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.