Elaine Pierce
Nov 26, 20232 min
by Elaine Pierce
As David came to the end of his life, he pondered his legacy. Who would be king after him? How would Israel be governed? In this passage in I Chronicles, we see he is making plans for the future. He makes Solomon king, and he assigns tasks/jobs for all the leaders of Israel and the priests and Levites. These duties are all important, but I wonder if those who were assigned to them were happy about their responsibilities.
I wish I were a judge instead of a gatekeeper! How did he get to supervise the work of the temple and I have to 'praise the Lord with a musical instrument?' I imagine that some grumbling and complaining took place. Note, though, that these duties were mostly concerned with corporate worship.
Contrast this scene with how Paul describes spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12. He doesn't assign groups of people to gifts, does he? In fact, he clarifies that the Holy Spirit 'assigns' gifts:
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (I Corinthians 12:7).
Our gifts - whether they be in preaching, or teaching, or healing, or miracles, etc. - are for the common good. They are to build up the body of Christ, to encourage one another to do good works, and to proclaim Christ's name to all who have ears to hear. Just as in David's time, this new church needed the gifts of every believer to do the work of the kingdom. Our 'work' today may seem very different from David and Paul's work, but we are all called to love and serve the Lord, and to bring others into the kingdom.
Kingdom work - what a blessing and a joy it is. Thank God today for how he has gifted you and join him in the work he has for you.
Lord, I long to serve you, and through the work of the Holy Spirit you have given me gifts to praise you and bless others. Help me day by day to follow you and grow in faith, in love, and in hope. Amen.