364: Brian Luke - The Singers and the Sons of Asaph

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:03

   Welcome to good Christophian talks. I’m Levi. I’m Chris. I’m Jason. And I’m Brian, thank you for joining us this week on this podcast. We select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world. Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk. Hi everyone, it’s Jason Hensley.

2. 0:46

   This week we are listening to a talk by brother Brian Luke given in Lompoc, CA in the year 2000. Now I have a special connection to this class. I feel like I should explain it a little bit in that this is the first time that I met Uncle Brian and he was kind of a big part in really shaping who I have become as a Bible student. He was one of the first ones to really inspire me to jump into the Bible and try and understand what it was saying. In fact, one of the things that really stuck with me was when I asked him a question about Daniel, he said to me, tomorrow night you and I are going to sit down together and we are going to work through the book of Daniel. And we did the next night and we sat down for hours and we walked through the book of Daniel together. And that made a really big impression on me as a teenager. Now, that’s not what we’re looking at in this class, but I felt like it was, it was a little bit of significant background for understanding why this class, I think really resonated with me.

3. 1:50

   In addition, I think what he does in this class is pretty exciting because number 1, he takes a section of the Bible, which is the end of the book of First Chronicles, a section of the Bible that can sometimes be kind of dry. It feels like it’s just a lot. So he takes that and he, he brings a lot of lessons out of it.

4. 2:13

   So I think number one, that’s really helpful and #2 being someone who is, I think, still considered a young person, I really appreciated his emphasis on recognizing the importance of what has gone before. Not that it’s always right and he makes that clear, but at least having a respect for what has gone before and acknowledging that the people before you worked hard. And I really, I appreciated that reminder. So I hope you do too.

5. 2:43

   And I hope that this class is meaningful for you. This is brother Brian Luke, the year 2000 Bom Pococclesia, and it is his class called the Singers and Sons of Asaph. Now brother Scaramastra made easy deal of that difficult chapter, didn’t he? It’s one of those that we used to remember when we were going through with the children that was very difficult to when you get to that section, for them to climb their way through all of those names, especially he man’s fourteen sons. Did you notice the, the variety he had there? It must have been quite an exercise for his wife to think of a new name, eh, when you’ve got fourteen sons. But when you look at those names, you rather think that he had a fair vocab.

6. 3:31

   It didn’t seem to run out, did he? I actually want to turn back a chapter or two back to chapter 23 and give you just the at least the bones of this chapter.

7. 3:49

   And then chapter 24, which is of course, in between we will deal with when we deal with the special offices of David later. But here’s David with an insurrection in the environment in which he’s living. He’s just come through the time of Adonis’s attempt to take the throne. And yet look what this man gets up to in verse 2 of chapter 23.

8. 4:13

   It says he gathered together all the Princess of Israel with the priests and the Levites. And you might think, well, if he’s reorganizing the Levites, the priests and the Levites, why then has he bothered about getting all the Princess together as well? Well, David, David really had a a sense. He really had an excellent sense of the greater occasion. He he knew how to put things together to have its maximum effect upon people.

9. 4:45

   And sometimes in a cliche of life, you’ll find that a person, he knows how to organize an event so that it really comes home with impression. David had that undoubted ability. He could sense the value of a matter. He could sense how to bring it home to people. For example, in a similar kind, look at chapter 24 and verse 6. It says there and Shemayiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king and the Princess, and Zadok the priest, and Hemelich the son of Abartha, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites.

10. 5:29

    Now what they’re doing is setting out the names of the different sons of Eliezer and Ithima, who would be in the 24 courses of the priests. But he didn’t do it just sort of in the backroom, did he, where no one was aware these men were being inducted into their office. And it was done with due procedure.

11. 5:48

    He’s a very clever man, very astute, a king. And so in verse 6, it describes a little scene. You can see all these very important people all there. And each one of these then is is called by name and their name is written down before the king and the Princess and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abartha, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites.

12. 6:14

    In other words, he was given great occasion to their appointment. They were not to see their office just as another thing. Know something about that in ecclesial life. Just another example before we broaden that outlook at chapter 25 and verse one. Moreover, David and the captains of the hosts separated to the service of the sons of ASAP and of Haman and Jaduthan.

13. 6:35

    Did you notice anything when we were going past that reading? I mean, brethren says what what have the the generals of the army where it says the captains of the host? We’re talking about Joab Abishai with his bulging boseps biceps mighty men Ben AI, you wouldn’t hesitate to take on a lion. What’s a out there with a what we might call the, you know, the secretary of the of the singing class ASAP and he man and Judithan, they are singers. Whatever has it got to do with it that he should bring their induction of office into the company of the captains of the host?

