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A Turning Point
We ended the last post discussing the first verse of 1 Chronicles 9 and what became of all Israel—captivity. And now the looming question is…what will become of Israel next?
We have powered through the history of Israel from the beginning of man until the exile and 1 Chronicles 9:1 marks a turning point. It’s a transition from Israel’s unfaithful past before the exile to what the Chronicler longs to see—a faithful future. The returned remnant holds the key to that hope.
Our Chronicler writes with urgency, intent on reaching them, engaging them, and calling them back to covenant faithfulness. His desire is clear: to see Israel become the kind of people through whom God will bless the world. The task before him is monumental, but he is determined to teach this generation what they need to know so they can live differently.
The Vital Connection—1 Chronicles 9
The Chronicler begins with a list of the remnant of Israel who returned and resettled. These are the people who link Israel’s past to their future. And for us, these post-exile Israelites are the vital connection between Adam in the beginning and Christ at the end—and His return still to come.
Think about it: if these people had never returned, where would the record of David’s line be? Where would the record of Christ’s lineage be? It would be lost. The proof of fulfilled prophecy would be blurred.
But that’s the beauty of the Bible. God worked through faithful people like the brave remnant who returned and our Chronicler to ensure His plan for redemption remained intact. This record, the Bible, is a miracle, really. And so the Chronicler begins his miraculous report with the reoccupation of Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 9:2-3.
Who Came Back and Why It Matters
The author is all-inclusive, naming five tribes—Levi, Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—as part of the returned remnant. But when he starts listing specific names of people only the three tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi show up.
It’s possible this is because the Chronicler didn’t have access to records from Ephraim and Manasseh, especially if their descendants had settled further out from Jerusalem. Still, he wants readers to know they were included.
And when he notes that the people first settled in their own towns and then lived in Jerusalem, it likely reflects Nehemiah’s policy from Nehemiah 11 that called for 10% of the population to live in Jerusalem.
He begins with the people of Judah who returned in 1 Chronicles 9:4-6. They are classified according to the three sons of Judah who had children–Perez, Shelah, and Zerah. Then he moves on to the Benjamites in 1 Chronicles 9:7-9 and lists the descendants Sallu, Ibneiah, Elah, and Meshullam from four family lines.
As for the Levites, in 1 Chronicles 9:10-13 the author breaks these returned exiles into three categories–priest, other Levites, and gatekeepers for the inner sanctuary. He lists six heads of families, the most important being Azariah, the high priest whose line is described as the one in charge of the house of God. The number of returnees here is significant because it’s the highest.
In 1 Chronicles 9:14–16, the author lists four key leaders among the Levites. Shemaiah belonged to the Merarite clan. Mattaniah, a descendant of Asaph, was a famed Psalm writer and led a musical guild appointed by David. Obadiah from the line of Jeduthun, was another leader of a Davidic musical guild. And Berekiah was likely from the all-important Kohathite clan.
These Levites were entrusted with critical responsibilities such as leading the singing and maintaining and guarding the sanctuary.
The Gatekeepers: Unsung Heroes
The author loves Phinehas, the killer priest. In 1 Chronicles 9:17-21 he points out that the Lord was with Phinehas because of his zeal. The Chronicler wants the current gatekeepers to have the same zeal, because he wants them to receive the promise Phinehas did in Numbers 25. The Chronicler wants a future for these gatekeepers.
The gatekeepers were selfless servants, faithfully keeping long and late hours. In 1 Chronicles 9:22–32, four leaders are named, with Shallum serving as their chief. All were descendants of Korah, one of Levi’s sons. Korah’s line became the Kohathites—the line from which the priesthood descended. Those from Kohath’s line who weren’t priests were still entrusted with the next highest responsibility: guarding the inner sanctuary.
The author takes time to outline the round-the-clock responsibility of guarding the gate to the sanctuary. All four principal gatekeepers were responsible for the temple’s gates, rooms, and treasuries, which included everything from baking the offering bread to taking inventory of temple service articles and pulling all-nighters on gate duty.
From Eden to Eternity: The Story Behind the Gate
Guarding the gate to the Temple was symbolic of the cherubim who guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden. Ever since the fall in Genesis 3:22-24, man was not allowed to have access to God’s garden, his Temple.
Because man had lost this direct access to God, the Levite Gatekeepers guarded the gate to the inner sanctuary of the Temple where God’s presence was manifested. Only the high priest could enter the inner sanctuary where the Ark was, and he could only enter once a year on the Day of Atonement.
Being removed from access to God was difficult for the people, so in the New Testament God provided a new way for us to access Him. In John 10:7-10, Jesus became the gate through which we gain access to God.
At His death, the curtain that separated people from the presence of God in the sanctuary was torn (Matthew 27:51). This represents the removal of barriers between us and God, giving us direct access to God through our gatekeeper, Jesus.
In Revelations 21:22-27, we learn that one day there will be no need to guard the gate. The gate will be wide open.
