I don’t know about you, but I find the first few chapters of 1 Chronicles rather dry. All those names! And I can’t even pronounce most of them. Lord, why did this get included in Your Word???
As I was slogging through yet another chapter of name upon name, I almost stopped registering what I was reading. Until I hit verse 22 of chapter 9, however…
Isn’t it interesting how God always brings to your mind the message He really wants you to hear??? And after skimming through verses 22-25, I was pressing quickly onward to finish this rather boring chapter of the Bible when I felt God’s Spirit moving me to go back and read those verses again. I might have been tempted to ignore this quiet urging; but I’ve been pursuing a relationship with God long enough to have learned that if I did, I would miss something very important for my life. So I dutifully raised my eyes and read it over again:
“In all, there were 212 gatekeepers in those days, and they were listed according to the genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed their ancestors because they were reliable men. These gatekeepers and their descendants, by their divisions, were responsible for guarding the entrance to the house of the Lord when that house was a tent. The gatekeepers were stationed on all four sides—east, west, north, and south. Their relatives in the villages came regularly to share their duties for seven-day periods.” (1 Chron. 9:22-25 NLT)
I admit, I truly didn’t seen any message in this that even vaguely pertained to me; and my mind began to wander. I began to think about the Levites and the fact that they hadn’t received any inheritance in the Promised Land. This was because they were seen as “special”. They didn’t need an inheritance because God was their inheritance: “That is why the Levites have no share of property or possession of land among the other Israelite tribes. The LORD himself is their special possession, as the LORD your God told them.” (Deut. 10:9 NLT). I have often wondered about this. In their shoes, would I have seen this as preferential treatment? Then my mind wandered farther. Were the Levites happy with their lots in life? They didn’t grow crops or keep sheep. Rather, they lived off the tithes of the people. Wouldn’t that have been rather boring? Of course, they did have things to do. Such as guarding the temple and singing songs, for example (see 1 Chron. 9:22-25). I don’t know about you, but I think I’d rather grow crops and herd sheep than do something as boring as that… (though perhaps were I a farmer, I might have different thoughts…) Sometimes, however, this kind of “mind-wandering” is motivated by God’s Spirit; and this was the case today. Suddenly I knew what God was trying to convey to me through 1 Chron. 9: No matter what task God gives me to do, it is important! I mean, the temple did need a guard, and music was and still is a vital part of worship…
And then the kicker: God put on my mind all of the seemingly menial tasks that I have been required to assume. Trivial. Boring. Not my cup of tea at all! But I will be the first to admit that they are important. The household wouldn’t run without them. The family wouldn’t be happy without them. In doing all of those things that wouldn’t have been my choice to do, I was contributing to the well-being of the members of my family.
But I want to make a Kingdom difference. Isn’t that what we’re called to do?
Hum. Well the ministry tasks I’ve had to take on are all pretty much in the category of “menial” as well. Yet this ministry wouldn’t run without them…
Suddenly I began to see those tasks that I have seen for so long as “tying me down” as something that was vitally important! And with those dull verses there in the middle of 1 Chronicles 9, I suddenly had a new and improved attitude, I suddenly saw my lot in life as special, something that God needed me to do, both for the happiness and well-being of my family and for the furthering of His work!
What menial things seem to be tying your hands from the more important things you’d rather be doing?
Remember: If God has put the task in your hands, it’s because it is making a difference somewhere, somehow. Don’t despise the work that God has called you to do. You may never know this side of Heaven what kind of a difference you make; but you can be certain that you are making one!
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Eccl. 9:10 ESV)
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Moderator, Associate Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
