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1 Chronicles Chapter 27
Military Divisions
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1Chronicles 27:1 Now the
children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers
and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that
served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and
went out month by month throughout all the months of the year,
of every course were twenty and four thousand.
How brilliant this was. This is the
army to be ready and available at any moment. They were armed and
served in turn so that they had time to attend to their own
families. They served a month at a time and then the next appointed
group of men would serve their monthly term. There were 12 courses
which served each month in their turn. 24,000 in each course. In
other words a standing army of 288,000 men. My mind boggles at this.
- 1Chronicles 27:2
Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son
of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
- 3 Of the children of
Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the
first month.
The first course was led by Jashobeam
one of David's mighty men. He was captain over 24,000. He was
mentioned in 1 Chronicles chapter 11. He was from Perez the Son of
Judah which also was the line that David sprang from.
The next month the leader or captain
over 24,000 was a relative of David. His uncle Mikloth David's
father Jesse's brother.
- 1Chronicles 27:5 The
third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the
son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty
and four thousand.
- 6 This is that
Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty:
and in his course was Ammizabad his son.
He was also one of David's mighty men
mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11.
Asahel the brother of Joab was killed
by Abner the head of Saul's army so his son Zebadiah served after
him. This shows that David preverously planned this army of men.
- 1Chronicles 27:8 The
fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and
in his course were twenty and four thousand.
- 9 The sixth captain
for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and
in his course were twenty and four thousand.
- 10 The seventh
captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the
children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four
thousand.
- 11 The eighth
captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the
Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
- 12 The ninth captain
for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the
Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
- 13 The tenth captain
for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the
Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
- 14 The eleventh
captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of
the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four
thousand.
- 15 The twelfth
captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of
Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
For some reason the bible gives every
name and detail of this mighty army David set up so it must be
important. I'm finding out many things that I never noticed before
especially in the 24th and 25th chapter of 1 Chronicles. Taking the
bible verse by verse in context, considering why it is written to
whom it is written helps our understanding more correctly. Sometimes
we tend to quote verses out of context and get a whole different
meaning. If we search, study and ask God for understanding, it is
awesome to discover truths we never knew before.
Leaders of Tribes
- 1Chronicles 27:16
Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the
Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites,
Shephatiah the son of Maachah:
- 17 Of the Levites,
Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok:
- 18 Of Judah, Elihu,
one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of
Michael:
This Elihu was the brother of David. He
is mentioned in 1 Samuel 16:6 when Samuel was called to anoint a new
king. All the brothers were rejected except David. One of the men
who visited Job when he was afflicted and going through a bad time
was a man named Elihu.
- 1Chronicles 27:19 Of
Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the
son of Azriel:
- 20 Of the
children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half
tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:
- 21 Of the
half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of
Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of
Joseph and became separate tribes. Manasseh was divided in half, one
part west of the Jordan river whose appointed leader was Joel and
the eastern part of that tribe the leader was Iddo.
- 1Chronicles 27:22 Of
Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the
tribes of Israel.
- 23 But David took
not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because
the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of
the heavens.
- 24 Joab the son of
Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell
wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the
account of the chronicles of king David.
David did not number those under 20
because when he did this before, God was very displeased when he
numbered the army of Israel. Perhaps counting those was what caused
the sin. Those under 20 were not supposed to go to war. Counting
them might have been to add to the numbers and make his army look
greater than it was. Pride in other words. They were never to count
those under 20. This story was told in 1 Chronicles chapter 21.
We see also that in Numbers chapter 14,
God was displeased with the unbelief of the tribes of Israel after
12 spies were sent to spy out the land they were to enter. Fear
caused them to be afraid to go in except for Joshua and Caleb. As a
result all those over 20 could never enter the promised land. They
had to wait 40 years until they died off and those under 20 were to
be the ones to enter in along with their children. Unbelief is a
dangerous thing to have.
- 1Chronicles 27:25
And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and
over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the
villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah:
- 26 And over them
that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was
Ezri the son of Chelub:
- 27 And over the
vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the
vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite:
- 28 And over the
olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains
was Baalhanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was
Joash:
- 29 And over the
herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the
herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:
- 30 Over the camels
also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah
the Meronothite:
- 31 And over the
flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the
substance which was king David's.
- 32 Also Jonathan
David's uncle was a counsellor, a wise man, and a scribe: and
Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons:
- 33 And Ahithophel
was the king's counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king's
companion:
- 34 And after
Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and
the general of the king's army was Joab.
I'm of the opinion that princes or leaders of
the tribes from the time of Moses was to keep order and be able to
take care of and supply the needs of those they ruled over, not to
just control people. A good manager is very different than a control
freak that just wants a high position of authority just to be
exalted above others. Those we elect to office in the world today
should be those the love and care for people, not just those wanting
power and boss people around. Notice also that some were appointed
to take care of the animals, olive and sycomore trees, and also the
tilling the fields.
The tribes of Gad and Asher are missing in
this record of leaders for a reason we don't know. Dan and Zebulon
are missing from the genealogy given in 1 Chronicles chapters
4,5,6,7,8. There is no reason given.
1 Chronicles
Chapter 28
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