Brian Luke - I Have Set My Affection To The House Of My God - Class 5 - Princes And Priests In The House Of David

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

1. 0:00

   We now have the privilege to listen to our Brother Brian as he gives us the 1st and final of the 5th and final session today entitled Princess and Priests in the House of David. Brother Brian. As you may have guessed, my dear and sisters, with the reading of First Chronicles 26, we’re really going back one study and the one about the priests and and principal officers we will tuck into tomorrow morning.

2. 0:39

   The first of Chronicles 26, verses 1 to 19, you will notice is about the porters, concerning the divisions of the porters. And in verse 19 it says these are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Core and among the sons of Murari.

3. 1:00

   That’s the last session, you know, And just on the way here today, Brother Ron said to me a little joke. He said that when Rod Kent was here last year, as he was about this distance away from the hall as we’re driving on the car, he said, you know, Ron, he said, you know what I’m looking forward to. And Ron said to him, no, he said 5:30. And foolishly, I laughed.

4. 1:33

   So you make some big mistakes in life, don’t you? Well, we’re going to have the temple built and we’ve got the priests that are going to be ordered for that and, and the Levites that are going to be about all that amazing amount of work that was involved. And we’ve got our singers in place and those 288 boys grouped into into 24 courses.

5. 2:02

   And I’m sure that as a course of priests came in, so a group of singers would come in with them. And of course they rotated, didn’t they? From time to time. It was these 24 courses. Zechariah, father of Zechariah of John the Baptist, he was in one of those courses. You remember how it says that in Luke chapter 1.

6. 2:21

   So they kept it up for a very long period of time, didn’t they? Right through to the days of Christ and, and to but beyond that too, I’m sure.

7. 2:31

   But the house does need security, doesn’t it? There is the temple and it’s a magnificent building and it’s the House of God and the Spirit of God is dwelling in that house. It really has to have security, doesn’t it? It’s got to have someone that’s going to determine who’s going to come in, who’s going to go out and how people are going to behave.

8. 2:58

   And when you just look at it from the, the broad picture, you can see what the the doorkeepers obviously had to do. That was their job. They would keep the environment. Didn’t mean to say that somebody else couldn’t help that environment, but it would mean that upon them that responsibility rested. Particularly who’s going to come in, how they’re going to behave and how long they’re going to be there and who’s going to lock up and so on.

9. 3:25

   They’d have to have that any, any home, any building, any factory, whatever it is, it’s got to have some rules of administration, doesn’t it? Somebody’s got to look after it and see. Now public building like that obviously needed doorkeepers. So who are we going to choose for that job? Who would you choose?

10. 3:46

    There were 4000 of them. We remember that back in First Chronicles 23. Four thousand of them were chosen. They were going to obviously too create a a sense of welcome and a sense of restraint. Just why you’ve got that chapter open. Look at First Chronicles 26 verse 6 where it’s mentioning about these men. Verse 6 Also unto Shem AI, his son was sons born that ruled throughout the House of their father, for they were mighty men of valor.

11. 4:21

    Only noticed this last night actually, but it keeps on mentioning that factor. Verse 7, whose brethren were strong men? Verse 8, their brethren able men for strength. Verse 9, Michel Amaya had sons and brethren strong men. Eighteen. It wasn’t much use, I suppose, in those days of appointing someone who couldn’t illustrate that he he had some degree of physical strength if there was going to be trouble around the temple that he was prepared to ensure.

12. 5:04

    That he had. A A shoulder that could make a person realise this wasn’t the place for misconduct. That’s obviously an element that they could apply some restraint perhaps by their very personage. Israel grew up with a very distinct understanding of that. Like you take the Jewish position in the days of Jesus, there was what was called the middle wall of petition. Remember that Paul refers to it in Ephesians chapter 2, and it was actually referring to something that was in the temple.

13. 5:37

    He says that Christ has pulled down the middle wall of petition that was against us. And he’s speaking about Jew and Gentile because in the temple there was a middle wall of petition and a Gentile didn’t dare go through into the court of the Israelites. He would be in the court of the Gentiles. And there’s a little placard that said that if a Gentile should go past this, this gate, then he should be responsible for the trouble that would ensue. Nice welcome.

14. 6:05

    And if you thought you were welcome as a Gentile to be in the court of the Gentiles, then you better conduct your, your, your, your worship among all the animals, because that’s what they used it for. That’s what Jesus cleared out. He cleared the whole lot out because it was, it was taking the place of the Gentiles and the simple that humble and blind and children, that’s where they would probably come.

15. 6:28

    But there wasn’t any place to come unless you’re trampling among sheep and oxen and birds and all sorts. Of things and money changers. So they’re not only said you’re not welcome, but they shut out their opportunities as well. So Israel grew up with a strong concept that the house was for certain people in certain ways. Look at Zechariah 14.

16. 6:53

    That was wrong, but some of it was right. Zechariah, 14. Verse 21 Yeah, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto Yahweh of hosts, but all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and see therein all they. But in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the House of Yahweh of hosts, the trader, which is exactly what Jesus found wasn’t when he cleansed the temple. Interesting, isn’t it?

