Adonijah the Opportunist (1 Kings 1:1-10)

11/26/2010 10:57:01 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Adonijah the opportunist

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Kings 1:1-10

 

            Message of the verses:  This main section has three sub-sections in it and I will attempt to go over all three of them this morning.  The first sub-section is called “The Occasion (Verses 1:1-4): “1 ¶  Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. 2  So his servants said to him, "Let them seek a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her attend the king and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm." 3  So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4  The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not cohabit with her.”

            Adonijah was at this time the oldest of David’s sons and therefore probably though that he was the one who should be the next king even though it was known to him that the Lord had chosen Solomon to be the next king and to build the Temple of the Lord.

            There was a young girl who is also part of this drama named Abishag who was a Shunammite, and who was very beautiful and was the one who kept the king warm by sleeping with him, yet not having any sexual relations with him.  She would fit into the drama after the death of David.

 

            “The Traitors” (Verses 1:5-7):  “5 ¶  Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him. 6  His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, "Why have you done so?" And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom. 7  He had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and following Adonijah they helped him.” 

            Adonijah is the son of David who will not try and become the next King of Israel and he did some things similar to what Absalom did to try and make this happen.  He has some men who were true to David with Him including Joab who was the leader of David’s army, and he also had Abiathar the pries, so he had both the priests and the army in his corner.

 

            “The Faithful:” (Verses 1:8-10): “8  But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. 9  Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 10  But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and Solomon his brother.”

            This section of Scripture gives the names of the men who were not invited to Adonijah’s party and were therefore loyal to the King.  These will be the men who will not stand by idly and allow Adonijah’s plan to be fulfilled, for they knew that it was not the will of the Lord for it to be fulfilled.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I saw something similar happening, and is still happening, at GBC and therefore I could not stand to continue to go there anymore so I left and pray that God will judge these things that are going on there now.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Trust the Lord to judge the plans that are going on at GBC in a way that will bring glory to God.

2.      Put on the spiritual armor today so that I will be ready in the battle.

 

11/26/2010 11:24:00 AM

David Consecrates Solomon as Next King (1 Chron. 29:1-25)

11/25/2010 12:41:26 PM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Sincere consecration PT 2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Chron. 29:1-25

 

            Message of the verses:  This is the second part of the main point entitled “Sincere Consecration” and it will deal with the verses in chapter twenty-nine of 1Chronicles.

           

            David calls on the Lord:  (1Chronicles 29:1-21).  “  1 ¶  Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals-it is for the LORD God himself! 2  Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble. 3  “And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. 4  I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings 5  and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the LORD today?’’  6  Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. 7  For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. 8  They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the LORD under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. 9  The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD, and King David was filled with joy.

    10 ¶  Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly:  “O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12  Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. 13  “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14  But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15  We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace. 16  “O LORD our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17  I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously. 18  “O LORD, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19  Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.’’  20  Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the LORD your God! ‘and the entire assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the LORD and the king. 21  The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the LORD. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel.”

 

            The first nine verses of chapter twenty-nine are a review of all of the things that David gave to the Lord for the building of His Temple.  I am now going to write about the sub-title “David calls on the Lord which covers verses 10-21. 

            If I am not mistaken some of the disciples of Jesus asked Him to teach them how to pray.  Well this prayer of David in these verses would be a great model for prayer.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “His (David’s) words are a short course in theology. He blesses the God of Israel and acknowledges His greatness, power, glory, victory and majesty.”  David prayed for his son Solomon who would be the next king in Israel, he prayed that God would give him wisdom to do this job, and he prayed that the Lord would bless his efforts in the building of this temple to the Lord.  He also prayed that Solomon would stay close to the Lord by obeying the OT Law, something that Solomon would not follow all of his life.

 

            Joyful celebration:  (1Chronicles 29:21-30):  “21  The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the LORD. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel. 22  They feasted and drank in the LORD’s presence with great joy that day. And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the LORD as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest.

    “23 ¶  So Solomon took the throne of the LORD in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him. 24  All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon. 25  And the LORD exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him. 26  So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27  He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28  He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place. 29  All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel the Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer. 30  These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms.”

            The next day was a great day in the offering of a great amount of sacrifices to the Lord, a day in which Solomon was anointed as king over Israel.  He was anointed three times, once in Hebron and then two times in Jerusalem.  David wanted to make sure that all of the leaders of the tribes were online with Solomon being king.

