Fighters, Leaders and Workers in God's Kingdom

Text 1 Chronicles 27 Time 03 11 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

I thought that for the next three weeks, we could go back to our studies in 1 Chronicles and look at the book's closing chapters, beginning with Chapter 27 this week. Chapter 27 is a typical Chronicles chapter. It is a list of names and figures, itemising twelve army divisions, twelve tribal leaders and a number of workers who served King David either away from the palace by dealing with various aspects of storage, plant produce and animals or inside the palace as counsellors, tutors and so on.

Over 40 different people are named altogether, most of whom we know little or nothing about. Matthew Henry likens it to what he calls the civil list. The civil list in this country is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. That is not quite what we have here then but something like it.

Why is it here? It is here partly for background information. This gives us a better idea of how things ran in David's kingdom. They didn't just all muck in together with some vague hope that it would all work out alright. No, there was organisation and there was order. Many individuals worked together each with different tasks, in order to make sure things ran smoothly.

The key thing to notice here is that the chapter is all about David and his kingdom. David has long gone but his descendant the Lord Jesus is now on the throne. The old covenant era is now over and the church and the state run separately. We know that the state in this country is run in such a way that there is hopefully a measure of efficiency. So, for example, the government has

• 23 ministries, departments for education, transport, defence, justiee, work and pensions, health and social care, etc.
• Then there are also 20 other non-ministerial departments - the charity commission, the forestry commission, the food standards agency, the CPS, the land registry, Ofgem, Ofqual. Ofsted, etc.
• There are also over 500 other agencies and public bodies, from the Advisory Counsel on the misuse of drugs through the Low Pay Commission to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority!

It is all very organised. Churches ought to be organised too - not so much on a national basis but within the local church. Ideally, there will be the elder or elders, the deacons, the women and then possibly an evangelist or an assistant pastor or apprentice. There will be people responsible for catering and cleaning, for Sunday School teaching and other outreach. There will be musicians, caretakers, gardeners, etc. As here, people will come from a variety of backgrounds but hopefully will be well suited to the work that they do.

Three main things from this chapter then.

1. Consider serving the king and the need for fighters in the kingdom

In verse 1 we read This is the list of the Israelites - heads of families, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men. Then in the next 14 verses we have the names of twelve men who were responsible month by month for an army of 24,000 men. Rather then keeping a large standing army, as some nations do, in David's time, once his kingdom was established, it seems that a militia of 288,000 was maintained and 24,000 of these would be on call month by month throughout the year.

The men in charge of these 12 divisions were

... Jashobeam son of Zabdiel ... a descendant of Perez ... So like David he is from Judah. In 1 Chronicles 11 he is called the chief of David's mighty men. All these names appear in 1 Chronicles 11.

... Dodai the Ahohite; he had a deputy it seems Mikloth ... Dodai was David's uncle, Jesse's brother.

... Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest or may be it is prince or is a referene to the High Priest's deputy ... This was the Benaiah it says who was a mighty warrior among the Thirty and was over the Thirty. He also had a second His son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

... Asahel the brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah was his successor. Asahel, of course, died young so this arrangement probably goes back even to when David was in Hebron.

... Shamhuth the Izrahite ... Perhaps the same man as Shammoth the Harorite.

... Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite ... Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite ... Sibbekai the Hushathite, a Zerahite ... Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite ... Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite ... Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite ... Heldai the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel. Othniel, of course, was one of the judges, and a Kenizzite not a Jew.

We have noted previously how often the Chronicler is talking about soldiers and war and such things. Thankfully we are not living in a time when such things loom so large in our thinking. However, as we have often said, if we are new covenant Christians then we involved in a spiritual war and the New Testament calls on us to wear the gospel armour and to stand firm in the fight against the devil, the world and the flesh. Prayer is very important in all this, as Paul makes clear after he has described the gospel armour in Ephesians 6. In 6:18 he says And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. We must give ourselves to prayer - to prayer when we are alone, prayer in our families and to prayer in public, as we are going to do tonight.

The godly and wise William Gurnall says to Christians "You now have, Christian, the armour of God; but take heed thou forgettest not to engage the God of this armour by humble prayer for your assistance, lest for all this you be worsted in the fight."

He also says "Satan cannot deny but that great wonders have been wrought by prayer. As the spirit of prayer goes up, so his kingdom goes down. Satan's strategems against prayer are three. First, if he can, he will keep thee from prayer. If that be not feasible, secondly, he will strive to interrupt thee in prayer. And, thirdly, if that plot takes not, he will labour to hinder the success of thy prayer."

And "They say stars have greatest influences when they are in conjunction with the sun; then sure the graces of a saint should never work more powerfully than in prayer, for then he is in the nearest conjunction and communion with God."

Pray for prayer warriors, for men and women who are willing to give themselves to prayer, who will fight the spiritual battles that alone will lead to victory.

One other thing that is in the text - I read this story by someone called Awlwyn Balnave from Calgary in Canada. A few years ago, he said, an old acquaintance served as a police officer in a northern native settlement in Canada. One day a rabid wolf wandered into the aboriginal settlement. His friend eventually shot it, but not before it attacked a young man and his grandmother in their home, making kindling out of a chair the young man used to protect himself from his attacker.

There were about 150 sled dogs in the village, more than a match for one sick wolf, yet the intruder was left alone to do her work. Why? In order to prevent the dogs from fighting and wounding each other, they'd each been tied to wooden stakes spaced far enough apart to prevent them from reaching any neighbouring animal. And so the wolf walked freely among the dogs, killing some and badly wounding others. In isolation they were no match for their foe, and they suffered terribly for it.