17. 7:37

    Or in Revelation chapter 21. Figurative indeed, but nevertheless the principle still there and says concerning the the. New Jerusalem, not a physical building, but the principle still there. There shall be in it, no, there shall in no wise enter into it anything that define it, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie. But they which have written in the Lamb’s book of life. Well, it was a.

18. 8:12

    Sound principle, my dear and sisters. And it’s, it’s a sound principle today in our ecclesial life. Our ecclesial hall should be welcoming. Indeed it should be welcoming. It should be a, a pleasantness about it. I had a young man the other day and they say to me, very forthcoming young man with a lot of outgoing character. He said.

19. 8:35

    You know the job I like most in ecclesial. Life is being the doorkeeper. I was telling him about what I was doing over here and so I’m 80. Four and says, you know what I like most of all and occlusal life is being the doorkeeper. That rather tickled. Me, because it was one of my sons.

20. 8:55

    And I thought a lot about that since. And I thought, you know, I can understand that because that’s the way he is. He, he just loves people and he loves them coming to the door and cheering them up, you see, which is good, isn’t it? But it’s nice to think that somebody takes that office seriously.

21. 9:11

    I don’t know how he’d go too much about rubbing the shoulder against somebody. He might find that a bit more, more awkward. But I think when you come into the ecclesial hall, that’s how the doorkeeper should be. He should know, you know, all of us and he should have a little word to say and he should cheer. I remember when I was a a young man in our ecclesial hall in the Adelaide ecclesia where you had a very happy time as young people in that ecclesia better, wonderful group of young people and it was.

22. 9:43

    Very happy time. And then at the door, there was. I used to call him Uncle Dean. He’s a real character. I learned later that he had been one of my mother’s boyfriends of. Old. So perhaps that’s why he was nice to me. I don’t know, but he always seemed to have something to say, you know? Like I remember one of our sisters dying her name was and she was coming and she in those days in the winter time, the girls all got a new suit you see, and this one got a red 1. So you know long she came.

23. 10:12

    Oh, hello, pillow box, pillow box. Letter box, you know. Because they always spread. But that was just Uncle Dean. He just could always think. Of some little expression. In fact, he knew the sisters so. Well, they used to sit at the back and it. Was it was a large meeting, I think we had 625 on the roll.

24. 10:29

    They weren’t all there on Sunday morning, couldn’t fit them all in I suppose, but there must have been 450 people. Then he’d sit at the back marking off the people and I remember mum saying to him. Well, how can you sit at the? Back and mark up all those. People down there, how do you?

25. 10:42

    Know if they’re all there? Well, he said. I know the sisters. I know the sisters, I know the husbands. I know, the other sisters always said. I know the hats.

26. 10:56

    I don’t know how you’re going now with the scarves, because certainly the scarves and the the little bonnets are all the same, aren’t they? But in those days it was all hats, you see, and they’re all different.

27. 11:05

    But I used to think when I thought about that subsequently, I thought, you know, good old Uncle Dean, because he had an interest in everybody, didn’t he? And he caused people to want to come to the meeting. That’s a good thing. There was another time I will remember when my wife came down from.

28. 11:22

    She wasn’t my wife then, but we were going together and I was pretty excited about that because she lived in NSW and she would come down for a couple of weeks in Adelaide and I hadn’t seen her for 11 1/2 months. How’s that? They were grim days, no e-mail, and I think we had three phone calls in four years. How about that?

29. 11:42

    Anyway, she was down, so I was obviously pretty pleased about that. And then we come swinging into the Ecclesial Hall hand in hand. And of course he was rather interested. To meet Lorna because he was sort of interested in me a bit. His wife, Kathy, used to send me a birthday card. They never had their own children. She always used to send me a birthday card every birthday. So he’s sort of interested in me, obviously interested in who I might find.

30. 12:05

    And now he was, sort of. Having a look. So when we came swinging along, you know, hand in hand out, obviously happy to be together, but I wouldn’t wasn’t as happy. He looked at us and he said tut, tut, tut.

31. 12:21

    He said. You don’t come in here hand in hand. Yeah, I never forgot that, even though he was happy, Uncle Dean, he favoured the House of God as he saw it. And that’s a good thing, wasn’t it? I learned a lesson out of that. I thought, well, that’s that’s right. He’s right. He’s keeping the place, that’s what it is, a place to come and worship God and remember Christ and all he did upon the tree. And that isn’t the place for Handies, is it? And he knew that and so he just made us front up to that. So there’s a very good balance in our doorkeepers when they just think about some of these these principles. They’re not just old things that aren’t related. They’ve got real application to the environment and and an atmosphere of our ecclesial.

32. 13:15

    Life, you know collisional whole and circumstances around and what people see when they come. You know we’ve had an interest of friend here today and I hope we’ve been aware of that perhaps met him he he’s gone now so I can say this but the most amazing circumstances. Ronald Tan of the story later but quite an amazing thing that he’s been here today and he’s loved it. So it’s important that when people come into our midst, they feel a warmth, and yet they can also see that this group of men and women, they really believe something and they’re serious and sincere about it.

