1 Chronicles 26
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CHAPTER 26
The Gatekeepers (26:1–19)
1–19 Along with the four thousand singers, there were also four thousand gatekeepers who needed to be organized into twenty-four divisions (1 Chronicles 23:5). The gatekeepers carried out two essential functions. First, they served as guards protecting the treasures stored inside the temple. Second, they kept ritually unclean or otherwise disqualified people from entering the temple area. Unlawful entry into the temple could result in death (see Numbers 1:50–53).
The Treasurers and Other Officials (26:20–32)
20–28 In these verses,the writer discusses those Levites who were put in charge of the temple treasuries. They were responsible for collecting and storing the gifts and offerings that the people brought to the temple. They were also responsible for the dedicated things (verses 20,26–28)—that is, those valuable objects taken as plunder and then given over to the Lord for His use.
29–32 Here the writer discusses the six thousand Levites who were assigned to be officials and judges outside Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 23:4). According to Moses, the Levites were to assist in the administration of justice and to teach the law to the people (Deuteronomy 17:9–11). God’s ministers must not merely wait for people to come to them; they must also go out to the people.