1 Chronicles 23

SO when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel Not that he did resign the Kingdom to him, but that he declared his Mind concerning his Succession into the Throne after his death. As David himself is called King, 1 Sam. 16. 1. because he was appointed and anointed to be King after Sauls death, though till then he was only a Subiect.

And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites Partly to declare Gods Mind and his own Will that Solomon should be his Successor; and so to cut off the Claims and Pretences which others of his Sons might make to the Crown: and partly to acquaint them with those Directions which he had received from God by the Spirit, as appears from ch. 28. 11, &c. concerning the Establishment of a new Order and Method in the Ministration of the Priests and Levites in the Temple..

Now the Levites were numbred from the age of thirty years and upward Not only till fifty, as it was appointed, Num. 4. 2, 3. but even till their Death: For that was but a Temporary Law grounded upon a special Reason, because the Levites were employed in carrying the Tabernacle and Sacred Vessels from place to place; and therefore God would have them freed from those Burdens when they came to feel the Infirmities of Age: Which Reason wholly ceasing upon the Building of the Temple, and their Work being far easier than it had been, and their Service being more a Priviledge than a Burden, their time of Service is justly and fitly prolonged.: and their numbers by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.

Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD i. e. To take care that all the Work of the Temple about Sacrifices and other Parts or Means of Gods Service should be punctually and diligently performed either by themselves or others: Which they were not to do all at once, but by Courses, 1000 at a time, as we shall shortly see.: and six thousand were officers and judges Whose Work it seems to have been to judge of and determine all difficult Causes or Differences which might arise either among the Inferiour Priests or Levites about their Sacred Administrations; or among the People, which being governed in all their Concerns only by the Laws of Moses, it was fit and necessary that the Priests and Levites should be consulted and concerned in their Matters..

Moreover, four thousand were porters Whose Office was to take the Charge of all the Gates of the Temple and its Courts, that no forbidden or unclean Person might enter there, and of the Courts themselves, and of several Chambers or Buildings belonging to the Temple and the Service thereof. These also were to do their Work by turns., and four thousand praised the LORD with instruments Whereof 288 were persons of greater skill than their Brethren, and did Instruct them, and had some Authority over them. which I made (said David) to praise therewith.

And David divided them into courses Which he did not by his own Invention, but as a man of God, and by the command of God, and with the Advice and Concurrence of God and Nathan the Prophets, as is manifest from 2 Chron. 8. 14. & 29. 25. among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Of the Gershonites were Laadan and Shime....

The sons i. e. His Posterity: and so in the following Verses: for these could not be their immediate Sons. of Laadan, the chief was Jehiel and Zetham, and Joel, three.

The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.

And the sons of Shimei Not that Shimei named v. 9. but another, and possibly the Son or Grandson of that Shimei. were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah: These four were the sons of Shimei.

And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their fathers house They were reckoned together as one Family, and were not called by the name of their two immediate Parents, but by the name of their Grandfather Shimei..

The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctifie the most holy things Not positively; for so he could not sanctifie them, they being already sanctified by God in the highest Degree; but negatively, i. e. that he might keep them from Pollution: For these most holy things were polluted when they were touched by any other persons., he and his sons Not only his eldest Sons the High-priests successively, but all his Posterity or all the Priests; for the Works here following were not peculiar to the High-priest, but common to all the Priests, who might all burn Incense, 2 Chron. 29. 11. Luke 1. 9. and to minister in the Temple, and to bless the People in Gods Name, Numb. 6. 23. Deut. 10. 8. for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.

Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the Tribe of Levi i. e. They were accounted only as common Levites, and were not Priests: Which is mentioned partly to secure the Priesthood within the Bounds to which God had confined it, lest they should presume to... nvade it upon a confidence in the Nobleness of their Extraction: and partly for the Honour of Moses and the demonstration of his Eminent Piety and Self-denial, who willingly left the Government to Ioshua, and the Priesthood to Aaron, and was content to have his Posterity reduced to a very private and mean Condition..

The sons of Moses were, Gershom and Eliezer.

Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.

And the sons For, the son: the plural number for the singular, as Gen. 46. 23. 1 Chrom. 2. 8, 31. and oft elsewhere. of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief Heb. the first, i. e. the first-born. He is so called not because others were born after him, but because none were born before him. See o... Mat..... 23.. And Eliezer had none other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

Of the sons of Izhar She lomith the chief.

Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the first, and Jeshiah the second.

The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi: the sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.

And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.

The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

These were the sons of Levi, after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years As the Levites were anciently numbred from two several times, from the 25th. year of their Age, and from the 30th. Numb. 4. 3. & 8. 24. In like manner and for the same Reasons they are here numbred both from their 20th. year, as here, when they were more solemnly prepared for, and instructed, and by degrees exercised in some parts of their Work; and from their 30th. year, above v. 3. when they were admitted to the full and complete Exercise of all the Parts and Works of their Office. And the Reason why they were now sooner admitted to Service than they had been formerly by the Constitution of Moses, is given in the next Verses, because now their Work was more easie, they being wholly discharged from that Burdensome Work of Carrying the Tabernacle and its Utensils, which was too heavy for young and tender Shoulders. To which may be added that the Number of the Israelites were increased, and consequently the Services which were to be performed by the Levites on their behalf were multiplied, and the Work of the Temple was much greater than that of the Tabernacle, and therefore more of the Levites were to be employed, and consequently they were to be sooner taken into Service. and upward.

For David said, The LORD God of Israel has given rest unto his people that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever.

And also unto the Levites Or rather, as concerning the Levites, of whom he is here speaking., they shall no more carry the Tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.

For by the last words of David By his last Order and Constitution made by Gods Direction and by the Spirit, as has been once and again noted and proved before. This is here added to signifie that this great Affair was thus settled by David not in his younger years, when it might have been thought to have the Effect of youthful Heat, and Confidence, and Presumption, and Rashness, but when he was come to the greatest Maturity, when he was Old and near his Death, and going to give up his Account to his Lord and Maker, of all his Actions, and particularly of the Alterations which he made in the Service of God; which he declared was done by the Spirit of God. These were in a manner his dying Words, which usually make the deepest Impressions., the Levites were numbred from twenty years old and above.

Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things i. e. Holy Places, and Garments, and Vessels, and Sacrifices, which were to be washed and cleansed from any Filthiness which possibly might cleave to them., and the work of the service of the house of God.

Both for the show-bread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fryed, and for all manner of measure and cise This is to be understood either 1. particularly of the Measure or Quantity of fine Flour, and Wine, and Oil, which was fixed by Gods Law. Or generally of all Measures used either in Sacred or Civil Things, the publick Standards whereof were kept in the Sanctuary or Temple; of which see on Exod. 30. 13. and therefore the care of keeping them inviolable and producing them upon Occasion, must needs belong to the Priests, and under them to the Levites, who were to examine other Measures and all things by them as oft as Occasion required; that so the Priests might be at more leisure for their higher and greater Employments..

And to stand every morning The two Solemn Times of offering Sacrifices: Which Work was attended with publick Prayer and Thanksgiving. to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even The two Solemn Times of offering Sacrifices: Which Work was attended with publick Prayer and Thanksgiving.:

And to offer all burnt-sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them i. e. Unto those persons, the Levites, of whom he speaks. Or, concerning them, i. e. about those things. continually before the LORD:

And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron i. e. What the Priests should commit to their Charge or command them to do. their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.