33. 13:48

    And that’s our balance, my dear brother and sister. Well, I’ll tell you how these men were chosen. If you come over to the First of Chronicles Chapter 9, find a most interesting little reference, First Kings. First Chronicles, sorry, Chapter 9, verse 22.

34. 14:18

    And you’ll notice this is about the portis or the doorkeepers, and there they are mentioned in verse 17. The circumstances in which they’re mentioned are all about the Tabernacle. The portis were Shalom and Akab and Talman and Ah Aheman and their brethren. Shalom was the chief who hitherto waited in the King’s gate, Eastwood and verse 19 says in Shalom the son of Kor, the son of Evie Asaph, the son of Korra and his brethren of the House of the father, The Korra heights were over the work of the service keepers of the gates of the threshold.

35. 15:00

    So that’s the same expression. That’s who they were, doorkeepers, porters as they’re. Called in First Chronicles 26. And their fathers being over the host of the Lord were keepers of the entry. See, they were strong men over the host of the Lord. All right, so it’s giving us the story of these Cora heights who were chosen for this role.

36. 15:25

    And in First Chronicles 9 and verse 22, it says all these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were 212. David increased that to 4000 in preparation for the Temple. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office. Now isn’t that intriguing? Samuel’s in the story again.

37. 16:00

    Samuel and David obviously had close relationships. Similar minds, weren’t they? And so they were brought together as birds in a feather. They are brought together and here they are sitting together where we don’t know, but somewhere they are discussing who is going to have this office of caring before the village, caring for the doorkeepers.

38. 16:28

    And you notice, notice it says in verse 22 that they did it very specifically. They chose the men and they they knew where they belonged in their villages. Verse 25 and their brethren which were in their villages were to come after seven days from time to time with them. They were not permanently around the Tabernacle.

39. 16:48

    They went back from time to time to their villages like all of the Levites did. Says that these men were associated with a family. Of the Qurites. Now that is of their most intriguing interest to us. They they were divided into four quarters. It says in verse 24. In four quarters were the porters toward the east, West, north, and South.

40. 17:20

    Now that tells you something also about the Tabernacle of David. The Tabernacle of David did not have one entrance. What was the Tabernacle of David going to signify? It was going to signify an opportunity outside the Mosaic order. It was another and a greater Tabernacle. That one never had the presence of God.

41. 17:42

    This one did, and David found the right place for sacrifice, and the Tabernacle of David was found in that place. Are we right in understanding that? That way, my different sisters, we most certainly are. You take for example, Amos Chapter 9 years ago. We used to gloss over the term the Tabernacle of David in this reference here and think, Oh well, that just means when David’s Kingdom is restored. But there was actually a Tabernacle of David referred to in the Second of Chronicles 1 and verse four, and the Second of Chronicles 2 and verse 17 and 18. But here we are in Amos 9, and it says that in verse 11, in that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breeches thereof, and I’ll raise up his ruins, and I’ll build it as in the days of old. Now it doesn’t say I’m going to raise up the temple just in this place, does it?

42. 18:51

    In the peculiarity of the prophet. He has said the Tabernacle of was only a flimsy. Tent like structure, Why would the prophet say I’ll raise up the Tabernacle of David verse 12 that they may possess the remnant of Eden and of all the heathen which are called by my name, Gentiles that are called by my name.

43. 19:13

    Why is God going to set up the Tabernacle of David? Because he wants the Gentiles to be a come in, that’s why. That’s why David erected that Tabernacle. Do you know when David came back from Philistia, there were many people that came back with him? What about Itayi the Gittite and the 600 brethren who were with him?

44. 19:33

    When David was chased by his son out of that city, Itayi could not be turned back. David said to him, look at Tara, it’s not right that you should go up and down with me. This is not befall of me because of my sin. You go back into the back into Jerusalem. Look, you’ve only just come as it were.

45. 19:49

    You’re a stranger. Why should you share my burden? He tell you, I said. Look, I’m going. With you and neither, nothing but death would separate me from you. Where you die is where I’ll die. The very words of Ruth. Amazing man, Sworn allegiance to David. What do you think David’s going to see him booting around Jerusalem for years and never be able to worship? Isn’t he going to see the fact that God has is is providing a way for that Gentile and his children? Those little children weren’t with him. The little feet running out of the city while absolutely his own son is chasing him out of the city and these little Philistine boys are going with him. Don’t you think David’s going to think they too should have a Sunday school?

46. 20:32

    My word, he is. What about? The cheerothites and the paedothites. They also went with David at that time. Is he going to see them around Jerusalem all the time? Never able to go near that place, except there’s a threatening plaque that says you go past this place and you’ll be responsible for the death of Chum and Shu.

47. 20:47

    No way for David. And Amos is telling us exactly why he did that. The Tabernacle of David was an alternative to the restrictions of the Mosaic Law, and it had. 4 doors, east, West, North and South. And I don’t need to tell you what that meant. They shall come, aren’t they, from the east and the West and the north and the South and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God with with Christ. And so this was a different structure. And James, if you’re wondering if we’ve got the right sense of verse 12, James tells us in Acts chapter 15 exactly what the sense of that was at the.

