This week, we shall conclude the
study of I Chronicles of the Old Testament.
The Chronicler continues to relate the record about King David’s preparation for the resumption of formal and permanent temple worship, likely for the purposes of reorganizing the same at the completion of the building of the second temple during the time of Ezra. This chapter focuses on the divisions of Priests.
24:1-9—The Descendants of Aaron
(1) Introductory explanations about the basis of divisions of the priests (vv. 1-5)
a. Why were the descendants of only two of Aaron’s sons counted? (v. 2)
b. Why were more descendants of Eleazar being counted than those of Ithamar? (v. 4)
c. What does the Chronicler emphasize as the basis of such divisions and why? (v. 5)
d. Who were the two main (or high) priests being selected at the time of David? (v. 3)
(2) The twenty four divisions of priests (vv. 6-19)
a. Who was the scribe or secretary in the recording of these heads of families of priestly divisions? (v. 6)
b. The procedure of lot-drawing is explained: “one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar”. But Eleazar’s descendants had 16 heads of families while Ithamar’s descendants had 8: How then did it work? What was the emphasis here? (v. 6; see Note below)
c. What do you think was the need to split these priests into divisions? (You may want to read today’s Meditative Article.)
(3) The rest of the Levites (vv. 20-31): It appears that the Chronicler does not simply repeat the information in chapter 23 concerning the Levites, but only focuses on those Levites who were assigned by David to directly take part in the offices related to temple worship, and his preparation for its full resumption of worship upon the building of the temple by his son.
a. How many heads of families are being enumerated here?
b. How were they being assigned to help the priests? (v. 31)
c. Why does the Chronicler emphasize that, “the families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest”? (v. 31)
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“These words much rather suggest that a lot for Eleazar alternated with the drawing of one for Ithamar, until the eight heads of Ithamar's family had been drawn, when, of course, the remaining eight lots of Eleazar must be drawn one after the other.”
(K&D, 550)
“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.” (1 Chr. 24:5)
The reading of the procedures involving the assignment of so many descendants of Aaron into divisions reminds me of the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah, who saw the vision about the birth of his son while he took his turn in serving in the temple according to the arrangement made by David some 1,000 years ago. William Barclay’s commentary about the Zechariah’s event sheds light on why such divisions were necessary:
“Zacharias, the central character in this scene (in Lk. 1) was a priest. He belonged to the section of Abia (i.e. Abijah of 1 Chr. 24:10). Every direct descendant of Aaron was automatically a priest. That meant that for all ordinary purpose there were far too many priests. They were therefore divided into twenty-four sections. Only at Passover, at Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles did all the priests serve. For the rest of the year each course served two periods of one week each. Priests who loved their work looked forward to that week of service above all things; it was the highlight of their lives.
“A priest might marry only a woman of absolutely pure Jewish lineage. It was specially meritorious to marry a woman who was also a descendant of Aaron, as was Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias.
“There was as many as twenty thousand priests altogether (at the time Zacharias) and so there were not far short of a thousand in each section. Within the sections all the duties were allocated by lot. Every morning and evening sacrifice was made for the whole nation.
“A burnt offering of a male lamb, one year old, without spot or blemish was offered, together with a meat offering of flour and oil and a drink offering of wine. Before the morning sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice incense was burned on the altar of incense so that, as it were, the sacrifices might go up to God wrapped in an envelope of sweet-smelling incense. It was quite possible that many a priest would never have the privilege of burning incense all his life; but if the lot did fall on any priest that day was the greatest day in all his life, the day he longed for and dreamed of. On this day the lot fell on Zacharias and he would be thrilled to the core of his being.”
(The Daily Study Bible Series, Luke, 10)
(1) Why did David have to involve the commanders of the army in setting apart some Levites to be musicians at the temple?
