The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Chronicles — Section 383

V ers. 1-32.-Enumeration and arrangement of the Levites for thefr service. The four chapters with which this commences give a connected view of the condition of the Levites towards t.he end, that is, the fortieth year of David's reign, and of the sections into wh_ich t~ey we!e divided according ~ their various services. In this chapter the first thing with which we are presented 1s the total number of the tribe of Levi and their divisions according to the duties devolving upon them. Next we have the'enu- meration of the heads of the houses of the fathers into which the four families of the Levites had branched out, with a brief account of their duties. All these arrancrements immediately preceded Solomon's elevation to the throne. The first part of the third verse ha.<, reference to what was the original age at which the Levites were numbered. If we read, "Now the Levites had been numbered from thirty years old and upward " it will present no difficulty (see Numb. iv.). :Moses himself had, however, at a la~r date, made their time of service from twenty-five to fifty years of age (see Numb. viii. '.!3-26). David reduced ev-en this (see ver. 24:), and made their service to commence at the age of twenty. The reason for this is given (see ver. 25). The Levites had now not to do the heavy work they had when marching through the wilderness, when they had to carry the tabernacle and its vessels. Now that this was over and the Lord had given them rest, they might enter on their work at an earlier age, '!'he census presents us with the total number, namely, thirty-eight thousand men. Of these, twenty-four thousand were to conduct and carry on the work of the house of the Lord; six thousand were to be officers and judges ; four thousand porters, and four thousand to praise the Lord. The work assigned to the twenty-four thousand is more particularly defined in vers. 28-32. T1vo great spiritual truths are presented in this chapter. 1. Every man has his own place to fill and his own special work appointed by God. This work is of various and diverse kinds. Some of it was more honourable, in a human point of view, than another; but each man was in his own divinely appointed place. Thus only can there be order and progress in the Lord's work by each one filling that place. "God is not the author of confusion," but of order. "The eye cannot 1,ay to the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. But God bath tempered the body together . . . that there should be no schism in the body" (1 Cor. xii. 21-25). 2. The second truth is the great number set apart for praise and thanksgiving morning and eveniag (see vers. 5, 30). 'fbis was to form a conspicuous part of their service, and to take a prominent place. 'l'uis is the highest kind of service. The New Testament is full of injunctions to Joy and praise and thanksgiving. It implied, in Israel of old, "how much we have to praise him for!" And is it not true in all our work and service for God? Surely they who know the Saviour, and think for a moment what he is in himself, what he did for us on the cross, and what he is doing for us every day and every hour, have to praise him now and throughout eternity! Such praises should ever be in the heart and on the lips. One heart-look at Christ should banish all doubt and fear and make that heart sing for joy.-W. Vers. 2, 3.-Tlie mission of the Levites. They were called to service which men might call "menial," but which was truly "honourable," and might be made "more honourable by the loyal, devout, and loving spirit in which it was done. But there are indications that the Levites were tempted to undervalue their place aud their work; they sometimes envied the priests, and fretfully wanted to be other than thay were (see Numb, xvi. 9). Confusion and c.ifficulty are sure to arise when men undervalue the positions in which they are set, and the work that is entrusted to them to do, and begin to envy other people's positions and other people's w?rk. We tre,at her? tho missi~n of the Levit~s. a.s introducing the subject of our separation unto Gods service. What 1s called the D1vme election may be fittingly called the Divine selection, for it really is God, in his infinite foreknowledge, selecting fitting agents, and, in the orderinj! of his providences, sepa- ratincr them unto the work for which he has chosen them. The sacred Word is full of insta;ces of these Divine select.ings and separatings. 'l'he race of Seth is aeparateu from the other descendants of Adam. Noah iii separated fr0m the ungodly world. Japhelh ill ~u. xxm. 1-32.J THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 385