Steve Webb  0:00  
So what's going on here?

Steve Webb  0:09  
Coming at ya from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring! One Year Bible, and podcasting since 2004, I'm Steve Webb, your OG Godcaster. Today is History Tuesday. We'll read 1 Chronicles 20 through 24. The website is lifespringmedia.com, and I'll have contact information at the end of today's show. Before we get started, let's have a word of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for this time today and I pray, God that as we read you would teach us. Touch our hearts, Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, let's begin. 

Steve Webb  0:44  
1 Chronicles, chapter 20. In the spring, the time of year when kings normally went out to battle, Joab led out the army of Israel. But David stayed in Jerusalem. The army of Israel destroyed the land of Ammon and went to the city of Rabbah and attacked it. David took the crown off the head of their king, and had it placed on his own head. That gold crown weighed about seventy-five pounds, and it had valuable gems in it. And David took many valuable things from the city. He also brought out the people of the city and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem. Later, at Gezer, war broke out with the Philistines. Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the descendants of the Rephaites. So those Philistines were defeated. Later, there was another battle with the Philistines. Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath, who was from the town of Gath. His spear was as large as a weaver’s rod. At Gath another battle took place. A huge man was there; he had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four fingers and toes in all. This man also was one of the sons of Rapha. When he spoke against Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. These descendants of Rapha from Gath were killed by David and his men.

Steve Webb  2:11  
1 Chronicles, chapter 21. Satan was against the Israelites. He encouraged David to count the Israelites. So David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go and count all the Israelites. Count everyone in the country—from the town of Beersheba all the way to the town of Dan. Then tell me, so I will know how many people there are.” But Joab answered, “May the Lord make his nation 100 times as large! Sir, all the Israelites are your servants. Why do you want to do this thing, my Lord and king? You will make all the Israelites guilty of sin!” But King David was stubborn. Joab had to do what the king said. So Joab left and went through all the country of Israel counting the people. Then he came back to Jerusalem and told David how many people there were. In Israel there were 1,100,000 men who could use a sword. And there were 470,000 men in Judah who could use a sword. Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin because he did not like King David’s order. David had done a bad thing in God’s sight, so God punished Israel. Then David said to God, “I have done something very foolish. I have committed a terrible sin by counting the Israelites. Now, I beg you to take the sin away from me, your servant.” Gad was David’s seer. The Lord said to Gad, “Go and tell David: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to give you three choices. You must choose one of them. Then I will punish you the way you choose.’” Then Gad went to David. He said to David, “The Lord says, ‘David, choose which punishment you want: three years without enough food, or three months of running away from your enemies while they use their swords to chase you, or three days of punishment from the Lord. Terrible sicknesses will spread through the country, and the Lord’s angel will go through Israel destroying the people.’ David, God sent me. Now, you must decide which answer I will give to him.” David said to Gad, “I am in trouble! I don’t want some man to decide my punishment. The Lord is very merciful, so let him decide how to punish me.” So the Lord sent terrible sicknesses to Israel, and 70,000 people died. God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But when the angel started to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord saw it and felt sorry for all the suffering. So he said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Stop! That is enough!” This happened when the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the Lord’s angel in the sky. The angel was holding his sword over the city of Jerusalem. Then David and the elders bowed with their faces touching the ground. They were wearing the special clothes to show their sadness. David said to God, “I am the one who sinned. I gave the order for the people to be counted! I was wrong. The Israelites did not do anything wrong. Lord my God, punish me and my family, but stop the terrible sicknesses that are killing your people.” Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad. He said, “Tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” Gad told David this, and David went to Araunah’s threshing floor. Araunah was threshing the wheat. He turned around and saw the angel. His four sons ran away to hide. David walked up the hill to Araunah. Araunah saw him and left the threshing floor. He walked to David and bowed with his face to the ground in front of him. David said to Araunah, “Sell me your threshing floor. I will pay you the full price. Then I can use the area to build an altar to worship the Lord. Then the terrible sicknesses will be stopped.” Araunah said to David, “Take this threshing floor. You are my Lord and king, so do whatever you want. Look, I will also give you cattle for the burnt offering. You can have the wooden threshing tools to burn for the fire on the altar. And I will give the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this to you.” But King David answered Araunah, “No, I will pay you the full price. I will not take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not give offerings that cost me nothing.” So David gave Araunah about 15 pounds of gold for the place. David built an altar for worshiping the Lord there. David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He prayed to the Lord. The Lord answered David by sending fire down from heaven. The fire came down on the altar of burnt offering. Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its sheath. David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah, so David offered sacrifices there. (The Lord’s Holy Tent and the altar of burnt offerings were at the high place in the town of Gibeon. Moses had made the Holy Tent while the Israelites were in the desert. David could not go to the Holy Tent to speak with God because he was afraid. He was afraid of the angel of the Lord and his sword.)

