For in their trust these four were the chief doorkeepers they were Levites; and they were over the chambers and over the treasuries of the house of God;
The chapter lists the families who came back to Jerusalem after the exile, and then names the men who kept the doors of God's house. Four of them held the keys to its storerooms — so why does Scripture slow down for a task this ordinary, and what did God place in their hands?
This list belongs to a people who had lost everything and came back as a small remnant. One writer notes how exactly the chapter describes the men who guarded the doors:
Chapter 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, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah... Finally, it defines the functions of the doorkeepers of the temple very exactly.
These rooms held the people's gifts, so that those who served the house could live:
All the work of the house of God, except the duties belonging only to the priests, fell to the Levites. Their support came from the tithes required of the people... The firstfruits for the priests, as well as the tithes for the Levites, were to be stored in the chambers of the house. (1 Chr. 9:26-33.)
The duty ran through the night and into the morning. Rossier, quoting an older translation, traces the trust back to David and Samuel and shows where these men slept:
David and Samuel had appointed the doorkeepers in their trust when the temple, called "the house of the tent" in verse 23, had not yet been built. But still more, these Levite doorkeepers were "over the chambers and over the treasuries of the house of God; for they stayed round about the house of God during the night, because the charge was upon them, and the opening of it every morning belonged to them" (vv. 26-27).
Older English Bibles used the word "office" here, and their margins carried a second reading. That reading changes who the verse speaks to:
Will you turn to 1 Chronicles 9:17-32. They were keepers of the gates of the tabernacle, keepers of the entry, doorkeepers of the tabernacle door, doorkeepers 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.
The same writer sees Christ in the door these men kept, notes where the four were stationed, and reads the stored items as pictures of Christ:
What is the door now but Christ? Their first service was to keep the door. They were placed in their divisions. The doorkeepers stood on four sides — east, west, north, and south. May every beloved servant of the Lord know the place the Lord has given him! Now we find four chief doorkeepers in their trust, "over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God," and their place is to lodge near the house of the Lord. And their charge, or trust, was to open these chambers of treasures of the Lord every morning... Have you ever understood the doorkeeper's trust — all the treasures of the house of the Lord? The opening of those treasures every morning. The fine flour — the perfection of Christ in His blessed humanity. The wine — the joy of heart in God. The oil — anointed with the Holy Spirit. The frankincense and spices — the infinite preciousness of Christ.
Scripture names these gatekeepers, and that tells us something about God:
In 1 Chronicles 26 we have the doorkeepers, for it is part of majesty to think of what is least. The Spirit of God stoops to arrange through David for the doorkeepers, just as truly as He did for the high priest, or for the different divisions of the 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.
And the work was not optional. Remove the keepers of the storerooms and the whole round of service stops:
How many different tasks these humble servants carried on! Modest tasks, yes, but without them the entire order of the Lord's service would have been interrupted, or even stopped! Let us think of this. When the Lord entrusts a service to us, however small it may look, let us carry it out with zeal. Let us remind ourselves that it is necessary for the order of the house of God.
- Trust given. The word behind their "office" is trust. These four were trustees, and that trust reaches every believer, not only officials.
- Trust filled. They guarded real wealth: the firstfruits and tithes stored in the chambers. One writer reads each stored item as a picture of Christ Himself.
- Trust kept. Posted on the four sides of the house, they slept beside it. The night charge was theirs, and every morning they opened it.
- Trust needed. Modest duties, yet remove them and the whole order of service in God's house halts.
- Trust noticed. God arranged for gatekeepers as truly as for the high priest. It is part of His majesty to think of what is least.
for they stayed round about the house of God during the night, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning [pertained] to them.
The list of returned exiles in this chapter ends with the Levites who kept the doors of the house of God, slept around it at night, and unlocked it each morning. Why does Scripture record a doorkeeper's night shift, and what does such a trust ask of anyone who serves God?
The chapter moves from a ruined nation to a small company brought home again.
reason: non-ESV verse quotation presented as Scripture; archaic wording
The office is older than the temple, and it covered far more than the door.
David and Samuel had appointed the doorkeepers to their trust before the temple was even built. These Levite doorkeepers were also over the rooms and over the treasuries of the house of God. Some of them had charge of the vessels used in the service, counting them as they brought them in and counting them as they brought them out.
The night watch and the morning unlocking shaped his whole day. One writer counts the cost of the post in hours:
The doorkeeper has to be first to let others in, and he has to stay till the last. He is there longer than anyone. Another reading of the words is, "I would choose rather to sit at the threshold." That gives us a different thought: he is content with the threshold, the lowest place, as long as he is in God's presence. Was God there? Then he would be there too.
