A DIVINE WATCHBILL

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron:

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. They divided them impartially by casting lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

The first lot fell to Jehoiarib,

the second to Jedaiah,

the third to Harim,

the fourth to Seorim,

the fifth to Malkijah,

the sixth to Mijamin,

the seventh to Hakkoz,

the eighth to Abijah,

the ninth to Jeshua,

the tenth to Shekaniah,

the eleventh to Eliashib,

the twelfth to Jakim,

the thirteenth to Huppah,

the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

the fifteenth to Bilgah,

the sixteenth to Immer,

the seventeenth to Hezir,

the eighteenth to Happizzez,

the nineteenth to Pethahiah,

the twentieth to Jehezkel,

the twenty-first to Jakin,

the twenty-second to Gamul,

the twenty-third to Delaiah

and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

As for the rest of the descendants of Levi:

from the sons of Amram: Shubael;

from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

As for Rehabiah, from his sons: Ishiah was the first.

From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

The brother of Micah: Ishiah; from the sons of Ishiah: Zechariah.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

The sons of Merari: from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur and Ibri.

From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

From Kish: the son of Kish: Jerahmeel.

And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.

These were the Levites, according to their families. They also cast lots, just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

1 Chronicles 24

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Through my nearly 30 years in the Navy, I stood a lot of duty days and a lot of watches on those duty days. Typically, these watches were intended to safeguard whatever command I was attached to whether on shore or at sea.

To ensure there was enough personnel to cover the watches, the command would be divided up into sections and these sections would take turns standing duty days. For example, let’s say the command had personnel to support four sections. Section one would stand duty one day while sections two, three, and four would be off. The next day, section two would take over for section one and be off along with sections three and four. Sections three and four would cover the next two days respectively before duty would rotate back around to section one again. This would continue for as long as necessary to ensure the mission was accomplished.

As we look at today’s passage from the 24th Chapter of 1 Chronicles, we find that the orderly dividing of people to carry out specific tasks can be traced all the way back to Old Testament days.

Specifically, the assignment of priests to carry out the all important ministry inside the temple of the Lord needed to be delineated among the descendants of Aaron. Scripture tells us that Aaron had four sons,  Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, but unfortunately two of them, Nadab and Abihu, died before Aaron and had no sons. This left only Eleazar and Ithamar to serve as priests and they would have been pretty busy unless they had some sons who could help out. Thank goodness that this is exactly what happened.

For Eleazar and Ithamar each had many descendants and two of them, Zadok and Ahimelek helped David separate them into divisions to carry out their appointed order of ministering and fulfilling their priestly responsibilities. And so lots were cast and the order was established across 24 divisions as follows:

The first lot fell to Jehoiarib,

the second to Jedaiah,

the third to Harim,

the fourth to Seorim,

the fifth to Malkijah,

the sixth to Mijamin,

the seventh to Hakkoz,

the eighth to Abijah,

the ninth to Jeshua,

the tenth to Shekaniah,

the eleventh to Eliashib,

the twelfth to Jakim,

the thirteenth to Huppah,

the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

the fifteenth to Bilgah,

the sixteenth to Immer,

the seventeenth to Hezir,

the eighteenth to Happizzez,

the nineteenth to Pethahiah,

the twentieth to Jehezkel,

the twenty-first to Jakin,

the twenty-second to Gamul,

the twenty-third to Delaiah

and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

And so temple duties began to be rotated in accordance with this divinely constructed watchbill. Each division would have duties in the temple over a two week period and then would be relieved by the next division in line. When a division of priests would be off of temple duty, they were to minister in their hometowns.

Of interest, this tradition of rotating priestly divisions would continue into New Testament times and rise to the surface in the story of John the Baptist, the one who would be the voice in the wilderness declaring the coming of Jesus.

Looking at Luke, Chapter 1, we find the following:

In the time of Herod king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. (v 5)

Now, Zechariah and Elizabeth were without children because they were both old and Elizabeth was unable to conceive. In this state, there would be no descendant in Zechariah’s line to carry on priestly duties under the division of Abijah. Enter the Lord into the matter.

For scripture in Luke goes on to tell us that on a day when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest, he was chosen by lot to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. When the time to burn the incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. As the smoke from the burning incense rose toward heaven from the temple, it was symbolic of the people’s prayers rising up to God.

It was at that place and time, as Zechariah was set to burn the incense, that the Lord sent an angel to him with a special message. We’re told that Zechariah was gripped with fear but the angel sought to put him at ease with the following words:

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (vv 13-17)

Now, things probably would have been fine if Zechariah had just taken this message, trusted in the word sent from the Lord, and left it at that. But with a skepticism that rivaled that of another couple who were older in life and told they would conceive, Abraham and Sarah, Zechariah had to question the validity of what the angel said. That would be a big mistake.

For as soon as Zechariah questioned the angel Gabriel (yes, the same Gabriel who told Mary she would conceive Jesus by the Holy Spirit) about how he and his wife could conceive a child when they were so old, the angel issues a consequence to Zechariah for his faithlessness, making him silent until the day when he would call his son John.

And so it was. Zechariah emerged from the temple after a delay that left the people outside wondering what had happened in the temple. And when he was unable to speak and tried to communicate via signs, the Bible tells us that the people  realized that Zechariah had seen a vision in the temple. Zechariah would finish his time of service and return home and the Lord’s plan came about just as the angel had promised. Elizabeth became pregnant and would bear Zechariah a son. And on the eighth day afterwards when the baby was circumcised, by custom, everyone turned to Zechariah to name his son. Unable to speak, Zechariah asked for a tablet and he wrote that the boy’s name would be John, resulting in the Lord allowing him to speak once again. As for John, well we know he would grow up to make the way for the Lord Jesus, proclaiming His coming and then baptizing Him in the Jordan River.

John, like his father, carried out special duties as assigned by the Lord to His honor and glory, set apart for divine purposes and service.

Likewise, the Lord has a place for each of us to carry out His will and way for our lives. My prayer today is that we will always seek God’s desires and then carry out those desires in obedience, seeking to magnify and glorify Him in every way, just like those who were appointed for special purposes in the biblical days of old.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com