14. 7:14

    He knew a few things, didn’t he? He was a very astute person and he could see that the people might discredit perhaps the office of those who were singing and making music. And so he brought out the great strength of the empire and he put them there in front of them. And these young boys that came up 28, the 24 that we’ve read out today and were put into their offices. And they were received their their office in the presence of these great and the well known renowned soldiers of the realm. And they had to do respect unto them because, in fact, there was greater power in their office than there was in the office of the of the generals of the army.

15. 7:53

    He’s a very, very wise person, wasn’t he? You know, sometimes in ecclesial life, we, we missed that point. Somebody’s going to be appointed to a certain committee and you’re busy at an AV meeting and poll other things on the agenda. And so. Oh, yes, somebody else for that committee. OK. Yeah. He’ll fit in.

16. 8:09

    Yeah. Go and ask him. So recorder’s busy that Sunday morning. He rushes up, said, look, would you mind helping out with the Gospel Advancement Committee or would you like to go on the social committee? And the person’s caught on the spot and they say like, I’m too busy or whatever. See, there’s a way to do it, isn’t there?

17. 8:25

    That’s not the way to do it. If you want that person to feel the value of what you’re speaking about, it really needs more than one of the arranging brethren to be interested in that. And so, you know, did Brother Recorder see you out to so and so? It doesn’t matter if he has or he hasn’t really.

18. 8:45

    It’s always best perhaps if he has, but if he hasn’t, it’s still saying that person to that person that the arranging brother very interested in in that matter and the the appointment of of the right person. And we really think you are the right person for that job. It puts therefore value upon the office.

19. 9:02

    It’s just a very wise way to do it rather than just in the helter skelter of events. Just shoot out invitations here, there and every, and wonder sometimes why people are not all that keen to take the office on. But if the picture is built and seen to be a part, an integral part of ecclesial life, a valuable part, then the person that’s asked to do that will say, yes, I, I see the point. This is, this is good.

20. 9:26

    I’d like to help out in that capacity. So, you know, just little things like that. David was very clever, wasn’t he? Very clever? Who would have thought to bring out the, you know, the secretaries of the, of, of the singing class and, and set up their sons in front of the generals of the army. They must have thought what’s he know about playing a playing 1/2 or a violin or something or, or symbols. But you see, he had a greater concept in mind. Very clever person, very clever.

21. 9:53

    All right. So chapter 23 and verse 2, he gathered together all the Princess of Israel and he’s going to reorganize the Levites and among them the priests. And so he does it in an auspicious manner. Now I think this is just a wonderful thing. My dear Britain said I know this is all names and I don’t want to make the the study too bitty, but I really want us to feel the power of what David’s doing. Would you would you be concerned in the last years of your life and you’ve had years in your bed absolutely worn out to a subtle and would you want to be bothered with 38,000 people that needed reorganization because that’s how many Levites there were 38,000.

22. 10:39

    I mean, that’s like being the chief administrative officer in a, in a multinational company, isn’t it? 38,000 men. He’s going to get hold of them. He’s going to reorganize their lives. He’s going to spruce up their officers. And they’re going to have to know exactly what positions they’ve got. And those officers are going to have to be attended with a new shine and a new interest.

23. 11:00

    And he’s going to have to convey as king, he’s going to have to convey to them his interest in what is being done. I don’t tell me you, you know, ranging brethren, once they’re past 70, you’re out out on the paddock. I really get a little vexed by what are you laughing for, Bob?

24. 11:22

    I thought he’d be crying. Do you know, we ought to think about that because there is a tendency in our society just as put people, you know, when they get into their might be 50s or 60s, it couldn’t be 50s. I know that. But but to just sort of put them out in the paddock.

25. 11:42

    And I think that is just so wrong. I couldn’t think of anything I’d value more in our ecclesia than if we had 370 year olds sitting on our AB. I’d love that. I really would. Because they have gone through the heat and burden of the day. And I think in in terms of, of young folks positions and so on.

26. 12:02

    You’ve got an older brother who’s involved with the young people and he’s brought his children through. He’s got an immense amount to offer in that place and let alone on the arranging board. I grew up in a meeting with many of the old. The arranging brethren were older brethren. It was a very good thing.

27. 12:18

    You know, a 60 year old man, a 70 year old man today is not worn out. And in many cases, look, there’s a lot of smiles coming from early.

