
Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD
to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest. 23: Then Solomon sat on the
throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed
him. 24: And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of
king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. 25: And the LORD
magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel,
and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him
in Israel.
David dies
26: Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over
all Israel.
27: And the time that he reigned over Israel
was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron,
and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
28: And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and
Solomon his son reigned in his stead. 29: Now the acts of David the king, first
and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the
book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30: With all his
reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and
over all the kingdoms of the countries.
In the next three chapters we have the
ongoing record of the organisation of David’s kingdom. David records the tribal
leaders and His administrators and advisors. Then in chapter 27 we have the
record of David’s instruction that Solomon his son would build the temple. Then
we have the closing prayer of David’s long life and His son is crowned king and
then David dies. David under the inspiration of the Spirit organises and sets
the administration of his kingdom. First are fathers, then captains of thousands
and hundreds and their officers. They all served David in their own level of
responsibility – 24,000 of them - 1,000 each month in a 2yr rota. The tribes
were ruled by tribal leaders. Those under 20 were not numbered and although
Joab began to count Israel
he never completed it because the judgment of God fell on Israel because
of this sin. David set a number of administrators over specific duties.
Azmaveth was over the king’s treasures and Jehonathan over the storehouses in
the cities and villages. Ezri was over the storehouses of the crops in the
fields. Shimei was in charge of the vineyards and Zabdi was over the wine
cellars. Baal-hanan was over the olive groves and the sycamore trees and Joash
was over the olive oil cellars. Shitrai was the chief shepherd in Sharon and
Shaphat the chief herdsman in the valleys. Obil was over the camels and
Jehdeiah was over the asses. Jaziz was over the flocks of (goats probably) All
of these men were directly answerable to David the king. David also had a number
of counsellors. First was Jonathan his uncle. He was very wise and a scribe. (A
man devoted to the writing and teaching of the law) He also had Hachmoni,
Ahithophel, Hushai was his companion. Jehoiada the son of Benaiah was also his
advisor and the head of his army was Joab. David assembled all Israel to tell
then that his son Solomon would build the temple. David was old now yet he
stood up in the strength of the Lord to address all Israel. He explained his desire to
build the temple and he also explained what the Lord had told him. Which was
that he would not build it himself but his son would do so and he told them of
all the preparations that had been made for his son. He also told the people
that the LORD would establish his kingdom for ever if he fully followed the
Lord all his days. Then he gave a solemn charge to his son telling him to know
the Lord and serve him with a perfect mind and a willing spirit. He says if you
seek him then you will find him. But if you forsake him then he will forsake
you. Then David said listen and take heed to obey the Lord in everything. Then
David gave the plans to Solomon which the Spirit had revealed to him. The plans
were very detailed. Then David encouraged him saying be strong and have courage
build and do not be afraid or overcome but its complexity. Because the LORD God
of Israel
– my God will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until everything
is finished of all the work of the house of the Lord. Then David spoke to the
gathering of the people telling them that Solomon was young and weak and the
work was huge because this is a house for the Lord. And he said l have made
preparation with all my strength, gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, onyx stones,
etc. Then he gives this challenge, who is willing to consecrate themselves to
the service of the LORD today? Then the chiefs of the fathers and princes of
the tribes offered themselves willingly. The people rejoiced that the leaders
were willing and David was completely overjoyed with the joy of the LORD. Then David
blessed the LORD. He said… The LORD is blessed for ever and ever. He attributes
to the Lord all the greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty in heaven and in
earth because the Lord is king over all.
And he says all riches and honour are due to the LORD and he alone is
king over all. Then he says we thank you and praise your holy name. David then
humbles himself before the Lord saying who am l? And what is my people? That we
are able to offer ourselves willingly in this way, because everything comes from
you and we have only given back to you what you have already given us. We were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth and our days are like a shadow and there is
nothing permanent here. Then David says O LORD all this that we have prepared
is yours. He says l know that you try the heart and that you have pleasure in
righteousness. But as for me in righteousness of my heart l have willingly
offered all these things to you and l am over joyed at seeing the people
gathered to offer themselves to you. O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and of
all Israel and our fathers may the people always keep this dedication in their
hearts to the Lord and give Solomon my son a mind perfectly set on you, to keep
your commandments, testimonies and statutes and to do everything to build this
place for which l have made this provision. Then David called on Israel to bless
the LORD and they all bowed their heads and blessed the Lord and honoured their
king David. Offerings were made to the Lord. 1,000 bullocks, 1,000 rams, 1,000
lambs, with drink offerings. And they had a feast before the Lord. Then they
anointed Solomon a second time. Solomon sat as king instead of David who was
very old. And all the people served Solomon as they had done to David. The LORD
made Solomon appear to be very great in the eyes of all Israel and they
gave him such royal majesty like no other king before him. David reigned for 40
yrs over Israel.
7 years in Hebron and 33 yrs in Jerusalem. When he died he died full of days
and riches and honour and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
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