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1 Chronicles 26 Bible study: For every gate
The doorkeepers took their gates by lot, "the small as well as the great" (26:13); Obed-Edom had eight sons "for God blessed him" (26:5); and a son of Gershom, the son of Moses, kept the treasuries, where even what Saul had dedicated was kept beside David's gifts (26:24, 26:28).
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“They cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers’ houses, for every gate.”
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“In 1 Chronicles 26, Hosah made his son Shimri chief, though Shimri was not the firstborn.”
Is that in 1 Chronicles 26, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"For God blessed him"
Obed-Edom's sons are listed one by one, from "Shemaiah the firstborn" (26:4) to "Peullethai the eighth" (26:5), and the verse ends with a reason: "for God blessed him" (26:5) (tap blessed). Shemaiah's sons in turn "ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor" (26:6) (tap ruled), and the family comes to "sixty-two of Obed-Edom" (26:8), "able men in strength for the service" (26:8). Earlier the book told of a blessing at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, where the ark stayed: "the LORD blessed Obed-Edom’s house and all that he had" (13:14). The wording is not the same. 13:14 names the LORD, and what he blessed is Obed-Edom's house and all that he had; 26:5 says God blessed him. In Hebrew both verses use the same verb, barakh. 1 Chronicles doesn't say whether the doorkeeper of this chapter is the man of 13:14 (see the honest question).
Where it leads to Jesus
Set over his household
1 Chronicles 26:20leads toLuke 12:42-44
"Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of God’s house and over the treasures of the dedicated things" (26:20), and all that anyone had dedicated "was under the hand of Shelomoth and of his brothers" (26:28). Jesus asked, "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times?" (Luke 12:42). He went on, "Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes" (Luke 12:43), and "Truly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has" (Luke 12:44). These words answer Peter's question (Luke 12:41) about what Jesus had just said: "Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don’t expect him" (Luke 12:40). Jesus doesn't cite 1 Chronicles 26, and no link between the Hebrew and Greek words is claimed, so setting the two side by side is a reading, resting on a shared situation, servants set over what belongs to their lord and not to themselves. Some read them together for that reason. Others keep Jesus' words to his teaching on his coming, and read 26:20-28 only as the Levites' duties, without looking from one to the other.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about 1 Chronicles 26
That was a taste
The rest of 1 Chronicles 26 is waiting in Favor
- A lot for every gate
- Over the treasures
- For the LORD and for the king
- Moses' sons among the Levites
- What was taken, dedicated
- Sought in the fortieth year
- 13 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
אוֹצָרotsarsay o-TSAR
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "treasure, store, treasury, storehouse". Strong's: "a depository". The chapter has it five times, where the WEB says treasures and treasuries: Ahijah "was over the treasures of God’s house and over the treasures of the dedicated things" (26:20), Zetham and Joel were "over the treasures of the LORD’s house" (26:22), Shebuel "was ruler over the treasuries" (26:24), and Shelomoth and his brothers "were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things" (26:26). 1 Chronicles has it 13 times. The gatekeepers of chapter 9 "were over the rooms and over the treasuries in God’s house" (9:26), and David's plans name the two treasuries of 26:20 in the same words: "for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things" (28:12).
For your group
1 Chronicles 26 Bible study questions
- 1The gates were given by lot, "the small as well as the great" (26:13). Where do you find it hard to believe that your part matters as much as someone else's, or theirs as much as yours?
- 2Some of the plunder won in battles was dedicated "to repair the LORD’s house" (26:27). What has come to you through a hard season that you could give back to God's work?
- 3The same men were set "for all the business of the LORD and for the service of the king" (26:30). Where does your everyday work meet your service to God, and what would help you see both as done before him?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads 1 Chronicles 26 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home