1 Chronicles 24:1-31

David continues to make preparations for the building and operation of the temple that his son Solomon will be in charge of building.  He has gathered massive amounts of building materials and now he is setting about to organize the tribe of Levi in order that the different services, sacrifices and the general running of the temple would run smoothly once it was constructed.   It is important to recognize that the worship of God involves people and not just a really nice building.  Too often the focus of many churches becomes a construction project or maintaining a physical structure.  The temple would be a very special and ornate building but the purpose and ministry of that building would be carried out by people.  David wanted to be sure that the people were ready to do their jobs so that they building would not just become another sort of idol in Israel.

DAVID DECIDES WHO THE PRIESTS WILL BE: The entire tribe of Levi was responsible for caring for the tabernacle and therefor they would be responsible to care for the temple once it was built.  However, the descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses, were chosen by God to be the priests.  By the time of David, there were a great many descendants of Aaron.  These men would be priests before the people and carry out the functions of making sacrifices and representing the people before the Lord and the Lord before the people.  Spiritual leaders are vital to the well-being of any group of people.  We do not choose our spiritual leaders today based on their belonging to a certain family, but we should recognize that they have been given a sacred duty by the Lord and we should honor and obey them as the Lord desires.


DAVID DETERMINES WHAT THEIR FUNCTIONS WILL BE: For the most part, the specific duty of each of these priests was determined by the casting of lots.  There were a large variety of tasks that needed to be done and it was important that someone took each of these tasks on as a personal responsibility so that the whole could function well.  There are many jobs that need to be accomplished within any body of believers.  We need to be sure that we are not competing against one another for the jobs that we want to accomplish for our own glory.  God wants us to cooperate with one another so that each body of believers might bring glory to Him.

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