Read as a list of chores, these duties look minor. Read as a system, nothing runs without them.
How many different duties these humble servants carried out! Small duties, 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 small it may look, let us carry it out with zeal. It is needed for the order of the house of God.
The same care that set out the priesthood also set out the doorkeepers.
In 1 Chronicles 26 we have the doorkeepers, for it is part of majesty to think of what is least. The Spirit of God stoops to arrange, through David, for the doorkeepers, just as truly as He did for the high priest, or for the different groups of priests. Everything 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.
Rank the jobs in a great house, and this one comes last.
In any household, the first thought about the doorkeeper is that his is the lowest position. And that is true here too. If anyone wants to serve the Lord, he must take the lowest place.
Yet look at what his keys opened.
What is the door now but Christ? Their first service was to keep the door... their place was to stay near the house of the Lord. And their charge, or trust, was to open these rooms full of the Lord's treasures every morning... The fine flour — the perfection of Christ in His blessed humanity. The wine — the joy of heart in God. The oil — anointed with the Holy Spirit. The frankincense and spices — the infinite preciousness of Christ.
The door decides who comes in. That one decision reaches as far as the singing.
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 people without God-given qualifications is to let in people who cannot sing. Carelessness in the doorkeepers will mean loss to the singers.
- Trust given. God put the doors, rooms, treasuries and vessels into the hands of named men, not officials in general.
- Trust kept at night. They stayed around the house through the dark hours, first in and last out. They were content at the threshold, because God was there.
- Trust opened at dawn. Each morning they unlocked the house's treasures — flour, wine, oil, frankincense — and one writer sees a picture of Christ in each one.
- Trust in small things. Small duties, yet the whole order of service depended on them. To God the smallest thing has value.
- Trust or loss. A careless doorkeeper costs the singers their song. Faithfulness at the lowest post guards the worship of the whole house.
And [part] of them had the charge of the instruments of service, for by number they brought them in and by number they brought them out.
These duties belong to a people only just back from exile in Babylon. So why does Scripture stop to name the men who counted the dishes in and out?
The chapter moves from the nation's collapse to a small return home. Only then does it list the temple duties.
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). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah... Finally, it sets out the duties of the temple doorkeepers in exact detail.
David's arrangements went right down to the men who kept the gates.
In 1 Chronicles 26 we have the gatekeepers, for it is a part of majesty to think of what is least. Through David the Spirit of God stoops to arrange things for the gatekeepers, just as truly as He did for the high priest, or for the different groups of priests. 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.
Ezra's company kept the same care with number and weight when they reached Jerusalem. One writer turns it into a lesson about anything the Lord puts into our hands.
Ezra 8:32-34 tells us of the great zeal of the priests and Levites to fulfil their mission: they carried out their task whole-heartedly. Nothing was missing; we find the number and weight of all these objects recorded anew. May we copy them in the responsibilities, great or small, which the Lord entrusts to us. May we never treat anything He puts into our hand as our own. It is something to give back to Him, after we have faithfully managed it for Him.
Counting also protects the one who counts.
The people might have had full confidence in the integrity of both Ezra and the priests. But Ezra wanted to leave the enemy no opening. So he had the vessels, and the silver and the gold, weighed when he put them into the priests' hands, and weighed again when they delivered them. In this way he proved his own faithfulness and theirs. This is a godly example, and a scriptural one, for anyone who has charge of the offerings of the Lord's people. Such people should be careful to give an account of their stewardship, and not wait until someone presses them for it.
Not just anyone could carry these vessels. The choice rested on what the men were.
The ground of the choice was, that they were "holy unto the Lord," as also were the vessels. (Ezra 8:28.) As the prophet said, "Purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD." This, we know, was according to God's order. Only the priests and Levites could touch or carry the holy vessels or furniture of the house of God. (See Num. 4)
"Some of them" had this charge — not all of them, and not by their own choosing.
Nothing in practice is more important than this: each servant of God should know the work He has given him to do. And once he knows it, he should stick to it. You can be sure, too, that it matters greatly never to interfere with another's service. The Lord is sovereign in this. He divides according to His own will.
Counting dishes sounds like the smallest job on the list. Ask what would happen if no one did it.
How many different jobs these humble servants carried on! 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, small as it may look, let us carry it out with zeal. Let us remind ourselves that it is needed for the order of the house of God.
- Trust given. Ruin and restoration stand side by side. A weak remnant is back home, and God still spells out their temple duties.
- Trust measured. Counting in and counting out treats nothing as our own. We manage what God puts into our hands, then hand it back to Him.
