1 Chronicles 6
In this chapter we find the genealogy of the priestly family and of the families of the Levites as well as their dwelling places.
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2-3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as with the line of David (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
In 1 Chron. 6:1, according to the principle often mentioned, we first find the sons of Levi according to natural order or the order of birth: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; then in 1 Chron. 6:2, Kohath (and not Gershon) is chosen by grace as the stock of the Aaronic priesthood. Aaron, not Moses, is mentioned first in 1 Chron. 6:3: "Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam." The order of this enumeration corresponds to the contents of Chronicles which treats of Judah's kingship according to God's counsels, and of the priesthood in its relationship to the kingship. These three names, Aaron, Moses and Miriam, represent the priesthood, the law, and prophecy; but as soon as it is a question of the counsels of grace relative to the kingship, the law, Moses, gives place to the priesthood.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. And thus in the priestly family we again see that the history of the natural man comes first and then is entirely set aside. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar: Eleazar, the priest according to the election of grace, Ithamar, the responsible priest, set aside in order to give place to the former.
Eleazar begets Phinehas, a man of energy, who like Caleb added virtue to his faith and was chosen by God to continue the priestly line. This line continues without interruption down to Azariah (1 Chron. 6:9), who "exercised the priesthood in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (1 Chron. 6:10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went away when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (1 Chron. 6:15). Ezra and Nehemiah give us information about the high priests who functioned after the return from captivity. Their line is interrupted about 330 years before Christ (Neh. 12:10-11), just as the royal line of descent stops in 1 Chron., a few generations after Zerubbabel.
In 1 Chron. 6:16, the Spirit of God again takes up the genealogy of the Levites, this time in the order of birth according to which their families had been established. The book of Numbers teaches us that their service consisted of carrying the tabernacle and its utensils through the wilderness. The most precious burden, including the ark, was entrusted to the Kohathites. But here we find that "after that the ark was in rest" David appointed men from among the three families of the Levites for "the service of song in the house of Jehovah." "And they ministered before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting with singing, until Solomon had built the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem" (1 Chron. 6:31-32).
In each of these three families one Levite stood out above the rest by reason of the gifts he had received from God: for the Kohathites, Heman; for the Gershonites, Asaph; for the Merarites, Ethan. The other Levites "were given for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God" (1 Chron. 6:48).
The priesthood itself had a dual function. First of all, "Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt-offering, and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place." Secondly, they made "atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded" (1 Chron. 6:49). Thus, the priesthood alone was called to portray the work of Christ as He is described in Heb. 2:17: "a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." The Levites on the other hand depicted service and praise in connection with this work.
In 1 Chron. 6:54-81 we find enumerated the cities apportioned to the Levites, including the cities of refuge. These latter are not mentioned according to the order of their being hallowed, beginning with Kedesh and Shechem as in Josh. 20:7-9, but according to the order of Josh. 21:11-40, beginning with Hebron. Here again, Kohath comes first instead of Gershom (cf. 1 Chron. 6:20), for it is a matter of the Lord's free choice: "theirs was the lot" (1 Chron. 6:54). Among them, the sons of Aaron received "Hebron in the land of Judah" as a city of refuge (1 Chron. 6:55,57). Thus the priesthood, issuing from Kohath, is here intimately united with the tribe of Judah and the place where the kingship was established, whereas the other members of the family of Kohath find their dwelling place in Ephraim and Manasseh. For this reason Judah and Ephraim (cf. 1 Chron. 6:66) occupy a prominent place among the sons of Israel. Thus we see Judah and Joseph, who had the birthright, united through the Levitical priesthood dwelling in their midst. These three names, Judah, Joseph, and Levi, speak to us in a way still obscure of the Messiah's features as king, as first-born, and as high priest.
As we have said, the order of the cities of refuge corresponds to that of Josh. 21, being Hebron, Shechem, Golan in Bashan, Kedesh, Bezer, and Ramoth in Gilead.