1 Chronicles 9:27
And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them. And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them.
The verse belongs to the account of the division of temple service, including the priests and those responsible for the charge of the temple. That order of service was in use after the return from Babylon and is traced back to David and Samuel. The porters named in it were gatekeepers of the temple, and the passage in 1 Chronicles 9:21-29 taken together gives a full understanding of their work.
Some of those serving at the temple lodged around the house of God because they were responsible for its care and for opening it each morning. The Levite servants described as lodging round about the house of God were the deacons of the church organized in the wilderness, upon whom the charge lay and to whom the opening of the house every morning belonged. Certain of them had charge of the ministering vessels to bring them in and out by count, and some were appointed to oversee the vessels and all the instruments of the sanctuary and the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the frankincense and the spices. This means deacons had charge of the tithe as collectors and distributors, of all offerings and consecrated things, of the sacred vessels of the ministry, and of the preparation of the elements used in the ministry by the priests, as custodians of all that pertained to the sacred service, showing that deacons have to do with the vessels and elements of the sacrament which now takes the place of the offerings in the sanctuary.