And the doorkeepers Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren; Shallum was the chief.
Four men are named here as gatekeepers at God's house in Jerusalem after the exile, and one of them is put in charge. Why does Scripture record the names of men whose whole work was standing at a door? And what does that work mean for God's people now?
The chapter opens with the nation's collapse, then traces the small company God brought home.
1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their transgression" (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a feeble remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, to wait for the promised Messiah at Jerusalem... Finally, it defines the functions of the doorkeepers of the temple very exactly.
Shallum himself was no newcomer to the work. His name marks a family line:
Ancestor of a Levitical family of doorkeepers who returned from exile. 1 Chr. 9:17; Ezra 2:42; Neh. 7:45; Neh. 11:19; Neh. 12:25.
Their work was far wider than opening a gate, and it reached back a long way.
In verses 17-23 we learn part of what the Levites' service was. In these days of restoration they were doorkeepers at the gate of the temple, called "the king's gate."Before that, they had been keepers of the thresholds of the tent. Their fathers, set over the camp of the LORD, were keepers of the entrance. Phinehas the son of Eleazar was once the ruler over them. Of him it was said, "the LORD was with him" (v. 20), and that says everything. David and Samuel had appointed the doorkeepers to their trust when the temple had not yet been built. But still more, these Levite doorkeepers were over the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God. They stayed around the house during the night, because the charge was on them, and the opening of it every morning was their work (vv. 26-27).
Older translations call this work an "office." One writer looks at the margin instead.
They were keepers of the gates of the tabernacle, keepers of the entry, porters of the door of the tabernacle, porters in the gates. And note, wherever you find the word "office," the margin reads, "trust." We will find this is not truth for officials, but for every child of God, as a trustee of Christ.
Standing at a gate looks like a job for the humble and nothing more. One writer asks for more than that.
We do not reflect often enough that the service of the doorkeepers, like that of the priests (1 Chron. 9:13), required these qualities. It is not enough to say that this unattractive task needs humility, dependence, zeal and self-forgetfulness. Strength and valour are needed too.
Gatekeepers rank lowest among the temple's workers. God does not rank them that way.
The Spirit of God condescends to arrange by David for the porters, just as truly as He did for the high priest, or for the different courses of priesthood. All has its place, and whatever has to do with the service of God is great in God's eyes. Indeed, it is only we who make so much of the differences between great and small. To God, the smallest thing has a value.
The same writer turns this into a word for anyone handed a job that feels too small to matter.
These were modest tasks. Yet without them the whole order of the Lord's service would have broken down, or even stopped! Let us think of this. When the Lord entrusts a service to us, however small it may seem, let us carry it out with zeal, reminding ourselves that it is necessary for the order of the house of God.
Writers apply these gatekeepers to a present question: who may come in among God's people. One links slackness here to a loss no one expects:
Only the redeemed can sing the songs of Zion. So the porters must carry out their responsibilities faithfully, if the Lord is to have His portion. To let in those without divine qualifications is to admit those who cannot sing. Slackness in the porters means loss to the singers. Where the porters are slack, worship is lost.
The work is warm, not just defensive:
Are you a good porter? A few good porters in the Assembly are a great help. They keep out what ought not to be in, and let in those who have a title to go in. It is a great cheer to a young soul when the porters can say, "Come in, you blessed of the Lord." I like a good warm-hearted porter.
- Ruin — Judah went to Babylon for their sin. God brought back a feeble remnant to wait for the promised Messiah.
- Trust — where older translations read "office," the margin reads "trust." Door-keeping is not for officials. Every child of God is a trustee of Christ.
- Strength — the task needs humility, dependence, zeal and self-forgetfulness. It needs strength and valour too.
- Worth — God arranges for gatekeepers as truly as for the high priest; only we make much of great and small.
- Result — without these modest tasks the whole order of the Lord's service would stop. Where the gatekeepers grow slack, the singers lose their song.
And they have been hitherto in the king's gate eastward they were the doorkeepers in the camps of the children of Levi.
1 Chronicles 9 lists the people who came back to Jerusalem after the exile, and among them are the gatekeepers of God's house. This verse records who stood at the king's gate on the east side — which raises a question: why does Scripture take such care over who watched a door?
The chapter records the nation's collapse, then a small group brought back. In that setting it stops to name the men who guarded the entrances.
1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith" (v. 1). Then comes the restoration of a weak remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, to wait for the promised Messiah at Jerusalem… Finally, it defines the duties of the temple doorkeepers very exactly.
The verse's own words point backwards. "The camps of the Levites" recalls a time before the temple, when these same families guarded the entrance of the tent.
Verses 17-23 tell us part of what the Levites' service was. In these days of restoration they were doorkeepers at the gate of the temple, called "the king's gate." Earlier they had been "keepers of the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the LORD, keepers of the entrance. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the chief officer over them." Of him it was said: "the LORD was with him" (v. 20), and that says everything. David and Samuel had given the doorkeepers this trust when the temple, called "the house of the tent" in verse 23, had not yet been built.
Some jobs look too small to matter. One writer answers that directly.
What a range of jobs these humble servants carried out! Small jobs, yes, but without them the whole order of the Lord's service would have broken down, or even stopped! Let us think about this. When the Lord entrusts a service to us, however unimportant it may look, let us carry it out with zeal, remembering that it is needed for the order of the house of God.
Writers apply this post to the care God's people owe over whom they receive. One points to Peter, who once turned Simon the sorcerer away.
Peter acted as a doorkeeper that day and kept Simon out. Be thankful if you see souls converted, but do not try to shove them into the Assembly. Leave that to the doorkeepers. A good doorkeeper lets in what ought to be inside and keeps out what ought to stay outside. So his work is very important. It keeps the Assembly of God from being defiled by those who are not converted or who are religiously unclean. I do not mean that any such formal office exists now. I mean that the saints should take this godly care over whom they receive among them.
Another writer links the door to the singing inside.
The singers gave the Lord His portion. Only the redeemed can sing the songs of Zion. So the doorkeepers must carry out their responsibilities faithfully, if the Lord is to have His portion. To let in those whom God has not qualified is to let in those who cannot sing. Where the doorkeepers are slack, worship is lost.
The gate was the lowest job. One writer finds the highest place hidden inside it.
The doorkeeper's place is the lowest as to self — and the highest in Christ, with songs of praise. And these same doorkeepers are keepers of the ark. And is not that ark Christ? Are they not trusted to make known the very heart of Christ?
- Ruin. Judah was carried off to Babylon. The chapter names these gatekeepers among the weak remnant back in Jerusalem, waiting for the promised Messiah.
- Restoration. Order at the entrances comes back first. The chapter spells out the doorkeepers' duties with unusual care.
- Continuity. The post is old. These families once guarded the entrance of the tent, and David and Samuel gave them the trust before any temple stood.
- Necessity. The tasks look small. Yet without them the whole order of the Lord's service would have stopped. So any service He entrusts is worth doing with zeal.
- Reward. The door and the song go together. Care at the gate keeps the house clean, and slackness there costs the worship. The lowest place proves to be the highest in Christ.