(2) Why was their music ministry called “the ministry of prophesying”? (v. 1)
(3) Descendants of Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman (vv. 2-6)
a. Why did Asaph need to prophesy “under the king’s supervision”?
b. What kind of musicians were the descendants of Jeduthun? (v. 3)
c. What kinds of musicians were the descendants of Heman? (v. 6)
d. Why was Heman called the “king’s seer”? (v. 5)
(4) Assignment of duties (vv. 7-8)
a. How many musicians were there in total?
b. How were their duties assigned? (v. 8)
c. What does such an arrangement mean?
(5) Consider these facts: (i) These musicians had to be set apart by David and his commanders. (ii) Their music ministry was called the ministry of prophesying. (iii) One of them, Heman, was also the king’s seer.
a. What does it say about the role of music in the house of God?
b. How should such musicians look at themselves?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.” (1 Chr. 25:1)
In relating the process of divisions of the temple’s musicians at the time of King David, the Chronicler brings out a few points that are certainly not accidental and are therefore worth-noting. They include these facts:
- These musicians were set apart by David, “together with the commanders of the army” (v. 1).
- Their ministry was called the “ministry of prophesying” (v. 1).
- One of their chiefs, Heman, was called the “king’s seer” (v. 5).
While it was generally thought that “prophesying” is used here “in its wider signification of the singing and playing to the praise of God performed in the Divine Spirit” (K&D, 553), it does highlight two important things about the ministry of music in the house of the Lord:
(1) The musicians need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and
(2) Their ministry does involve the element of “teaching” which is always part of the ministry of a prophet.
The fact that one of their chiefs, Heman, was also the king’s seer points to the quality of his spiritual life—a life that is looked up to by the people and even the king.
No wonder, in the setting apart of these musicians, David felt the need to get the commanders of his army involved, so that these Levites so appointed would take their sacred duties seriously and that the people, as represented by these army chiefs, would hold not just the priest but these temple’s ministers in the highest regards as well.
As a result, those who have the privilege of leading music in church worship, singing in the choir or playing instruments at church services should take their ministry seriously because God is using your ministry as a prophetic ministry. As such, these musicians should lead a holy life themselves, so that they can be filled with the Holy Spirit and would not bring disgrace to the Lord.
26:1-19—Gatekeepers—It appears that of the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath and Merari, only the descendants of Kohath and Merari were assigned as gatekeepers of the temple:
(1) From the two main heads of families from the descendants of Kohath:
a. How many sons did Meshelemiah have and together with their relatives, how many families did Meshelemiah’s descendants have serving as gatekeepers? (vv. 2-3, 9)
b. How many sons did Obed-Edom have and together with their relatives, how many families did Obed-Edom’s descendants have serving as gatekeepers? (vv. 4-8)
c. Why did the Lord bless Obed-Edom in particular? (v. 5; see 13:13-14 also)
(2) From the descendants of Merari, how many sons did Hosah have and together with their relatives, how many families did Hosah’s descendants have serving as gatekeepers? (vv. 10-11)
(3) Casting lots for postings (vv. 12-19)
a. What was the basis of lot casting? (v. 13)
b. Which family was assigned to guard the East Gate? (v. 14—Shelemiah is a variation of Meshelemiah in v. 1) How many guards were there per shift? (v. 17)
c. Which family was assigned to guard the North Gate? (v. 14) How many guards were there per shift? (v. 17)
d. Which family was assigned to guard the South Gate and the storehouse? (v. 15) How many guards were there per shift? (v. 17)
e. Which family was assigned to guard the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate? (v. 16) How many guards were there per shift? (v. 18)
f. Why did David need to assign “able men” to guard the temple as gatekeepers in normal times?
g. What might be the added significance of gatekeepers after the rebuilding of the temple upon their return from exile? (Neh. 12:25; 13:22)
26:20-28—Treasurers—While v. 23 serves as a superscription of the duties assigned to the descendants of all four sons of Kohath, the overall charge of treasuries falls under the descendants of Gershon:
(4) Which family from the descendants of Gershon was put in charge of the treasuries of the temple? (vv. 21-22)
(5) Under them, the descendants from which son of Levi was in charge of the treasuries? (v. 24; see 6:1-3)
(6) What were the descendants from Shelomith and their relatives in charge of? (v. 26)
(7) Of these things “dedicated” to the temple, what does the Chronicler choose to highlight? (vv. 26-28)
26:29-32—Officials and Judges
(8) From the descendants of Izhar (v. 29)
a. What were the duties assigned to them?
b. To which family were the duties assigned?