48. 21:28

    Jerusalem conference and the debate is about whether the Gentiles can come in and after they’ve heard Paul and they’ve heard Peter James then said in verse 13, men and brethren, hearken unto me, Simeon hath declared, Peter hath declared how God at the. First did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name, and he picks up our passenger name of Saint says, and to this degree the words of the prophets as it is written. After this I will return and will build again the Tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will stay.

49. 22:05

    Whatever did that have to do with the with the subject under consideration? This is what it had to do, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Now my chief brother says that’s one of the most beautiful illustrations of David’s mind, isn’t it? Yes, he fought all those battles for Israel, but he was not a loyalist who could not see that God could not accept people from another nation.

50. 22:41

    He wasn’t such a patriot that he despised the Gentiles. And so when these men followed him, they learnt his ways and no doubt they would have loved to be part of the the worship of Israel. So he said here’s a Tabernacle, you can come to this one. It’s got 4 doors. Then mind, whether you come from the east to the West or the north or the South, you can come into this house and worship.

51. 23:05

    Are there with me. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Amos picks it up. Little thing left in the record. But it wasn’t. James picks that up later and he’s got hold of the whole point. Isn’t that beautiful, beautiful thing? Really beautiful thing. And it just shows us what a wonderful thing our Bible is. All these little details and we just go over them. We hardly notice them sometimes, yet they’re full of beauty, aren’t they?

52. 23:31

    The the thought process behind that beyond any coincidence, it’s obviously the stamp of God upon that whole concept. And David’s mind could see that because he brought so many people from obscurity. He brought Israelites from obscurity, the lost sheep of Israel. He gathered them together in bundles and made something of them. Why couldn’t?

53. 23:53

    He do the same with a Philistine. Or a cheerothite. Or a paedothite. Some other person, why his great, great grandmother was Ruth and knew all about her. God accepted her.

54. 24:07

    So that was the Tabernacle of David. Bit of a diversion, I suppose, but it’s a beautiful diversion, isn’t it? Because here we are with four gates back here in First Chronicles Chapter 9.

55. 24:23

    And so the people that were chosen, we’re going to guard these gates. Now let’s see again where they came from. It says in verse 19 and. Shalom, the son of Kora, the son of Evie. Asaph, the son of Kora and his brethren of the House of his father. The Kora Heights were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the Tabernacle and their fathers being over the host of the Lord were keepers of the entry. Now that’s a very, very challenging statement because I thought that Kora was destroyed.

56. 25:06

    Was he not Kora, Dathan and Abaram? Didn’t the earth open and swallow them up? Let’s go back to the record and and check what whatever happened, how can there be Kora Heights? If there was this tremendous judgement upon these men, Numbers chapter 16, verse one is the record of that story. This is not a diversion. This is right on the on the subject may not sound but but it is it’s right on the subject.

57. 25:39

    Now Cora verse 1 of #16 the son of is Ha, the son of. Coed. Got your little piece of paper still there? We’ve got Levi up the top. Got Gershon, Kohath and Murari. Now, after Kohath, we had four sons, didn’t we? It was Amram, Izhar, Azhil and Hebron. This kora is in the line of Izhar. He’s a son of Izhar, so he’s a first cousin to Moses. Because Izha’s brother is Amran, and Aaron and Moses are sons of Amran, so he’s a first cousin to Moses, highly related to Moses. Now he’s LinkedIn with two other people, Dathan and Ibaram, the sons of Iliad, and On the son of Pilaf, sons of Reuben, They. Took men, three men, Dathan and Ibaram. Who were of the tribe of Reuben?

58. 26:46

    And there was Cora, who was of the. Tribe of Levi and. If you remember the little pattern of the Tabernacle, do you remember that there was the section of the Tabernacle in the centre of Israel, and around that were the various branches of the Levites? It’s a Sunday school work, isn’t it? And on the southern side were the Koathites, on the southern side where the tribes were. Was Reuben.

59. 27:16

    The first on that southern side, so at the southeastern end of where the Koathites were was Reuben underneath. And now you can begin to understand how that happened because in actual fact here was Reuben and there was coat and the heads of coat were there and the heads of Reuben were here. So Cora and had to coal it were across the path to say, hey Dathan Enviram, what you up to? They, they lived alongside each other, so to speak, in the Foursquare encampment.

60. 27:51

    So it all fits together. But this Cora, he was a very remarkable man. It says in verse 2, they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel. I’ll say 250 Princess of the Assembly, famous in the congregation, men of of renown. And they said to Moses and Aaron, look at his head, you take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of.

61. 28:22

    Them, they could have said, you know, Exodus 19 says we’re Kingdom of priests. What are you carrying on as though you’re the only important people around here? Authority doesn’t rest with you. God has made a calling of all of the children of Israel. What are you going on about? What makes you so much so much more important than everybody else? There’s no Moses and Aaron was self appointed. All the congregation of wholly, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.

62. 28:49

    Wherefore then lift you up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? Moses didn’t answer immediately with words. He was just so shocked. You know what it says of Moses. He was, above all men, the most makeup on the earth. Certainly he would never have made himself to be leader of his rugby still on the backside of Horeb, if he’d had his way. And he spake unto Korra and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him. Even him whom He hath chosen will He cause to come here. This do take Eusensism all his company, and put Father in, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. And it shall be that the man whom the Lord hath chosen, He shall be holy.

