I
C H R O N I C L E S
CHAP. VI.
Though
Joseph and Judah shared between them the forfeited honours of the birthright,
yet Levi was first of all the tribes, dignified and distinguished with an
honour more valuable than either the precedency or the double portion, and
that was the priesthood. That tribe God set apart for himself; it was Moses's
tribe, and perhaps for his sake was thus favoured. Of that tribe we have an
account in this chapter. I. Their pedigree, the first fathers of the tribe
(ver. 1-3), the line of the priests, from Aaron to the captivity (ver. 4-15),
and of some other of their families, ver. 16-30. II. Their work, the work of
the Levites (ver. 31-48), of the priests, ver. 49-53. III. The cities
appointed them in the land of Canaan, ver. 54-81.
1 The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
2 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. 3
And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of
Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4 Eleazar begat
Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua, 5 And Abishua begat Bukki, and
Bukki begat Uzzi, 6 And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat
Meraioth, 7 Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,
8 And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz, 9 And Ahimaaz
begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan, 10 And Johanan begat
Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that
Solomon built in Jerusalem:) 11 And Azariah begat Amariah, and
Amariah begat Ahitub, 12 And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat
Shallum, 13 And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah,
14 And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak, 15 And
Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD
carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. 16
The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17 And these be
the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei. 18 And the
sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of
the Levites according to their fathers. 20 Of Gershom; Libni his
son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son, Iddo his
son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son. 22 The sons of Kohath;
Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his
son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son, 24 Tahath his son,
Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25 And the sons
of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth. 26 As for Elkanah: the
sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his
son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28 And the sons of Samuel;
the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah. 29 The sons of Merari; Mahli,
Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son, 30 Shimea his son,
Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.
The priests and Levites were more concerned than any other Israelites to
preserve their pedigree clear and to be able to prove it, because all the
honours and privileges of their office depended upon their descent. And we
read of those who, though perhaps they really were children of the priests,
yet, because they could not find the register of their genealogies, nor make
out their descent by any authentic record, were, as polluted, put from the
priesthood, and forbidden to eat of the holy things, Ezra ii. 62, 63. It
is but very little that is here recorded of the genealogies of this sacred
tribe. I. The first fathers of it are here named twice, v. 1, 16.
Gershom, Kohath, and Merari, are three names which we were very conversant
with in the book of Numbers, when the families of the Levites were marshalled
and had their work assigned to them. Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam, we have
known much more of than their names, and cannot pass them over here without
remembering that this was that Moses and Aaron whom God honoured in making
them instruments of Israel's deliverance and settlement and figures of him
that was to come, Moses as a prophet and Aaron as a priest. And the
mention of Nadab and Abihu (though, having no children, there was no occasion
to bring them into the genealogy) cannot but remind us of the terrors of that
divine justice which they were made monuments of for offering strange fire,
that we may always fear before him. 2. The line of Eleazar, the successor of
Aaron, is here drawn down to the time of the captivity, v. 4-15. It
begins with Eleazar, who came out of the house of bondage in Egypt, and ends
with Jehozadak, who went into the house of bondage in Babylon. Thus, for their
sins, they were left as they were found, which might also intimate that the
Levitical priesthood did not make anything perfect, but this was to be done by
the bringing in of a better hope. All these here named were not high
priests; for, in the time of the judges, that dignity was, upon some occasion
or other, brought into the family of Ithamar, of which Eli was; but in Zadok
it returned again to the right line. Of Azariah it is here said (v.
10), He it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon
built. It is supposed that this was that Azariah who bravely opposed the
presumption of king Uzziah when he invaded the priest's office (2 Chron. xxvi.
17, 18), though he ventured his neck by so doing. This was done like a priest,
like one that was truly zealous for his God. He that thus boldly maintained
and defended the priest's office, and made good its barriers against such a
daring insult, might well be said to execute it; and this honour is put
upon him for it; while Urijah, one of his successors, for a base compliance
with King Ahaz, in building him an idolatrous altar, has the disgrace put upon
him of being left out of this genealogy, as perhaps some others are. But some
think that this remark upon this Azariah should have been added to his
grandfather of the same name (v. 9), who was the son of Ahimaaz, and
that he was the priest who first officiated in Solomon's temple. 3. Some other
of the families of the Levites are here accounted for. One of the families of
Gershom (that of Libni) is here drawn down as far as Samuel, who had the
honour of a prophet added to that of a Levite. One of the families of Merari
(that of Mahli) is likewise drawn down for several descents, v. 29, 30.