(9) From the descendants of Hebron (vv. 30-32)
a. What were the duties assigned to the descendants of Hashabiah? (v. 30)
b. How many men did they have in performing these duties?
c. Of the Hebronites, one chief was particularly mentioned (vv. 31-32)
- When was he appointed to his duties? (v. 31; see 29:29)
- What was the region his family was assigned to oversee? (v. 32)
- How many did his family and relatives have in performing these duties? (v. 32)
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“From the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were assigned duties away from the temple as officials and judges over Israel.” (1 Chr. 26:29)
We normally identify Levites with clergymen of our days who devote themselves to serving within the house of the Lord, but in the last few chapters we have come to understand that their duties were sacred and multifaceted, especially under David.
While out of the four of the sons of Levi (6:1-3), only the descendants of Amram, and more specifically of his grandson Aaron could serve as priests. The rest of the Levites are assigned to serve in both “spiritual” and “non-spiritual” functions of great importance.
- Most of the rest of the Levites who were not of Aaron’s descent were to assist the priests in the performance of their duties in the house of the Lord. While they could not perform the offering of the sacrifice itself, they did participate in the preparation that made the offering possible. At the time of David, they had a total of 24,000 Levites who devoted themselves to the ministry at the temple (23:24).
- Some were musicians, as we read in the last chapter, whose ministry was called the ministry of prophesying (25:1) without which the temple worship became much impoverished and they numbered 4,000 in the time of David (23:5).
- Today, we also read that the descendants of Kohath and Merari were assigned as doorkeepers to the temple and they numbered 4,000 in the time of David (23:5). This was a very important task in many ways, the most important of which was to prevent people from entering the courts of the Lord unprepared and without the proper cleansing ritual. And in the time of the Second Temple, under the threats of neighboring enemies, they would also bear arms to protect the house of the Lord (Neh. 12:25; 13:22). David was so envious of their sacred duties and their continual presence in the house of the Lord that he once said, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Ps. 84:10).
- Many of the Levites who were assigned to live outside of Jerusalem were given the important duties to serve as “officials and judges over Israel” (26:29). In other words they served as scribes to teach the people and as judges to administer justice according to the Law of Moses—a very important extension of the business of the king and they numbered only 6,000 initially. It had increased greatly toward the end of the reign of David with the family and relatives of Jeriah alone numbering 2,700, and they oversaw the Transjordan tribes east of Jordan (26:32).
When we consider the roles and duties performed by the Levites who had no inheritance (of land) among Israel, but to whom the Lord Himself was their inheritance (Deut. 10:9), we come to understand that, in essence, there is really no demarcation between “spiritual” and “non-spiritual” works, but only “spiritual” and “non-spiritual” people. If we make God our inheritance and give ourselves totally to the Lord, all the things we do are “spiritual”.
In addition to the establishment of permanent worship at the house of the Lord, it is obvious that David desired to pass on to Solomon a well-organized government:
27:1-15—A Regular Defense Force
(1) How many divisions did David set up?
(2) How many men were there in each division?
(3) What was the frequency of the rotation?
(4) Many of these names can be cross-referenced to the names in chapter 11, especially from the list of mighty men in 11:26-31. The more worth-noting ones include the following:
a. The third army commander: Who was he? (see 11:22-25)
b. The fourth army commander: Who was he and why was his successor named? (11:26; 2 Sam. 2:18-23)
27:16-24—Tribal Leaders
(5) While we do not know for sure why two of the twelve tribes were omitted from this list, it is helpful to refer to a map of the Bible to see which two tribes were omitted and where they were located.
