4 And he put some of the Levites before the ark of the Lord as servants, to keep the acts of the Lord in memory, and to give worship and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel:
So among the last acts of David was the numbering of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and over. Their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron in all the work of the house of the Lord, in the open spaces and in the rooms, in the making clean of all the holy things, in doing all the work of the house of the Lord, The holy bread was in their care, and the crushed grain for the meal offering, of unleavened cakes or meal cooked over the fire or in water; they had control of all sorts of weights and measures; They had to take their places every morning to give praise and make melody to the Lord, and in the same way at evening; At every offering of burned offerings to the Lord, on Sabbaths, and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts, in the number ordered by the law, at all times before the Lord; And they had the care of the Tent of meeting and the holy place, under the direction of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the work of the house of the Lord.
I have put watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will not keep quiet day or night: you who are the Lord's recorders, take no rest, And give him no rest, till he puts Jerusalem in her place to be praised in the earth.
And he got together all the chiefs of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. And the Levites, all those of thirty years old and over, were numbered; and the number of them, by heads, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. Of these, twenty-four thousand were to be overseers of the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were judges and men of authority; Four thousand were door-keepers; and four thousand gave praise to the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, for giving praise. And David put them into divisions under the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
So he made Asaph and his brothers keep their places there before the ark of the agreement of the Lord, to do whatever had to be done before the ark at all times day by day: And Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, with their brothers, sixty-eight of them, to be door-keepers: And Zadok the priest, with his brothers the priests, before the House of the Lord in the high place at Gibeon; To give burned offerings to the Lord on the altar of burned offerings morning and evening, every day, as it is ordered in the law of the Lord which he gave to Israel; And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were marked out by name to give praise to the Lord, for his mercy is unchanging for ever; And Heman and Jeduthun had horns and brass instruments sounding loudly, and instruments of music for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun were to be at the door.
And the Lord said to Aaron, You and your sons and your father's family are to be responsible for all wrongdoing in relation to the holy place: and you and your sons are to be responsible for the errors which come about in your work as priests. Let your brothers, the family of Levi, come near with you, so that they may be joined with you and be your servants: but you and your sons with you are to go in before the ark of witness. They are to do your orders and be responsible for the work of the Tent; but they may not come near the vessels of the holy place or the altar, so that death may not overtake them or you. They are to be joined with you in the care of the Tent of meeting, doing whatever is needed for the Tent: and no one of any other family may come near you. You are to be responsible for the holy place and the altar, so that wrath may never again come on the children of Israel. Now, see, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel: they are given to you and to the Lord, to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 16
This chapter relates that David offered sacrifices when the ark was brought into his city, 1 Chronicles 16:1 who were the singers he appointed to sing before it continually, 1 Chronicles 16:4 and the song he that day composed and delivered to them to sing, 1 Chronicles 16:7 and that he appointed not only proper persons to minister before the ark, but also before the tabernacle at Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 16:37.
So they brought the ark of God,.... What is contained in these three verses is the same with 2 Samuel 6:17, see the notes there. See Gill on 2 Samuel 6:17. See Gill on 2 Samuel 6:18. See Gill on 2 Samuel 6:19.
And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord,.... By singing the praises of God:
and to record; or bring to remembrance; to commemorate in a song the great and good things God had done for Israel as a people:
and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel; for all his benefits, and the blessings of his goodness bestowed on them.
Asaph the chief,.... Of those that were now appointed: otherwise, of the three principal singers, Heman was the chief, and Asaph next, 1 Chronicles 6:33.
and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, with psalteries, and with harps; to play upon them before the ark at the same time the psalms and songs were vocally sung; the above persons are such as are named before, 1 Chronicles 15:18,
but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; he struck and played upon them, see 1 Chronicles 15:19.
Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests,.... These were appointed to blow
with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; morning and evening.
Then on that day,.... The ark was brought to Zion, and the above persons appointed to minister before it:
David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren to be sung by them now, and on every proper occasion; and this seems to be the first that was delivered to them; afterwards there were many more, as the titles of the psalms show; the following is composed of part of two others, as they now stand in the book of Psalms. From hence, to the end of 1 Chronicles 16:22 is the same with Psalm 105:1, with a little variation, see the notes there; and from thence to the end of 1 Chronicles 16:33 is Psalm 96:1 which see; and 1 Chronicles 16:34 is the same with Psalm 106:1, see the notes there. See Gill on Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 105:1, Psalm 105:2, Psalm 105:3, Psalm 105:4, Psalm 105:5, Psalm 105:6, Psalm 105:7, Psalm 105:8, Psalm 105:9, Psalm 105:10, Psalm 105:11,on Psalm 105:12, Psalm 105:13, Psalm 105:14,on Psalm 105:15
And say ye, save us, O God of our salvation,.... The author of temporal, spiritual, and eternal salvation; the words are a direction to the singers, and those that sung with them, to express the prayer and doxology in the next verse, which both are the same with Psalm 106:47. See Gill on Psalm 106:47, Psalm 106:48; which David directed by a spirit of prophecy, foreseeing the people of Israel would be in captivity among the Heathens; though some think these were added by Ezra; for though there was in his time a return from the captivity, yet many still remained in it.
So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren,.... Whom he, that is, David, had appointed for the service of it:
to minister before the ark continually; in singing the praises of God:
as every day's work required; at the time of the morning and evening sacrifice, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it.
The Levites, the brethren of Asaph and Obededom, these were left before the ark to minister there:
Obededom also the son of Jeduthun; or Ethan, which some take to be another Obededom; but the ו, "vau" may be explanative, "even Obededom":
and Hosah to be porters; these he left to be doorkeepers of the ark.
And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests,.... These he left, having appointed them
to be before the tabernacle of the Lord, in the high place that was at Gibeon; namely, the tabernacle of Moses, which was removed from Nob thither in the days of Saul, and continued there to the times of Solomon, 1 Chronicles 21:28.
To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord,.... Which was the work of the priests only to do:
upon the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening; the lambs of the daily sacrifice, which were a burnt offering, and only to be offered on the brasen altar at the tabernacle:
and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel; with regard to them, and all other sacrifices, see Exodus 29:38.
And with them,.... That is, with Zadok, and the priests with him at Gibeon:
he left Heman and Jeduthun: or Ethan, two principal singers:
and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name; see 1 Chronicles 16:18.
to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever; to praise him for his benefits, flowing from his grace and mercy continually.
And with them Heman and Jeduthun, with trumpets and cymbals,.... Or with them were the trumpets and cymbals, as Kimchi; or, as Piscator supplies it, with them he "left" the trumpets and cymbals:
for those that should make a sound; by striking upon them:
and with musical instruments of God; sacred ones, such as were devoted to his service, as psalteries and harps; the Syriac and Arabic versions carry the sense of the words quite differently, that these men did not sing with those musical instruments, but with a pleasant voice, and with pure and acceptable prayers, in humility and uprightness, glorified God:
and the sons of Jeduthun were porters; at the tabernacle in Gibeon.
And all the people departed, every man to his house,.... Having accompanied the ark to its place, and having praised the Lord for it, and been refreshed with food, see 2 Samuel 6:19.
and David returned to bless his house; his family; the Targum is,"to bless the people;'see 2 Samuel 6:20.