And over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; and over the asses was Jehdiah the Meronothite.
1 Chronicles 27 ends with a short list of the men who looked after the king's property, herd by herd. Why does Scripture keep the name of the man in charge of David's camels? And why is that man not even an Israelite?
One writer walks through the departments this closing list covers:
The end of the chapter shows us the various ministers of the king — the men who ruled over his property. Some were over the king's treasures. Others were over the work of the field: his farming, his vineyards, his estates as we would call them, the sycamore trees and so on, the olive groves, the herds, the camels, flocks and donkeys. Then come the other chief ministers of the king.
Near the end of his life, David arranged work that others would carry on after him:
The interesting thing here is that David ordered and arranged everything, even for the doors of the house that was not yet built. So, in Christ, all is appointed before it is manifested in glory.
Obil, the man set over the camels, was not from Israel at all. A reference work identifies him in a single line:
Obil. An Ishmaelite, camel-herdsman of David.
The next verse adds Jaziz the Hagrite over the flocks. This is not an accident of staffing; the same generosity shows up all through David's records:
Nor were "the sons of the stranger" overlooked at a time when the Lord so bountifully blessed Israel. For the Spirit of God, "when He writes up the people," graciously includes in the list of David's mighty men, Zelek the Ammonite (1 Chron. 11:39), Uriah the Hittite (verse 41), and Ithmah the Moabite (verse 46). We would also mention here Ittai the Gittite, whose faithfulness to David when he was a fugitive (2 Sam. 15:19-23) rebuked an ungrateful nation; David rewarded him by making him one of the chief commanders of his army (2 Sam. 18:2).
Camels and flocks appear again in a promise about a day still to come:
So too it is the day when outward things are to be no unfitting offering to Jehovah: camels and dromedaries, flocks and herds, land and sea, shall pour their tribute before His feet.
Lists of names can look like filler. Commenting on another long list of names and gifts, one writer sees God's care in it:
He delights to record every little act of service, every little loving gift. He never forgets the smallest thing; and not only does He not forget it Himself, but He takes special pains that untold millions shall read the record. He will go into what might seem to us tedious detail... rather than leave out a single name of any of His servants, or a single item of their work.
Another writer applies this to the smallest jobs in God's service, and warns that the final order may look very different:
These modest functions are very valuable in the eyes of the Lord... Likewise today, whether it is a matter of serving tables, of passing the bread and the cup, of taking care of the "upper room", none of this is forgotten by the Lord; the names of those who have kept the charge of this service are registered just as rightly as others. And we shall see, in more than one case, that the one among the children of God who took the last place, forgetting himself in order to serve others, will hold a place of honour, while a certain remarkable gift, which tended to glorify man rather than Christ, will sit down in the last place in shame.
Obil fed camels that were David's, not his own. One writer sees the Christian in that same position:
When our souls get entangled in these things, we forget we are but stewards... We are not our own, and all we have belongs to Him... It is a positive luxury to put all into His disposing hands. Then we are conscious of His love in providing for our every want, and in giving us the privilege of caring for His interests here.
- Ordered. The king himself appointed every post, even for work not yet begun. So "in Christ, all is appointed before it is manifested in glory."
- Named. Scripture keeps the names of these herdsmen and where they came from. God "delights to record every little act of service," and He makes sure millions read it.
- Included. The camel keeper is an Ishmaelite; the flock keeper a Hagrite. "The sons of the stranger" are not overlooked when the Spirit writes up the people.
- Anticipating. Camels, flocks and herds reappear in a coming day, when such outward things pour their tribute before God's feet.
- Entrusted. Every one of these men handled goods that were the king's. So does anyone who says, "We are not our own, and all we have belongs to Him."
And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagarite. All these were comptrollers of the substance which was king David's.
The closing line of 1 Chronicles 27 gathers twelve named men and sums them up in one word: stewards. They looked after fields, vineyards, olive trees, herds, camels, donkeys and flocks. Everything they managed carried someone else's name on it, and the last of them, Jaziz, was not even an Israelite.
The chapter ends with the men who ran David's working property.
The end of the chapter shows us the king's various ministers — the rulers of his substance. Some were over the king's treasures. Others were over the work of the field: his farming, his vineyards, his estates as we would call them, the sycamore trees and so on, the olive yards, the herds, the camels, the flocks, the donkeys. Then come the other chief ministers of the king.
The chapters before this one arrange the priests, singers and doorkeepers for a house not yet built. Then, with no visible seam, the text turns to olive groves and sheep.
From this chapter to 1 Chronicles 26:28-29, everything refers to the house that is to be built. We see how David provided all that was needed to build it. He set the order of the Levites' service, of those appointed for song, of those among them who were doorkeepers, and of the priests in their classes. David ordered and arranged it all. How completely everything depended on the king is shown in this: with no clear break, the text moves straight on to the other royal appointments — his house, his administration, his officers and his guard.
Those stationed at Hebron were set, in one breath, "for all the business of Jehovah, and for the service of the king" — one commission with two sides.
Thus those who from the beginning of David's reign had been his witnesses and companions receive a special distinction.
Jaziz comes last in the list, and he is named by his people rather than his tribe.
Hagerite: designation of Jaziz, whom David set over his flocks. 1 Chr. 27:31. Probably the same as Hagarene.
Kelly describes where these people lived and how they made their living.
Ishmael's descendants spread right across the northern parts of Arabia. The sons of Keturah also lived in this district, and so Ishmaelites or Hagarites became mixed in with Midianites... They bred camels and kept sheep, and they were also traders in spices and other goods.
David sets every detail in place — down to the doors of a temple that does not yet exist, and down to the man watching his sheep.
The thing of interest here is that all is ordered and arranged by David, even for the doors of the house which was not yet built. Thus, in Christ, all is appointed before it is manifested in glory.
The verse gives these men a title, not a possession. Writers apply the same title to what every believer holds.
We are naturally selfish, and we think that what we have is strictly our own. Over the years that has done terrible damage to our own happiness. For nothing really belongs to us... Let believers now remember that we are only stewards. We are put in charge of what belongs to our Lord, and we owe Him some return for all the goodness He shows to us. Only this attitude will give true happiness.
One day the Master asks for the account.
May God graciously help every one of us to whom anything, however small, has been committed, to be faithful in connection with it. The day will certainly come when the Lord will say to us: "Give an account of your stewardship" (Luke 16:2).
Shepherds who tend a flock that is not their own appear again in the New Testament. Kelly, working from an older English version, presses what the words rule out.
In the last chapter of his first letter, Peter says to the elders, "Feed the flock of God." That is the positive side. But here we have the negative side. "Neither as lording it over their own heritage" would be the real idea — that is, not treating the flock as something that belongs to them. They were not to treat them as their own.
- Owner. Every field, vine, herd and flock in the list belongs to the king. The stewards are named; nothing is theirs.
- Order. The king who arranged priests, singers and doors also arranged the olive trees. Temple service and farm work run on without a break, and both depend on him.
- Reach. The post over the flocks goes to a Hagarite, whose people lived by breeding camels and keeping sheep. The king's service reaches wider than the king's nation.
- Pattern. David appointed it all before any glory appeared. In Christ too, everything is settled before it is shown in glory.
- Account. What was true of Jaziz is true of us — we hold our Master's goods, and one day He asks us to account for them.