63. 29:37

    He take too much upon you and be careful, ye sons of Levi. Now that just shows you what Korra was like in terms of ability. Levi was the faithful tribe. There’d been a time when Moses had been up the mountain. He came down and he saw the the degradation of the people. And he said who? Is on the Lord’s side.

64. 30:04

    Levi came forth. Levi had to smite their own brethren. But they wouldn’t flinch. And Deuteronomy 33 says that they favoured neither their son nor their daughter, so loyal were they to the cause of God in Israel. Those 250 that I mentioned in verse 2 are obviously mostly Levites.

65. 30:26

    And this man Kora had by his political enchantment of the Princess, you know, look what it says about them. They were famous in the congregation, men of renown. They were the leaders in the tribe of Levi, and he had brought them onto his side against Moses and Aaron, whose camp was out on the east. Wasn’t by the gates.

66. 30:52

    So this was not an ordinary achievement. This was an amazing achievement. In times of great difficulty, Levi had been loyal. When others hadn’t. But Cora, he is some man. He’s a politician part excellence. And Moses said unto Korra, here I pray you, you sons of Levi, you’ve already got a very important and privileged position.

67. 31:22

    Are you unsatisfied that and want the priesthood also, verse 10, God has given you privilege, but you’re not appreciating that privilege. Well, you know the story my dear and sisters, and how God determined it. God was exceedingly wrong with this rebellion. It was the great rebellion in the wilderness of all the rebellion. And so verse 23, Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the Tabernacle of Cora Dathan and Abaram.

68. 31:53

    And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abaram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs. The tents of these wicked men. Blessed sheep are consumed in all their sins. And so they did.

69. 32:10

    They get up from the Tabernacle of Korra, Dathan, and Abaram on every side. And Dathan and Abaram came out and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, their sons, and their little children. And the earth opened their mouth, Verse 32, and swallowed them up at their houses, and all the men that appertained at Decorah and all their goods.

70. 32:27

    Well, then, how do we have sons of Korah? They’re gone, aren’t they? That’s why might seem so. But did you read that very carefully?

71. 32:42

    Even in verse 32 it says all the men, or in verse 27, it was the families of Dathan and Abaram that stood with him. It didn’t actually say the family of Kora, and in fact they didn’t. They didn’t stand with their father. If you come to numbers 26, there’s a little. Detail here again verse 10, written verse 9 just to get the sense and the sons of Eliab, Nemuel and Dathan and Abaram. This is that Dathan and Abaram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron, in the company of Korra, when they strove against the Lord, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, together with Cora.

72. 33:35

    When that company died. What time the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a sign, notwithstanding the children. Of Cora died, not now. This is a really intriguing story, isn’t it? Here is a man that can persuade against Aaron and Moses. Even among the Levites, among the. Principle of the Levites. The most informed and godly men, you might say, in that nation, this Cora has been able to weave his message into their minds until he has prejudice them, He said.

73. 34:16

    You’ve been slighted in your position. Our cousin over here, who’s he think he is? Who’s the mayor and think he is. We’re all holy. Why isn’t this being distruded and much more generous and and democratic Communist? Way. All men are equal here in eclesial life too, isn’t it? You know it’s not true, my dear man.

74. 34:35

    So we’re all equal before God. We haven’t got the same talents, have we? I can’t do the things you can do. I wished I could. But I can’t we’re going to recognize that God is distributed as as he will. And it was a right that he should call a certain man and and he gave to him the the ability to do that and he was the right one.

75. 34:52

    And these men were like Democrats. It’s almost the, you know, the God revered word. It’s the public revered word, but it’s never revered by God. Think about that when you’re making up your Bible class.

76. 35:04

    The object is not just to share the work all around to everybody. That’s not what God says. I know that’s how a lot of us think. We’ve come to. Think that way. Think again. Think of it in scriptural terms. What the class is there for is to build up our eccleses, and there’s some people that have got that ability and they could never do the other things that other people can do.

77. 35:25

    Well, let’s be sensible. It’s not just there but equal distribution. That’s democracy, and our children are being imbued with that. Everything is democracy. A little child at school at six years sits in there and and, and their chairperson while all the other little 6 year olds have a meeting. I ask you. But, you know, eventually that gets right through the minds of our little children and they begin to think that’s right. And so sometimes do we, because we don’t say it’s wrong. It’s got nothing to do with the Bible, and it hasn’t obviously nothing to do.

78. 35:59

    Moses wasn’t concerned about democracy, was he? God made choice. We’ve all got different abilities. We’re told that use those abilities humbly and wisely, but use them and let’s appreciate our brother or sister who’s got some ability that I haven’t got. That’s how God has made it. It’s part of our humility. That’s how it is in the Scriptures.

79. 36:22

    Why was it that these children had not gone with their father? Can you think of a reason why could it be? I mean, if he could talk those other grown men into that position against Moses now, why couldn’t he convert his children to that? It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? Well, there’s a little. Secret back there again.

