1 Chronicles 24: Serving God in the Place He Has Entrusted to You

Introduction

This message was given at the morning prayer service of Osaka Onnuri Church, in Japan, on October 13, 2026. The text for the day covers the whole of 1 Chronicles 24, verses 1 to 31.

The preacher admits it openly: this is a passage where name after name goes by, names that nobody knows. You might wonder why the Bible contains so many of them. Yet, he says, this text that seems monotonous hides an important message for everyone who serves God. The title chosen that morning sums up the chapter: assigning duties by lot.

He draws two lessons from it. The first: in God's work, everyone has received a role. The second: we must respect God's order rather than our own desires. And one conviction runs through the whole message: what matters is not holding the position you wish for, but serving the Lord with the right heart and the right attitude, in the place he has entrusted to you today.

Outline of the message

1. What if your service in the church were decided by lot?

The preacher opens with a simple question. In the church, everyone carries a share of the work. Imagine that all these duties were assigned by drawing lots. "Sometimes I think it might actually be necessary," he says with a touch of humor.
But he immediately guesses the reactions. "That's the service I wanted to do." Or: "Why did that person receive such an important role, and I only got this one?" These thoughts would surely arise in many hearts.
In his church, services are of course not drawn by lot. Each person serves according to the gifts they have received and their passion. And we all like to serve where we feel comfortable, in our area of skill, in what we love to do, where our work is recognized.
There is nothing wrong with that in itself, the preacher explains. But in the life of faith, the essential thing is not necessarily to hold the position we desire. The essential thing is to know with what heart, what disposition and what attitude we serve the Lord in the place God has entrusted to us now.
This is exactly what 1 Chronicles 24 shows: the duties of the priests were not set according to what each one wanted to do, but by lot.

2. Twenty-four divisions to serve in the house of the Lord

Verses 1 to 5 describe how the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were assigned their duties. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu died before their father and left no sons. The priesthood was therefore carried on by the descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar.
David then organizes the priests into groups, with the help of Zadok, of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, of the sons of Ithamar (verse 3). Since there were more heads of families among the sons of Eleazar, sixteen divisions were formed on their side and eight on Ithamar's side: twenty-four divisions in all (verse 4).
The preacher stresses this point: the priests are divided into groups, and each one carries a share of the service of God. Not everyone fills the same role at the same time. There are responsibilities, an order of service, and a task to carry out for each person.
In other words, to support the worship offered to God, each person, with their group, took on the role entrusted to them. Verses 7 to 18 list the twenty-four divisions in the order fixed by lot, and verses 20 to 31 describe in the same way how the other Levites were assigned.
All these men, the preacher concludes, served in turn, each taking charge of the task assigned to him. Their names mean nothing to us, but they faithfully took part in the service that supported the people's worship.

3. In God's work, everyone has received a role

This is the first lesson. What was true for the priests is also true for the church today. There is a great variety of works, services and roles in the church.
There are those who stand before the congregation to proclaim the Word, "like me, like the pastors," says the preacher. There are those who lead worship: the worship team, the musicians with their instruments, the choir. Through their sacrifice of praise, they lead the congregation into the presence of the Lord, filled with his grace.
There are also those we see less. Even before the service begins, they prepare the room, set up the chairs, clean, and set up the sound, the video and all the equipment needed.
There are the leaders who serve among children and young people, and who give their time with great selflessness. And there are those who, where no one sees them, keep praying for the church.
Each of these services is part of God's work.

4. No service is unimportant: do not compare

The preacher then asks the question frankly: which service is the most important? Is the visible service, in front of everyone, worth more than the discreet one? Would work that nobody notices be worthless?
Each service of course carries different responsibilities. But as a service offered to God, none is unimportant. All are precious and honorable before God.
Yet we compare. "That person does important work, so why do I always get the tasks nobody sees?" Or, the other way around: "My service is more important than theirs." The preacher adds, not without humor, that he does not think this is the case for anyone in the congregation, but that these thoughts can arise in the heart.
But God does not ask everyone to do the same thing. The apostle Paul compares the church to a body, in 1 Corinthians 12. The body has eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, hands, feet. The eye has its role, the nose has its own. The functions differ, but every part is needed by the same body. No organ is superfluous.
It is the same for the church. What matters is not the role you hold or the service assigned to you. What matters is whether you faithfully carry out, before God, the role entrusted to you.
Hence the preacher's call: do not compare your role with that of others. Take to heart the service God entrusts to you today, for the Lord and not for people. Even if it looks small and unremarkable in the eyes of others, a service offered to the Lord has meaning, and the Lord receives it with joy.

5. Why a lot? Recognizing God's sovereignty

The second lesson starts from verse 5: "They were divided by lot, one group with another, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar." Verse 31 adds that the Levites, too, cast lots in the same way, in the presence of King David, Zadok and Ahimelech.
Why does David use a lot? The preacher explains that at the time, casting lots was not a mere game of chance. In the Old Testament, when a decision was not to rest solely on human tastes or calculations, the lot was used as a way of saying: "We entrust this choice to God's sovereignty."
He quotes Proverbs 16:33: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh." The outcome of the lot was in the Lord's hands.
So the duties of the priests were not set according to anyone's preferences, nor according to connections or power struggles. They were assigned in recognition of God's sovereignty.
Here is what the preacher wants the congregation to remember this morning: the service offered to God is not decided only by our thoughts and our wishes. "This is important, dear brothers and sisters."