31 And these are they whom David set
over the service of song in the house of the LORD,
after that the ark had rest. 32 And they ministered before the
dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until
Solomon had built the house of the LORD
in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their
order. 33 And these are they that waited with their
children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the
son of Shemuel, 34 The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son
of Eliel, the son of Toah, 35 The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah,
the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 36 The son of Elkanah, the
son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, 37 The son
of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
38 The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of
Israel. 39 And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even
Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea, 40 The son of
Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah, 41 The son of
Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, 42 The son of Ethan,
the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, 43 The son of Jahath, the
son of Gershom, the son of Levi. 44 And their brethren the sons of
Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi,
the son of Malluch, 45 The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah,
the son of Hilkiah, 46 The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son
of Shamer, 47 The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of
Merari, the son of Levi. 48 Their brethren also the Levites were
appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of
God. 49 But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt
offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the
work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel,
according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50
And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son,
Abishua his son, 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his
son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,
53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.
When the Levites were first ordained in the wilderness much of the work then
appointed them lay in carrying and taking care of the tabernacle and the
utensils of it, while they were in their march through the wilderness. In
David's time their number was increased; and, though the greater part of them
was dispersed all the nation over, to teach the people the good knowledge of
the Lord, yet those that attended the house of God were so numerous that there
was not constant work for them all; and therefore David, by special commission
and direction from God, new-modelled the Levites, as we shall find in the
latter part of this book. Here we are told what the work was which he assigned
them.
I. Singing-work, v. 31. David was raised up on high to be the sweet
psalmist of Israel (2 Sam. xxiii. 1), not only to pen psalms, but to appoint
the singing of them in the house of the Lord (not so much because he was
musical as because he was devout), and this he did after that the ark had
rest. While that was in captivity, obscure, and unsettled, the harps were
hung upon the willow-trees: singing was then thought unseasonable (when the
bridegroom is taken away they shall fast); but the harps being resumed, and
the songs revived, at the bringing up of the ark, they were continued
afterwards. For we should rejoice as much in the prolonging of our spiritual
privileges as in the restoring of them. When the service of the ark was much
superseded by its rest they had other work cut out for them (for Levites
should never be idle) and were employed in the service of song. Thus when the
people of God come to the rest which remains for them above they shall take
leave of all their burdens and be employed in everlasting songs. These singers
kept up that service in the tabernacle till the temple was built, and then
they waited on their office there, v. 32. When they came to that
stately magnificent house they kept as close both to their office and to their
order as they had done in the tabernacle. It is a pity that the preferment of
the Levites should ever make them remiss in their business. We have here an
account of the three great masters who were employed in the service of the
sacred song, with their respective families; for they waited with their
children, that is, such as descended from them or were allied to them, v.
33. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were the three that were appointed to this
service, one of each of the three houses of the Levites, that there might be
an equality in the distribution of this work and honour, and that every one
might know his post, such an admirable order was there in this choir service.
1. Of the house of Kohath was Heman with his family (v. 33), a man of a
sorrowful spirit, if it be the same Heman that penned the 88th psalm, and yet
a singer. He was the grandson of Samuel the prophet, the son of Joel, of whom
it is said that he walked not in the ways of Samuel (1 Sam. viii. 2,
3); but it seems, though the son did not, the grandson did. Thus does the
blessing entailed on the seed of the upright sometimes pass over one
generation and fasten upon the next. And this Heman, though the grandson of
that mighty prince, did not think it below him to be a precentor in the house
of God. David himself was willing to be a door-keeper. Rather we may look upon
this preferment of the grandson in the church as a recompense for the humble
modest resignation which the grandfather made of his authority in the state.
Many such ways God has of making up his people's losses and balancing their
disgraces. Perhaps David, in making Heman the chief, had some respect to his
old friend Samuel. 2. Of the house of Gershom was Asaph, called his
brother, because in the same office and of the same tribe, though of
another family. He was posted on Heman's right hand in the choir, v. 39.
Several of the psalms bear his name, being either penned by him or tuned by
him as the chief musician. It is plain that he was the penman of some psalms;
for we read of those that praised the Lord in the words of David and of Asaph.
He was a seer as well as a singer, 2 Chron. xxix. 30. His pedigree is traced
up here, through names utterly unknown, as high as Levi, v. 39-43. 3.
