With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. – 1 Chronicles 24:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 2, 2016): 1 Chronicles 24

In a couple of days, the United States will celebrate their independence one more time. On July 4, 1776, the Committee of Five (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston) presented what would become the Declaration of Independence. Two hundred and forty years later, it is almost impossible to imagine what it was that had existed before. Before, was a loose collection of states owing allegiance England. What came after was a unified republic. Admittedly, in the first few years, the unified republic was pretty powerless. At first, most of its energy was invested into the Revolutionary War.  For the next number of years, just holding the Republic together was a task. But eventually, something special emerged. But the key word is eventually – nothing was automatic.  

What might be a surprise to some is that even the idea of a President was not from the beginning. Canada, which celebrated its birthday yesterday, had a Prime Minister in 1867 when it became a nation. But for the United States, it took almost thirteen years before George Washington finally took office as the first President of the United States. Before 1789, it was something else.

David, Ahimelek, and Zadok stood at a change in time. (Actually, there might have been a bit of a problem with Ahimelek in this passage. It seems that maybe the author of 1 Corinthians might have confused Ahimelek and Abiathar, and in this passage, it maybe should have been Abiathar the son of Ahimelek and not the other way around). But Israel is on the verge of something different. The age of the Tabernacle is about to give way to the age of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

But more than that, there is about to be a change in the House of the High Priest. Until the end of the Tabernacle era, the High Priest came from the House of Ithamar. In this case, it meant that Abiathar/Ahimelek was the current High Priest. Zadok might have been an alternate High Priest or a lieutenant. But all that was going to change. The House of Ithamar was going to give way to the House of Eleazar. Abiathar would be the last High Priest of the Tabernacle era. And Zadok would be the first High Priest of the Temple era.

And together they would shape the way that the Levites would minister before God in the era that was just about to start.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 25