1 CHRONICLES 9 (NOTES OF A READING)
1 CHRONICLES 9 (NOTES OF A READING)
CAC I think we come in this scripture to the responsible care and service of the house, not exactly the official service, but the diligent care that everything should be in order and ready for service.
In the Darby Translation we get the word “trust” several times; at the end of verse 22, “David and Samuel the seer had instituted them in their trust”, and verse 26, “in their trust, ... for they stand round about the house of God during the night”, and verse 31, “Mattithiah of the Levites ... was in trust over the things that were made in the pans”. It signifies that there are certain things entrusted to us.
Rem The note in the Darby Translation is interesting and says that they were appointed “on account of their faithfulness”.
CAC A trust is not of much value if it is not committed to faithful men!
Ques. Is that a gift?
CAC No. I suppose anyone may be faithful without gift.
Rem I wondered how far it was open to all, in relation to these holy things?
CAC I think it is a holy trust that anyone loving the Lord would be delighted to take up. It is a test as to where our hearts are. Some long to take up some kind of trust for the Lord; it would be a poor kind of brother who does not. There are many things to be looked after, and a great deal of care and diligence is required so that everything should be ready for the service of God. I think that should be in our minds. It does not do for us to wait for Lord’s day morning for that.
Rem It mentions “seven days from time to time” (verse 25). What does that mean?
CAC It is very significant that the service ran in periods of seven days, is it not? I think our service runs in periods of seven days, and we have to be careful that the six days that precede the Lord’s day should prepare everything for the service; so that the material is all on hand; you do not have to run and seek for it every time — it is on hand.
Rem I have often thought that all should be contributory, a yield, so that it should all find a place in the house of God, all contributing to that end.
CAC Yes. The first thing is door-keeping.
Rem I noticed that there are the thresholds of the tent, the entrance, and the entrance to the tent of meeting.
CAC It suggests care as to what we bring in, does it not? Responsibility as to reception would be included in it. There is no thought in Scripture of people coming in on their own responsibility alone. We are exercised continually as to what we bring in; we have to guard the approaches to the house continually.
Ques How would you apply that now?
CAC It would no doubt refer to the kind of company we keep.
Rem Whatever the service, is it not in view of the character of the service? The expressions: the camp of Jehovah, the house of the tent, the house of Jehovah, struck me.
CAC Yes, that is right; we have to do with God and we have to be careful not to admit anything into our ways that is not suitable to God. Companying with the world does not preserve the holy character of the service of God. The value and power of the public service depends very largely on what goes on in the households of the saints — the conversation and the books read there. It may be a real drag upon the service of God.
Rem The test of a thing is the house of God, not what I think of it.
CAC Exactly. Is it suitable to stand in relation to the service of God? There should not be anything in our houses unsuitable to that. This all enters into keeping the doors of the house, does it not? We are all to be doorkeepers in that sense. It says that Phinehas was the leader over them formerly. Phinehas is not the sort of man I would like to come into my house if anything were unsuitable. He is a man who could use the sword; he would not tolerate any worldly admixture.
Rem Nehemiah cast out all the household stuff of Tobijah.
CAC We have to guard the treasures all the time. It speaks of some in verses 26 and 27. We are in charge of the most wonderful stores ever entrusted to anyone. These stores of spiritual wealth are all found in the house and they are to be guarded.
Rem The thought of treasuries or stores is like a thread running through the Scriptures. Why is it?
CAC I think it refers to the wealth that has been permanently accumulated in the house; the Scriptures for instance. We have the oracles of God. Think of what it was to have the gospels and epistles; every one as it was written was put into the treasury. At first they only had the men who wrote them. All the ministry of the Spirit that has gone on in the assembly is part of the wealth that is there and should contribute to the assembly, do you not think? You think of the wealth that has come into the house even in our time — the amazing spiritual wealth and fulness that has been brought out in the lifetime of some of us here. It is our responsibility. Everything from J.N.D. and F.E.R. — I have got a responsibility in regard to it, I have to guard it. What kind of service would go on if we were consciously possessed of all in the ministry and all in the Scriptures? We should want to lengthen the morning meeting! Every word in the Scriptures is committed to our personal trust, and if we do not keep it, printed Bibles will not keep it.
Rem To be kept, not to be reserved, but used.
CAC It is all to be utilised in the service of God, because it is there. We do not produce it when there at the meeting, because it is all in hand; what is required is there to be drawn upon. It is to be guarded through the night, verse 27. “They stayed round about the house of God during the night”. Is that not how we should regard all ministry?
Ques What do you mean by guarding it?