- Trust proved. Ezra weighed the vessels at both ends, which keeps honest servants clear of suspicion. Good stewards give an account before anyone asks.
- Trust kept clean. These men, like the vessels, were holy to the Lord. Holy things were not for any hands.
- Trust in its place. Each servant has his own work and should stay with it. No task is small, because whatever touches God's service is great in His eyes.
[Part] of them also were appointed over the vessels, and over all the holy instruments, and over the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.
The chapter records collapse first, then a small recovery.
Our verse is one item in a chain of assignments. Reading them together shows how finely the work was divided — night watch, morning opening, counting the vessels in and out, then the stores themselves.
These Levite doorkeepers were "over the chambers and over the treasuries of the house of God; for they stayed around the house of God during the night, because the charge was upon them, and the opening of it every morning belonged to them" (vv. 26-27). Finally, "part of them had the charge of the instruments of service, for by number they brought them in and by number they brought them out" (v. 28). Others were "in trust over the things that were made in the pans. And some of the sons of the Kohathites, their brothers, were over the loaves to be set in rows, to prepare them every sabbath." Finally, there were "the singers" (vv. 31-33).
(Rossier quotes an older English translation; the ESV reads "the showbread" for the loaves set in rows.)
These stores were not just supplies. Each item belonged to the offerings, and one writer reads each one as a picture of Christ.
Some have charge of the ministering vessels — the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices. And some are entrusted with the things made in the pans. And some with the showbread. My soul, dwell on each of these types of Christ, and then say, Have you ever understood the doorkeeper's trust — all the treasures of the house of the Lord? The opening of those treasures every morning. The fine flour — the perfection of Christ in His blessed humanity. The wine — the joy of heart in God. The oil — anointed with the Holy Spirit. The frankincense and spices — the infinite preciousness of Christ. The grain offering in the pans — the Person and walk of Christ, as a pleasing aroma to God. The showbread — Israel covered with Christ. All these glories and perfections of Christ are committed in trust to the doorkeeper.
Caring for these things was more than housekeeping. One writer explains who received this charge, and what all ministry must protect.
Older versions call these duties an "office." That word can sound like a job for professionals, but the margin note says something different.
They were keepers of the gates of the tabernacle, keepers of the entry, doorkeepers of the door of the tabernacle, doorkeepers in the gates. And notice: wherever you find the word "office," the margin reads "trust." We shall find that this is not truth for officials. It is for every child of God, as a trustee of Christ.
Measuring flour and oil looks like the lowest rung of temple work. Remove it, and everything above it stops.
How many different functions these humble servants carried on! Modest functions, yes, but without them the entire order of the Lord's service would have faltered, 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. Let us remind ourselves that it is necessary for the order of the house of God.
- Ruin — Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. What comes back is a feeble remnant, waiting for the promised Messiah.
- Treasures — The stores in this verse are types of Christ. Fine flour is His perfect humanity, wine the joy of heart in God, oil the anointing of the Spirit, frankincense and spices His infinite preciousness.
- Trust — Where older versions say "office," the margin says "trust." That trust belongs not to officials but to every child of God, as a trustee of Christ.
- Guarding — The vessels set out what Christ is in all His offices. So the first duty of service is to watch over them and keep them.
- Order — These tasks look modest, yet without them the whole order of the Lord's service would stop. So carry out the small task you are given with zeal.
And it was [some one] of the sons of the priests who compounded the ointment of the spices.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Mattithiah of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was in trust over the things that were made in the pans.
A long list of returned exiles pauses on one man with one job: Mattithiah, a Levite of the Korahite family, baked the flat cakes for the sanctuary. Why does Scripture keep the name of a man who worked over a pan, and what were those cakes for?
The chapter this verse sits in looks back on collapse and then forward to a small recovery. One writer traces the movement:
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 await the promised Messiah at Jerusalem.
So Mattithiah's pans belong to a weakened, returned people. The kingdom was gone, yet named men again cared for the daily details of God's house.
Mattithiah's charge is one line in a longer list of Levite duties:
These Levite doorkeepers were over the rooms and over the treasuries of the house of God. They stayed around the house of God during the night, because the charge was on them, and the opening of it every morning belonged to them (vv. 26-27). Some of them had charge of the vessels used in the service, and they brought them in by number and brought them out by number (v. 28). Others were in trust over the things that were made in the pans.
