1 Chronicles 6 Explained - 5 Minute Bible Study

1 Chronicles 6 Short Summary:

1 Chronicles 6 is a record of the descendants of Levi, the son of Jacob. Levi’s family was selected by God to be a special tribe dedicated to the worship and service at the Tabernacle (later the Temple). Levi’s had 3 sons (Gershshon, Kohath, and Merari) and the family of each was given a special role to fulfil. The final section of the chapter is a list of the cities the Levites received in the Promised Land.

What is 1 Chronicles 6 About?

WHEN:

• 1 Chronicles is primarily a record of the reign of King David. 1 Chronicles 10 records the death of King Saul (David’s predecessor). The last chapter of 1 Chronicles records the death of David.

• Saul died in approximately 1055 B.C., after reigning over Israel for 40 years.

• David became king over Judah the same year. He reigned over Judah for 7 years and 6 months, before becoming king over all Israel. His reign over all Judah and Israel lasted 33 years.

CHARACTERS:

• Levi – A son of Jacob. His descendants (the Tribe of Levi) were set aside by God to minister in sacrifices and worship at the Tabernacle/Temple.

• Kohath, Gershon, and Merari – The sons of Aaron.

• Aaron – The first High Priest of Israel

• Asaph and Heman – Levites responsible for the music and singing at the Tabernacle/Temple.

WHERE:

• The Levites didn’t receive a special portion of land like the other tribes when Joshua conquered the Promised Land. Instead, they were assigned cities, which were dispersed throughout the territory of the other tribes.  

OUTLINE:

• THE DESCENDANTS OF LEVI (6:1-30):

  • Levi was a son of Jacob, and his family took on a special role in Israel. They became a special tribe dedicated to the service of God.

  • 1 Chronicles 6 records Levi’s family line through his 3 sons, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari.

  • This record was very important because the descendants of Levi were assigned specific jobs based on which of the 3 sons they descended from.

  • You’ll find several prominent names in the list, including Moses (Kohath; 6:3), Aaron (Kohath; 6:3), and Samuel (Kohath; 6:28).

• THE LEVITES IN CHARGE OF THE “SERVICE OF SONG” (6:31-48):

  • This section documents the names of the individuals David appointed to manage the worship music in the Tabernacle and Temple.

  • Two names stand out amongst this list, Heman and Asaph.

  • Psalm 88 is attributed to Heman.

  • Asaph is mentioned several times in the Bible and at least 12 psalms are attributed to him. It appears the singers amongst the Levites later became known by his name and were referred to as the “sons of Asaph.”

• THE FAMILY OF AARON (6:49-53):

  • Aaron was the first High Priest of Israel and God assigned his family the role of offering sacrifices in the Tabernacle.

  • A record of his sons is recorded in verses 50-53.

• THE CITIES BELONGING TO THE LEVITIES (6:54-81):

  • Unlike the other tribes, the Levites didn’t receive a portion of land when the Israelites conquered the Promised Land, instead, they received cities within the lands of the other tribes.

  • The last section of this chapter is a record of the cities and pasturelands assigned to the Levites.

  • The section is divided up by family. The cities assigned to the family of Kohath are listed first, then those belonging to the family of Gershon, and finally the cities for the family of Merari.

APPLICATION:

• These records would have been important to the generations who lived hundreds of years after Levi and Aaron, because they would have allowed Levities to figure out their role in the worship of the Lord, based on their family.

• Aaron had a specific role, each Levitical family had a specific role, Asaph and Heman had a specific role.

• The Old Testament makes it clear God cares about roles, so when we’re given instruction about roles in the New Testament, we shouldn’t disregard them.

• God speaks specifically about different roles in the family and in the Church.

• God has assigned different roles to men, women, deacons, elders, and teachers.

• I know its not culturally trendy to limit people to certain roles, but we’re going to have to disregard culture if we want to follow God’s word.