The Sacred and the Secular are One Text: 1 Chronicles 26:29-32
Introduction: The Folly of Divided Labor
We live in an age that loves to compartmentalize. We have our religious life, which we keep in a neat little box, and we bring it out on Sundays. Then we have our "real" life, our work life, our political life, our public life, which we conduct according to a completely different set of rules. We have been taught to believe in a great divorce between the sacred and the secular. The state is to be naked of any religious conviction, and the church is to be silent on any matter of public importance. This is the great lie of secularism, and it is a lie that has neutered the witness of the church in the West.
Our modern political discourse is a frantic attempt to manage the chaos that results from this division. We want justice without a standard of justice. We want a flourishing society without acknowledging the God who makes societies flourish. We want the fruit of Christendom without the root of Christ. But a tree severed from its root is a dead tree, and a society severed from God is a dying society.
The book of Chronicles, with its long lists of names and duties, might seem to us a dry and dusty place to find a remedy for this modern sickness. But we must remember that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. These lists are not filler. They are the inspired record of a nation that understood something we have forgotten: that all of life is to be lived under the lordship of Jesus Christ. There is no square inch in all the universe over which Christ does not say, "Mine."
This passage before us, detailing the administrative duties of certain Levites, is a direct assault on our modern dualism. It presents a picture of a thoroughly integrated society, where the men of God are deeply involved in the practical, day-to-day governance of the nation. They were not cloistered away in the temple, chanting psalms and staying out of public affairs. They were officers and judges, administrators and overseers, managing both "the work of Yahweh and the service of the king." For them, there was no conflict of interest. To serve the king rightly was to serve Yahweh, and to serve Yahweh was the foundation for all faithful service to the king. This passage shows us the biblical pattern for a truly Christian society, one where God's law is the standard for all of life, both sacred and secular.
The Text
As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned to the outside work for Israel, as officers and judges.
As for the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 men of valor, were over the administration of Israel across the Jordan to the west, for all the work of Yahweh and the service of the king.
As for the Hebronites, Jerijah the chief (these Hebronites were investigated according to their generations and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and mighty men of valor were found among them at Jazer of Gilead)
and his relatives, men of valor, were 2,700 in number, heads of fathers’ households. And King David made them overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites concerning all the affairs of God and of the king.
(1 Chronicles 26:29-32 LSB)
Sacred Work in Secular Places (v. 29)
We begin with the assignment given to the Izharites.
"As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned to the outside work for Israel, as officers and judges." (1 Chronicles 26:29)
The first thing to notice is the nature of their work. It is "outside work." This does not mean they were landscapers. It means their duties were outside the immediate precincts of the temple. The Levites had numerous responsibilities, from gatekeepers to musicians to treasurers, and most of these were focused on the central sanctuary. But here we have a division of Levites, men set apart for the service of God, whose primary sphere of labor was out in the towns and villages of Israel.
And what were they doing? They were "officers and judges." These are civil and judicial roles. They were enforcing contracts, settling disputes, and administering justice according to the law of God. This demolishes the idea that religious men should have no role in public administration. In God's economy, the men who were most steeped in the law of God were precisely the men best equipped to apply that law in the civil sphere. Their theology was not an abstract hobby; it was the foundation for practical jurisprudence.
This is the biblical model. The law of God is not just for personal piety; it is a blueprint for a just society. When a nation abandons God's law as its standard for public justice, it does not become neutral. It simply adopts another god and another law, usually the arbitrary and tyrannical law of man. Our modern courts are drowning in cases precisely because we have rejected the simple, clear, and just standards of God's law. These Levites were not imposing some alien theocracy; they were applying the very constitution of their nation, which was the covenant law given by God at Sinai.
No Divided Loyalties (v. 30)
Verse 30 gives us another group of Levites, the Hebronites, and clarifies the integrated nature of their task.
"As for the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 men of valor, were over the administration of Israel across the Jordan to the west, for all the work of Yahweh and the service of the king." (1 Chronicles 26:30)
Here we see a significant number of men, 1,700 of them, described as "men of valor." This is not a term we typically associate with administrators or bureaucrats. It is a military term. It speaks of strength, courage, and capability. This tells us that godly administration is not a task for the weak, the timid, or the effeminate. It requires robust, masculine virtue. It requires men who are not afraid to make decisions, to enforce the law, and to stand for what is right, even when it is difficult. Our modern bureaucracies are often filled with paper-pushers and time-servers. God's administration requires men of valor.
