Silos

Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod.
1 Chronicles 15:27 (NIV)

I have a bit of a fascination with words and their origins. There is a weekly column in the Wall Street Journal in which the author, an etymologist, chooses one word that was used a lot in the news that week and explores its origins and uses. I know. It’s geeky, but it’s my kind of geeky.

When working in business, one hears a lot of references to silos, which I find fascinating living in Iowa. An agricultural staple used for storing grain on the farm became a universally used metaphor describing strict divisions within a business or corporation. In my career, I’ve had to struggle with our client’s silos regularly. The Sales and Marketing silo usually pays for customer research, but the results have all sorts of important data for the Customer Service team who is in the Operations silo. At best, they don’t communicate well. At worst, they consider each other internal rivals. Silos prevent the data from having a maximum impact on the client and their customers’ experiences.

In the ancient world of the Hebrews, there were also silos that God had established in the Laws of Moses. Only members of the tribe of Levi were priests and caretakers of God’s ark and the temple. Hundreds of years later, the Hebrews established a monarchy. But King David, despite being anointed by God and established as a man after God’s own heart, was from the tribe of Judah. That’s a different silo.

The Chronicler, unlike the earlier account of David’s reign in Samuel, is writing hundreds of years later and with knowledge of all that has happened since, including the writings of all the prophets. He knows from the prophets that the Messiah will come from David’s line and that the Messiah will be both King and High Priest.

In today’s chapter, I noted that the Chronicler was careful to explain that it was King David who ordered that no one but the Levites should carry the Ark of the Covenant and that they should all consecrate themselves before doing so as prescribed in the Law of Moses, a mistake they had made two chapters earlier. So it’s the King who is commanding the priestly tribe of Levi to do their job.

Later in the chapter, the Chronicler provides a little detail about the big event of the Ark of the Covenant’s big arrival celebration in Jerusalem. King David was wearing the same priestly garments as the Levites.

The Chronicler is establishing with David there was a tearing down of the silos between King and Priest. David had authority and told the Levites to do their job. David wore priestly garments as the Ark was brought into Jerusalem. The Chronicler sees David as the precursor of the King-Priest that will eventually be fully realized in the Messiah.

Note: The Priest-King issue as it relates to Jesus was eventually explained by the author of Hebrews, and it’s pretty cool. The answer lies in a mysterious figure who appears briefly in Genesis. I introduce him briefly in this post.

So what does this have to do with my life today? As a disciple of Jesus, I find that He’s all about tearing down the silos. He tore down cultural silos and religious silos. He burned the silo of a priestly class system to the ground and made every follower a member of the royal priesthood. I just talked about that in a message I gave to our local gathering of Jesus’ followers a few weeks ago.

So in the quiet this morning, I find myself asking “Where have I built silos in life that need to be torn down?” Where do I see distinctions between me and others that Jesus would say don’t exist? If I’m a member of the royal priesthood as God tells me I am, then how am I supposed to live that out in my life, my words, and my actions today? Or, have I built a silo around my heart and mind so that I can ignore this spiritual truth and tell myself “It’s not my job!”?