            David was the king of Israel in which all others would be compared by.  David was the king who is still looked upon highly by people even today.  David is the king from who the Lord Jesus Christ’s humanity came from.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am a man who is in physical pain today, and so I can learn from the Psalms that David wrote to help me through this time of testing and pain.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Put on in place the spiritual armor today, for there is a battle going on.

2.      Trust the Lord to get me through these tough times.

 

11/25/2010 1:31:58 PM

           

 

Sincere Consecration PT-1 (1 Chron. 28:1-21)

11/23/2010 9:48:28 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Sincere consecration PT-1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  1Chron. 28:1-21

 

            Message of the verses.

 

            This is the last main section in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the books of 2Samuel and 1Chronicles and it takes up the last two chapters of 1Chrinicles of which I want to look at just the last chapter, chapter twenty-eight, and there are three sub-points in this chapter.  The first sub-point is called David challenges the leaders, the second is David charges Solomon, and the third sub-point is  called David conveys his gifts for the project.

 

            David challenges the leaders: (Verses 21: 1-8).  “:  “1 ¶  David summoned all the officials of Israel to Jerusalem-the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the army divisions, the other generals and captains, the overseers of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the other brave warriors in the kingdom. 2  David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a temple where the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it, 3  but God said to me, ’You must not build a temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’ 4  “Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, has chosen me from among all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen the tribe of Judah to rule, and from among the families of Judah he chose my father’s family. And from among my father’s sons the LORD was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5  And from among my sons-for the LORD has given me many-he chose Solomon to succeed me on the throne of Israel and to rule over the LORD’s kingdom. 6  He said to me, ’Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father. 7  And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’ 8  “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel-the LORD’s assembly-I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.” 

            David summoned all of the people who were named in the last chapter, that is all of the leaders of the tribes, and all of his officials.  I don’t think that included all of the Levites and priests.  He began to speak to them concerning the vision that he had in order to build the Temple of the Lord, but told them that the Lord had told him that he would not be the one to do this, but his son, and the reason that David would not do this was because he had shed a lot of blood while defeating all of the enemies of Israel.  David reminded these men of the covenant that the Lord had made with Israel and that if they would keep this covenant with Israel then the Lord would continue to bless Israel and make them prosper so that they could keep the land that they now had.  He reminded them of the covenant that the Lord had made with his family and how the Lord had chosen Solomon to succeed David as King of Israel.

 

            David charges Solomon: (Verses 21:9-10): 9  “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.’’”

            These are two of the most wonderful verses in all of Scripture for in them David tells his son, Solomon a great secret in successful living and this is centered on the Lord, and obeying the Lord, and keeping ones first desire to follow and serve the Lord with one’s whole heart.  Solomon would later fall away from keeping these words and begin to multiply his wives who would then lead him to the worship of idols, something the Lord hates.

 

            David conveys his gifts for the project: (Verses 21:11-21): “    “11 ¶  Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary-which was the place of atonement. 12  David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind for the courtyards of the LORD’s Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the LORD. 13  The king also gave Solomon the instructions concerning the work of the various divisions of priests and Levites in the Temple of the LORD. And he gave specifications for the items in the Temple that were to be used for worship. 14  David gave instructions regarding how much gold and silver should be used to make the items needed for service. 15  He told Solomon the amount of gold needed for the gold lampstands and lamps, and the amount of silver for the silver lampstands and lamps, depending on how each would be used. 16  He designated the amount of gold for the table on which the Bread of the Presence would be placed and the amount of silver for other tables. 17  David also designated the amount of gold for the solid gold meat hooks used to handle the sacrificial meat and for the basins, pitchers, and dishes, as well as the amount of silver for every dish. 18  He designated the amount of refined gold for the altar of incense. Finally, he gave him a plan for the LORD’s “chariot’’‑ -the gold cherubim whose wings were stretched out over the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant. 19  “Every part of this Plan,’ David told Solomon, “was given to me in writing from the hand of the LORD. 20  Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my, God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly. 21  The various divisions of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple of God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the officials and the entire nation are at your command.’’”

           

            One of the things that I have learned from this section of Scripture is that the Lord gave to David the plans for the temple so that he could pass them on to Solomon.  These plans for this Temple of the Lord can be compared to the plans that God gave to Moses for the Tabernacle of the Lord when Moses was on the Mount.  I am so glad that this was opened to me after studying this section of Scripture.

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that David gave Solomon three gifts for this project.  The first was the gift of the plans that the Lord gave to David.  The second gift was another gift of encouragement to Solomon.  The third gift Solomon received from his father was a people prepared to work with him and complete the project (See verse twenty-one).