(6) At the end of listing the “heads of families, commanders and their officers”, the Chronicler states that, “David did not take the number of men twenty years old or less” (v. 23).
a. What was the reason given by the Chronicler?
b. What does it really mean? (you may wish to consult today’s Meditative Article later)
27:25-31—Heads of Ministries—Just to make it more relevant to our days, what can you identify below?
(7) Who were in charge of Government Supplies? (v. 25)
(8) Who was David’s Minister/Secretary of Labor? (v. 26)
(9) How was David’s Ministry of Agriculture sub-divided? (vv. 27-28)
(10) What might be today’s equivalent of the ministries described in vv. 29-31?
(11) What might be today’s equivalent of the ministry described in v. 30?
27:32-34—David’s Inner Cabinet
(12) Who were the chief officials within David’s inner cabinet?
(13) Of the names mentioned in the cabinet, you might want to look up the events related to Ahithophel and Hushai in 2 Samuel 16:23, and 17:1-23.
(14) What is the message behind this military and political organization to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.” (1 Chr. 27:23)
It is indeed wrong and tragic for David to number his army, i.e. those fighting men over twenty years old. because of pride and in complete disregard of the requirement of the Law of Moses (Exod. 30:12). The Chronicler clarified that the whole numbering had not been completed because “the wrath of God [in the form of a plague] came on Israel on account of this numbering” (27:24). It also notes that whatever numbers were counted, they did not get entered into “the books of the annals of King David”. This obviously reflects that David’s repentance was genuine.
However, the Chronicler also mentions that, “David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky” (27:23).
At first glance, it sounds rather strange, because if David did believe in this promise of God to Abraham (Gen. 22:17), he should not have numbered his people in the first place. I believe what the Chronicler wishes to point out is that as much as David was wrong in his pride and ignorance of the Law of Moses as stated above, his intention of the numbering of his people was never one of trusting in the might of men and not of God. If he felt that he needed to develop as huge an army as possible on which to depend, he would likely also count those young men, perhaps, between 15-20 so that he would also have a pretty good idea of the size of his future army as well.
As it was, according to the Chronicler, David’s sins were ones of pride and disobedience, but not of a lack of trust in God’s promise.
It is more than obvious that the Chronicler arranges the previous chapters in order to build up to the climax of this chapter:
28:1—David’s Summon
(1) Who had David summoned before him? (v. 1)
(2) Where do you think the priests and Levites were?
28:2-3—David’s Opening Remark
(3) What did David publicly admit to?
(4) What might be the significance of such a public admission?
28:4-7—Remarks on his reign
(5) What was the first emphasis made by David and what was its purpose?
(6) What was the second emphasis made by David and what was its purpose?
(7) When did God tell David of His choice of Solomon? (the closest remark seems to be from 2 Sam. 12:24)
28:8—David’s Charge to His Leaders
(8) Since David made it so official in “summoning” all the leaders (v. 1), what might you expect to be the charge he wanted to give?
(9) What was the charge he actually gave them? (v. 8)
(10) Was it what you would have expected on this occasion? Why or why not?
(11) What does this charge reveal as far as the heart of David was concerned?
28:9-10—David’s Charge to Solomon
(12) While this was the occasion to officially commission Solomon to build the temple, what did David preface this charge with and why?
28:11-19—David’s Detailed Preparation
(13) What were the plans he passed on to Solomon? (vv. 11-12)
(14) Where did his inspiration come from? (v. 12)
(15) What other details did David give concerning the temple’s design, construction and operation? (vv. 13-18)
(16) Why did David have to do all these preparations, almost to the last detail?
(17) Where did all these details come from? (v. 19)
28:20-21—David’s Further Admonition to Solomon
(18) What admonition did David give to Solomon concerning the building of the temple?
(19) What excuse could Solomon have in not proceeding with this charge?
(20) What did this admonition mean to the returnees from exile who were about to complete or had just completed the rebuilding of the temple?
(21) What might this admonition mean to you today?