The cakes from those pans belonged to an offering, and one writer reads that offering as a picture of Christ:
The grain offering pictured the moral perfection of the man Christ Jesus, and God's acceptance of Him. It was a cake of fine flour, baked in an oven, a pan, or a frying-pan, with its oil and its frankincense. (Lev. 2)
Another writer goes through the treasures in the doorkeeper's care and names what each one stands for:
Oh, my soul, dwell on each of these pictures of Christ, and then say: have you ever understood the doorkeeper's trust — all the treasures of the house of the Lord? The opening of those treasures every morning. The fine flour — the perfection of Christ in His blessed humanity. The wine — the joy of heart in God. The oil — anointed with the Holy Spirit. The frankincense and spices — the infinite preciousness of Christ. The grain offering in the pans — the Person and walk of Christ, as a sweet aroma to God.
Mattithiah's job was a charge placed in his hands, not a rank he had earned. The same writer, reading from an older translation, applies that word to every believer:
Most people's first thought about a doorkeeper in any establishment is that it is the lowest position. And it is true here also: if anyone would serve the Lord, he must take the lowest place. … And notice, 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.
Baking cakes looks like small work. Yet one writer will not let the reader dismiss such duties:
How many different jobs these humble servants carried on! Modest 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 small it may look, let us carry it out with zeal, remembering that it is necessary for the order of the house of God.
Mattithiah came from the family of Korah, the Levite who rebelled against Moses and whom the earth swallowed. His line did not die out, and one writer reads their later place in God's house as mercy:
Sovereign grace saved the sons of Korah from the awful fate of their father. They were saved from the pit. Mercy was remembered in wrath. … They had the cities of refuge, they kept the gates of the tabernacle, they were over the rooms and treasuries of the house of the Lord, and the instruments of the sanctuary, the wine, the oil and the rest were in their charge.
- Ruin — Judah went to Babylon for their transgression. A feeble remnant came back to Jerusalem to wait for the promised Messiah.
- Trust — The Levites' duties were charges placed in their hands. In the older reading, "office" is "trust," and that trust belongs to every child of God.
- Mercy — Mattithiah came from Korah's line. Grace saved that family from the pit and gave them charge of the gates, the treasuries and the holy vessels.
- Christ — What came out of his pans was the grain offering: the Person and walk of Christ, a sweet aroma to God. Fine flour pictures His perfect humanity.
- Order — These duties were modest. Without them the order of the Lord's service would have stopped, so carry out whatever small service the Lord entrusts with zeal.
And [some] of the sons of the Kohathites, their brethren, were over the loaves to be set in rows, to prepare them every sabbath.
This verse sits inside a long list of names of people who came back from exile. It picks out some of the Kohathites — one branch of the tribe of Levi — and gives them one job: getting the bread ready for the table in God's house, week after week. What was this bread? Why did it have to be replaced so often, and why does Scripture record who handled it?
Scripture gives this bread several names, and each one tells us something. One writer collects them and shows that the wording here points to bread arranged and set out before God.
It was called showbread, or "bread of face," suggesting that it was set before the face of God, perfectly acceptable to Him. It was also called "the continual bread" (Num. 4:7), reminding us that it was always before God; and the "hallowed bread," speaking of the holiness connected with this presentation. It was that which was presented before God, as is suggested by the expression, "Bread of ordering" (1 Chr. 9:32, margin), and "Bread of setting forth, or presentation" (Heb. 9:2, Greek).
The number of loaves was not random. It matched the number of the tribes of Israel, and one writer explains why God wanted their memorial on that table.
The bread on the golden table was twelve loaves. That clearly matches the twelve tribes of Israel, but it is certainly also connected with Christ, for He is always the object of God's purposes. It is God displaying Himself in Christ; but those who had this connection with Christ were Israel. Of them He came, and He was pleased to have their memorial on this table before God.
That memorial held steady even when the nation was in ruins — the very situation of the people who had come back from exile in this chapter.
They were kept in the sanctuary before the Lord, on the pure table, for seven days. After that they became food for Aaron and his sons, the priests. This gives another striking picture of Israel's condition as the Lord sees it, whatever their outward state may be. The twelve tribes are always before Him. Their memorial can never perish.
This verse does not stand alone. It closes a careful list of jobs handed out to the Levites — the men who served in God's house — after the return from exile. Read the whole list and you see how carefully the work was divided.
These Levite doorkeepers were over the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God. They stayed around the house of God through the night, because that charge was theirs, and opening it every morning was their task (vv. 26-27). Some of them had charge of the instruments used in the service, counting them as they brought them in and as they brought them out. Others were appointed over the vessels, over all the holy instruments, and over the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the frankincense and the spices (vv. 28-29). Others were trusted with what was prepared in the pans. And some of the Kohathites, their brothers, had charge of the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath. Last of all came the singers (vv. 31-33).