28. 12:30

    They have a lot of sagacity to offer our meeting. And their stability of life, their stability of life, having gone through times when the world was very different, offers a lot to our younger meetings and to the younger people in our meetings. So I just mentioned that David was old in the terms of administration, but he had the zeal to go with it and what an inspiration he was.

29. 12:56

    So just bear that in mind. Now it says in verse three that the Levites were numbered from the age of 30 years and upward. Actually David increased that. And if you look across the verse 27, you’ll see by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above 30 was the time that was given back in numbers. We won’t go back there because that it’s just a sort of technical matter, but the, the references are back in numbers. Chapter 4, verse 3 and verse 47 where it was from 30 to 50 years.

30. 13:36

    And it says there and they’re numbered by their polls, man by man was 30 and 8000. That’s a lot of people that were numbered in that age group of which, and here’s the division. If you’ve got a little piece of paper, just write this down so we’ve got a picture of it. See 38,000.

31. 13:53

    That’s the total number of the Levites. 24,000 were to set forward the work of the House of Yahweh. 24,000 You just think how many people that is. That’s a lot of people, isn’t it? 24,000 and note the number 24, it’s 2 by 12. And in the chapter we read today, we had 24 courses of the singers and the chapter in between, which is chapter 24, there’s 24 courses of the priests. So it’s not accidental that it says 24,000 would have set forward the work of the House of Yahweh. See, they were obviously in courses, weren’t they, 1000 Levites?

32. 14:37

    And of course, the priests and of course of the singers, they were obviously in groups that worked together like that. What a beautiful organization. Would you like me thinking about that at his age and his health circumstances, they had to get all those families rounded up so that they knew exactly when they were coming on to their their course.

33. 14:55

    No, you’ve got saying, oh, look, I can get there next Tuesday. If you’re supposed to be there Monday morning. They had to be there ready for their office. They couldn’t swap with someone else. It was their job to be there and organize their life. Therefore accordingly to fit in with what the king was organizing over all the land. What an amazing man he was.

34. 15:12

    It’s the work of God. This comes first and you’ve got to fit in with this is what he was saying. I’m reorganizing this whole thing. It’s not going to be on some shamble sort of organization. It’s going to have a very distinct organization and this is it. So I pulled that nation together. I find that just absolutely inspiring. My dear Vince, how how many of us sometimes feel that at least is a little bit weary and you wonder if you’ve got the, the zeal and the the courage and the the strength to sort of get the thing going again, Really organize them where there’s a a real passion in the meeting.

35. 15:44

    Well, there’s inspiration, isn’t it? What if your role and your ecclesia was 38,000? You’d feel a bit weary, wouldn’t you? Too big a task? How could I ever be bothered with it all? But the inspiration of David is that though whilst the work was enormous, he nevertheless put his hand to it because he could see that that great building was going to arise and it had to be therefore properly conducted.

36. 16:07

    So he’s going to get all those people properly organized into their positions, 24,000 to set forward the work of the House of the hour. And it shows you something too, of the size of that house, doesn’t it? I mean, what does 1000 people around a house do if they’re in courses of 20 of 1000 each? That’s a lot of people around the place, isn’t it? Around the building, A lot of people. What are they all doing?

37. 16:31

    It was a very busy place indeed, and a lot of work to be done. And David therefore had this amazing number of people that were involved in the Tavern, in the in the temple and in its service. And their number by their names, man by man, was 30 and 8000, of which 20 and 4000 were to set forward the work of the House of Yahweh.

38. 16:53

    And secondly, 6000 were officers and judges, 6000 were officers and judges. Now that’s a an amazing number of judges, isn’t it? And you might remember how that in the Second of Chronicles chapter 16, in the days of Jehoshaphat, we have an excellent example of how the virtue of those people was seen in the Second of Chronicles chapter 16. That’s not right.

39. 17:49

    Is it 26? Is it 2nd Chronic was 19 verse verse 6, verse 5 and 6, and he set judges in the land throughout all the fence cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, take heed what ye do for ye judge, not for man, but for Yahweh who is with you in the judgement.

40. 18:21

    It’s a very beautiful expression, isn’t it? Ye judge for Yahweh who is with you in the judgement. Just keep your hand there and look at Psalm 82, which is a Psalm about these people. This was a Psalm of Asaph, one of the principal singers, who obviously was more than a singer, but a very spiritually minded man as well.

41. 18:45

    In Psalm 82 it says God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, He the judgeth among the Elohim, the gods. And that’s the expression that Jesus is borrowing when he says to the Jews of his day, Does it not say in your law I said, ye are gods? And that’s in verse 6.

