23:1 When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 

 

The Holy Spirit did not allow the author to discuss the conflicts of Solomon’s coronation.

 

23:2 David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. 

 

Before David died, he assembled the Levites in order to give them new responsibilities. 

 

23:3 The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men.

 

Since the Census of Moses, the Levitical population had increased by 30,000.

 

23:4 David said, “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; 5 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.”

 

Since there would be no more wilderness marches or no more transportation of the tabernacle, David gave new responsibilities to the Levites.

 

23:6 David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 

 

The Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites all had very different responsibilities in caring for the tabernacle.

 

23:7 The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei. 23:8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel—three in all. 23:9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the leaders of the family of Ladan. 23:10 The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei’s sons—four in all. 23:11 Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility. 

 

During the wilderness march, the Gershonites carried the curtains and the coverings.

 

23:12 The sons of Kohath:Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. 23:13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the most holy items, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to serve him, and to praise his name. 23:14 The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites. 23:15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 23:16 The son of Gershom: Shebuel the oldest. 23:17 The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants. 23:18 The son of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest. 23:19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 23:20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second.

 

The Kohathites carried the articles of furniture.

 

23:21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 23:22 Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them. 23:23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all. 

 

The Merarites carried the boards and the bars and the pillars.

 

23:24 These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple and were twenty years old and up.

 

These three families were extremely organized and efficient in taking down and assembling the tabernacle.

 

23:25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem.

 

David defeated all of the enemies of Israel. Solomon would be able to build the temple during a time of peace. Nations only build when they are strong enough to keep the peace. It is a mistake for any nation to disassemble their defensive military systems. This type of foolish action only invites stronger nations to attack and plunder the weaker nation. When a political leader claims that disassembling nuclear missiles will lead to peace by taking the competitive threat away from the enemy, then this is a man who does not understand the biblical doctrine of total depravity. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between America and Russia in the 1960’s resulted in America losing power to communist Russia. Russia used their communist power to eliminate the Bible from other nations.

 

23:26 So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service.” 

 

The days of carrying the tabernacle in the wilderness were over. It was time to move forward with God’s new program. God was advancing His agenda. 

 

Many churches stay with programs that were needed centuries ago, but they are no longer needed. These types of programs are now dead and ineffective. For example, the Reformation did a great job of bringing down the Catholic Church and translating the Bible into the languages of the people. However, they still hang on to the spiritualization of eschatological passages in the Bible. They follow the eschatological teachings of Calvin more than they do the literal Word of God.

 

23:27 According to David’s final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted. 

 

David commanded for a census of Levites who were 20 years or older.

 

23:28 Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple.

 

David changed the Levitical age of service from 30 years old to 20 years old so that more priests could service in the temple.

 

23:29 They also took care of the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring.

 

Since there were no more wilderness marches or tabernacle transportations, the Levites were given new responsibilities.

 

23:30 They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening 

 

A morning and evening sacrifice was to be made every morning and every evening at a designated place of worship. God would have to keep Israel agriculturally wealthy to make all of these daily sacrifices. All of these sacrifices pointed to the Messiah. 

 

23:31 and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations.

 

Additional sacrifices were to be made on the Sabbath and new moon festivals. Israel used a lunar calendar, so the additional sacrifice would be made on the first day of the month. If the Sabbath fell on the first day of the month, then four sacrifices would be made (morning, evening, Sabbath, and first of month). 

 

23:32 They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple. 

 

The three Levitical families were now in charge of the upkeep of the temple.