But the most crucial phrase is the description of their portfolio: "for all the work of Yahweh and the service of the king." Notice, it is not "the work of Yahweh" OR "the service of the king." Nor is it "the work of Yahweh" in one box and "the service of the king" in another. It is a unified task. The two are intertwined. For these Levites, collecting taxes for the king was part of the work of Yahweh. Seeing that the roads were maintained for the king's business was part of the work of Yahweh. Why? Because the king himself was God's servant (Romans 13:4). The civil magistrate has a God-ordained role, and to serve him faithfully in that role is to serve God.
This is the essence of what is often called sphere sovereignty. God has established three basic governments: the family, the church, and the state. Each has its own distinct role and authority, given by God. The state is the ministry of justice, the church is the ministry of grace and peace, and the family is the ministry of health, education, and welfare. But while their tasks are distinct, their ultimate authority is not. All three are under the authority of King Jesus. Therefore, a man's work for the state must be an expression of his service to God. There is no neutrality. The civil magistrate will either serve Yahweh or he will serve Molech. There is no third option.
Diligent Accountability and Capable Men (v. 31-32)
The final verses reinforce these themes, focusing on another group of Hebronites on the other side of the Jordan.
"As for the Hebronites, Jerijah the chief (these Hebronites were investigated according to their generations and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and mighty men of valor were found among them at Jazer of Gilead) and his relatives, men of valor, were 2,700 in number, heads of fathers’ households. And King David made them overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites concerning all the affairs of God and of the king." (1 Chronicles 26:31-32)
First, notice the accountability. These men were not just appointed haphazardly. They were "investigated according to their generations and fathers' households." This was done in the fortieth year of David's reign, meaning this was part of the final, mature ordering of the kingdom. Genealogies were not just for proving you had a famous ancestor. They were public records that established a man's identity, his heritage, and his qualifications. God is a God of order, and He expects His people to conduct their affairs with diligence and care. Appointing men to positions of authority is a serious business, and it requires due diligence.
Second, we see the same qualification again: they found "mighty men of valor" among them. And not just a few. There were 2,700 of them. These men were also "heads of fathers' households." This is the biblical pattern for leadership. Leadership in the public square flows from faithfulness in the home. A man who cannot govern his own family is not fit to govern a city (1 Timothy 3:5). The family is the basic building block of society, and the strength of the nation is directly tied to the strength of its households, led by faithful, valiant men.
Finally, their task is reiterated. They were made overseers for the tribes east of the Jordan "concerning all the affairs of God and of the king." The language is comprehensive. All the affairs. There was no aspect of public life in Transjordan that fell outside their purview. Whether it was a matter of temple tithes or royal taxes, a dispute over property lines or a question of liturgical practice, it all came under this one integrated administration. The law of God was the standard for everything. This is what it looks like when a nation is discipled. It is not just about getting individual souls saved; it is about teaching the nation to obey all that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).
All of Christ for All of Administration
So what does this ancient administrative record have to say to us? Everything. It provides the antidote to our schizophrenic public life. It calls us to reject the false dichotomy between the sacred and the secular and to reclaim every area of life for Christ.
This means that Christian lawyers and judges should not see their work as a secular vocation with a little bit of prayer on the side. They are to see themselves as modern-day Levites, tasked with administering justice according to the unchanging standards of God's Word. Christian politicians and civil servants are not to check their faith at the door of the capitol building. They are to understand that their work is both "the service of the king" and "the work of Yahweh," and they must conduct it with valor and integrity, for the glory of God.
This also means that the church has a prophetic duty to speak to the state. The church does not wield the sword, but it must instruct the one who does. Like these Levites, the church is the repository of God's law, and it has the responsibility to teach the nations, including its own magistrates, what righteousness requires. When the state commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, we must obey God rather than men. But our goal is not simply to be conscientious objectors. Our goal is the discipleship of the nations, so that our kings would become wise and our rulers would be warned to serve the Lord with fear (Psalm 2).
The men in our text were "men of valor." This was not just a physical or military quality. It was a spiritual and moral fortitude. They were men who were not ashamed of the law of God and were not afraid to apply it in the public square. We are called to that same valor. We are called to be men who are heads of our households, who are diligent in our vocations, and who seek to bring all things, both the affairs of God and the affairs of the king, under the gracious and total lordship of Jesus Christ. For in the end, there is no distinction. All the work of the world, when done in faith, is the work of Yahweh, and all the service of men, when offered to Christ, is the service of the King of kings.