42. 19:11

    This is to the judges of Israel who were called Elohim, because God’s name was upon them to give to the people the judgments and principles of God. So verse one then reads Elohim, the mighty ones, these people thus appointed standeth in the congregation of the ale. He judgeth among the Elohim. So there were judges that were judging Israel and what the Psalm says beware because God is your judge.

43. 19:45

    People come to you and you give them verdict, but you are standing in the presence of the the ale Himself. So the Elohim, the judges in Israel, were those who stood before God and would receive their judgement of Him as they gave judgement unto others, and therefore their judgement needed to be just. That’s of course based isn’t upon Exodus where they were called Elohim for the first time. The Lord knew that, didn’t he?

44. 20:12

    He just picked it, picked it out in John chapter 10 verse 30, just plucked that statement straight out of the record and said that’s not say in your law that ye are judges, these ye are gods. He knew all those little details, didn’t he? He knew his Bible. And so that’s how we ought to be.

45. 20:27

    And so in the days of Jehoshaphat, when things had not been done quite right and he wanted to bring that nation back, he then used these people for that offer. So there’s our 6000 officers and judges in all the cities of Judah and of Israel. And the Psalm gives us illustration of their responsibilities.

46. 20:50

    Now coming back to First Chronicles 23, we’ve got 38,024 thousand or rather 24,000 were in the work of the House, 6000 officers and judges. And then in verse 5 it says moreover 4000 were porters. They were really doorkeepers. They were also about the house, but about the the keeping of the doors. They kept the sanctity of God’s house, the atmosphere of that house.

47. 21:24

    They were guardians to that house and we will have a look at them later on. 4000 of them. How many doors did this temple have? How many gates were there?

48. 21:38

    4000 people involved in it. Well, they weren’t always at the temple. They were also in courses. In fact, all of these Levites, all of these priests, they were not public servants full time, so to speak. They also had their normal life as well. They weren’t lounging upon the nation. They had to conduct their own affairs and so they were giving a part of their life to the service of God.

49. 22:08

    SO4000 praised Yahweh with instruments is the next statement in verse 5, and the chapter that deals with them is chapter 25. So you can see what these subsequent chapters are doing. If you look at chapter 26, that’s all about the porters. So we had 4000 porters and their chapter is chapter 26 and we had 4000 the singers or those that praised Yahweh with instruments, and their chapter of organization is chapter 25 and we had the priests as well and their chapter is chapter 24. So you can see that chapter 23 is now going to be expanded and the organizational structure and the names involved is going to be outlined in the subsequent chapters of First Chronicles 23. So you can see that this whole section of Scripture, First Chronicles 21, First Chronicles 29 is all set in the last part of David’s life and is speaking about his reorganization of the of the whole city really and in particular of the Levites that were about the service of God.

50. 23:20

    A new house was going to need a great more organization than had been before, and it says in verse 6 that David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely Gershon, Kohath, and Murari. Now, just for the purpose of picking up the structure of this, I’d like you to have that little piece of paper again if you’ve got it, and just put Levi and then three arrows down from Levi.

51. 23:48

    If I put this on a transparency, you’ll look at it once and forget it, but if you write it down, you’ll remember it. So Levi and he has three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Murari.

52. 24:07

    And the, the, the scripture says that David divided them into courses among the sons, the three sons. So this chapter is going to be about the Levites, and it is chapter 23. Then it’s going to tell you about some of the sons of Gershon who were principally involved, and some of the sons of Coeth who were principals among the Levites, and some of the sons of Murari who were principal sons of Levi. And so he does also with the porters and with the singers. They will come from each of those main divisions of the Levites.

53. 24:52

    So to get that picture clear in your mind is important, isn’t it? Levi, Gershon, Kohath and Murari, and from these and from these and from these, he would take certain particular people to be principles of the Levites generally in the work of the house, to be principles in the Porter area or door keeping area, principles also in the singing area. That’s how he structured it.

54. 25:16

    Of course, the priests came only from one line. They came from the line of Aaron who was among the sons of cohab. Now this became therefore a very important structure in the whole of Israel’s future, and for centuries that structure was preserved. And if you come to 2nd of Chronicles, which is really turning over all the period of the Davidic Kingdom in the Second of Chronicles chapter 35, you’ll see how important that became. 2nd of Chronicles 35 and verse 4, we’ve gone right over to Josiah, who’s getting towards the end of the Kingdom of Judah, and this is what it says and prepare yourselves, verse 4, by the houses of your father’s, he says as he speaks to the Levites and the priests after your courses. According to the writing of David, king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. Wasn’t that instructive?

