In the temple service the priests were organized under various officers. Lots were drawn in assigning certain services. Each of the 24 divisions served one week at a time, being on assigned duty twice a year. Evidently the entire priesthood served at festival seasons when thousands of sacrifices were offered by the people, as they did at the temple dedication. (1Ch 24:1-18, 31; 2Ch 5:11; compare 2Ch 29:31-35; 30:23-25; 35:10-19.) A priest might serve at other times as long as he did not interfere with the allotted services of the priests on assigned duty. According to rabbinic traditions, in the time of Jesus’ earthly life, the priests were numerous, so that the service of the week was subdivided among the various families making up the division, each family serving one or more days according to their number.

Probably considered the most honorable of the daily services was the burning of incense on the golden altar. This was done after the sacrifice was offered. During the burning of incense, the people would be gathered outside the sanctuary in prayer. Rabbinic tradition is that lots were drawn for this service but that one who had previously officiated was not allowed to participate unless all present had performed the service before. (The Temple, pp. 135, 137, 138) If this is so, a priest would usually have the honor only once in a lifetime.

Each Sabbath day, it appears, the priests had the privilege of changing the showbread. It was also on the Sabbath that the priestly division for that week completed its service and the new course began duty for the following week. These and other necessary duties were performed by the priests without constituting a breaking of the Sabbath.​—Mt 12:2-5; compare 1Sa 21:6; 2Ki 11:5-7; 2Ch 23:8.