80. 36:45

    It’s in Chronicles. It’s in First Chronicles Chapter 9. You might have in fact noticed it before, but one day I was looking at this and stumbled upon it, really. And I was so excited because I’m sure it’s the answer. There’s got to be some very real answer. Well, there is verse 19, which we read before, and it tells us that the the doorkeepers would come from the House of the Korah Heights.

81. 37:14

    And OK, they did live because Numbers 26 said they did. But why was it that they never went along with their father? Well, it says in verse 20. And Phineas, the son of Eliezer, was the ruler over them in time past. And Yahweh was with me. You know, that’s a beautiful little verse in your Bible. You think it’s beautiful verse?

82. 37:44

    I do because it’s the key to a mystery. And once you start to turn that key, it opens up all kinds of beautiful things. Who was Phineas? You know who Phineas was when the name of God was being disgraced in Israel and Moab brought those those dirty women into the camp of Israel because. They could succeed by no other means. They brought their girls with all their lipstick. And their mascara and all their flimsy clothing, and they brought them into Israel.

83. 38:22

    And the stupid men of Israel looked at them and they fell for it, didn’t they? And eventually along comes one of the Princess of Israel, and he takes one of these wicked women, and he goes straight past the Tabernacle, and he couldn’t care less. And never mind the fact that Moses and Aaron are in front of the Tabernacle, in tears before they’re gone, bleeding that God would stay the plague that must come for such terrible wickedness.

84. 38:55

    This Prince couldn’t care an iota and he takes that girl straight. Past them off to his tent for obvious purposes, and Phineas could stand it. No longer Phineas was grandson of Aaron and he went to his tent and he took his javelin and he followed them down the track and he only did they did use it once and killed brutally.

85. 39:24

    Did you do that God loved God loved him and that stayed the plane. It saved thousands of lives in Israel. That’s Phineas took cruel man, tough man. God gave him an everlasting priesthood for that. What was the what was it that God loved about that? My differences because there was a man who was on his side. Never mind what the world was saying, never mind about Moab. He had that, absolutely.

86. 39:52

    Clear in his mind, God loved him because he was a man of God and he would stand for that principle. And if anybody thought they were going to flout the principles of God like that, he would go to the the final degree to show them that God’s name would be. Uphill. But there’s another side to Phineas, isn’t there?

87. 40:11

    You imagine being the children of Cora. What a boring thing. Oh, Dad’s at it again. There he is. The few men, other men come home to the tent. What’s he talking about? Moses and Aaron. Oh, who they think they are. They get on your nerves, you know, they’re always telling people what to do, always out the front there, Sam’s, it’s important to case. Sure enough, they’re in the in the there and always talking like that.

88. 40:36

    What do children think about that? Absolutely sick of it, the criticism of brethren until eventually that they, they just want to hear another message. They I hate to hear that, you know, we kill our children sometimes. I would be aware of circumstances where that has happened. And children have left the truth because of that, because they’ve never seen the joy in it, the brotherhood in it, the love, the forgiveness of sin. If they hadn’t seen that, they might have seen something that was beautiful about the truth.

89. 41:13

    But all they heard was criticism of the ABS. Who do I think they are again? You know, there they are again. And they’re. Telling us what to do. It’s not so much really a joke, is it? Unfortunately, there are sentiments of that that are heard around and we’re all guilty in measure for that.

90. 41:34

    A rule of life is to never over your table. Say things against others in the meeting. Never, ever, ever do that. Fathers will grant no mind. No matter how you’re attempting. When the pressure’s on and you might want to say this or that, don’t do it. Remember, the best thing for those children’s minds can be that they are never taught the differences that you might have with other brethren or other sisters in the middle.

91. 42:04

    Don’t ever let them see. Cover it up. You might say, well, I want my children. No da, da, da. You know, I have a story. They will work things out in their own time. But when they’re coming up as children, they’ve got to see that God is behind the truth. And it’s a beautiful thing.

92. 42:19

    And they’ve got to learn to respect all of their elders and all of their older people. In that meeting, never, ever, even on the phone, somebody rings. You want to talk about something and little ears are sitting here. Be careful, you know, be careful today. You can probably take your mobile into another room, but don’t let little ears hear.

93. 42:43

    It’s better to say that y’all look, I’m sorry. I want the room to myself. You know, at the moment if you, if you need to talk about important things, private things, evolving, please, your life, that’s preserve children’s innocence about the things you’ve got because that’s a terribly important thing. Because that’s what I think happened with Cora. His children got to the state where they were sick, and along came Phineas, who was their second cousin. And he said, hey, isn’t that why didn’t you come home to an helpless Israel class?

94. 43:13

    You know, helpless Israel, the hope of Israel. We’re going to talk about the promises. Made by Abraham, we want to talk about all the good things that have come to our our heritage in Israel. You know how they came through the Red Sea. We’re going to have a we’re going to have a lesson all about that what Moses did. And so these children got to see, I’m sure, I’m sure that’s what happened because he had the rule over them and they came to love that.