55. 26:36

    We’ve turned over 300 odd years and there is the comment which Josiah says to his people. So what we’re reading back here in First Chronicles 232425 and 26 is going to be an organizational structure that will be implemented for 300 years and or always be recognized as having been laid down by the hand of David’s writing and Solomon after him, who obviously established that even for there’s an interesting, very interesting. So it wasn’t just up to Hezekiah. I said, oh, I wasn’t going to do it this way. You know, I’m going to reorganize the place this way. Like, you know, 1 government comes in, one party goes out and you get a complete change of the way the government’s run. That’s how it is in Australia.

56. 27:21

    You don’t really know how to turn up the telephone book anymore because you, you don’t know where you’re going to find this particular office of the government. It’s, it’s all changing, isn’t it? Our world’s just changing like crazy. Same here, is it? Yeah, same everywhere, isn’t it? Madness in the world. But in the days of David there was something laid down that was by divine decree and it was established. And Josiah, who had respected that, he resurrected that and said this is how it’s going to be done according to my ancient father’s direction, because God gave him that in the Second of Chronicles 8 verse 14.

57. 27:55

    No, that doesn’t mean the same idea insisted in ecclesial life. There can’t be any change. I’ll tell you what it does mean to me. It meant, and I’d like our younger brethren to hear this. What it does mean to me is that we ought to have respect at least for the way things have been done. If you want ecclesial peace and harmony, have respect the way that older brethren have seen fit to do things. It doesn’t mean to say that’s always perfect. God did not tell us by divine decree how to do it. But surely if you want peace in your meeting, it is right that a younger brother respects what has been. Isn’t that true?

58. 28:43

    It must be true. Absolutely must be true. Any movement that doesn’t respect its pioneers is going to be a movement that just goes off the rails. It must mean that must when you stop and think about it. Because God is working in our midst. Yeah, well, He was working in their midst too.

59. 29:02

    And this is the way that things were done, and they were done very well for many, many years. If we live here 4 in an age that’s turning over, turning over, turning over, don’t get caught up with that age. The odds are that it’s going to be doing a lot of things very wrongly as far as God’s concerned or totally unrelated to the principles of God.

60. 29:18

    But that wasn’t the case with our grandparents. They were God fearing men who saw fit to do it in certain ways. Does it mean to say everything was perfect? Doesn’t mean that at all, but it does mean if a pleasure piece, it’s going to be realized that the younger generation has respect. Like Josiah had respect, didn’t he?

61. 29:37

    Absolute respect. And he never ever knew Dave hundreds of years from the background, but he had absolute respect for that. And you know, they even had the same instruments. They they didn’t change the instruments. Incredible. David made it this way. That’s how it be made in the second chronicle was 8. This is the days of Solomon.

62. 29:59

    Solomon was a brilliant young boy. He could make up his own charter. Surely he didn’t need to rely upon anybody here. How did how did he need to walk in the steps of anyone? Well, you have a look in Second Chronicles 8.

63. 30:11

    Second Chronicles 8, verse 14, brilliant young man, but he appointed according to the order of David his father. Isn’t that lovely? I love that according to the order of David his father. I’d love my boys and I’d love my daughters to think like that, not because it’s me, but because of the principle involved. That’s how really we need to be in ecclesial life, to teach our children to respect their elders so that they have a desire to uphold what their fathers and their grandfathers and other fathers in the faith have stood for, because that’s a good thing.

64. 30:50

    Is Solomon all his presence? Was there ever a sharper mind in Israel than that? But according to the principles of death, what Dad established the courses of the priests to their service, the Levites to their charter, with the details to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of the priests, as the duty of every day required, the porters also by the courses at every gate. For so had David, the man of God commanded. That’s impressive, isn’t it?

65. 31:22

    Very impressive indeed to see the detail that is given there. Now if you come back into the first of Chronicles 28, you’ll see that David did in fact receive that pattern.

66. 31:43

    You might say, well he he saw the pattern of the temple, that’s true. But he saw more than that. He saw how the place would work. Verse 11, First Chronicles 28 David gave to Solomon his son, the pattern of the porch and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries, and of the upper chambers, and of the inner palace, and of the place of the mercy seat. So I not just saw, you know, the very holy place and most holy place, did he?

67. 32:16

    He saw the whole structure of that temple right down to the storehouses and the place where people would live. And what’s more, verse 12 and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit of the courts of the House of the Lord and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the House of God and of the treasuries of the dedicated thing.

