1 Chronicles 6

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

1 Chronicles Chapter 6

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Ezra

Date Penned: (430 BC)

Overview: A History of God's Chosen People (c 1-29)

Theme: The Genealogies of Israel (c 1-9)

Message: Levi's Descendants (v 1-81)

1 Chronicles 6 Commentary

(6:1) An Account of the Priesthood - The tribe of Levi was set apart to serve God in the tabernacle (Numbers 3-4), and later in the temple (1 Chronicles 23-26). Aaron (6:3), a descendant of Levi, became Israel's first high priest. God required all future priests to be descendants of Aaron. The rest of the Levites assisted the priests in the various tabernacle or temple duties; they also assisted the people by teaching them God's law and encouraging them to obey it.

(6:3) An Account of Moses - The people listed here played major roles in the drama of the exodus from Egypt. Aaron's story is found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Moses was one of the greatest prophets and leaders in Israel's history. His story is found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The story of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, is found in Exodus 2; 15:20-21; Numbers 12; 2011. Nadab and Abihu were killed for disobeying God (Leviticus 10). Eleazar became Israel's high priest after Aaron (Numbers 20:24-28), and Ithamar played an important role in organizing the worship services of the tabernacle (Numbers 4:28, 33; 7:8).

(6:28) An Account of Samuel - When Samuel became God's leader and spokesman, Israel was on the brink of collapse. The last few chapters of the book of Judges give a vivid picture of the moral decay and the resulting decline of the nation. But with God's help, Samuel almost single-handedly brought the nation from ruin to revival. He unified the people by showing them that God was their common Leader and that any nation that focused on him would find and fulfill its true purpose. For the rest of Samuel's story and to see how he set up rules for governing a nation based on spiritual principles, read the book of 1 Samuel and his profile.

(6:31-48) The Completion of the Temple - The builders and craftsmen had completed the temple, and the priests and Levites had been given their responsibilities for taking care of it. Then it was time for another group of people- the musicians-to exercise their talents for God. The names of some of the leading musicians are recorded here. You don't have to be an ordained minister to have an important place in the body of believers. Builders, artists, choir members, worship leaders, and others who serve in the church all have significant contributions to make. God has given you a unique combination of talents. Use them to serve and honor him.

(6:31) Music and Worship - David did much to bring music into worship. He established song leaders and choirs to perform regularly at the temple (1 Chronicles 25). As a young man, David had been hired to play the harp for King Saul (1 Samuel 16:15-23). He also wrote many of the songs found in the book of Psalms.

(6:49) An Account of Aaron - Aaron and his descendants strictly followed the details of worship commanded by God through Moses. They did not choose only those commands they wanted to obey. Note what happened to Uzza when important details in handling the ark of the covenant were neglected (13:6-10). We should not try to obey God selectively, choosing those commands we will obey and those we will ignore. God's Word has authority over every aspect of our lives, not just select areas.For more information on priests, see Leviticus 8:1-36

(6:54) A Tribe Without a Land - The tribe of Levi was not given a specific area of land, as the other tribes were. Instead, the Levites were to live throughout the land in order to aid the people of every tribe in their worship of God. Thus, the Levites were given cities and pasturelands within the allotted areas of the other tribes (Joshua 13:14.33).

(6:57) The Cities of Refuge - God had told the tribes to designate specific cities to be cities of refuge (Numbers 35). These cities were to provide refuge for those who had accidentally killed people. This instruction may have seemed unimportant when it was given--the Israelites hadn't even entered the Promised Land. But sometimes God gives us instructions that do not seem relevant to us at the moment but are later proven to be very valuable. Don't discard the lessons of the Bible because certain details seem irrelevant. Obey God now; in the future, you will have a clearer understanding of the reasons for his instructions.

(6:61) Casting Lots in the Old Testament - The Israelites cast lots in order to take the decision-making process out of human hands and put it into God's hands. Casting lots was like drawing straws or throwing dice. Lots were cast only after seeking God's guidance in prayer. (For more information on casting lots, see the note on Joshua 18:8.)

(6:66-81) The Sons of Levi - Who are these clans? Kohath, Gershon, and Merari were the three sons born to Levi (6:1)--who was the third son born to Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:34)-and their families formed the tribe of Levi. The Levites did not receive an allotment of land of their own but instead were given cities throughout the Promised Land. God provided for the Levites through the gifts and offerings that people from the other tribes brought to the tabernacle (Numbers 18:8-32). Aaron was a descendant of Kohath (1 Chronicles 6:54), and in the New Testament, Zacharias and Elisabeth, John the Baptist's parents, were descendants of Aaron (Luke 1:5).

Dave Burnette's Life Application
Revival

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we Continue in the book of 1 Chronicles with Chapter 6 and we see Levi's descendants. This tribe of Levi was was set apart to serve God in the Tabernacle and played a major role in the building of a Godly nation but we see it decay with time. What catches my eye is the revival that swept the land when Samuel obeyed God. In making application we see that one obedient soul can spark revival in the land. In the history of revivals we see the welsh revival of the 1900's have 150,000 converts due to a single testimony. Today it could be our testimony the Lord uses to spark revival in our nation. How about you? Do you see the power in being an obedient soul before the Lord obeying Him in Worship? Let us learn from our text today and the life of Samuel to be reminded that revival can start if one soul is obedient to the Lord.

1 Chronicles 6

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1 Chronicles 6

¹The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

³And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua,

⁵And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi,

⁶And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth,

⁷Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,

⁸And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz,

⁹And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan,

¹⁰And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)

¹¹And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,

¹²And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum,

¹³And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah,

¹⁴And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak,

¹⁵And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei.

¹⁸And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.

²⁰Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,

²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.

²²The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

²³Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,

²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

²⁵And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth.

²⁶As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,

²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.

²⁸And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.

²⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,

³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.

³¹And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest.

³²And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order.

³³And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,

³⁴The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

³⁵The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

³⁶The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

³⁷The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

³⁸The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.

³⁹And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,

⁴⁰The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah,

⁴¹The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,

⁴²The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,

⁴³The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,

⁴⁵The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,

⁴⁶The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer,

⁴⁷The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,

⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,

⁵³Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.

⁵⁴Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.

⁵⁵And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.

⁵⁶But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

⁵⁷And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,

⁵⁸And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,

⁵⁹And Ashan with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs:

⁶⁰And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.

⁶¹And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.

⁶²And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

⁶³Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

⁶⁴And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.

⁶⁵And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.

⁶⁶And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁷And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,

⁶⁸And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs,

⁶⁹And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs:

⁷⁰And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:

⁷²And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,

⁷³And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:

⁷⁴And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,

⁷⁵And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:

⁷⁶And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.

⁷⁷Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:

⁷⁸And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,

⁷⁹Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs:

⁸⁰And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

⁸¹And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.