THEOSISBeda Venerabilis
If your brethren are interested in knowing about Abijah, from whom Zechariah is said to have received his priestly role, he served as high priest during King David's reign. Following the Lord's command, Aaron was the first priest appointed by Moses under the covenant, and upon his passing, his son Eleazar inherited the high priesthood. Subsequently, Eleazar's son Phinehas took on that role after him. This succession of high priests continued for approximately four hundred and seventy years, leading up to King David’s era. When David, filled with profound devotion, desired to construct a temple for the Lord, it was revealed that his son Solomon would fulfill this task instead.
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Nevertheless, David undertook meticulous preparations for the temple's future construction and the proper worship therein. He also arranged for singers to perform daily psalmody during the sacrificial offerings accompanied by musical instruments. This was intended to inspire the hearts of the attendees to embrace heavenly matters, enhanced not only by the majesty of the lyrics but also by the harmonious melodies of the hymns. In his quest to elevate the dignity of the service and the assembly as a whole, alongside the reverence for the temple itself, David gathered all the descendants of Aaron’s sons, those of Eleazar and Ithamar lineage. He organized them into twenty-four divisions and appointed leaders for each group. The remainder, who were of the lowest rank among the ministers (now recognized as elders), were entrusted with the responsibilities of the office, ensuring that in the event of a high priest's death, the most qualified member of the family would succeed him. Through this, David established these families, so that each family leader, along with their priests, would serve for eight days, from one Sabbath to the next. Although all were considered equal in the priestly order, one individual was designated as the high priest, bearing special honor and authority. The arrangement among the families was determined by casting lots in the presence of King David and the leaders of the priestly and Levitical lines. In this process, it was determined that Abijah, from whom Zechariah and his ministry originate, was allotted the eighth lot. It is noteworthy that the messenger of the New Covenant, in which the glory of the Resurrection was revealed to the world, came from the eighth lot. This reflects both the reality that our Lord rose from the dead on the day following the Sabbath (the eighth day, following the seven days of creation) and the promise of an eternal resurrection in the future age, which follows the six epochs of this world and the seventh, a period of rest for souls leading to the next life.