1 Chronicles 9

Israel and Judah were guilty of what the Chronicler calls a “breach of faith.” Faith is the proper disposition of the heart that hears the voice of God. It grieved the Lord when the people who were called by His Name would not hear and obey the Word of their God. This behavior had led to disaster for Israel and Judah. Now they were coming home again, and they needed to remember the Word of the Lord and obey.

Prominent among those who were returning into the land were the Levites who had charge over divine worship. With them were certain clans of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the descendants of the clans of Joseph who lived in Jerusalem. This was the new Israel in that generation.

The account in 1 Chronicles 9 draws our attention to the tasks that were of central importance to the divine plan for the city. First, there were priests and Levites devoted to worship in what would be the house of God. Second, there were specific leaders associated with the security of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. They would be gatekeepers in the rebuilt temple area and the holy city. These individuals did not apply for their jobs. They could trace their genealogies back to the days of David and Samuel, who had appointed certain people to these offices that were critical to good order in the community. Others had very specific functions regarding the details of worship, with authority over temple utensils, holy furnishings, special foods, spices used in divine service, and the special holy bread that was to be placed before the Lord. There were also temple singers and leaders who were in the house of God continually, on duty by shifts, day and night.

What is very clear from these priority details recorded in this chapter is that the rebuilt Jerusalem was to be first and foremost a place of worship. Every other good blessing that God intended for His people upon their return to Jerusalem would flow from their willingness to keep the faith on this most important matter: they existed to worship and serve the Lord, and to rejoice before Him in the city that He Himself had chosen.

Jerusalem was a city of holy assembly, which is also what the church throughout the world is today. Jesus is the Cornerstone not only of a temple, but of a new city. Despite all her faults, we love that city, and we count it to be a great privilege to serve God by our involvement in her welfare. The church is nothing if it is not a city of worship. She has leaders appointed within her to guard her purity and peace, and she bows before a King and a Husband who bought her with His own blood.

This new assembly will one day be perfected and the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. The worship of God through Jesus Christ will be the great pleasure of all of the renewed earth, and the last trace of sin and death will be removed forever. It is our privilege to know these important spiritual facts that escape the interest of millions. They imagine that this earth exists for their own wealth and fame. We know that the earth is the Lord's and that everything and everyone within it belongs to Him. It is our delight to know the King of the Kingdom who is also the Husband of His worshiping bride, the new Jerusalem. We hear His voice and follow Him.