CAC Well, seeing that it is not taken away from us by any means, or allowed to deteriorate. We are entrusted with the holy charge of everything ministered by the Spirit.
Rem “Keep, by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, the good deposit entrusted” (2 Timothy 1:14).
CAC I think that is exactly the thing in New Testament language; we should think of it all in that way.
Ques Did not F.E.R. say that we bring the Lord with us to the meeting, or words to that effect?
CAC We shall not find Him there if we do not bring Him. It is what we bring. We want to take up the sense of responsibility. It is feeble with us; I know it is with me. We are slow to take things up as a responsible trust.
Then there are the instruments in verse 28, and so on.
Rem “Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah” (1 Samuel 3: 15).
CAC Does it not show that even young saints can have a part in this trust — even a boy! There may be one young brother or sister that can do wonderful things; it is not limited to grey-haired old brothers.
We want all the utensils of service all ready for use; that is the point of caring for them, so that everything should be ready for all to function rightly.
Rem Elsewhere the charge is under the hand of Aaron. Why is that?
CAC The great point in Chronicles is that it is under the hand of David. Christ’s headship is more prominent than His priesthood in Chronicles. If I am subject He is able to indicate what I am to do. It is the suitability and the furnishing here; there is nothing about the actual service here. Everything here is clean and ready for use. “The fine flour, and the wine and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices”, are all ready. The great thought is that in the house all is ready.
Ques What is the signification of those things?
CAC They were material for offerings and stood specially in relation to the oblation; it is not the thought quite of what is sacrificed here. We saw in chapter 6 that the sacrificial system went on according to Moses, and the service of song with David. It is connected with the appreciation that is in the assembly of the precious humanity of Christ, the introduction of what is of God in Jesus Christ come in flesh. All that is pleasing to God and precious to Him is found there. Well, there is richness then. We touch it very lightly in the morning meeting, but we do touch it in the holy humanity of Christ as anointed. It has helped me that we can learn what is spiritual in Christ. It is levitical care of all that has come out in Christ, because it is Christ personally here. The point here is it is treasured, not offered, it is ready to be offered.
Ques Would the scene in John 12 illustrate it in some measure? The ointment was treasured and then expended.
CAC Yes, but she had not to go and buy it. The people who had to go and buy for themselves were too late! Often in a meeting we should like to run and buy things, to freshen things up, but it is too late then. I do not mean that the Lord does not come in in His grace and make a poor meeting into a rich one. When it is there, it is only a question with the brothers as to which shall be the first to voice it. It is all there. It gives me a wonderful thought of the assembly, of the wonderful treasure that is there when we are together in assembly character. Everything in the Scriptures and the Spirit is here. We do not know much about it, but that is the thought of Scripture. The vessels were brought in by number. It is very fine. They were counted over to see that nothing was missing.
Ques What is the thought of the frankincense?
CAC I think as far as we can gather from Scripture that frankincense stands in relation to prayer. It would be the voicing in prayer of what would be infinitely delightful to God, especially prayer of assembly character — such as the prayers of Jesus, how delightful they were to God! They astonished the disciples, so that they said, “Teach us to pray”. They never heard anyone pray like that, and they wanted to pray. Then the ointment of the spices, the sons of the priests compounded it.
Ques Is that a limited thought?
CAC It is a part of the whole furnishing; it is the holy anointing oil. The anointing is a public matter. It is important that in the service of the assembly all that is done publicly should be in the grace of the anointing.
Rem It requires skill and priestly sensibilities.
CAC I feel we are often on the line of doing the best we can, but that is not good enough for God; only what is done in the power of the anointing is acceptable. All this enters into the preparation for service.
Then we have things that were made in the pans and loaves in rows — so that the loaves speak of the saints as identified with Christ, having Christ as their life, and that is how we properly view the saints in the assembly, as persons who have Christ as their life.
Rem The Kohathites had this service.
CAC Of course, if we could not understand the loaves set in rows, we could not understand the Lord saying, “My brethren” (John 20: 17). If He said, “Go to my brethren and say to them ...”, He looked at them altogether apart from the flesh, and as one with Himself, and He sent the message to them as “My brethren”.
Ques They were sanctified and set apart; is that why the bread is in rows?
CAC It is all a subject for meditation and prayer. We might well covet to be like those in verse 33, free for employment. They were perfectly free from every other claim. In the assembly we are free from all natural claims so as to be wholly occupied in the service. There are obligations pressing very heavily on some of the brethren now, but some are finding out that they can be free from them all because their heart is in the service, and in the service of the Lord we can be free from every claim. A man’s wife is not his wife in the assembly, she is his sister. So we can be without distraction.