68. 32:34

    Also for the causes of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service of the House of the Lord and for all the vessels of service in the House of the Lord. And therefore he’s able to put these various matters of, of substance, the gold and the silver and so forth that was necessary. He could and he could work out the amounts that were required. That’s why in verses 14 to to 18, he was able to work out all the amount of metals that were required in stones because he had this little drawings of all of these things. I said drawings.

69. 33:06

    Look at verse 19. All this said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. Beautiful. That really is a very beautiful thing, isn’t it? To put that whole picture together shows that what David was instigating was not something dreamt up out of his own mind, but something that God had given him.

70. 33:28

    He caused his hand to write it out, even down to the the vessels and the the treasuries and the place where people would live and all the other apartments that were related to the temple. What an amazing thing it was. And yet now he’s an old man, he has to implement that, bring it in. Incredible.

71. 33:47

    It’s an incredible concept. And you know, my dear brothers and sisters, as you think about that, you’re realizing this surely, that when God’s hand, when God’s Spirit comes upon David and he writes that out, what would God have in mind?

72. 34:05

    Is this the greatest temple? Is this the greatest king? Really? His mind is full of the future yet again, isn’t it? It’s the greater temple in Jerusalem with the greatest Son of David that really is the ultimate that God must have in mind. True, He cannot surely give something to David in those times that’s not going to reflect what will be in the future. Of course not.

73. 34:34

    No more than you and I who might set something before our children. We’ve got an ultimate concept with them. We’re not going to set something that’s going up in this direction if we want them to go there, are we? We’re going to set them something here might say, well, that’s as much as they can take in for this time. But in the end, I know it’s going to develop to that full picture in the end.

74. 34:53

    So we have a bit of a treasure here in Chronicles, don’t we? It’s a treasure of how things will be in the Kingdom, I’m sure. In fact, I can’t think of any other way in which we could, we could get some way, some picture of how Jerusalem will work apart from Ezekiel’s description at the end of his prophecy. I can’t think of any better way of seeing how the priests and others will work together than these old chapters in Chronicles.

75. 35:21

    These chapters have many words and many big long names and that are so difficult to understand. And yet there is a, there’s a precious value to them because they are outlining to us that in the Kingdom to come, things are going to be done according to a very strict protocol. And it will be given by God and it’ll be kept up and people will come to understand that one generation to another will, will understand.

76. 35:44

    That’s how things are done in the temple in Jerusalem and Christ is king. That’s why in the, in the Book of Revelation, there are 24 elders. Surely that 24 is based on the fact that we’re 24 priests and 24 courses of the singers, 24 courses of the of the gatekeepers and so on. 24,000 of the Levites.

77. 36:04

    It’s interesting, isn’t it? Obviously when God caused that to be written, he had the great picture in mind. And so here is a lovely way seeing how things will be organized in the Kingdom. So there’s a treasure in these old chapters and chronicles. So when you come to the readings next time and your little children say, oh, do we have to read this one, Mum and Dad say, well there’s a secret in here and it’s telling us about things to come, even if it’s about details of the past. Now I said that he took various people from different to the different divisions of Levi, and those divisions were Gershon, Kohath and Murari.

78. 36:42

    Verse 6. Now look at how the chapters organized verse seven of the Gershonites of the Gershonites, verse 12. The sons of Kohath, which was the second one mentioned, and verse 21 of the sons of Murari. So there’s the structure of the chapter 3 main divisions of the Levites, Gershon, Kohath, Murari, Gershon verse 7, Kohath verse 12 and Murari verse 21. And from there there are 24 who are chosen out. You’ve got, for example, in verse 8, you’ve got three mentioned.

79. 37:35

    Just perhaps ring that little three with a pencil if you like. And in verse 9, you’ve got of the sons of shimi 3 particular persons who were going to be preeminent among the 24,000. And then in verse the 10, it says these four were the sons of Shimii. So you’ve got 3 + 3 is 6 + 4 is 10. And if you come down to verse 16, you’ve got another one mentioned, and his name is Chebuwel, and another one mentioned in verse 17.

80. 38:13

    So we’re up to 12, aren’t we? And verse 18 is another one mentioned, the chief. And in verse 19 it mentions another 4. And in verse 20 there’s another 2. The second see, And there’s 2IN verse 21 and there’s three in verse 23. If you add those up, it comes to 24. So they obviously from those 3 principal divisions of the Koathites, they were the 24 elders among the Levites, among the 24,000. So 1000 in each group, 24 litres of 1000 each. Isn’t that interesting?