We need each other. We will be much more effective that way.

2. Consider serving the king and the need for leaders in the kingdom

In verses 16-22 we have a list of thirteen leaders of the tribes of Israel. The list excludes Gad and Asher for some reason and, typical of the Chronicler, includes a double entry for Levi in that there is an entry also for the Aaronites. The twelve leaders are

over the Reubenites: Eliezer son of Zikri; over the Simeonites: Shephatiah son of Maakah;

over Levi: Hashabiah son of Kemuel; over Aaron: Zadok;

over Judah: Elihu, a brother of David; perhaps Eliab. over Issachar: Omri son of Michael;

over Zebulun: Ishmaiah son of Obadiah; over Naphtali: Jerimoth son of Azriel;

over the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah; over half the tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;

over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo son of Zechariah; nothing to do with the prophet.

over Benjamin: Jaasiel son of Abner; Abner was the leader of Saul's army.

over Dan: Azarel son of Jeroham.

It concludes These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

Under David, Israel continued to reflect its tribal constitution then. Leadership is important whatever particular rules lay behind its formation. Under the new covenant, leadership is quite different in its look to what pertained under the old covenant. Each local church, as modelled in Jewish communities, is to have elders or, as modelled among the Greeks, overseers.

It doesn't tell us here how good these leaders were. No doubt they varied. It is not an easy thing to assess. I heard a story of how the American businessman and politician Dwight Morrow once held a dinner party to which Calvin Coolidge, later US president, had been invited. After Coolidge left, Morrow told the remaining guests that Coolidge would make a good president. The others disagreed. They felt Coolidge was too quiet, that he lacked colour and personality. No one would like him, they said. Morrow's daughter Anne, who went on to be well known herself, was then only six. She spoke up: “I like him.” Then she displayed a finger with a small bandage around it. “He was the only one at the party who asked about my sore finger.” “And that’s why he would make a good president,” added Morrow.

In Hebrews 13:7 and 17 the writer says Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith ... Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. There is an onus on leaders to lead well and on the rest of us to remember them and have confidence in them and submit to them. In Ephesians 6 again, after urging prayer in the Spirit more generally, as a leader Paul says Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Pray too for leaders. We need leaders in God's kingdom - not so that there are more chiefs than Indians but so that we may enjoy good and faithful leadership.

3. Consider serving the king and the need for workers in the kingdom

In verses 23 and 24 we have a note that says that 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. Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. God's wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.

Perhaps one would expect a census of the men of the nation but that does not come for two reasons. Firstly, David was aware from the Book of Numbers that any numbering of the people should not include men 20 and under, the reason being because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. Further, when David had begun to number the people, as described in Chapter 21, the project was not finished because God's wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and so the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.

We are told, however, in the closing verses of the chapter, about David's own workers. First those who were in charge of the royal storehouses and plants and animals and then the various advisors to the king and such like. So consider

1. Workers away from the palace

In verses 25-31 some twelve more people are mentioned and their work is briefly described. It is important that we note here just how wealthy David had become. He owned farms, vineyards, herds of cattle, flocks of sheep. Our king is wealthy too. He owns all sorts of things.

1 Azmaveth son of Adiel who was in charge of the royal storehouses. 2 Jonathan son of Uzziah who was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers. 3 Ezri son of Kelub who was in charge of the workers who farmed the land. 4 Shimei the Ramathite who was in charge of the vineyards. 5 Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats. 6 Baal-Hanan the Gederite who was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig trees in the western foothills.

7 Joash who was in charge of the supplies of olive oil. 8 Shitrai the Sharonite who was in charge of the herds grazing in the high plain of Sharon. 9 Shaphat son of Adlai who was in charge of the herds in the valleys. 10 Obil the Ishmaelite who was in charge of the camels. 11 Jehdeiah the Meronothite who was in charge of the donkeys. 12 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.

The passage concludes with All these were the officials in charge of King David's property.

So the first two deal with storehouses, the next one with farming the land, then two with vineyards and their produce and two with olive and sycamore trees and their produce. The final five dealt with animals - cattle, camels, donkeys and sheep. Just as David's extensive property needed looking after so it is the case for what belongs to Christ today. We should be diligent about appointing people and to such tasks and diligent about carrying out our tasks.

2. Workers mainly within the palace

Finally another five are listed.

1 Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counsellor, a man of insight and a scribe. 2 Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king's sons. 3 Ahithophel was the king's counsellor. He, of course, committed suicide during the rebellion of Absalom. 4 Hushai the Arkite was the king's confidant. And then we are told that Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. 5 Joab was the commander of the royal army.

These final references remind us that David was surrounded by many good men who supported and helped him. Our Saviour does not need counsellors but he does have confidants and generals who serve him and those who take care of his children. Let's be thankful for such people and pray that we will also play our part where we ought.

During World War II many young men were eager to enlist in the armed forces but there was need also for others to stay behind and work in industries like coal mining. These men were known as Bevin boys. It was not a glamorous thing to go down a mine rather than off to war and people needed some encouragement. In 1942 Churchill made a rousing speech to people in the coal industry in which he pictured how it would be after the war.

"We shall not fail," he said "and then some day, when children ask: 'What did you do to win this inheritance for us and to make our name so respected among men?' one will say: 'I was a Fighter Pilot,' another will say: 'I was in the Submarine Service,' another: 'I marched with the Eighth Army,' a fourth will say: 'None of you could have lived without the convoys and the Merchant Seamen; and you, in your turn will say, with equal pride and with equal right: WE CUT THE COAL."

In one sense it doesn't matter what work you do in God's kingdom as long as you do something. Seek God's face to know what you can best do and then do it and do it for God's glory.