עֲבֹדָה

All these were under the direction of their fathers for the music of the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king.

All these were descendants of Obed-edom; they and their sons and brothers were capable men with strength to do the work—62 in all from Obed-edom.

From the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, had charge of the affairs of Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the LORD and for the service of the king.

Ezri son of Chelub was in charge of the workers in the fields who tilled the soil.

…for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of service in the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD:

…the weight of all the gold articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service;

…the weight of the gold lampstands and their lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand;

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man of every skill will be at your disposal for the work. The officials and all the people are fully at your command.”

Toward the service of God’s house they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.

In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.

“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands.”

Then the king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who supervised the labor on the house of the LORD to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, as well as workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.

Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the LORD was established.

Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—for the burnt offerings and peace offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for singing praises at the gates of the LORD’s dwelling.

In addition, they distributed portions to the males registered by genealogy who were three years of age or older—to all who would enter the house of the LORD for their daily duties for service in the responsibilities of their divisions—

He acted with all his heart in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.

…were over the laborers and supervised all who did the work, task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD.

So the service was prepared; the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command.

The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.

So on that day the entire service of the LORD was carried out for celebrating the Passover and offering burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.

They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites.

Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

We also place ourselves under the obligation to contribute a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God:

Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.

He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:

Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.

On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,

For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.

The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

Judah has gone into exile under affliction and harsh slavery; she dwells among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of all the work for the temple and everything to be done in it.