We have a Dachshund in our family.  We said we would not get another dog; but then this particular young dog needed rescuing.  We were going to foster at first but after a couple of hours; we knew the dog was ours to nurture and enjoy.  We have had this breed before; but didn’t really take time to do research on the breed. They can be peculiar.  (But aren’t we all, the Bible says so!) 

Our research has been fascinating. One thing that stood out for us was the fact that this breed was trained to work alone when going after unwanted pest that live just below the surface. Their bodies are built for nosing into holes and pulling out a farmer’s annoying predator.  That creates an independence from within, and like a lot of other dogs, they feel they “own” their territory of responsibility. Anything the comes into the perimeter must be chased out!  It’s in their DNA! 

But the flip side to the independence is the relentless loyalty to their owners with an intense need to be touching their owners at all times with unconditional affection. The eyes communicate this truth. When we sit, he is under our feet.  When we rise, he follows.  When we get something to eat, he must eat his food, too. If we go out; he must come with us. When we call his name; he comes running. As we walk the neighborhood, which was our habit before, our Dachshund gets so excited to go!  He would do backflips if that were physically possible!  As soon as Randy gets the leash and puts on a hat, all signs of readiness, the excitement begins!

However, humans were not created to work alone. It all began by God creating Eve to be a helper to Adam Yes, there are individual tasks of getting ready and caring for ourselves that is done on our own. But when it comes to accomplishing a designated goal; it is more efficient to divide the work into parts. Every successful company knows this biblical truth.  Their leaders know this and provide training for accomplishing each part of the whole efficiently.  Each part is done by people who are talented at doing their specific part of the whole. 

But some of us prefer working alone because it is too much trouble to show someone else how to do what you are doing. This flaw in our DNA as a church can lead to unwanted results and is not part of Kingdom of God thinking and behaving! 

God sent Jethro, father-in-law to Moses, to show him how to divide and conquer the work.  Jethro’s words; “What you are doing is not good for you!” ring in my ears when I tried to do ministry alone in a small church, because I thought I was blessing those who came with my relentless serving to them not with them!  I got it all backwards!  My real work as a leader was to train and encourage all to do their part as God leads them! The load becomes much lighter when others are invited to be part of the whole!

Jesus, Son of God, chose twelve others to follow him, observe closely what He was doing as directed by God, and learn from observing with meaningful conversations. Then with specific directions, Jesus sent out, two by two, to do what Jesus did.  Perfect example of “watch me, do it while I watch you, now you do it”—a philosophy of education teachers still use today, (or at least I hope so!)

David is now returning the priests to their designated roles anointed by God from the time of Moses.  Moses’ brother Aaron’s family had been chosen by God to serve as the priests of Israel. He had four sons, but two of them (Nadab and Abihu) had died for blatantly disregarding their roles (see Leviticus 10:1–7). The remaining two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar fathered the priestly generations. By David’s time, Eleazar’s descendants were about twice as numerous as Ithamar’s, so when the priestly tasks were assigned, there were sixteen groups from Eleazar’s family and eight groups from Ithamar’s.

1 Chronicles 24

The Divisions of Priests

These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron:

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. ³ 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. ⁴ A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. ⁵ They divided them impartially by casting lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁶ The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

⁷ The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,⁹ the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shekaniah, ¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹ This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

²⁰ As for the rest of the descendants of Levi: from the sons of Amram: Shubael; from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

²¹ As for Rehabiah, from his sons:Ishiah was the first.

²² From the Izharites: Shelomoth;from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

²³ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴ The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir. ²⁵ The brother of Micah: Ishiah; from the sons of Ishiah: Zechariah.

²⁶ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.  The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

²⁷ The sons of Merari: from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur and Ibri.

²⁸ From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹ From Kish: the son of Kish: Jerahmeel.

³⁰ And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.

These were the Levites, according to their families. ³¹ They also cast lots, just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

I love this quote from Warren Wiersbe, Bible scholar; “The assignments were made by casting “lot” to avoid any appearance of favoritism. It’s also heartening to note that capable leadership was so abundant that this selection process didn’t create problems. Wouldn’t it be encouraging to be part of a local body of believers where all are eager to grow spiritually and develop qualities and abilities that can be used to benefit the rest of the church? Instead, too often we are casting about for leaders rather than rejoicing that plenty of godly people are available to fill leadership roles in the church.

Leaders and followers are all equal in the eyes of God.  All must be taught and encouraged to do their part of the whole. The whole is Jesus, Head of the church. We are “sheep” of His pasture, eager to go on a daily walk with Him, with a passion to be near him always.  Sheep are trained to hear The Shepherd’s voice and follow where they are directed for their safety and protection from all enemies. Jesus is our Shepherd. 

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need.” –David, Psalm 23:1 

God gives us all we need to be all He created us to be.  He also provides all we need to do what will benefit others with encouragement to do their part given to them by God.  God shows no favorites in His church. All are welcomed. All have a part to play, gifted to them by God. It’s in our DNA, identified as Christ followers!  Our identity is in Jesus!

Paul writes to the church then that still applies to us today; “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:11-16

THE JOY SHIFT BONUS!  

God calls and equips us to do our part of the whole as contributors to His Kingdom work to point the way to salvation!  Jesus, with God’s authority, commissions all believing followers to train others, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” –Jesus, Matthew 28:20-21 God’s Holy Spirit is with us always to lead us to truth and tell us what to say for others to know Him more!

And get this—Life is more satisfying when to help someone see how God has gifted them than in continuing to do the work all by ourselves.  Our joy shifts to a new height with a new way of thinking!  We discover that there is an even deeper joy that emerges as an extension of our joy in knowing Jesus. 

When we train someone in the Name of Jesus our joy multiplies!  Here is the proof: We see this truth when we receive more joy from seeing someone else do what we did, better than the way we did it!  We are then teaching and training for all the right reasons!  Our joy is exponentially multiplied when we leave the dark place of thinking we are the only ones who must get it done, whatever “it” is, to not only doing our part but helping and teaching others to do theirs. God always provides where He guides.

Isn’t it amazing how the Bible proves itself repeatedly?! Trust God, He knows what He is doing! 

Lord,

Thank you for reminding us that your yoke of truth is much lighter to bear as followers of you.  Help us to avoid thinking we are more important only because of the work we do. It is who we are that is important to you.  You know our hearts.  Thank you for this lesson today.

In Jesus Name, Amen