95. 43:34

    So when their dad was about to be destroyed and Dayton and Abaram stood there with their children, those children stood apart. And there’s no question that required some very. Persuasive influence. And that must have been Phineas, I believe. Do you think the Bible’s a wonderful book? It is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

96. 43:52

    A wonderful little inclusion and. When you start to put it all together, that’s what falls out. Full of lessons, full of beautiful things that are relevant to our own ecclesial life. It means this too, my dear and sisters, that all of us need to have something of Phineas in both parts. You say Phineas was cruel. I don’t.

97. 44:13

    I say that he was stern about the things of God in principle. And don’t you love him for it? God did. Do you love him for it? I do. I love him for that because God did. And I can see that unless he did that, there would have been 10s of thousands of other lives lost.

98. 44:31

    But I love him also because he was prepared to take another family under his wing, wasn’t he? He could have said, oh, those kids, bad luck, you know, oh, their cousins, their family. It’s all too hard in the family. He didn’t say that. He said, I’m going to take those children and teach them a better way where they’ll see the joy of the truth and the love of the truth.

99. 44:52

    And, and that’s what happened. What would he teach them? What would they see in in their cousin? They’d see a man who stood for the integrity of God’s house. Isn’t that right? What was the famous incident in their cousin’s life when Phineas took the sword? Because these two would flout the holiness of the House of God. They were going past that place.

100. 45:21

     When he reacted because it was in his. Heart to preserve the integrity of God’s house was deeply involved in his conscience and mind that he would not let that happen and so at that time he was inflamed to do that which I’ve seen cause. In other people’s lives, in other people’s assessment, but not in Gods.

101. 45:43

     And you know those boys would have learnt that if they came then they never had their dad then, did they? They came to see that that man had saved their lives. They’d be under the earth like the other children if it wasn’t. Or Phineas. Now what a beautiful. Thing that is Phineas was a beautiful man, not just a stern man of Prince where he was that, and thank God he was, but he also had compassion to take on side for those who had need and we need lots of that in our ecclesial life.

102. 46:15

     Sometimes a child comes from the country and you hear a little announcement. Has anybody a? Room, and there we all are, Ecclesia OF100150. Or could even be more at home. And you know, next week you hear the same announcement. Is there anybody’s able just to provide a room or a bed for for somebody.

103. 46:34

     And you think you, you know the couple, you know their circumstances, they’re up there in the country and, and the child’s getting to teenage years and desperately needs help. But oh. No. Well, all their homes are bigger. We’ve all got more. Bedrooms than we ever had before. We can’t, we, we can’t do it.

104. 46:54

     This is Jimmy’s bedroom and this is Judy’s bedroom and this is someone else’s bedroom. We’re going to have their bedrooms, the right colours, the right everything they want. You couldn’t invade that and have somebody else in there or no. And so the call goes beckoning, till later on you hear that they’ve got bored with somebody out in the world. It’s not good enough, isn’t it?

105. 47:16

     We need to be able to sucker those like Phineas who need help and care. So in the character of Phineas were the right qualities to be grafted into the children of the Qorites, so that they might both respect God’s house and be warmly, warmly minded towards those who were in need. There might be a henna that comes along and cries her eyes out and somebody’s got to understand.

106. 47:45

     That and that would be the doorkeeper’s charge. Not like Levi to say get on your way, but to realize there was need for compassion and understanding, a balanced approach to God’s house and a beautiful story, very beautiful story. That’s why the Korra heights were chosen and down the line because we’ve actually gone through this line before. Do you remember who was in that line? Samuel.

107. 48:14

     And what was the first thing ever recorded about what Samuel did in the House of God? Sorry. He opened the doors. Shall I repeat it? He opened the doors and he’s a little top when he did that. First of Samuel chapter 3, and I think it’s verse 19,

108. 48:53

     verse 15. Thank you. And this is when God was calling him. And it says in verse 15 that Samuel lay until the morning and open the doors of the House of Yahweh. Isn’t that lovely? That’s just exploding with history when you really start to think about it, isn’t it? Now you can see why Elkanah was the type of man who was, why he chose a woman like like Hannah. And why he had a grandson like he man, He man who was a prophet in the things of God.

109. 49:30

     Samuel was his grandfather. Samuel was responsible for the school of the prophets. Wasn’t he? It was in his era that the prophets began to multiply. Do you think he left his grandchildren out of that?

110. 49:42

     Well, let all the other children come in and. And his own. Grandchildren out there booting a football around. No way. He man came into grandpa’s study class and he learnt grandpa’s mind and then he had fourteen sons and he put that mind through the whole lot of them, 14 boys, and they had Samuel’s mind right through the whole lot of them.

111. 50:02

     Inspiration things really, aren’t they? Now you can see why when Samuel and David got together and said, what family shall we choose to be the doorkeepers? They chose that family because those principles are ingrained into the hearts of those children. Isn’t the Bible a very wonderful thing, my dear and sisters? Aren’t you glad? You know that God has opened our hearts to to, to love the word of God.

112. 50:28

     It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? They’re precious things. You’ll be able to see that, see why David thus came along and and reorganized it, preserving that principle because he did in first the Chronicles chapter 26.

