Those of us who read the word of God day by day over a period of years have all probably experienced more or less the same thing: each trip through a particular passage of the Bible years apart tends to produce different observations and associations.
I’m always amazed how much more there is in any given passage than I have previously been able to dredge out. That’s both a commentary on the limitations of even the most avid, committed human mind to take in and retain the teaching of scripture, as well as a reflection on the incredible depths of wisdom in the Word.
Chronicles with Fresh Eyes
No matter what book or chapter I may be reading on any given day, the one- or two-year intervals between readings have inevitably been filled with different experiences, with absorbing other people’s thoughts about the scripture, and with learning and growing in some measure. The change of focus often enables me to approach the same “old” texts with fresh eyes and (hopefully) a more mature mindset. Also, especially as we age, we need to come back repeatedly to the same texts because we forget so much about them. There’s only so much data we can absorb, process, meditate on and retain in the forefront of our minds at any given time. That’s a sad reality, but one everyone must contend with.
In my travels through the Old Testament, I’ve now looped back to the later chapters of 1 Chronicles — detailed lists of the preparations King David made in his old age for the building and service of the first temple of the Lord in Jerusalem — for the second or third time since 2017, when I last wrote about them.
Thinking About Future Generations
Last time out, I viewed these chapters as an encouragement to older men to maximize our retirement years for the Lord. This is not just a pattern for kings and powerful men to follow. In Israel, the Levites served from age 25 until age 50, after which they were to “withdraw from the duty of service and serve no more”.
That doesn’t mean these experienced older men were to sit back on a barstool and do nothing. Not at all. It was simply a change of focus appropriate to their years and skill sets. Their new role was to “keep guard”. No more lifting and carrying! I welcome that. For David, applying that principle to himself meant establishing his son Solomon on the throne to take care of the daily political exigencies of the kingdom, while he began to devote himself to the minutiae of the temple service and the structure of future Israelite bureaucracy. If that sounds boring, well, it’s age-appropriate and it’s necessary. Somebody has to think about coming generations, and such things rarely occur to busy younger men in the prime of life.
Older men may not be able to maintain the schedule we used to in our local church (in fact, we are wise not to for many reasons), but we can certainly observe, analyze, teach and model the life of faith for our younger brothers and sisters in Christ as the Lord and our circumstances permit. That’s true whether we are serving as elders or deacons or whether we are exercising other, less visible gifts for the benefit of God’s people.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
What strikes me most this time through the later chapters of 1 Chronicles, however, is the sheer level of detail with which David’s planning and organization are recorded. There is nothing similar anywhere else in Israel’s historical records with which we might compare it. Chapters 23 through 27 deal with the duty assignments of the Levites, the priests, the temple musicians, the gatekeepers, the treasurers and other officials, the military divisions of Israel and the leaders of its tribes. Every one of these chapters involved delegation, allocating bigger and smaller responsibilities level by level. The lead functionaries in every role are listed by name, where necessary with the full genealogical background that qualified them for the service to which they were called, along with a description of the role they were asked to fill and the duties they would handle on a regular basis. The number of individuals named in these chapters is mind boggling, and for almost everyone listed, sons, brothers and other relatives served under him whose identities could not possibly be recorded.
Even documenting David’s process for posterity surely required delegation. A former king is hardly likely to have been responsible for detailed record keeping; David was too busy making the appointments others were documenting. It would be like a mechanic trying to write a manual about complex car repairs while in the process of repairing the car. You can do one or the other, but you can’t really do both. Not well. In all probability, some nameless functionary followed David around keeping track of each decision David made, and of who was responsible to fill which role, likely with the idea that keeping careful records would enable future generations to do the same thing, or something similar.
Moreover, without some later scribe or priest led by the Spirit of God to include the record of David’s hard work behind the scenes in the Old Testament scriptures, we wouldn’t have the slightest idea how he spent his last years or what he accomplished. I’m very sure it wasn’t David who decided that. He wasn’t doing this work to be seen, praised or remembered.
Knocked Off Her Feet
When the Queen of Sheba came to visit David’s son Solomon, she was blown away by what she saw. The writer of that chapter of Kings records, “There was no more breath in her.” She had to sit down, I’m guessing. What had she seen? Well, some nice buildings and some impressive architecture, I’m sure, but they had such things in Assyria and Babylon, probably on a much larger scale. No, in addition to Solomon’s house and his wisdom, the Queen of Sheba was rendered faint by “the food of his table, the seating of his officials, the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord”.
Who made all these incredibly efficient arrangements that so impressed her? In all likelihood, the named and nameless people David had put in place only a few years earlier. It’s a reminder that when we see something working well, it’s because of servants who may never get the credit they deserve but who quietly play the roles assigned to them.
Somebody had to raise, feed and care for the sheep, goats and oxen Solomon offered to the Lord. Somebody had to sew the clothing of Solomon’s courtiers. Somebody had to prepare the food served at his table, and somebody had to figure out where to sit the various officials at dinner in the most politically appropriate and least offensive manner. Somebody had to figure out where and how to store the wine, and someone else had to decant it and pour it for the cupbearers.
An Age-Appropriate Role
In other words, when we see all these names in 1 Chronicles 23-27, we are seeing the merest tip of a very large iceberg. David was not personally responsible for the entire process, but he was uniquely positioned to anticipate and fill the need for preparation and organization. It was David’s appointments that made most of the trains run on time during Solomon’s glorious reign.
That’s a very different focus from fighting wars and ruling over a kingdom, isn’t it? But David slipped into the role of Supervisor of Logistics in later years untroubled about whether it came with any personal credit or recognition. He could have occupied the throne until he dropped dead, doing all the public, visible things he assigned to his son. But his primary concern was the glory of the Lord and his kingdom, so he eased his way into a less visible but equally important set of responsibilities while he still had energy to perform them, and he humbly accepted the assistance he needed from others to get the work done.
The Lord has a role appropriate for every one of his servants at every age. All that’s necessary to fill it is being present, willing and looking out for the opportunity. If you are finding you cannot do what you used to do in his service, maybe it’s time for a change of focus.
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