“24,000 of these,” David said, “Shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord. 6,000 shall be officers and judges, 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I’ve made for praise.”
– 1 Chronicles 23:4–5
I love this picture as David is organizing the Levites here in 1 Chronicles 23:4–5, specifically in giving different assignments to them for the praise of God, for the judgment and justice that will be meted upon the people of God, for the work that needs to be done on the house of God.
1 Chronicles 23:4–5 Reminds Us of Our Different Roles in Christ
God, I praise you for the unique, diverse creativity that you have made a reality among your people.
And every single one of these people has a significant part to play in all of these things happening. I see here in 1 Chronicles 23:4–5, just a picture of even what we read about in 1 Corinthians 12, when we think about the church and every member in it having a significant part to play in the building up of the church and the building up of God’s people, God’s household for the glory of God’s name. I just want to encourage you and then lead us to pray for one another.
1 Chronicles 23:4–5 Calls Us to Trust God’s Purpose for Us
God has given you a significant part to play in the building up of His household. God has given you gifts and skills, natural skills and supernatural, spiritual gifts for the building up of His body. That’s what 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 and 14 are all about. And every gift is important. Every member is important. So whoever you are in Christ, however young or old you may be, don’t ever underestimate the good gifts that God has entrusted to you for the building up of His body.
I want to encourage you to play your part. To do all that God has called you to do in building up His body and leading others to be a part of that body, by the power of the Holy Spirit in you and leading others to Jesus. God, we pray, based on 1 Chronicles, chapter 23, and this list of 24,000 people, some of whom were working on your house and others who were officers and judges and others who were gatekeepers. Thousands of them, and thousands of them offering praises to you with instruments.
Praise God for His Creativity
God, I praise you for the unique, diverse creativity that you have made a reality among your people. God, as I think about the church that I’m a part of, I praise you for all the different gifts and skills and personalities and just the unique ways you’ve designed so many different people to be a part of your work. So God, we pray that you would help us all to play our parts. All of us to use the gifts you’ve given to us maximally. God, not to ever think that our gifts don’t matter or that we don’t matter.
To realize that by your grace, we matter to the building up of your household. That you have given us gifts for the good of others. That you have given us gifts for the glory of your name. Here, among the nations, God, when we pray for the Jotsiddu people of India, half a million of them who have little to no knowledge of Jesus. God help us to realize you’ve given us all a part to play. Even if it’s praying right now.
Pray to Fulfill Your Purpose in the Great Commission
And for some of us going to people groups like this. God, we pray for the Jotsiddu people of India, we pray for their salvation. We take our place now, in pleading and interceding on their behalf. And God, we pray that you would help every one of us to play whatever part you call us to play in building up your church where we are, and glorifying your name among the nations. We say yes to whatever you want us to do, to however you want to use us.
We pray that every member of your church would realize the meaningful part we have to play. That none of us, especially as we think about this mission you’ve given us to make disciples of all the nations. God, that none of us are on the sidelines as spectators in that mission. That all of us have been invited to be a critical part of that mission by your grace. You’ve involved every single one of us in the greatest mission in the world, in the building of your church and the spreading of your glory to the nations. So help us, we pray, to play our part. Every single one of us in Jesus’ name, we pray, according to 1 Chronicles, 23, verses 4 and 5. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