More Than Statistics
In 1 Chronicles 9:33-34 the author concludes the list of men who returned and resettled in Jerusalem. Judah had 690, Benjamin had 956, Levi had 1,760 priests and 212 gatekeepers for a grand total of the 3,618. However, this isn’t a complete number. It only emphasizes those who settled in Jerusalem by male heads of the family.
In Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, we get the entire number of returned exiles including women and a larger geographical area—42,330 people.
Rebuilding from Ruin
The fact that so many people returned is an act of God. Life back in Judah wasn’t easy. They faced challenges that made resettlement a gritty, dangerous task.
First, after years of neglect and destruction, the land was in ruins. Cities, homes, and agricultural systems had to be rebuilt from scratch. It would have been physically demanding and urgent just to get food to grow.
Then there’s the political and social challenges. The exiles returned to a land where neighboring people had settled during their absence. The groups were often hostile, creating tension and conflict as the Israelites sought to reclaim and reestablish their territory. On top of that, the protective walls that societies relied on for protection against attack were ruined so they were in constant danger of attack.
Not to mention starting over was economically daunting. Most exiles did not return with any wealth–they had been captives. They had to reestablish trade, farming, and basic livelihoods with little or no money.
On top of this, they had to get on the same page spiritually and culturally. After generations in Babylon, the exiles had to revive their religious practices and cultural norms in a land where the Temple was in ruin.
Rebuilding the Temple and restoring their faith was a huge task that required teaching and covenantal re-commitment. This is where our Chronicler comes in. He is giving them the spiritual education they missed in captivity.
Obedience That Blessed the World
They were returning to a hard life. Who would volunteer to live in a ruined city with hostile neighbors, economic instability, and the demands of hard physical labor to rebuild a community of faith from the ground up?
The answer is…people who were called by God. The same is true of our missionaries today. God calls them and in obedience they move.
Not everyone is called to be a missionary or endure physical hardship, but we’re all called to glorify God in some way. It’s often a less dramatic call like caring for a toddler or an elderly neighbor.
Being the hands and feet of God is important no matter how close or far we need to travel. The key is, if God is moving our heart, are we obedient to the move?
The King They Wanted, Not the One They Needed—1 Chronicles 10
In 1 Chronicles 9:35-44, we get a genealogy repeat for the sole purpose of creating a bridge into the historical narrative of David’s reign. It’s a short, almost dismissive, take on Saul, the king Israel wanted who proved to be a contrast to the king Israel needed–King David.
Saul was a Benjamite descendant of Jeiel and the son of Kish. He was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. He’s the grandfather of Mephibosheth, the great-grandfather of four, and the great, great-grandfather of many.
The Chronicler wastes no time on Saul’s disappointing reign. For that, you’ll need to listen to Season 9. Here the author only documents how Saul died in 1 Chronicles 10:1-14.
Unfaithfulness Has Consequences—Just Ask Saul
The account of Saul’s death in 1 Chronicles 10 is an almost exact replica of the original record in 1 Samuel 31. This is a testament to the ancient scrolls of the Tanakh the priests diligently hand copied and saved somewhere, because our author definitely had a copy from which to write his version.
There are only a few slight variations such as how they treated Saul’s remains and how he was buried. The big difference is that the Chronicler adds in verse 13-14 that Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. Saul even consulted a medium for guidance instead of inquiring of the Lord, so the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David.
We began chapter 9 with a reminder that all the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. We end chapter 10 with a reminder Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord.
Our author has made his point well–unfaithfulness is not an option if you want a future. And with the last sentence of 1 Chronicles 10:14 we have our bridge into the reign of David.
🎧 Ready to dive deeper? Listen to episodes of the Bible Book Club Podcast here.
Themes of this podcast:
God’s miraculous preservation of His people The return of the remnant wasn’t just a historical event—it was a divine miracle that kept God’s redemptive plan intact. Without these brave souls coming back to rebuild, we wouldn’t have the genealogical records that connect Adam to Christ, and the entire story of salvation would have been lost. It’s a beautiful reminder God calls us all to carry His purposes forward with Him, even when circumstances seem impossible.
Our faith determines our future. The Chronicler bookends this section with two powerful examples: Israel’s exile because of unfaithfulness and Saul’s death for the same reason. He’s not being subtle here—he’s urgently calling the returned exiles to learn from history and choose covenant faithfulness over the disasters that come from turning away from God. The message is clear: your spiritual choices don’t just affect you, they determine your future and your legacy.
Ordinary people can do extraordinary things for God. From gatekeepers pulling all-nighters to protect the temple to families rebuilding their lives from scratch in dangerous conditions, this passage celebrates the everyday heroes of faith. These weren’t glamorous positions or easy circumstances, but they were people who said yes when God called them to serve. It’s a powerful reminder that God uses regular folks in unglamorous roles to accomplish His miraculous purposes.
