Priestly tasks for New Testament believers

Text 1 Chronicles 23 Time 07 04 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

I'd like us to return this evening to our studies in 1 Chronicles. We have reached the point where David's life is coming to an end and he is making preparations for the succession of his son, Solomon. I have said to you before that Chronicles was probably compiled by Ezra or by someone else with a priestly background and the interest in the temple comes out in these books in a way that it does not in the partly parallel Books of Kings. This is especially so in Chapters 23-26.

I want us to look at Chapter 23 tonight. One of its characteristics is that it contains a number of names, something typical of Chronicles but that we have not seen for a while. In verses 6-13 about 25 names appear and then there are another 22 or so in verses 14-24; all Levites.

The main thing here is the way David gives certain tasks to the Levites that are, in part, things that they had done in the past but that are a development. Verses 25 and 26 explain how David had said, "Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service." Because they no longer had the duty of carrying the tabernacle and its articles (in fact they had not moved the tabernacle much since entering the Promised Land under Joshua) there was room to develop other skills and duties.

By this stage, of course, we have moved on again and there is now not only no tabernacle but no Temple either and so what is written here needs to be developed again. The other big change is that the Levitical priesthood has been superseded by the Melchizedekian one and is not longer the province of one tribe but is the position of every true believer. All believers are priests to God and this chapter is a help to us in knowing the sorts of things we ought to be doing. The tasks and duties of Levites and priests are set out in at least three places in this chapter. I want us to look at these verses in their context and see how they apply to us who believe today. Three things then

1. Consider the priestly tasks of worship, judgement, gatekeeping and praise

So (1) When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. As part of his preparations for Solomon's reign (2,3) He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.

He then proceeded to divide up these 38,000 so that different ones had four different jobs. In verses 4 and 5 it says David said,

Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the LORD

and six thousand are to be officials and judges.

Four thousand are to be gatekeepers

and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.

Four tasks then - worship, judgement, gatekeeping and praise.

As priests to the Lord today, our main task is the worship of God. The temple no longer stands but we ourselves are to be temples of the Holy Spirit and together we are to be (1 Peter 2:5) like living stones ... built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We also have a task of discernment and making judgements. Paul says (1 Corinthians 2:15) The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, ....

Further, as priests to God they were to be involved in guarding the Temple. The unclean, the unqualified and any troublemakers needed to be kept out. We are used to the word gatekeeper being used in a wider way. So today we need to be careful in matters such as church membership and who takes communion and the need to make sure our doctrine conforms to what the Bible actually says. Care needs to be taken. There is a need for constancy and diligence without excluding God's people.

And then fourthly there is the important matter of praise. As priests to God we are to praise his name. Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

2. Consider the Levites and the tasks of consecration, sacrifice, serving and blessing

We get more detail from verse 6 on. There we read how David separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. We are then given some of the names of these people

7 Belonging to the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel - three in all.

9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran - three in all.

These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei - four in all. 11 Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.

12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel - four in all. We then come (13) to The sons of this Amram: who are, of course, Aaron and Moses. We are told that Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, with four tasks in particular in mind.

to consecrate the most holy things,

to offer sacrifices before the LORD,

to minister before him

and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

So consecration, sacrifice, serving and blessing. These are tasks that belong supremely to our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who consecrates or sanctifies by the Spirit and whose one great sacrifice on the cross saves us. He is a servant to God and serves also as he prays for us in heaven. He also blesses us from heaven with every blessing.

These are tasks, further, that to a lesser extent fall also to every believer - consecration, sacrifice, serving and blessing.

• Consecration. We are under an obligation to consecrate ourselves to the Lord and to his service. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies. Romans 6:13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
• Sacrifice. Priests make sacrifices. We have spoken before of the sacrifices commended to us in the New Testament. 1 Peter 2:5 speaks in general terms of offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Other New Testament texts specify that these sacrifices include - 
• Faith (Philippians 2:17) … the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, ….
• Praise (Hebrews 13:15) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
• Prayer (Revelation 5 8) … golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people.
• Sharing with others (Hebrews 13:16) And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
• Indeed all of life (Romans 12:1) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. There must be sacrifice and there must be self-denial. Otherwise, we are not really living as priests.
• Serving. Romans 7:6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. In Philippians 2:4 we are told that we should look not to our own interests but each of us to the interests of the others. Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
• Blessing. It is our privilege as New Testament believers to be a blessing to other believers. As a priest, it is your calling not merely to pronounce words of blessing on others but to be a real means under God of bringing spiritual peace and happiness to his people. By means of our prayers, our words, our acts of kindness, we can bless others, even those who are older or more mature in the faith than we may be. Many New Testament verses speak to this - Galatians 6:2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. Romans 12:13 Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ... encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

3. Consider the Levites and the tasks of service, worship, purification, facilitation and praise

The names continue in verses 14-23. We are told (14) that The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. Two are named in verse 15 Gershom and Eliezer. It goes on

16 The descendants of Gershom: Shubael was the first.

17 The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

Some are then mentioned and their sons.

18 The sons of Izhar were Shelomith was the first.

19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Ishiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth - three in all.

The writer then concludes (24) These were the descendants of Levi by their families - the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the LORD. We then have the words already quoted (25, 26)

For David had said, "Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service." And then 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

The final verses of the chapter (28-32) then once again list the duties and responsibilities of the Levites.

28-32 The duty of the Levites was

to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD:

to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God.

They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals.

They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the LORD.

Five more terms then, some new some we have had before, that describe the work of a Levite or priest - service, worship, purification, facilitation and praise.

• Service. We are told here that in general the work of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD. The section ends (32) with a wrap around - They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them. Service then should be watch word for us. Salvation Army officers have the letters SS on their uniforms. It stands for saved to serve.
• Worship. They were to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, which were part of the Temple complex. So, worship once again. How important!
• Purification. Also the purification of all sacred things that is in the Temple. it is a reminder to us of the importance of personal holiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
• Facilitation and the performance of other duties at the house of God. Examples are given They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. All very practical work. it is a reminder of the many practical ways we can live as priests today praying, reading the Word and living it out, speaking to others of Christ, etc.
• Praise. They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. We must never forget the call to praise God. Colossians 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. In Psalm 46:6, 7 it says Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. Let's do it daily.