The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Chronicles 23:3-5,
"The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. David said, 'Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.'"
The priests and Levites were all given their assignments. While we can assume there may have been some negotiating over specific tasks at a very low level, the broader responsibilities were assigned to the various groups. "The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. David said, 'Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.'"
I don't get the impression that these assignments were optional. They certainly don't appear to be as we read of the work distribution among the various groups.
Rather than an approach that suggests something along the lines of "well, if you feel like it... maybe you could do this or that..." - I'm just not seeing this kind of thing in the Scriptures. What I do see is that there are things needed doing as the Lord carries on his agenda of redemption, and that he enables us with abilities as well as assignments as he pursues that agenda.
I appears to me that far from viewing my responsibilities before the Lord as tasks given me being subject to my own whims, I ought to jump at the opportunity provided me in displaying my love of the Lord, in displaying my reverence for the Lord in faithfully following through on what he has for me to do.
Just as the priests and Levites had their jobs, so do we, "As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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