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  To know the Lord more intimately and to worship Him are from verses nine and ten and these are wonderful verses to follow and I can’t go wrong in following them.

 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      To know the Lord and to worship the Lord.

2.      To put on the spiritual armor and have the faith to use it in the battle today.

3.      To praise the Lord for the success of the procedure I went through yesterday.

 

11/23/2010 12:12:49 PM  (It did not take me this long to do this.  I had a phone call). 

 

           

Military Administration (1 Chronicles 27:1-34)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Military administration

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Chron. 27:1-34

 

            Message of the verses:  This morning I am going to attempt to go over all of this chapter in 1Chronicles which consists of four sub-points which are under the main point of “Military administration.”

 

            The captain (verses 1-15) : “1 ¶  This is the list of Israelite generals and captains, and their officers, who served the king by supervising the army divisions that were on duty each month of the year. Each division served for one month and had 24,000 troops. 2  Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was commander of the first division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the first month. 3  He was a descendant of Perez and was in charge of all the army officers for the first month. 4  Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah, was commander of the second division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the second month. Mikloth was his chief officer. 5  Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest was commander of the third division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the third month. 6  This was the Benaiah who commanded David’s elite military group known as the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was his chief officer. 7  Asahel, the brother of Joab, was commander of the fourth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fourth month. Asahel was succeeded by his son Zebadiah. 8  Shammah the Izrahite was commander of the fifth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fifth month. 9  Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa was commander of the sixth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the sixth month. 10  Helez, a descendant of Ephraim from Pelon, was commander of the seventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the seventh month. 11  Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was commander of the eighth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eighth month. 12  Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin was commander of the ninth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the ninth month. 13  Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was commander of the tenth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the tenth month. 14  Benaiah from Pirathon in Ephraim was commander of the eleventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eleventh month. 15  Heled, a descendant of Othniel from Netophah, was commander of the twelfth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the twelfth month.”

 

            Solomon was very young when he became King and David has everything set up for him to be successful at being king including having the military set up in case of any trouble even though this was a time of peace.  The tribal leaders were also set up consisting of a leader from each tribe.  The managers of food, of donkeys, camels, were also set up along with managers consisting of the consolers to the king.

            There were 280,000 men in the army and 24,000 men were active each month with twelve leaders over them, however if a military problem arose then all could be called up.

 

            The tribal leaders:  (Verses 16-24): “  16 ¶  The following were the tribes of Israel and their leaders:  Tribe…leader  Reuben…eliezer son of Zicri  Simeon…shephatiah son of Maacah 17  Levi…hashabiah son of Kemuel  Aaron (the Priests)…zadok 18  Judah…elihu (a brother of David)  Issachar…omri son of Michael 19  Zebulun…ishmaiah son of Obadiah  Naphtali…jeremoth son of Azriel 20  Ephraim…hoshea son of Azaziah  Manasseh (West)…joel son of Pedaiah 21  Manasseh in Gilead (East)…iddo son of Zechariah  Benjamin…jaasiel son of Abner 22  Dan…azarel son of Jeroham These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. 23  When David took his census, he did not count those who were younger than twenty years of age, because the LORD had promised to make the Israelites as numerous as the stars in heaven. 24  Joab son of Zeruiah began the census but never finished it because the anger of God fell on Israel. The total number was never recorded in King David’s official records. 25  Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the palace treasuries. Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the regional treasuries throughout the towns, villages, and fortresses of Israel.”

            There was one leader from each tribe, however Gad and Asher were not listed in this account and this is unknown why they were not listed.  There were however twelve tribes mentioned as both tribes of Joseph were mentioned along with the tribe of Levi.  Back in the days of Moses the tribes were set up with men over tens, fifties, hundreds, thousands and so the king could get a message to the leader who could give that message to the other leaders and get to all the people.

 

            The kings managers:  (Verses 25-31): “25  Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the palace treasuries. Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the regional treasuries throughout the towns, villages, and fortresses of Israel. 26  Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the king’s lands. 27  Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the king’s vineyards. Zabdi from Shepham was responsible for the grapes and the supplies of wine. 28  Baal-hanan from Geder was in charge of the king’s olive groves and sycamore-fig trees in the foothills of Judah. Joash was responsible for the supplies of olive oil. 29  Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Sharon Plain. Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys. 30  Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels. Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys. 31  Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the king’s flocks of sheep and goats. All these officials were overseers of King David’s property.”

            Although there was some kind of tax set up under Saul, and Solomon would take great advantage of the people because of his great love for things David did not have such high standards, but did have to care for those in his palace and therefore he had people over his farms and herds, and things like this.