6. What God entrusts to you rather than what you desire

The preacher takes care to avoid a misreading. This text does not mean that the church should now decide everything by drawing lots. We have the Word of God, which is the reference and which reveals his will. It is by relying on it, by praying and talking together, that we are called to discern with wisdom.
But once roles are set, one question remains: with what heart, with what attitude do you receive the task entrusted to you?
In church life, we do not always receive the service we hoped for. "I wanted to sing on the worship team, play in the band... and I'm given toilet cleaning?" Or: "Why do I have to be a group leader? It would be so much easier to be just a member. Why carry such a heavy responsibility?" The preacher frankly asks the congregation whether this has never happened to them, and answers for himself: probably it has.
He acknowledges that it is good to talk about your gifts, your passion and your situation. And nobody is obliged to accept everything to the point of exhaustion. But he invites us to ask a different question: not "What do I want to do?" but "How can I serve God?"
We do not serve to be recognized, nor to be admired, nor to prove our abilities. We serve the Lord himself. The preacher even names the pastors of his church: we do not serve to be recognized or congratulated by this or that pastor. It is the Lord who rejoices to see each person faithfully carry out their task, in the place and the position they have received.
He has everyone read Colossians 3:23 together: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men." Even if nobody evaluates you, even if no pastor congratulates you, even if nobody says a word to you, God knows your work.
The sacrifices made where nobody is watching, the services that seem small and discreet: God knows them. "So isn't that enough?" asks the preacher. If the Lord knows, that is enough to keep serving with joy and faithfulness, without clinging only to our own desires.

7. Not where you serve, but for whom you serve

To conclude, the preacher returns to the names in 1 Chronicles 24. Priests and Levites, almost all unknown. Yet they were members who, each in his own role, took part faithfully and earnestly in the service that supported the worship of God.
It is the same in your life of faith. Not everyone needs to stand in front of others. Not everyone needs to do the same thing. What matters is not to be noticed more than others, nor to seize an important role. What matters is to be faithful, for the Lord, in the place, the task and the role God entrusts to you today.
That place may be your family, your work, your school, or the church. It may not be the place you would have chosen. But even there, you can serve the Lord with joy and gratitude. Why? Because the Lord sees this work, and he knows it.
The sentence the preacher invites us to engrave on our hearts that morning is simple: what matters is not the place where we serve, but the one for whom we serve.
He also expresses a wish: that all the work of the day may become an offering, the best sacrifice presented to the Lord.
In the prayer that follows, he echoes these same themes: he recalls that the priests and Levites each carried their share, without grumbling or complaining, and that worship was thus well ordered; he asks that each person serve faithfully in the task received; that no one compare themselves with others or seek only the service they desire; that the Spirit give strength, joy and gratitude to faithfully carry out even what seems small in human eyes, so that only the name of the Lord may be glorified.

Key takeaways

In God's work, everyone has received a role. The priests served in turn, in a fixed order, to support worship.
No service offered to God is unimportant. Like the members of one body, all are needed: do not compare your role with that of others.
The lot expressed God's sovereignty: "every decision is from the Lord." Service is not decided only by our wishes.
The real question is not "What do I want to do?" but "How can I serve God?" We serve neither to be recognized, nor to be admired, nor to prove our abilities.
God knows what you do, even where no one is watching. What matters is not where you serve, but for whom you serve.

Personal application

What service, what task or what responsibility has God entrusted to you right now, at church, in your family, at work or at school?
Do you ever compare your role with someone else's, to feel diminished or, on the contrary, more important? Name that comparison before God.
Is there a service you carry out reluctantly because it does not match what you wanted? How can you receive it today as coming from the Lord?
For whom are you really serving: to be recognized, congratulated, noticed, or for the Lord? Reread Colossians 3:23 while thinking of a specific task in your day.
What small task, invisible to others, can you do with joy this week, knowing that God knows it?

Key verses

Frequently asked questions

Why are the priests assigned by lot in 1 Chronicles 24?

In the Old Testament, the lot was not a game of chance. It was used when a decision was not to depend on human preferences, in order to entrust the choice to God's sovereignty. Proverbs 16:33 says it: the lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord. The duties of the priests were therefore not set according to tastes, connections or power struggles, but in recognition that God decides.

Should services in the church be decided by lot today?

No. The preacher makes clear that this text should not be understood that way. We have the Word of God: it is by taking it as our reference, by praying and talking together, that we discern with wisdom. The decisive question lies elsewhere: with what heart, with what attitude do you receive the service entrusted to you?

Is there a service more important than another in the church?

Each service carries different responsibilities, but no service offered to God is unimportant. As in the body described in 1 Corinthians 12, each member has a distinct role and all are needed. What matters is not the role you hold, but the faithfulness with which you carry it out before God.

What should I do if the service I am given is not the one I wanted?

It is good to talk about your gifts, your passion and your situation, and you do not have to accept everything to the point of exhaustion. But the preacher invites us to ask a different question: not "What do I want to do?" but "How can I serve God?" Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23). God knows that work, even if nobody notices it.