The bread never sat there for long. Fresh loaves each week teach us something about our own fellowship with God.
Is this fellowship only occasional? Not at all. Fresh bread was to be arranged on the table every Sabbath day (v. 8). So our fellowship with God and with His saints is to be continual, never allowed to become stale. The priests were responsible for this. In the same way, if we are acting as priests, we will always be in communion with the Lord.
Baking bread sounds like the smallest job on the whole list. One writer draws the opposite conclusion.
How many different tasks these humble servants carried on! Modest tasks, 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 small it may look, let us carry it out with zeal. It is necessary for the order of the house of God.
- Presented — Its names, "bread of face" and "bread of ordering," mean bread arranged and set before God, acceptable to Him, and holy.
- Represented — Twelve loaves matched the twelve tribes. They were held before God in connection with Christ, who is always the object of God's purposes.
- Preserved — The memorial stood whatever the nation looked like on the outside. So the people back from exile still kept the table supplied.
- Repeated — Fresh bread every Sabbath. Fellowship with God is meant to be constant, never left to go stale.
- Prized — Handling flour and loaves looks minor. Yet without such tasks the whole order of God's house would stop. No service the Lord gives is too small to do with zeal.
And these were the singers, chief fathers of the Levites, [who were] in the chambers free from service; for they were employed day and night.
1 Chronicles 9 lists names and duties: gatekeepers, keepers of the vessels, men in charge of the flour, the oil and the spices. One group stands apart: the singers. They lived in the temple rooms and did no other job, because their work ran day and night.
The chambers were rooms inside the temple. W. W. Fereday describes the men who lived in them.
Elderly men, living with Israel's God in His house, and released from all other service but praise. The time may come when some of us may have to cease active labour, but we can still praise our God. If our hearts are in tune!
The arrangement cuts against our instincts. We would expect the most gifted men to carry the most duties, not the fewest. C. H. Mackintosh explains why that instinct is backwards.
Praise is to be the primary and continual occupation of the believer. We think we know better, and would put work first. We tend to treat bustling activity as the thing that matters most. We have such an exaggerated sense of the value of doing. So we lose sight of the place worship holds in the thoughts of God.
Nobody appointed himself to this choir. One writer asks why God took such care over who was allowed to sing.
There is no such care shown for any other branch of the Levites' service. Why such particular care about the singers? Because none must be allowed to sing, but those who have the right. And who now have the right to sing? Redemption gives the right. Should there be songs for slaves? Whether the slave is willing or groaning, deliverance must come first, and with it comes the appointment to sing.
The words "day and night" reach beyond a temple duty roster. One writer traces the same unbroken praise from Israel's singers to heaven.
God has always desired to have the perpetual adoration of His redeemed. We read of singers in His service who "were employed in that work day and night." When the Lord left His disciples, He blessed them, and He was taken up into heaven. "And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God." Then there are the four living creatures who never rest day or night from their praise. So it will be when all the redeemed gather around the Lord in heaven. Never-ending praise will fill their whole existence.
Edward Dennett adds that this praise is not only for later. The singers' work was, he writes,
a shadow of the endless occupation of the redeemed in heaven. It is a blessed service — if service is the right word — and the Church has the privilege of enjoying it in advance on earth, while waiting for the return of our blessed Lord.
Edward Dennett takes the same picture forward to Israel's future, when praise by night will have nothing left to interrupt it.
Now that the Lord has found His rest in Zion, He will "inhabit" the praises of His people; and, all ordered according to His own mind, the Spirit can call upon His servants to bless Him who gives songs in the night. It is striking that they should be described as standing by night in Jehovah's house. It seems to point to perpetual praise at that time. The sorrows of Israel will then be over. They will bask in the full rays of Jehovah's favour and blessing, with no enemy and nothing bad happening. They will want to pour out their hearts without a break, in thanksgiving and praise.
- Redemption qualifies. No one takes up this song on his own. "Redemption gives the right" — deliverance comes first, then the appointment to sing.
- Freedom follows. Once appointed, they were released from every other duty. Their exemption was not idleness; it was clearance for the one work that filled day and night.
- Praise outranks work. The order is deliberate. Our instinct puts "bustling activity" first. That makes us lose sight of where worship stands in God's thoughts.
- Age cannot retire it. Active labour may one day stop. Praise does not — provided, as Fereday adds, our hearts are in tune.
- It never ends. This is a shadow of what the redeemed do in heaven. It also points to Israel's coming rest, when sorrow is over and praise never stops.