 

            The kings counselors: (Verses 32-34): “32  Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a wise counselor to the king, a man of great insight, and a scribe. Jehiel the Hacmonite was responsible for teaching the king’s sons. 33  Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend. 34  Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king’s army.”

            This section gives those who were leaders under King David’s reign over Israel and some of them were great leaders, while some did not always have David’s best interest at heart like Joab and Ahithophel who was the grand-father of Bathsheba, sided with Absalom and then killed himself.  Joab was David’s cousin, but did not always look out for David and eventually Solomon had to kill him.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  You can see some of the things in this chapter that show the genius of David, as he was not only a great military leader, as writer of Psalms, but a great leader who, for the most part had great leaders under him and put all things in order for his son Solomon to take over.  I hope and pray to my Lord that all will be in such good order as I go into have this procedure done this morning to have my kidney stones blasted.  I surely am in need of the Lord’s abundant grace to which He has promised and need my spiritual armor on to stand against the wiles of the enemy as he tries to upset me, but my God will one day destroy him with the breath of his mouth.  I look forward to that day.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Trust the Lord to give me His amazing grace to allow me to get through this procedure this morning.

2.      To be protected by the spiritual armor so that I can stand this day.

 

11/22/2010 6:09:40 AM     

Temple Officers (1 Chron. 26:1-32)

11/21/2010 7:55:18 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Temple officers

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Chron. 26:1-32

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  For the divisions of the gatekeepers there were of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. 2  Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3  Elam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh. 4  Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5  Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth; God had indeed blessed him. 6  Also to his son Shemaiah sons were born who ruled over the house of their father, for they were mighty men of valor. 7  The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers, Elihu and Semachiah, were valiant men. 8  All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and their relatives were able men with strength for the service, 62 from Obed-edom. 9  Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, 18 valiant men. 10  Also Hosah, one of the sons of Merari had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father made him first), 11  Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and relatives of Hosah were 13. 12  To these divisions of the gatekeepers, the chief men, were given duties like their relatives to minister in the house of the LORD. 13  They cast lots, the small and the great alike, according to their fathers’ households, for every gate. 14  The lot to the east fell to Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a counselor with insight, and his lot came out to the north. 15  For Obed-edom it fell to the south, and to his sons went the storehouse. 16  For Shuppim and Hosah it was to the west, by the gate of Shallecheth, on the ascending highway. Guard corresponded to guard. 17  On the east there were six Levites, on the north four daily, on the south four daily, and at the storehouse two by two. 18  At the Parbar on the west there were four at the highway and two at the Parbar. 19  These were the divisions of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and of the sons of Merari.

   “ 20 ¶  The Levites, their relatives, had charge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated gifts. 21  The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, namely, the Jehielites, were the heads of the fathers’ households, belonging to Ladan the Gershonite. 22  The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, had charge of the treasures of the house of the LORD. 23  As for the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites, 24  Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was officer over the treasures. 25  His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son. 26  This Shelomoth and his relatives had charge of all the treasures of the dedicated gifts which King David and the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. 27  They dedicated part of the spoil won in battles to repair the house of the LORD. 28  And all that Samuel the seer had dedicated and Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner and Joab the son of Zeruiah, everyone who had dedicated anything, all of this was in the care of Shelomoth and his relatives.

    “29 ¶  As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned to outside duties for Israel, as officers and judges. 30  As for the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, had charge of the affairs of Israel west of the Jordan, for all the work of the LORD and the service of the king. 31  As for the Hebronites, Jerijah the chief (these Hebronites were investigated according to their genealogies and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and men of outstanding capability were found among them at Jazer of Gilead) 32  and his relatives, capable men, were 2,700 in number, heads of fathers’ households. And King David made them overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites concerning all the affairs of God and of the king.”

 

            This group of people included gatekeepers (verses 1-19), treasurers (verses 20-28), and miscellaneous officials who were scattered outside Jerusalem (verses 29-32). 

            The gatekeepers stood at the various gates to watch the people go in and out, and probably made sure that the worship of the Lord was in line with what it was supposed to be.

             There were many who gave money for the building and also the maintaining of the temple including David and some of his generals, Saul, and even Samuel had left money for this purpose.  These officials were in charge of watching these treasurers.

