I Chronicles 23-24
Dear RTB’ers,
It has always been interesting to me how kings and military leaders get credit (or at least their names connected) for battles won or lost. We know of Grant winning Vicksburg, Lee losing Gettysburg, and Patton coming to the rescue of the besieged soldiers at Bastogne. In reality these men were leaders who probably never fired a shell for the occasions in which they are named. It was more generals and officers and enlisted men under their command who did the fighting and won or lost the battles.
The same holds true for our Old Testament readings. We hear of Joshua (and Caleb) conquering the Promised Land and of David defeating those nations who had risen up against Israel during the time of the Judges. But it’s not battles only. Today we read of David organizing the Levites and David organizing the priests. Yes, David probably ordered it done, but it was others who took to the task of doing the actual organizing. And in one verse today the Chronicler acknowledges the assistance accorded David in organizing the priests: With the help of Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service. (v. 24:3) Zadok and Ahimelech are also mentioned later in verses 6 and 31. We have seen how this author seems to take greater care for the Levites and anything associated with the Temple and worship. And it’s with the sons of Aaron that he gets more specific, both the people involved and their charges.
I’m sure there have been thousands of scholars and students who have pored over the Chronicler’s lists and written thousands of articles highlighting their findings. But for us today, mostly it’s a bunch of names from history, not much relevant for our day-to-day activities. However, as John and I have mentioned before, it’s nice to know that God has known each and every one of these people named, that He knows them still, and that their names are recorded somewhere in the heavenly archives. He knows us, too, and all that we do. How will our names be recorded?
Blessings.
Fred