Study Desk

The men from the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad prayed to God during the war, asking him to help them. So he helped them because they trusted him. He handed over to them the Hagrites and all those who were with them.

Many Hagrites were killed because God helped the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. Then they lived there until Babylon captured them and took them away.

But they sinned against the God that their ancestors had worshiped. They began worshiping the gods of the people in that land, and those were the people God was destroying.

So the God of Israel made Pul king of Assyria want to go to war. (Pul was also called Tiglath-Pileser.) He captured the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, and he took them away to Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River. They have lived there from that time until this day.

The other Levites served by doing their own special work in the Holy Tent, the house of God.

Aaron and his descendants offered the sacrifices on the altar of burnt offering and burned the incense on the altar of incense. They offered the sacrifices that removed the Israelites' sins so they could belong to God. They did all the work in the Most Holy Place and followed all the laws that Moses, God's servant, had commanded.

The names of all the people of Israel were listed in their family histories, and those family histories were put in the book of the kings of Israel. The people of Judah were captured and forced to go to Babylon, because they were not faithful to God.

Azariah son of Hilkiah. (Hilkiah was Meshullam's son. Meshullam was Zadok's son. Zadok was Meraioth's son. Meraioth was Ahitub's son. Ahitub was the officer responsible for the Temple of God.)

There were one thousand seven hundred sixty priests. They were leaders of their families, and they were responsible for serving in the Temple of God.

Because they were dependable, four gatekeepers were made the leaders of all the gatekeepers. They were Levites, and they were responsible for the rooms and treasures in the Temple of God.

They stayed up all night guarding the Temple of God, and they opened it every morning.

Even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel in battle. The Lord your God said to you, ‘You will be the shepherd for my people Israel. You will be their leader.'"

saying, "May God keep me from drinking this water! It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives to bring it to me!" So David refused to drink it. These were the brave things that the three warriors did.

David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come peacefully to help me, I welcome you. Join me. But if you have come to turn me over to my enemies, even though I have done nothing wrong, the God of our ancestors will see this and punish you."

Then the Spirit entered Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said: "We belong to you, David. We are with you, son of Jesse. Success, success to you. Success to those who help you, because your God helps you." So David welcomed these men and made them leaders of his army.

Every day more men joined David, and his army became large, like the army of God.

Then David called the people of Israel together and said, "If you think it is a good idea, and if it is what the Lord our God wants, let's send a message. Let's tell our fellow Israelites in all the areas of Israel and the priests and Levites living with them in their towns and pastures to come and join us.

Let's bring the Ark of our God back to us. We did not use it to ask God for help while Saul was king."

So David gathered all the Israelites, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the Ark of God back from the town of Kiriath Jearim.

David and all the Israelites with him went to Baalah of Judah, which is Kiriath Jearim, to get the Ark of God the Lord . God's throne is between the golden, winged creatures on the Ark, and the Ark is called by his name.