(22) What is the main message to you today, and how may you apply it to your life?
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” (1 Chr. 28:9)
I am very impressed by one of David’s last speeches which was meant to publicly commission his son Solomon to build the temple of the Lord:
(1) Instead of asking the people and the leaders to lend support to Solomon in this important task, he focuses on the relationship of his people with the Lord. In other words, to him it is the people that matter and ultimately not the task. And so he admonishes them by saying, “So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God” (28:8). What a great man of God David was!
(2) He also reminds the people and the leaders that his kingship and that of Solomon’s is purely the “grace” of God, implying that it has nothing to do with whether they deserve it or not. In fact, he recognizes even if Solomon were to fulfill God’s purpose, he has to be “unswerving in carrying out [God’s] commands and laws” (28:7). How humble and right-minded David was.
(3) As a result, it is paramount that Solomon would acknowledge God, serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind and seek Him (28:9). Indeed, Solomon had obeyed his father’s charge in building a glorious temple, except that he had not heeded his father’s charge to love and seek God. The results were most tragic: His kingdom was immediately divided upon his death, and the temple and the nation both met the fate of total destruction eventually.
The Apostle Peter reminds us that, we too, are building the temple of God (1 Pet. 2:5ff). Consider how much more do we need
- To acknowledge our God, that is, to know Him personally and publicly acknowledge Him in all that we do.
- To serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, that is, to pursue Him singularly with all our hearts and to serve Him willingly which can only come from a heart of gratitude.
- To seek Him, that is, to make Him our only love!
29:1-9—David’s Final Speech (continued)
(1) In appealing to the whole assembly, how did David describe the task at hand? (v. 1)
(2) What was he trying to say?
(3) David told the whole assembly of his own example:
a. What has he already done? (v. 2)
b. What is he now willing to do further? (vv. 3-4)
(4) What was his challenge to the whole assembly? (v. 5b)
(5) What does he mean by that?
(6) How did the leaders respond? (vv. 6-8)
(7) How much did their response have to do with David’s own example according to your opinion?
(8) What was the result of the action of the leaders? (v. 9)
(9) What might be the lesson for you?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the LORD today?” (1 Chr. 29:5b)
Many years ago before I was called into full-time gospel ministry by the Lord, I belonged to a church pastored by a servant of the Lord whom I held in very high regard. However, there was one policy that he promoted that caused me to wonder if it was prudent or helpful at all. He would publish the names of the donors in the church bulletin for all to see. I felt very uncomfortable because of my past experience.
I used to attend a small church in Hong Kong, and most of the members were young and not of a wealthy background. I was one of the few who worked as a professional in the business world, and earned a much higher salary that the average member of the church. As I was the treasurer for quite a long time, I knew that I was among to top donors of the church—a fact that I tried my best to hide from the people of the church. As a result, I mildly objected to the pastor whom I respected when he wanted to publish all the individual donation records. His reason was that good examples could encourage others to follow. But I also know that this would make people like me feel good about ourselves which is not very good for the soul. Shouldn’t we give with our right hand not knowing what our left hand has given? (Matt. 6:3)
While I have not completely resolved in my heart whether this is a prudent or right policy, the example set by David in publicly giving “over and above everything [he] ha[s] provided for God’s temple" (29:3) does speak powerfully to the need to encourage others for the sake of God’s house by setting and even making public your own example. The leaders responded with giving far more than David and they in turn set an example for the people (29:7-9).
I guess if we can have David’s attitude of giving—not out of pride or a desire to flaunt his wealth, but out of a sincere heart for the Lord—not hiding one’s good work is alright, since sooner or later, “A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14).