81. 38:54

    Now would you want to worry about that when you were in his condition of health? But David got to that, didn’t he got his mind onto it, organized himself and and and approached that with great interest and he got that all implemented in Israel. Well, it was a little more involved than that, wasn’t it? Because we we missed out the bracket in between and says in verse 12, the sons of Kohath were Amram. So where you’ve got your little diagram, Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Murari now make 4 arrows down from Kohath, and the names of those to those 4 arrows are verse 12. Amram is ha and Hebron and Aziel. So Kohath had four sons.

82. 39:50

    Amram is ha Hebron and Aziel. Now Izha has one of his sons chosen in verse 18. See that Hebron has four of his sons chosen in verse 19. I just ran a a little line down and joined the two up so I could always see that. And Aziel, he had two in verse 20.

83. 40:23

    The chapter’s got a lot of structure to it, hasn’t it? Kohath, Amram, Isha, Hebron and Azil. What about Amram? We know who Amram was. He’s the father of Moses, father of Moses and Aaron. And so we read in verse 13 the sons of Amram, Aaron and Moses. He puts Moses aside and says, and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name forever. There’s the four things that are noted of the priesthood of the sons of Aaron, sanctify the most holy things, burn incense, minister unto him and to bless in his name forever. The priests were separated for that work and their chapter is the next 1 chapter 24.

84. 41:31

    All right, so that helps us to see that there isn’t a structure in the in the first of Chronicles, chapter 23. Now there’s a few general descriptions about the duties of the Levites. These were the sons of Levi, verse 24, after the House of their fathers, even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names, by their poles that did the work for the service of the House of the Lord from the age of 20 years and upward.

85. 42:00

    For David said, the Lord God of Israel hath given rest, and his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever rather, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. And you’ll see that the margin actually renders it that way. So does the RSV sense, doesn’t it? The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.

86. 42:28

    That’s why we’re getting organized, because the Lord God of Israel is coming home, as it were, to rest in Jerusalem. We’ve got to be ready for that. We’ve got to have things done properly. This can’t be just lackadaisical. This has got to be done properly. And so we’re reorganizing. Wasn’t David a wonderful man of God, my dear?

87. 42:47

    And sisters, he saw the scope of what was involved, and he thought, oh, if the Lord God of Israel is going to come into this, the capital city, then this city’s got to run right and things have got to be done properly.

88. 43:02

    I wonder how much of that is lost today. Now it clears your life and the sanctity of our meetings. I don’t think our meetings need to be stiff or cold formal to that degree. I don’t like that. But I do think that there should be a sanctity in our meetings. You know, there’s a certain discipline in our meetings so that concentration can be good, so that people know they’re about something serious. We don’t just sort of turn up to the meetings like we turn up to a picnic, like if we’re going down the beach. It’s just not right, is it?

89. 43:40

    This isn’t the way we should do things. We’ve never done things that way. It’s only really our modern world that does things like that, and we don’t have to conform to that. We’re really separated, aren’t we, to a different and a holy calling. And in our brotherhood all across the world, my dear Ben, sister, we need to be careful of those things, not to make that the big issue, but nevertheless to preserve the sanctity of our meetings.

90. 44:04

    If what our children do in the hall, it’s not a place for games, you know, you don’t play cricket in the hall, or is it baseball? It’d be even a bit more dangerous, wouldn’t it? There should be a proper environment in our hall that teaches or even our children that this is a place where we worship God and where we learn about the things of God and we keep the sanctity of the meeting. That’s how David feels.

91. 44:29

    God’s going to come into Jerusalem. Well, I’ve got to get this place right, got to have everybody organized. They’ve got to feel it. They’ve got to be touched by this. This is too wonderful that this is going to happen. Wasn’t he a beautiful man? He really was a man of God. Great fear of God in his heart. And it says in verse 26, and also under the Levites, they shall no more carry the Tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof, because it’s coming to stay. Or by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the House of Yahweh in the courts and in the chambers, and the purifying all holy things and the work of the service for the House of God. Look at all the things that they had to be about, both for the showbread 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 fried, and for all manner of measure and size.

92. 45:21

    You know, I never had much idea of what it was involved in, in the offerings of the temple until one time a little piece of land I had, we, we lost an animal. It was a, it was a, it’s always the best one you lose. And this was the best one in the herd.

93. 45:34

    And we lost this animal, you see, beautiful cow was, and I thought, what am I going to do with that? And the neighbor says, well, you, you burn it up, you see. So I thought, all right, we’ll burn it up. So I got this wood together. And as I was putting this wood on the on the animal and it was all bloated, of course, because been there a day or two, I began to realize what a tremendous work this was to put fire to an animal and devour.

