The Registry of Valor: God's Mighty Men Text: 1 Chronicles 9:10-13
Introduction: The Divine Roll Call
We come now to a portion of Scripture that many modern readers, in their quest for immediate spiritual gratification, are tempted to skim. We see a list of names, a genealogy, and our eyes glaze over. We think this is the boring part, the historical minutiae, the biblical equivalent of reading the phone book. But if we think this way, we are thinking like unbelievers. We are assuming that some parts of God's Word are more inspired than others, which is a damnable heresy. If all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable, then that includes the lists. We must discipline ourselves to ask what God is teaching us here, in the roll call of the priests who returned to Jerusalem.
These lists are not filler. They are the skeletal structure of redemptive history. They are a testament to God's covenant faithfulness across the generations. After the desolation of the exile, a disaster brought on by Israel's apostasy, the Chronicler is reminding the returned remnant of who they are. He is reestablishing their identity, not in their own strength, but in God's sovereign preservation of a people for Himself. God did not forget His promises. He did not lose track of His people. He kept a registry. He knows His own by name. In an age of anonymity and existential angst, where men wonder who they are and if their lives matter, the principle embedded in these verses is a profound comfort and a sharp rebuke. What matters is not whether your name is on the list of the Fortune 500, or the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but whether your name is on God's list.
This passage, then, is about more than just historical record keeping. It is about the nature of God's people, the structure of their leadership, and the character required for the service of God's house. It is a lesson in what true strength looks like, and where it is to be applied.
The Text
From the priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760 mighty men of valor for the work of the service of the house of God.
(1 Chronicles 9:10-13 LSB)
The Personal God and His Priests (v. 10)
The list begins with a simple declaration of who is being counted.
"From the priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin," (1 Chronicles 9:10a)
Stop right there. Jedaiah. Jehoiarib. Jachin. These are not abstract categories. They are individual men. God's covenant is not with a vague, amorphous blob of humanity. He calls His people by name. Isaiah says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1). This is the God of the Bible. He is not the distant, impersonal force of the deists or the pantheists. He is the God who knows the number of hairs on your head. In a world that increasingly seeks to depersonalize us, to turn us into data points and demographics, this is a radical truth. Your identity is not found in your psychological profile or your social media presence. Your true identity is found in the fact that the sovereign God of the universe knows your name. He has you on His list. These priests mattered to God as individuals, and so do you, if you are in Christ.
Lineage, Legitimacy, and Leadership (v. 11)
The list continues, but it is not a flat list. It has structure and authority built into it.
"and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God;" (1 Chronicles 9:11)
Notice two crucial things here. First, the importance of lineage. Azariah's legitimacy is established by tracing his ancestry back through the proper priestly lines of Zadok and Ahitub. This is not mere historical trivia. It is the framework of God's covenant. God works through generations. He makes promises to fathers and to their children after them. Our modern, individualistic mindset chafes at this. We want to be self-made men, disconnected from the past. But the Bible presents us as links in a chain, bearers of a heritage. God's faithfulness is demonstrated not in one-off flashes of inspiration, but in a long, steady, generational stream of grace. This genealogy is a record of God's enduring promise to maintain a priesthood for His people.
Second, we see the principle of headship. Azariah is identified as "the leader of the house of God." God is not a God of confusion, but of order. He establishes authority. He appoints leaders. This is not a democratic committee; it is a divinely ordained structure. The service of God's house requires leadership. It requires men who will take responsibility, make decisions, and govern the affairs of God's people according to His Word. This is an affront to the egalitarian spirit of our age, which despises all authority. But there can be no true worship without right order, and there can be no right order without God-appointed leadership.
A Broad and Deep Company (v. 12)
The list expands, showing the breadth of the priestly families who returned to their sacred duty.
"and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;" (1 Chronicles 9:12)
More names, more genealogies. The Chronicler is piling up the evidence. God's preservation was not meager. He did not bring back just one or two priestly lines. He brought back a multitude from various houses: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, the line of Azariah, the line of Adaiah, the line of Maasai. The point is to show the richness and fullness of God's restorative work. He did not just patch the system together; He reestablished it with depth and integrity. Each name represents a family, a history of faithfulness, a story of survival through the judgment of exile, and a new commitment to the work of the Lord. This is a picture of a robust, multi-faceted community, united in their priestly calling.
The Valor of Service (v. 13)
Finally, we get the summary and the shocking description of these men.
"and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760 mighty men of valor for the work of the service of the house of God." (1 Chronicles 9:13)
This is the verse that ought to knock us back on our heels. The number itself is impressive: 1,760. This is not a skeleton crew. This is a formidable workforce. The worship and service of God is a massive undertaking that requires a significant portion of the community's manpower. It is the central business of the people.
But it is the description that is so stunning. They are called "mighty men of valor." The Hebrew is gibborim chayil. This is the exact phrase used to describe elite warriors, David's special forces. We think of valor on the battlefield, of courage in the face of swords and spears. But here, the Holy Spirit applies this high military honor to the priests. Their valor was "for the work of the service of the house of God."
This is a radical, biblical redefinition of masculinity and strength. It takes valor to run the temple. It takes might to deal with blood and sacrifices day in and day out. It takes fortitude to teach the law, to confront sin, to manage the logistics of the festivals, and to stand before a holy God on behalf of a sinful people. The service of God is not for the faint of heart. It is not an effeminate, soft, sentimental enterprise. It is spiritual warfare. It requires grit, discipline, and courage. It is hard work. This verse is a direct rebuke to any conception of church work or ministry as something less than manly, less than demanding, less than valorous.
The New Covenant Priesthood of the Valiant
As with all things in the Old Testament, this points us to Christ and His Church. The Aaronic priesthood was a shadow. The true and eternal High Priest is Jesus Christ, the ultimate "leader of the house of God" (Hebrews 3:6). His lineage is not from Aaron, but from the eternal order of Melchizedek. His qualification is not His ancestry, but His own sinless blood.
And through Him, all who believe are brought into a new priesthood. Peter tells us we are a "royal priesthood," a "holy nation," called to "proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). The roll call is no longer kept in the archives of Jerusalem, but rather our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Revelation 21:27). We are enrolled in "the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven" (Hebrews 12:23).
And what is required of this new priesthood? The same thing that was required of the old: valor. We are called to be mighty men and women of valor for the work of the service of the house of God, which is the Church. Our work is not animal sacrifice, but offering our bodies as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). Our work is the spiritual warfare of prayer, evangelism, discipleship, raising godly children, and building a Christian civilization. This work requires courage. It requires the strength to stand against a hostile culture. It requires the fortitude to mortify sin in our own lives. It requires the grit to love our neighbors and our enemies.
This list in 1 Chronicles is not dead history. It is a living challenge to us. God knows you by name. He has called you into His service. He has enrolled you in the army of the saints. The question is, will you be counted among the mighty men of valor? Will you apply your strength, your energy, and your courage to the most important work in the universe: the work of the service of the house of God?