29:10-20—David’s Prayer—At the generous response in the offerings by the leaders of the people, David offers his praise to the Lord which was likely his last recorded public prayer. Let’s learn from this man of prayer:
(1) God-centered Praise (vv. 10-13)
a. V. 10: What does David address the Lord as? As he remembers the Lord as “the God of our father Israel [i.e. Jacob]", why does it lead him to recognize the Lord as “from everlasting to everlasting”?
b. V. 11a: What is the reason David gave for ascribing greatness and power to the Lord? What might be the difference between the couplet (greatness and power) with the triplet (glory, majesty and splendor)? Are they essentially the same? Why or why not?
c. V. 11b: Earlier (in 28:4-7), David was mindful that it was God who chose him and his son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord. Now how does he see God and His kingdom?
d. V. 12: David has certainly possessed wealth, honor, strength and power. How important it is for him, as king of Israel, to acknowledge that all these have come from God?
e. V. 13: Take a moment to reflect on the above, and see how you may personalize it yourself and offer your own praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and in a “God-centered” fashion.
(2) Who am I and who are we? (vv. 14-17)
a. What is the thing that has overwhelmed the heart of David? (v. 17)
b. Why does the generous giving of the people cause David to ask “who am I and who are my people”?
c. Who were they according to David? (v. 15)
d. Imagine if you had not come to know the Lord, what would you be today? Would your days on earth be like “a shadow, without hope”? Why or why not?
e. As much as David himself has given lavishly to the Lord, consider the following:
- How does he describe his heart of giving? (v. 17)
- How does he see all that he has given to the Lord? (v. 16)
(3) David’s petition to the Lord (vv. 18-20)
a. What is his prayer for the people?
b. What is his prayer for his son?
c. What is the one thing that touches you most in his prayer above?
29:21-25—Affirmation of Solomon’s Kingship—The Chronicler refers to this as the “second time” David affirmed the kingship of Solomon before the people. The first time was likely the occasion described in 23:1.
(4) How meaningful was this affirmation by David on the day that they celebrated the dedication of all their offerings to the building of the temple?
(5) Can you recount all that David has done in preparation for his handover of his throne to Solomon?
(6) Given the description of these verses, can you imagine what David must have felt as he was nearing his death?
(7) What preparation can you do for your next generation and what legacy do you think you are passing on to them?
29:26-30—The Death of David
(8) Please pause for a moment and write either a short eulogy or a short epitaph for David.
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.” (1 Chr. 29:17)
It is obvious that the Chronicler is very selective in his reiteration of the history of Israel from the death of Saul (1 Chr. 10) to the fall of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 36), and his intention is quite clear as he purposely skips over the events of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband.
As we come to the last few chapters of 1 Chronicles (from chapter 22 onwards), we can understand that the Chronicler wants us to focus on the positive examples that David has left for his son, Solomon, as his legacy, as flawed as he was as a person:
- His heart was singularly devoted to the Lord: As a result he wanted to set up a permanent system and organization for the worship of the Lord once the temple was to be built. He knew how central the temple worship would be to the spiritual well-being of the nation. So he put in place the permanent rosters and assigned the proper duties to all the priests and the Levites which include the singers, the door-keepers and the managers within the temple (chapters 23-26).
- He knew that Solomon was young and inexperienced, so he has done as much as possible in preparing not only the necessary materials but the labors that would be required, together with all the plans and dimensions for the furniture (chapters 22, 28). In other words, David has devoted much of his senior years in praying and waiting before the Lord (28:12-19), and in making the preparation for the temple building his main project—what a wise use of his “retirement years”.
- As much as his numbering of fighting men was wrong and drew the wrath of God, he seemed to dovetail this effort to organize a proper defense force on a monthly rotation which was the backbone of every nation with such hostile neighbors (chapter 27).
- He set an awesome example in giving lavishly to the temple of the Lord which served as a great inspiration to the people (chapter 29).
- His greatest desire as a king was to see his people “keep their hearts loyal” to the Lord (29:18) and his son to maintain “wholehearted devotion” to keep God’s commands and decrees (29:19).
I think, irrespective of how we might have lived our lives in the past, the least we can learn from David is his ultimate desire for his people and his sons, and that he obviously did not express it only in his last public prayer, but it formed part of his intercessory life.