            The last group was in charge of things outside of Jerusalem including those two and a half tribes that were on the West side of the Jordan River.  These officials likely took care of taxes and some of them may have been teaching the people the things of the Lord because they were so far from Jerusalem.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the things that I seen in this passage is that things were organized in a very good way with a very good plan to keep it that way.  While I was working at Ford and even at Grace Baptist Church I always had to have a plan to do my job the best that I could do it.  I have a plan to do my devotions each day.  Whenever I get involved in something I have to have a plan and this is good and it seems to me it is something that is seen in various parts of the Scriptures.  God had a plan to make the earth as talked about in the book of Job when the Lord was speaking to Job.  One thing that is a must in my planning is that it be done with the wisdom of the Lord and this can only happen through Bible reading and through much prayer.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Continue to be in the battle using all of the spiritual armor that is provided for me, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Prayer is the other offensive weapon. 

2.      Trust the Lord through these somewhat difficult times of troubles with my health that are coming at a very difficult time.  God is in charge and knows what is going on and He has a plan.

 

11/21/2010 8:28:28 AM

David and the Musicians from 1 Chronicles 25:1-31

11/20/2010 8:45:15 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The musicians

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Chron. 25:1-31

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. Here is a list of their names and their work: 2  From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s orders. 3  From the sons of Jeduthun, there were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God’s messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the LORD. 4  From the sons of Heman, there were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5  All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters. 6  All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the LORD. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. 7  They and their families were all trained in making music before the LORD, and each of them-288 in all-was an accomplished musician.

    “8 ¶  The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student. 9  The first lot fell to Joseph of the Asaph clan and twelve of his sons and relatives.  The second lot fell to Gedaliah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 10  The third lot fell to Zaccur and twelve of his sons and relatives. 11  The fourth lot fell to Zeri and twelve of his sons and relatives. 12  The fifth lot fell to Nethaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 13  The sixth lot fell to Bukkiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 14  The seventh lot fell to Asarelah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 15  The eighth lot fell to Jeshaiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 16  The ninth lot fell to Mattaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 17  The tenth lot fell to Shimei and twelve of his sons and relatives. 18  The eleventh lot fell to Uzziel and twelve of his sons and relatives. 19  The twelfth lot fell to Hashabiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 20  The thirteenth lot fell to Shubael and twelve of his sons and relatives. 21  The fourteenth lot fell to Mattithiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 22  The fifteenth lot fell to Jerimoth and twelve of his sons and relatives. 23  The sixteenth lot fell to Hananiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 24  The seventeenth lot fell to Joshbekashah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 25  The eighteenth lot fell to Hanani and twelve of his sons and relatives. 26  The nineteenth lot fell to Mallothi and twelve of his sons and relatives. 27  The twentieth lot fell to Eliathah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 28  The twenty-first lot fell to Hothir and twelve of his sons and relatives. 29  The twenty-second lot fell to Giddalti and twelve of his sons and relatives. 30  The twenty-third lot fell to Mahazioth and twelve of his sons and relatives. 31  The twenty-fourth lot fell to Romamti-ezer and twelve of his sons and relatives.”

 

            The things that were going on here were not necessarily written in the Law of Moses, however these musicians, including the choir members, who were all Levites, were set up by David who was much more than a man who won wars for Israel, but He was a writer of many, many Psalms, and also one whom actually made musical instruments to be used in this praising of the Lord.  2Chronicles 29:25 seems to indicate that David surely got direction from the Lord to accomplish this musical praise of the Lord:  “He then stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with harps and with lyres, according to the command of David and of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the LORD through His prophets.”

            In the KJV and the NAS95 version the word prophecy is used in the first three verses of this chapter, and in the NLT, which is what is above, the word messages is used in place of the word prophecy.  This is mentioned because of the songs that were played and sung as being messages from the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe writes these words concerning these prophecies or messages:  “The point is that men who led Israel’s sanctuary worship were not necessarily prophets in the technical sense, but they and their singers declared the Word )God’s Message) with enthusiasm and joy.”  Music is an important part of the worship of the Lord in the church today, and it is also one of the most controversial parts of worship in the church for many, many years, in fact for centuries.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It seems that there are times when I get a handle on the issue of music for the worship of the Lord and then my mind changes about it.  I have always loved music, and there are many new contemporary “Christian” songs that I like, and some I don’t like, but the younger generation does like.  I like good meaningful Gospel music, and of course the old favorites that have been around for centuries.  Music has helped to split the church that I love, but it was not the main thing that split it.  In conclusion I think that it is all of a matter of how my heart is when it comes to musical worship of the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Continue to battle the enemy through the power of the Lord, doing it with faith in the Lord that He can surely deliver me and give me the victory, or better yet to cause me to stand firm.

2.      Put on the spiritual armor of God to aid me in the struggle that is not with flesh and blood that I face each and every day.

 

11/20/2010 9:14:50 AM