Gold for the heart - 1 Chronicles 5-7

1 Chronicles 5

1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (he was the firstborn; but, because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be counted after the birthright. 2 For Judah prevailed above his brothers, and from him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)

As the firstborn, Reuben should have been the family leader/priest and he should have received a double portion of his father’s wealth (Psalm 78:67).
He didn’t control his sexual lust and lost both of these blessings.
In Genesis 4:7 the Lord instructed Cain to rule over his sinful nature and not let it rule over him.
The tribe of Judah received the leadership role and the double portion of wealth went to Joseph’s two sons.
The Chief ruler is Christ.

1Timothy 6:15 Who in his times he will show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

3 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hannoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son, 6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites. 7 And his brothers by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was recorded, were the chief, Jeiel, Zechariah, 8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon: 9 And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.

When Christ reigns on earth, the tribe of Reuben will be part of that rulership.
Gilead was east of the Jordan, east of the Promised Land.
The tribes of Ephraim, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manesseh found good grazing land for their livestock east of the Jordan River, not in the Promised Land.

10 And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all face of the land east of Gilead. 11 And the children of Gad dwelt opposite them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah: 12 Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 13 And their seven brothers of the house of their fathers were, Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Heber. 14 These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. 16 And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, on their borders. 17 All these were recorded by genealogies in the days of Jotham, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel. 18 The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were 44,760, that went out to the war. 19 And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.

God listens, helps in battle and responds to trust in Him

20 They were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he answered their prayers because they put their trust in him. 21 And they took away their livestock: 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 asses, and 100,000 men. 22 Many fell down slain, because the war was from God. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.

God sends war against idolaters.
God has been at war with evil from the beginning.
When man follows evil he gets himself caught in the consequences of the wrong side of this battle.
Only God, Jehovah Elohim, made the heavens and the earth.
Only God made mankind in His image and gave them life.
False gods are liars.
They cannot sustain our lives.
They lead to eternal death.
We too are in a war, a spiritual battle against evil.
These men trusted God for the victory.

Hebrews 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please him

Exodus 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

Judges 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates:

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Ephesians 6:12 we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The LORD stirs up enemies and destroys evil for our good

23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir, and to mount Hermon. 24 These were the heads of the house of their fathers, Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers. 25 But they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went whoring after the gods of the people of the land whom God destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river Gozan, until this day.

Deuteronomy 30:1 when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations, where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 And return to the LORD your God, and obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and you children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 3 then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.

1 Chronicles 6

1 The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3 And the children of Amram; Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4 Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua, 5 Abishua begat Bukki, Bukki begat Uzzi, 6 Uzzi begat Zerahiah, Zerahiah begat Meraioth, 7 Meraioth begat Amariah, Amariah begat Ahitub, 8 Ahitub begat Zadok, Zadok begat Ahimaaz, 9 Ahimaaz begat Azariah, Azariah begat Johanan, 10 Johanan begat Azariah, (he executed the priest’s office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:) 11 And Azariah begat Amariah, Amariah begat Ahitub, 12 Ahitub begat Zadok, Zadok begat Shallum, 13 Shallum begat Hilkiah, Hilkiah begat Azariah, 14 Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak,

Imagine God, the Maker of the universe, infinite and eternal glory.
Then imagine that your job is to take care of His house or His people.
This honor was given to the children of Levi because they were zealous for God during the golden calf incident at Mt. Sinai when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 32:28).
This chapter is a record of the descendants of Levi.

God removed his idolatrous children so that they might return to Him

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

Deuteronomy 30:1 And when all these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 And return to the LORD your God, and obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 3 Then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather your from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you.

16 The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.17 And these are the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei. 18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 19 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers. 20 Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son. 22 The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25 And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth. 26 As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28 And the sons of Samuel: the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah. 29 The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son, 30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son. 31 And these are those whom David set over the song service in the house of the LORD after the ark had rest. 32 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: then they waited on their office according to their order.

Imagine that you have a good voice and that your job is to sing praises to God.
That was the job of these descendants of Levi.

33 These are those that waited with their children. From the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel, 34 The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, 35 The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 36 The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, 37 The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, 38 The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 39 And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea, 40 The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah, 41 The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, 42 The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, 43 The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. 44 And their brothers the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, 45 The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, 46 The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer, 47 The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 48 Their brothers the Levites also were appointed to all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

God’s love covered our sins with the blood of His Son

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

Every offering since Genesis 3 when God made the man and woman coats of skins to cover their nakedness was in some way a picture of God’s love poured out for man.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him not perish, but have everlasting life.