113. 50:48

     He brought the Korah Heights into this. Concerning the divisions of the. Portis of the Korah Heights was Meshalamaya, the son of Kor of the sons of Asaph, or Abbey Asaph. And if you go back to the marginal reference, it will take you to chapter 6 verse 23 and 37 and Chapter 9 verse 19. And if you just have an eye for it, you’ll remember. That that’s right in the middle of all of the story of the Korra heights.

114. 51:23

     What a wonderful thing. And that’s principally where they came from. They came from Kohath. And whereas the other officers were pretty equally distributed among Gershon, Kohath and Marari, the doorkeepers weren’t. They were principally in Kohath, that is, in Korra, Kohath, and then. Is Ha and then Kora and then the sons of Kora, and it’s in that group almost 75% of them.

115. 52:00

     Came from that group. As a matter of fact, it says in verse 8, all these of the sons of Obed Edom, they, their sons and their brethren, able men for strength of the service were 62 of Obed Edom. That’s by far the majority of those who were chosen and Michelamaya had sons and brethren, strong men. 1862 + 18, that’s 80.

116. 52:28

     The only others that are mentioned are the 13 in verse 11, and they came from Hosar of the children of Murari verse 10. So there was a representation. From the division of Murari, but there’s nothing mentioned of Gershon at all. They were principally of that family that otherwise might have been removed in Israel. And if you go through, it’s not an easy chapter to. Follow and I’m not.

117. 52:56

     Going to go through all the details of it. But you see verse 13 again, they had they had their their lots and their divisions or their courses in which they were involved. They cast lots as well, the smallest, the great, according to the House of their fathers, for every gate. And the lot eastward.

118. 53:14

     Fellow Shalamaya. Then for Zechariah, his son, a wise council, they cast lots, and his lot came out northward, drove it eat him southward. And so the various gates to which they were apportioned. But it begins to tell us about the numbers of them in verse 17. Let’s count the numbers up. Verse 17 eastward was 6 Levites northward for a day, southward for a day toward a super 2 and 2 at far power, westward four and two at power bar. Add those up and what do you think you’ll get? 24 so the pattern stays in place. Very beautiful things and says therefore, in verse 19, these are the divisions of the porters among the. Sons of Korra in the division of Koha, and among the sons of Murali.

119. 54:09

     Now just let’s finalize that with a quick look at a lovely little Psalm that the sons of Kora wrote, Psalm 84. This is why they were chosen, my dear. And sisters, a Psalm, it says for the sons of Kora, Psalm of the sons of Kora. It clearly was a Psalm written by that family. What a beautiful family they must have been and shows, you know, don’t ever give up with people in the truth. Don’t ever give up.

120. 54:43

     It’s been some amazing things happen when people don’t give up. When you hear the story of the man who was here today, you will, you will really feel that too. Never give up eh? You never know. God can redeem from the uttermost. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Yahweh of hosts, the great God that works with great power and can in a great host. Can bring about.

121. 55:12

     Great things with great strength. But how amiable are thy tabernacles, thy dwelling places, this great God? My soul longeth, ye even fainted for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. This is a most exceptional man, isn’t it? Or exceptional man. They love the House of God. They have set their affections upon it like they. Yeah, the Sparrow hath found a house, and the swallower nest with herself.

122. 55:55

     About the ramparts of the Tabernacle or the temple where she may lie, her young, even thine altars, though Yahweh face not literally or altars, but by the altars, by the parapets of the temple, even the little. Birds could find a nest. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. They will be still praising thee.

123. 56:21

     Well, the psalmist obviously wasn’t there. He was a son of Cora, but there was courses. So sometimes they were away on their own properties. And when it became their opportunity to come Jerusalem, they came and lived in the precincts of the Temple. And so they had their seasons on and their seasons off.

124. 56:40

     And this psalmist, this son of Korra, he’s been away from the temple, but he doesn’t want to be away from the temple. What he loves most of all is the meeting. That’s what he loves. Never finds it a trouble to come to the meetings. And because something else is on and it’s in his way, he wants to come to meetings most of all.

125. 56:57

     That’s his life. Blessed are they that dwell in the house. They will be still praising thee. Well, it’s my turn in certain times. If I can’t go there physically, then I will spiritually. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion, as the revised version rightly puts it, in his heart.

126. 57:30

     See, he can’t go there physically because it’s not his turn. But he’s there spiritually. His mind is travelling down the road that leads to Jerusalem. It might be just a little path, but for him it’s like a highway that leads him to the place that he wants to be.

127. 57:50

     Who passing through the Valley of Weeping make it a well? The rain also fill up the pools. We all go through the Valley of Weeping, don’t we? From time to time when things come upon us and they seem so hard, it’s almost impossible. And we’ve traversed the valley of weeping, the valley of backup, and the psalmist is saying that if in that circumstance I have Zion in mind, I can turn that misfortune into pools of water, into prosperity.

128. 58:25

     And pleasantness, if God is in my heart. They go from strength to strength. Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. And yet they’re back on their properties and all their individual lives and all our homes in all the circumstances that we have. They can go from strength to strength. O Yahweh, God of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear.

129. 58:52

     O God of Jacob, what a beautiful expression. Who knew more the ups and downs of life than Jacob? Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. Here’s the history of this man who was saved when others joined the tents of wickedness.