Every Person Matters: Find Your Purpose

Matthew Henry, in his Concise Commentary, writes, “When everyone has, knows, and keeps his place and work, the more there are, the better. In the mystical body of Christ, every member has its use for the good of the whole.(1) “

This is regarding the twenty-fourth chapter of 1 Chronicles, which we read today, along with the two chapters after it (25 and 26).

Roles

We begin by looking at the order of the priests who ministered in the Temple.

They set the order in which families would serve. Within the families, who would perform which duties were determined by lot.

We like to use seniority, qualifications, or specialization to determine the order of things. This fosters a system that elevates some above others.

Christ is the head of the body. The rest of us serve at His mercy.

Therefore, I am pleased to serve by teaching, preaching, playing music, or being the webcast specialist. It is not about me, or what I feel qualified for.

God will provide the talent when we make ourselves available. He does not show partiality among men (see Acts 10:34).

Priests

Therefore, when the priests came to the temple to serve, they just drew their assignment and performed the duty ascribed.

This was no small thing, either. There were twenty-four clans who served as priests.

A priest wasn’t just the man at the front preaching the sermon. It was anyone involved in the conducting the rituals of the sacred offering. From building the fires, lighting the lampstand, sprinkling the blood on the altar, etc. Even releasing the scapegoat.

All these duties required someone to do them, and in a specified manner.

Those of us who serve on Sunday morning think of our particular niche role.

We have singers, that is all they do. Each week someone volunteers to bring snacks, which we put out at a welcoming table.

One of the most dedicated people in our church has the role of handing out the day’s program and greeting people. He is the face everyone encounters as they entire the sanctuary. He also helps count the offering one week a month.

My wife watches the babies in the nursery and oversees counting the offering and getting it to the bank on Monday.

In ancient Israel, it took one thousand men a full week to perform the duties necessary.

Whatever their normal occupation was, didn’t matter. For that week, they served in the temple.

One may have wished, “I hope I get to clang the cymbals. That is easy and fun.”

Another may have responded, “not me, it’s too loud! I hope I get to light the lamps.”

A third possibly added, “oh no! I always burn my fingers, let me wash the basins.”

All the jobs were important. The person doing them needed to humble themselves and realize their importance wasn’t in doing what they liked to do, but in doing their best for God.

It is a blessing to be part of the service.

Musicians

Chapter 25 moves on to the musicians David assigned.

Most musicians I know, including myself, play music because we love it. We learn at a young age and it’s what we do, it’s who we are. I don’t play the guitar, I’m a guitar player. Several jokes about drummers come to mind. You may have one sleeping on your couch right now?

Within the temple, this was a sacred duty. It is a blessing to serve God.

We should not judge these individuals by our stands. We should only let so and so sing, because the others are off key.

This is performing for the congregation.

Worshipping is giving our best to God, and for His enjoyment. As a world renown pianist, Sam Rotman, always says he plays for “an audience of One”.

God will hear our hearts, not our voices. We may hear every missed note. He only hears our love.

If we perform to gratify others and glorify ourselves, He will hear it and probably will not impress Him.

For this reason, a music minister should never deny someone the opportunity to praise the Lord. It isn’t about impressing the people who listen to it on YouTube. It is the sincerity of the individuals and their motivation toward the service.

Gatekeepers

In chapter 26, we examine the gatekeepers. We must protect the temple and the people in it.

When people are worshiping, they should not need to keep a hand on their weapon. We should be able to focus on the Lord, not keeping an eye out to protect our families.

Therefore, God ordained men to stand guard and watch the gates.

It is important to keep danger out of the temple. More important, however, is protecting the hearts and minds of the people.

The greatest danger to our modern church is the messages we are hearing from the pulpit. Watered down messages which tolerate sin will not help people come to a right relationship with God.

As we look at all the masses of people who served in the temple, we need to ask, are we doing our part? Is church an activity? A ritual?

Or is being a part of a congregation a blessing we must honor with our full participation?

We cannot assume someone else will do the work. When we do, we cheat ourselves out of blessing God.

1. Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1 Chronicles 24:19-31.