1Peter 1:18 you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your empty behavior received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot:

50 And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. 54 Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their borders, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot. 55 They gave them Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding suburbs. 56 But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

God appointed cities of refuge for persons who accidentally killed someone

57 And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, Libnah with her suburbs, Jattir, Eshtemoa, with their suburbs, 58 Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs, 59 Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs: 60 And 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.

Death is not accidental if you are drinking or taking drugs while driving because we know that it is dangerous.

Numbers 35:11 you will appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee there, who kills any person at unintentionally.

God was the inheritance of the priests

61 And to the sons of Kohath that remained of the family of that tribe, ten cities were given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot. 62 And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. 63 To 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.

When God divided the property among the children of Israel, the Levites were not given any land.
God was their inheritance.
They were given cities spread throughout the land.
When the crops were harvested or animals born, the first were to be taken to the priests and Levites for their sustenance.
This was so that the priests and Levites could be free to praise God, serve him, and teach the people His word.

64 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs. 65 And 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. 66 And the rest of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim. 67 And they gave to them, from the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; also they gave Gezer with her suburbs, 68 Jokmeam with her suburbs, Beth-horon with her suburbs, 69 Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs: 70 And 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. 71 Unto 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: 72 And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs, 73 Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs: 74 And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, 75 Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs: 76 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs. 77 To the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmon with her suburbs, and Tabor with her suburbs: 78 And 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, Jahzah with her suburbs, 79 also Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs: 80 And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, Mahanaim with her suburbs, 81 Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.

Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, since he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounaries of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being…

1 Chronicles 7

1 Now the four sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. 2 And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house, that is, of Tola: they were mighty, valiant warriors in their generations; their number was 22,600 in the days of David.

They were mighty warriors, Rambo’s.

3 The son of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah, these five all became leaders. 4 And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers houses were 36,000 troops ready for war: for they had many wives and sons. 5 Their brothers among all the families of Issachar were 87,000 in all valiant men of strength, recorded by their genealogies. 6 The three sons of Benjamin; Bela, Becher, and Jediael. 7 And the five sons of Bela; Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri; heads of their father’s house, 22,034 mighty men of valor were recorded by their genealogies.

God made all these men in His image and loved each one enough to die for them.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

John 15:13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

8 And the sons of Becher; Zemira, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abiah, Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher. 9 And the number of them, from their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of the fathers, 22,200 mighty men of valor. 10 Also the son of Jediael: Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar.

If God placed in a list of the physical soldiers of the nation in His word, He must have a list of His spiritual warriors in heaven.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

God is at war against evil

11 All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, 17,200 soldiers, mighty men of valor, fit to go out for war and battle. 12 Also Shuppim and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. 13 The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. 14 The sons of Manasseh: Ashriel, whom she bore: (but his concubine the Aramitess bore Machir the father of Gilead: 15 And Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had only daughters. 16 And Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 And the son of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, Abiezer, and Mahalah. 19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. 20 And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land killed because they came down to take away their cattle. 22 Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.

God is the God of all comforts.

2Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

24 (His daughter was Sherah, who built Beth-horon the lower, and the upper, and Uzzen-sherah.) 25 Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Non his son, and Jehoshua his son. 28 Their possessions and habitations were Bethel and its towns and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with its towns; Shechem also and its towns, to Gaza and its towns: 29 And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. The children of Joseph the son of Israel dwelt in these. 30 The sons of Asher; Imnah, Isuah, Ishuai, Beriah, and Serah their sister. 31 And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. 32 Heber begat Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and Shua their sister. 33 And the sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. 34 And the sons of Shamer: Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 And the sons of his brother Helem: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.

36 The sons of Zophah; Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 And the sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. 39 And the sons of Ulla: Arah, Haniel, and Rezia. 40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father’s house, choice and mighty warriors, heads of the rulers. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were able to the war and to battle was 26,000 men.

Psalm 144:1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

SUMMARY: 1 Chronicles 5-7

God listens, helps in battle and responds to trust in Him
The LORD stirs up enemies and destroys evil for our good
God removed his idolatrous children so that they might return to Him
God’s love covered our sins with the blood of His Son
God appointed cities of refuge for persons who accidentally killed someone
God was the inheritance of the priests
God is at war against evil