94. 45:58

    Have you ever done it? Who’s done it? Anybody done it? It’s an amazing John need half a forest to burn an animal. It’s absolutely amazing how much wood you need to to consume the animal. This was just a full grown cow. And I came back, you know, a couple of hours later and things still burning and all the wood was gone. So I heaped a whole lot more wood on. I came back a couple of days later. I had to do the same again.

95. 46:21

    Came back a couple of days later, still enough and I began to have some idea of what was actually involved. You know, when it speaks in the law of of hundreds of offerings, sometimes thousands of offerings. Those men would have been working like Trojans to get through that work. And every day that was coming up to the to the the place of the temple, those Levites had to really work. And you can understand why there was all these people, why it had to be organized.

96. 46:50

    If it couldn’t be held handled, then it wouldn’t happen. People say, oh, it’s now just taking your animal up there. You have to wake up, wait, wait for a week before it’s offered. It had to be done then, didn’t it had to be done properly. How do you kill an animal? You say you take it off to the, I say the abattoirs, you say the slaughterhouse, don’t you?

97. 47:09

    And you don’t know what happens there, do you? But how do you kill an animal? He’s a, he’s a, a Bullock and he’s full grown. He weighs 1000 kilograms. All right, here’s the knife. You’re going to kill him.

98. 47:23

    How do you do that? Very difficult, isn’t it? He’s not going to like it. He’s going to stand there for you. You’re going to have to have some very strong ties around that animal to be able to achieve that. And then you’re going to have to butcher the parts, take it apart. And in fact, it was a lot of work, an enormous amount of work. And I began to realize just how much wood would be involved. That has to come from the, the forests all around, doesn’t it? So there were wood offerings.

99. 47:51

    You read about them, don’t you, Nehemiah? You read about them, Malachi. So it was a very large institution, very busy, and had to be so because people were continually coming with their concerns. I’ll tell you another thing would make you think, wouldn’t it, if you take a big animal like that up to the temple because you had sinned, you’d think twice about sinning another time too. I never thought of that until that happened to me. You’d, you’d really stop and think, eh, you’re going to break God’s law again.

100. 48:19

     Well, you better be careful because they’re going to cost you something. So there were all these people that were involved, but there were other things too. Verse 30 and to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. And likewise that even the temple was a lovely place to go to, to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. And likewise it Even so, it was a place of song and of happiness, of heart, of uplift, of spirit. It was a beautiful place, a high priest to be going past near the bells ringing on his on his garments. And there was an alacrity about what they were doing. And these men that were given to song and to praise. It wasn’t a starchy old place.

101. 49:01

     It was a place where the the nerve center of the nation would be felt and God was there and so they had to be in respect to that and to offer all birth sacrifices unto Yahweh in the Sabbaths. Look at all the things they had to remember, young men, many of them. They had to remember what you did on the Sabbath and when you did it and how you did it and who did it and what day.

102. 49:24

     In the New Moons there were special sacrifices for the the turning of the month, and on the set feasts 3 * a year they were set piece, and they all had their various offerings. And the boys need to know when that was, and do it properly by number, according to the order commanded unto them.

103. 49:42

     Continually before Yahweh there was a little spot effort or a Bible school, and it was all over. It went on through the year. 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, their brethren, in the service of the House of the Lord.

104. 50:02

     That was a great work, my dear brothers and sisters. And in that we can see something of what’s going to be in the future and what a busy place Jerusalem is going to be, be a place of joy and happiness and singing and praise. It’s going to be busy too, isn’t it, when people are coming from all nations to Jerusalem to worship.

105. 50:22

     And at that time it’s going to be up to us to know the protocols and to be able to lead those people. It says in Zechariah doesn’t they shall go to him that is a Jew and take hold of him and say we will go with people. We have heard that God is with you.

106. 50:33

     What about the Saints? Israel are going to learn in part from the Saints. That’s you and me. But what if we haven’t done our daily readings now? What if we’re slack in attendance of our Bible class? What if we don’t think there’s any need any longer to, to put out lectures and we don’t really know these things?

107. 50:52

     And somebody tugged it out and said, look, tell me I used to learn about the Trinity, but how does it go? I say Trinity. Oh, I’m not sure, mate. I, I forget now. I was baptized a lot of years ago. I mean, that’s not what a saint’s going to do, is he? He’s going to be able to open the book and say, look, this is what it says in the Scriptures, and we’re going to be able to do that then because we know it now. This is the day of preparation, so we’re in for wonderful things, my dear brother and sisters, in the future, and let us prepare diligently for that time. Thank you.

108. 51:39

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109. 52:09

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110. 52:24

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