1 Chronicles 9 Devotional

Faithful at the Gates

“They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they were responsible for guarding it and opening it every morning.”1 Chronicles 9:27 (BSB)

After eight chapters of names, the record says what went wrong and what came next. Judah was carried into exile in Babylon because of their unfaithfulness (9:1). Then the first to resettle their own property were Israelites, priests, Levites and temple servants (9:2). Gatekeepers stood on all four sides, spent the night around the house of God and opened it every morning (9:24-27). Others counted the articles of worship, mixed spices, baked bread and led music day and night (9:28-33).

The people God brought back after judgment were organized first around his house. The gatekeepers held positions of trust (9:22), and the chapter recalls that the LORD was with Phinehas when he was over them (9:20). Opening doors and counting bowls hardly seem worth writing down, yet here they are, written down. A psalm says the writer would rather be a doorkeeper in God's house than live among the wicked (Psalm 84:10). No faithful service near his presence is wasted, even what no one else sees.

To think about: What ordinary task in front of you today could you do as service to God rather than as something to get through?