Of the house of Merari was Ethan (v. 44), who was appointed to Heman's
left hand. His pedigree is also traced up to Levi, v. 47. If these were
the Heman and Ethan that penned the 88th and 89th psalms, there appears no
reason here why they should be called Ezrahites (see the titles of
those psalms), as there does why those should be called so who are mentioned ch.
ii. 6, and who were the sons of Zerah.
II. There was serving-work, abundance of service to be done in the
tabernacle of the house of God (v. 48), to provide water and
fuel,--to wash and sweep, and carry out ashes,--to kill, and flay, and boil
the sacrifices; and to all such services there were Levites appointed, those
of other families, or perhaps those that were not fit to be singers, that had
either no good voice or no good ear. As every one has received the gift, so
let him minister. Those that could not sing must not therefore be laid
aside as good for nothing; though they were not fit for that service, there
was other service they might be useful in.
III. There was sacrificing-work, and that was to be done by the priests only, v.
49. They only were to sprinkle the blood and burn the incense; as for the
work of the most holy place, that was to be done by the high priest only.
Each had his work, and they both needed one another and both helped one
another in it. Concerning the work of the priests we are here told, 1. What
was the end they were to have in their eye. They were to make an atonement
for Israel, to mediate between the people and God; not to magnify and
enrich themselves, but to serve the public. They were ordained for men.
2. What was the rule they were to have in their eye. They presided in God's
house, yet must do as they were bidden, according to all that God commanded.
That law the highest are subject to.
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The
Cities of the Levites.
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B.
C. 1444.
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54 Now these are their dwelling places
throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the
families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot. 55 And they
gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about
it. 56 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they
gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57 And to the sons of Aaron
they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of
refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their
suburbs, 58 And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her
suburbs, 59 And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her
suburbs: 60 And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her
suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All
their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
61 And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that
tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of
the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities. 62 And to
the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar,
and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of
the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. 63 Unto the sons
of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the
tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun,
twelve cities. 64 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these
cities with their suburbs. 65 And they gave by lot out of the
tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of
Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which
are called by their names. 66 And the residue of the
families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of
Ephraim. 67 And they gave unto them, of the cities of
refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer
with her suburbs, 68 And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth-horon
with her suburbs, 69 And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon
with her suburbs: 70 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner
with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant
of the sons of Kohath. 71 Unto the sons of Gershom were given
out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her
suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs: 72 And out of the tribe
of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,
73 And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs: 74 And
out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her
suburbs, 75 And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her
suburbs: 76 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee
with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her
suburbs. 77 Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given
out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her
suburbs: 78 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east
side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in
the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs, 79
Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs: 80
And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim
with her suburbs, 81 And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with
her suburbs.
We have here an account of the Levites' cities. They are here called their castles
(v. 54), not only because walled and fortified, and well guarded by the
country (for it is the interest of every nation to protect its ministers), but
because they and their possessions were, in a particular manner, the care of
the divine providence: as God was their portion, so God was their protection;
and a cottage will be a castle to those that abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. This account is much the same with that which we had, Josh. xxi. We
need not be critical in comparing them (what good will it do us?) nor will it
do any hurt to the credit of the holy scripture if the names of some of the
places be not spelt just the same here as they were there. We know it is
common for cities to have several names. Sarum and Salisbury, Salop
and Shrewsbury, are more unlike than Hilen (v. 58) and Holon
(Josh. xxi. 15), Ashan (v. 59) and Ain (Josh. xxi. 16), Alemeth
(v. 60) and Almon (Josh. xxi. 18); and time changes names. We
are only to observe that in this appointment of cities for the Levites God
took care, 1. For the accomplishment of dying Jacob's prediction concerning
this tribe, that it should be scattered in Israel, Gen. xlix. 7. 2. For
the diffusing of the knowledge of himself and his law to all parts of the land
of Israel. Every tribe had Levites' cities in it; and so every room was
furnished with a candle, so that none could be ignorant of his duty but it was
either his own fault or the Levites'. 3. For a comfortable maintenance for
those that ministered in holy things. Besides their tithes and offerings, they
had glebe-lands and cities of their own to dwell in. Some of the most
considerable cities of Israel fell to the Levites' lot. Every tribe had
benefit by the Levites, and therefore every tribe must contribute to their
support. Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that
teacheth, and do it cheerfully.
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