UBF Daily Bread

LEADERS AND STEWARDS OF THE KINGDOM

Passage: 1_Chronicles 27:1~34

Key verse: 23b

Army Divisions

27 This is the list of the Israelites—heads of families, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men.

²In charge of the first division, for the first month, was Jashobeam^(A) son of Zabdiel. There were 24,000 men in his division. ³He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴In charge of the division for the second month was Dodai^(B) the Ahohite; Mikloth was the leader of his division. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁵The third army commander, for the third month, was Benaiah^(C) son of Jehoiada the priest. He was chief and there were 24,000 men in his division. ⁶This was the Benaiah who was a mighty warrior among the Thirty and was over the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

⁷The fourth, for the fourth month, was Asahel^(D) the brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah was his successor. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁸The fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth^(E) the Izrahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁹The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira^(F) the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁰The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez^(G) the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹¹The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbekai^(H) the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹²The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer^(I) the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹³The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai^(J) the Netophathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁴The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah^(K) the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁵The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai^(L) the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel.^(M) There were 24,000 men in his division.

Leaders of the Tribes

¹⁶The leaders of the tribes of Israel:

over the Reubenites: Eliezer son of Zikri;

over the Simeonites: Shephatiah son of Maakah;

¹⁷over Levi: Hashabiah^(N) son of Kemuel;

over Aaron: Zadok;^(O)

¹⁸over Judah: Elihu, a brother of David;

over Issachar: Omri son of Michael;

¹⁹over Zebulun: Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;

over Naphtali: Jerimoth son of Azriel;

²⁰over the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah;

over half the tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;

²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo son of Zechariah;

over Benjamin: Jaasiel son of Abner;

²²over Dan: Azarel son of Jeroham.

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less,^(P) because the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars^(Q) in the sky. ²⁴Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. God’s wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering,^(R) and the number was not entered in the book^[a] of the annals of King David.

The King’s Overseers

²⁵Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers.

²⁶Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the workers who farmed the land.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.

Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²⁸Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig^(S) trees in the western foothills.

Joash was in charge of the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon.^(T)

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz the Hagrite^(U) was in charge of the flocks.

All these were the officials in charge of King David’s property.

³²Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king’s sons.

³³Ahithophel^(V) was the king’s counselor.

Hushai^(W) the Arkite was the king’s confidant. ³⁴Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.^(X)

Joab^(Y) was the commander of the royal army.

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Footnotes

1 Chronicles 27:24 Septuagint; Hebrew number

1. The army divisions (1-15)

After listing the responsibilities of the Levites (ch 23-26) and thus emphasizing that the kingdom's focus was on the worship of God, the author turns his attention to military and political leadership. God had abundantly blessed Israel with numerous people, land, and resources. Israel no longer had an ad hoc army but a standing one. Twelve divisions, each with 24,000 men and led by David's bravest, most trustworthy and capable military men, took turns protecting the nation.

2. Tribal leaders, stewards, counselors (16-34)

God also raised leaders for the tribes of Israel. As God promised Abraham, God made Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. He multiplied the twelve sons of Jacob into a nation. King David needed these tribal leaders to help govern this large kingdom. God had materially blessed King David, and he needed faithful stewards for his property. King David also had counselors and a steward who took care of his sons. God, who kept his promise to Abraham, also raised a king, leaders, and stewards to care for his people.

Prayer: Father, thank you for those who protect us and govern us. Help them to fear you and to faithfully and wisely carry out their responsibilities.

One Word: Pray for governing authorities