I Chronicles Chapter 6
Please read: I Chronicles 6 –
The history of the twelve tribes of Israel is all about the sons of Jacob (or Israel) receiving their portion of land within the promised land. One of those sons, Levi, was the father of those who would not be given a portion of land. Instead, God instructed that each tribe would assign certain cities for the Levites to live in, or territories, and they would also be given the pasturelands that surrounded those cities so that they would be able to raise their own livestock and food.
The Levites had been assigned the special task of taking care of the tabernacle and later the temple. And it was from the family of the Levites that the priests for the tabernacle came. The Bible recognizes Aaron the brother of Moses from the Kohath line as the first priest. This position is later established as the high priest position. The succession of the position of the high priest was from the son of the previous priest. In Exodus we learn that the garments of the priest were passed down to the son. And it was the man of this position that was called the chief priest or high priest that entered the holy of holies once per year.
Exodus 29:29-30 The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them seven days.
To understand the descendants of Levi spelled out in this chapter, you need to keep in mind the names of the 3 sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. As the descendants are spelled out, they will be listed as the sons of one of these 3 names, the sons of Levi.
Let's Reflect
1. Aaron, Moses and their sister Miriam were from the family of Kohath. What was their father’s name?
2. According to verse 10 what was the name of the descendant of Aaron who served as the first high priest when the new temple was built?
3. Who was the last high priest who served in the temple because of the Babylonian capture of all of Judah and the city of Jerusalem?
4. While verses 1-15 records the succession of the high priest position being passed down from Aaron a Kohathite; verses 16-30 records the genealogy of the 3 sons of Levi. Then verses 31-48 describe the assignments of some of the Levites that David put in charge of a very special form of worship in the tabernacle. What was that form of worship?
5. In the section of verses 31-48 there is a reverse genealogy as the chronicler describes the men assigned to these special duties and from what family tree they came from. According to verse 48 what is the summary of this section and the purpose of the Levites?
6. Verses 49 describes the special assignment given by God to Aaron and his sons. What was their assignment? And who pronounced this special assignment to Aaron and his descendants?
7. Verses 50-53 lists the descendants of Aaron. And then verse 54- the end of the chapter is the description of the land and cities that were given to the descendants of Levi. Again, you will see the distinctions made according to the 3 sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. However, the sons of Aaron (a Kohathite) his sons were given specific cities. According to verse 57 what significant name were these cities called?