Steve Webb  7:16  
1 Chronicles, chapter 22. David said, “The Temple of the Lord God and the altar for burning offerings for the Israelites will be built here.” David gave an order for all foreigners living in Israel to be gathered together. He chose stonecutters from that group of foreigners. Their job was to cut stones ready to be used for building God’s Temple. David got iron for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also got more bronze than could be weighed and more cedar logs than could be counted. The people from the cities of Sidon and Tyre brought many cedar logs to David. David said, “We should build a very great Temple for the Lord, but my son Solomon is young and does not yet have enough experience to know how to do it well. It should be so great and beautiful that it will be famous among all the nations. So I will prepare what is needed to build it.” So before David died he prepared everything needed to build a great Temple. Then David called for his son Solomon and told him to build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, “My son, I wanted to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God. But the Lord said to me, ‘David, you have fought many wars and you have killed many people. So you cannot build a temple for my name. But you have a son who is a man of peace. I will give your son a time of peace. His enemies around him will not bother him. His name is Solomon. And I will give Israel peace and quiet during the time that he is king. Solomon will build a temple for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his Father. I will make his kingdom strong, and someone from his family will rule Israel forever!’” David also said, “Now, son, may the Lord be with you. May you be successful and build the Temple for the Lord your God, as he said you would. He will make you the king of Israel. May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding so that you can lead the people and obey the law of the Lord your God. And you will have success, if you are careful to obey the rules and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid. “Solomon, I have worked hard making plans for the Lord’s Temple. I have given 3750 tons of gold and about 37,500 tons of silver. I have given so much bronze and iron that it cannot be weighed. And I have given wood and stone. Solomon, you can add to them. You have many stonecutters and carpenters. You have men skilled in every kind of work. They are skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. You have more skilled workers than can be counted. Now begin the work. And may the Lord be with you.” Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. David said to these leaders, “The Lord your God is with you. He has given you a time of peace. He helped me defeat the people living around us. The Lord and his people are now in control of this land. Now give your heart and soul to the Lord your God, and do what he says. Build the holy place of the Lord God. Then bring the Box of the Lord’s Agreement and all the other holy things into the Temple built for the Lord’s name.”

Steve Webb  10:33  
1 Chronicles, chapter 23. When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. David said, “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.” David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel – three in all. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran – three in all. These were the leaders of the family of Ladan. The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei’s sons – four in all. Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel – four in all. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the most holy items, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to serve him, and to praise his name. The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites. The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. The son of Gershom: Shebuel the oldest. The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants. The son of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth – three in all. These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple and were twenty years old and up. For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service.” According to David’s final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted. Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple. They also took care of the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring. They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations. They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.

Steve Webb  14:34  
1 Chronicles, chapter 24. The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows: The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu died before their father did; they had no sons. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. David, Zadok (a descendant of Eleazar), and Ahimelech (a descendant of Ithamar) divided them into groups to carry out their assigned responsibilities. The descendants of Eleazar had more leaders than the descendants of Ithamar, so they divided them up accordingly; the descendants of Eleazar had sixteen leaders, while the descendants of Ithamar had eight. They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, wrote down their names before the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the leaders of the priestly and Levite families. One family was drawn by lot from Eleazar, and then the next from Ithamar. The first lot went to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin, the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty-second to Gamul, the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. This was the order in which they carried out their assigned responsibilities when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to the regulations given them by their ancestor Aaron, just as the Lord God of Israel had instructed him. The rest of the Levites included: Shubael from the sons of Amram, Jehdeiah from the sons of Shubael, the firstborn Isshiah from Rehabiah and the sons of Rehabiah, Shelomoth from the Izharites, Jahath from the sons of Shelomoth. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. The son of Uzziel: Micah; Shamir from the sons of Micah. The brother of Micah: Isshiah. Zechariah from the sons of Isshiah. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno. The sons of Merari, from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. From Kish: Jerahmeel. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the Levites, listed by their families. Just like their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, they also cast lots before King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, the leaders of families, the priests, and the Levites. The families of the oldest son cast lots along with the those of the youngest.

Steve Webb  17:57  
In chapter 21, verse 18, we read, “Tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” All right, Beloved, so what's going on here? As you heard, David went against the word of the Lord and ordered a census of the Israelites which angered God, and he punished Israel. Well that caused David to repent, and he asked God to forgive him. And God told David's seer or prophet, a guy by the name of Gad, that David must choose between three punishments, and David chose to put himself in God's hands instead of man's. I think that was a wise decision, don't you? Well, in the midst of the punishment, which brought a sickness on the people of Israel in which 70,000 died, God stayed the hand of the angel which he had sent to destroy Jerusalem. At this point, the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah (or Ornan, in other translations). Well, David saw the angel and he asked God to punish him and his family and not the people because it was he, David, who had sinned, and the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad. He said, “Tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. And he must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” Well, the reason I bring this up to you is that there are some interesting facts concerning this event and this place. Number one is, this is the only altar before any of Israel's exiles that God had commanded to be built. Isn't that interesting? And number two, this threshing floor was on Mount Moriah which is where Abraham offered Isaac and it's also in the same hills where Jesus was crucified. Number three, Mount Moriah is inside what was to become the city of Jerusalem and is where Solomon built the temple and where it will someday be rebuilt. So during the millennial reign of Jesus here on earth, he will again stand on this very land. Isn't that cool? Well, I think it's safe to say that this is one of the most significant places on the entire face of the earth. Do you agree? What are your thoughts? Have you ever been to Jerusalem? Contact information is at the end of the show. Tomorrow will be Psalms Wednesday and our reading will be chapters 105 through 107. We'll also have a time of praises and prayer requests and if there's a prayer request or a praise you'd like to share with the Lifespring family, be sure to listen at the end of the show for how to let me know. And we'll continue our Essentials series.

Steve Webb  20:42  
Scott Snider did today's show art. Thank you, Scott. And also thanks to the team: Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Jason Paschall, and Sister Brittaney. If you have a praise report, or a prayer request, or a comment, or a question, call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. Or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com to submit prayer requests or praises. Or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com for comments or questions. My email address is steve@lifespringmedia.com. And don't forget those boostagrams. Beloved, thank you for inviting me into your life today. Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Lifespring! Media bringing the message of hope, love, and good news since 2004.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai