David organises the musicians for the worship of the Lord in the house of the Lord, officials are set apart and dedicated treasures are offered.
1 Chronicles 25: David Organizes the Musicians
1 David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals. The list of those who did the work and of their duties was:
2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.
3 Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the LORD.
4 Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth.
5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer, according to the promise of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
6 They were all under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the order of the king.
7 The number of them along with their brothers, who were trained in singing to the LORD, all who were skillful, was 288.
8 And they cast lots for their duties, small and great, teacher and pupil alike.
9 The first lot fell for Asaph to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, to him and his brothers and his sons, twelve;
10 the third to Zaccur, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
11 the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
12 the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
13 the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
14 the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
15 the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
16 the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
17 the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
18 the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
19 the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
20 to the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
21 to the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
22 to the fifteenth, to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
23 to the sixteenth, to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
24 to the seventeenth, to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
25 to the eighteenth, to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
26 to the nineteenth, to Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
27 to the twentieth, to Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
28 to the twenty-first, to Hothir, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
29 to the twenty-second, to Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
30 to the twenty-third, to Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
31 to the twenty-fourth, to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brothers, twelve.
1 Chronicles 26: Divisions of the Gatekeepers
1 As for the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.
2 And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,
3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.
4 And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth,
5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth, for God blessed him.
6 Also to his son Shemaiah were sons born who were rulers in their fathers' houses, for they were men of great ability.
7 The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers were able men, Elihu and Semachiah.
8 All these were of the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and brothers, able men qualified for the service; sixty-two of Obed-edom.
9 And Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, able men, eighteen.
10 And Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him chief),
11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen.
12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their chief men, had duties, just as their brothers did, ministering in the house of the LORD.
13 And they cast lots by fathers' houses, small and great alike, for their gates.
14 The lot for the east fell to Shelemiah. They cast lots also for his son Zechariah, a shrewd counsellor, and his lot came out for the north.
15 Obed-edom's came out for the south, and to his sons was allotted the gatehouse.
16 For Shuppim and Hosah it came out for the west, at the gate of Shallecheth on the road that goes up. Watch corresponded to watch.
17 On the east there were six each day, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, as well as two and two at the gatehouse.
18 And for the colonnade on the west there were four at the road and two at the colonnade.
19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the Korahites and the sons of Merari.
Treasurers and Other Officials
20 And of the Levites, Ahijah had charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated gifts.
21 The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers' houses belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli.
22 The sons of Jehieli, Zetham, and Joel his brother, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the LORD.
23 Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites---
24 and Shebuel the son of Gershom, son of Moses, was chief officer in charge of the treasuries.
25 His brothers: from Eliezer were his son Rehabiah, and his son Jeshaiah, and his son Joram, and his son Zichri, and his son Shelomoth.
26 This Shelomoth and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts that David the king and the heads of the fathers' houses and the officers of the thousands and the hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated.
27 From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the house of the LORD.
28 Also all that Samuel the seer and Saul the son of Kish and Abner the son of Ner and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated---all dedicated gifts were in the care of Shelomoth and his brothers.
29 Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were appointed to external duties for Israel, as officers and judges.
30 Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, 1,700 men of ability, had the oversight of Israel westward of the Jordan for all the work of the LORD and for the service of the king.
31 Of the Hebronites, Jerijah was chief of the Hebronites of whatever genealogy or fathers' houses. (In the fortieth year of David's reign search was made and men of great ability among them were found at Jazer in Gilead.)
32 King David appointed him and his brothers, 2,700 men of ability, heads of fathers' houses, to have the oversight of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites for everything pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.
Things to think about…
1. Worship plays such a powerful part in our relationship with the Lord. In 1Chr 25:1-3 We see Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun with their sons prophesy as they play on their lyres, harps and cymbals. We know in heaven we will be praising our God around His throne for eternity. If you struggle with praise and worshipping the Lord through praise and singing, seek after the Lord to help you find out why. Generally for men it can be pride. Ask the Lord to deal with this pride so the glory goes to the Lord and not remain with you. Another practical way is to start writing God’s word (revealed prophesy) in word form. Who knows, we might even be singing your songs as part of our praise before too long! The other thing is that our musicians need to be trained, vss 6-8. We train pastors and missionaries, I think our musicians need to be trained not only to play, but also trained how to write music and God honouring lyrics.
2. Want to be a real He-Man, then look at Heman the seer/prophet 1Chr 25:4-6 – God promised to exalt him and he did – he gave him 14 sons and three daughters. Praise God for big God honouring families! It says they were all under the direction of their father – as they should be. Praise God for strong God honouring dads who lead their families from the front.
3. Our God is a God of order. The rest of the verses in 1Chr 25 list the 288 names (12 X 24) of those who were called out for the Lord’s service! We are to be ordered in our lives and in our corporate worship gatherings as part of our witness and testimony of who the Lord is. We are called to reflect His character. Poor discipline with respect to our attendance, appearance, duties, faithfulness, etc, all reflect badly upon our loving Saviour. We must always remember God is a God of grace, but that should never justify tardiness in our service to Him. As Paul exhorts the Corinthians “Let everything be done decently and in order” 1Cor 14:40.
4. Chap 26 continues the theme of order, discipline and calling with respect to the service that was offered to the Lord. The gatekeepers and those who maintained the treasury vs 30 says were “all for the work of the Lord and the for the service of the king”. We serve a risen King and we are to bring Him glory in our service. Encourage someone today in the gift that the Lord has given them, to use it for His glory and not waste it in worldly pursuits. Note in the list of gate keepers – Obed-edom. Remember his house was blessed by the Lord because the ark stayed with him for 3 months because David feared after Uzzah touched the ark and died. Here we see how the Lord blessed Obed-edom – he 62 sons and brothers in his house. Obed-edom had a lot for the south gate and his sons were allotted a gate house, 26:15. We are called to guard the gate of our heart and the church. The sons of Korah had it right when they said this is where the real blessing lies, Ps 84:10.
5. It’s interesting that even Saul and Joab, vs 28 dedicated things that were for the maintenance of the Lord’s house that would eventually be used for the temple building project. The Lord will build His church whether he uses the gold of Egypt, Cyrus, Herod or Constantine. Like the temple, churches are built on the achievements and investments of those who have gone before us. Let’s continue to pray that the Lord frees up finances and resources to build His church in our day as He releases people to expand the Kingdom of Jesus.
6. We need to have a leadership succession plan. Note in 26:31 “In the fortieth year of David's reign search was made and men of great ability”. David’s fortieth year was the last year he would reign. Let’s never think that we will be here forever – let’s train up new leaders within the church to take on the great work that the Lord has given us.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. The poor people of Devonport, Tasmania and the parents of the 6 children who have lost their lives in a tragic jumping castle accident. Words fail to describe this horrible event. 3 children are in a critical condition in hospital. Please pray for Christ’s peace to rest over this grieving community.
2. People would join us and hear about the forgiveness of Christ over Christmas.
3. Christmas season – joy and unity promoted in Christ.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Witness over the Christmas season.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Visitors on Sunday. Pray they are encouraged in the church.
2. Appreciation to all involved in ministry. Joy in our service. Thankyou for your service.
3. Word of God being blessed at CBC.
Announcements
1. Christmas Day service – Sat 25th Dec – 9:00am
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
