In this episode, we delve into the intriguing chapters of 1 Chronicles 24 and 25. Discover how David meticulously organized the roles of priests and musicians to ensure the success of the temple Solomon would eventually build. Reflect on insights drawn from a lifetime of Bible reading journals, exploring how these ancient practices hold relevance for modern believers. As you listen, consider how God might be calling you to use your talents for His purposes and the legacy you can create for future generations.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 01 :
Today we are in 1 Chronicles chapters 24 and 25. Again, we will listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of these two chapters. So let’s get started.
SPEAKER 03 :
1 Chronicles 24 The divisions of the sons of Aaron were these, the sons of Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests. With the help of Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service. Since more chief men were found among the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of Ithamar, they organized them under sixteen heads of fathers’ houses of the sons of Eleazar and eight of the sons of Ithamar. They divided them by lot, all alike, for there were sacred officers and officers of God among both the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. And the scribe Shimea, the son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the princes and Zadok the priest and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites, one father’s house being chosen for Eleazar and one chosen for Ithamar.”
SPEAKER 04 :
The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Judea, the third to Haram, the fourth to Seorim, the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin, the seventh to Hekaz, the eighth to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shekiniah, the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jacob, the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jehebeab, the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Emer, the seventeenth to Hezer, the eighteenth to Hapazez, the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamal, the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.” These had as their appointed duty in their service to come into the house of the Lord according to the procedure established for them by Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him. And of the rest of the sons of Levi, of the sons of Amram, Shebael, of the sons of Shebael, Judea, Of Rehobiah, of the sons of Rehobiah, Ishaiah the chief. Of the Israelites, Shalomoth. Of the sons of Shalomoth, Jahath. The sons of Hebron, Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, Jechamim the fourth. The sons of Uzziel, Micah. Of the sons of Micah, Shamer. The brother of Micah, Ishaiah. Of the sons of Ishaiah, Zechariah. The sons of Merari, Malai and Mushai. The sons of Jehaziah, Beno. The sons of Merari. Of Jehaziah, Beno, Shoham, Zachar and Ibrai. Of Malai, Eleazar, who had no sons. Of Kish, the sons of Kish, Jeramiel, the sons of Mushai, Malai, Eder, and Jeramoth.
SPEAKER 03 :
These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses. These also, the head of each father’s house, and his younger brother alike, cast lots, just as their brothers, the sons of Aaron, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites. 1 Chronicles 25 David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Juduthin, who prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals. The list of those who did the work and of their duties was…
SPEAKER 04 :
Of Juduthun, the sons of Juduthun, Gedaliah, Zerui, Jeshea, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattathiah, six under the direction of their father Juduthun, who prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. Of Heman, the sons of Heman, Bacchiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebul, and Jeremoth, Hananiah, Hananiah, Eliathah, Gedaltai, and Romam to Ezer, Jospachashah, Malathai, Hothar, Mahaziah.
SPEAKER 03 :
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. 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, Juduthun, and Heman were under the order of the king. The number of them, along with their brothers, who were trained in singing to the Lord, all who were skillful, was 288. And they cast lots for their duties, small and great, teacher and pupil alike.” The first lot fell for Asaph to Joseph, the second to Gedaliah, to him and his brothers and his sons, twelve. The third to Zechariah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The fourth to Israel, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The sixth to Bacchiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The eighth to Jeshea, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve. The twelfth, to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the fourteenth, Mattathiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the fifteenth, to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the sixteenth, to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the seventeenth, to Joshpakesha, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the eighteenth, to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the nineteenth, to Malathai, his sons and his brothers, twelve. To the twentieth, to Eliatha, his sons and his brothers twelve. To the twenty-first, to Hothir, his sons and his brothers twelve. To the twenty-second, to Gedaltai, his sons and his brothers twelve. To the twenty-third, to Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers twelve. To the twenty-fourth, to Romim to Ezer, his sons and his brothers twelve.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, before we get to the journals, it seems like the magic number is 12, right? Now I go back to my journal in 1983, my first Bible reading journal in my life, and I wrote concerning these chapters, David’s people, leaders in music, defense, army, etc. Formula for success? Be obedient to God and surround yourself with good, God-fearing, trustworthy people. That’s pretty good insight from a 28-year-old, right? In 1997, I wrote about these chapters. Names written in the book forever. Everyone had a different job, but they all had some job. Lord, bless my job. That was an interesting perspective from a 42-year-old. In 2009, I wrote about these chapters. David had a succession plan. Now when David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. He named his successor. He prepared for the construction of the temple. So David made ample preparation before his death. He assigned Levites new duties pertaining to the temple. David’s preparation helped Solomon succeed. How can I help my kids succeed? A different perspective from my age of 54 at the time. Chapters 24 and 25 continue the preparation by David to make the house of the Lord, the temple that Solomon would build, a success. In chapter 24, David organized the priests. In chapter 25, David organizes the musicians. Let’s look at a couple of practical applications from these two chapters of 1 Chronicles. First of all, I think about those of us who are getting up in age. What preparation are we making for future success? It didn’t appear that David was just laying around or playing shuffleboard or playing golf. He was continually thinking about the Lord and making preparations for the success of the temple of God. He was also concerned about the success of his son, the king. Maybe you’re in the fourth quarter of your life. Are you still being used and are you still useful to the Lord? What are you doing to prepare the next generation? For those that are younger, maybe we should have a different kind of perspective. What has God asked me to do? Every one of these people were tasked with something to do for the Lord. A priest, a Levite, a musician. What are the talents that God has given you that he wants you to use for him and his kingdom? And thirdly, maybe this is a perspective you would consider. If you’re a young person, churches generally are in decline. People are needed to be priests, preachers, pastors today. People are needed on worship teams to lead the body of Christ into worship. So maybe God has given you a special gift that he wants you to use to build his church. The names listed in chapter 24 and 25, though it may be very difficult to pronounce, are in the Bible. Each one had an assignment by God for his special use. Do you think it was really only for them? Has God assigned you something special to do for him? Let’s pray. Lord, we could get caught up in the fact that we just read two chapters of a bunch of names. But every verse, every word in your word has a purpose. Might we focus on that as we listen, as we read your word. Teach us, even from the books like 1 Chronicles, chapters like 24 and 25, that you have a special purpose for each one of us. And that regardless of our age, you can still use us. May we commit ourselves to be used and usable to you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to Add Bible today. Our radio programming is set for 2025. We will cover 44 of the 66 books of the Bible using the Ezra Project day by day through the Bible 11 book series. We start at January 1, 2025 with the writings of the Old Testament historical books beginning with Job. We will finish the historical books in May, then jump into the New Testament writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. Then fall, we will go back to the Old Testament writings of all 13 of the minor prophets and finish the year with all the writings of Paul. If you are listening to each episode, you will complete 44 of the 66 books of the Bible in 2025. But if you missed any, you can always go back and catch up by loading the radio station app that you’re listening to and finding the button replays. We hope you are enjoying the audio version of our Add Bible radio program. But did you know you can have it all in writing? All of the radio recordings have been transcribed. It took a lot of time and effort to transcribe Add Bible into written daily devotions, but we did it. You can get what you have been listening to or get what you’re going to be listening to in writing at EzraProject.net. Visit the resource page and find the day-by-day through the Bible book that coincides with the radio program. It’s usually the one on sale. There’s a section in each book for your thoughts on each passage. So as you listen, you can actually record your own notes so you will never forget what you got out of your time in God’s Word. Check it out today at EzraProject.net.
SPEAKER 04 :
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