TODAY’S READING: I CHRONICLES 14-17
OVERVIEW:
King Hiram’s blessing upon David; the Philistines defeated; theArkis brought toJerusalem, David’s psalm of thanksgiving; David’s desire to build theTemple; David is forbidden to build theTemple; God makes a covenant with David (the Davidic Covenant).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
At the end of yesterday’s reading in I Chronicles 13, David was a discouraged, dejected, defeated, and disillusioned man. The excitement that was in his heart to see God’s presence, represented in the Ark, restored to its rightful place in Jerusalem had caused a great positive ground-swell of spiritual excitement amongst the people, yet it had all come to a screeching halt with the tragic death of Uzza. David had even changed his mind about wanting theArkreturned toJerusalem, and had it stored in the house of Obededom. The Ark remained there for three months, and upon seeing the blessing of God that had come upon the house of Obededom and “all that he had” (13:14), it was enough to convince David that regardless of the cost, the Ark in Israel’s capital was non-negotiable.
The narrative concerning bringing theArkintoJerusalemwill pick up again in chapter 15, but first, chapter 14 provides some parenthetical information to help us to understand more about David and his reign.
Without any commentary, 14:3 states, “And David took more wives atJerusalem,” This practice was common among ancient kings, and, in fact, had come to be not only accepted by the people, but almost expected, as a sign of their ruler’s royalty and prestige. It was, however, against the law of God! At times it may seem that God is somewhat lenient in the Old Testament concerning this practice, but a closer look into the harvest of sorrows David reaped in his family proves different, teaching us once again, there are always consequences to sin! We must be certain that the world’s acceptability of sin in the 21st century does not influence us to violate God’s holy Word, or his holy calling upon our lives!
Upon hearing that David was nowIsrael’s king, the Philistines thought they might try their hand against David’s army. David defeated them; even to the point that the gods they were carrying and trusting to give them the victory were dropped on the ground so they could run away more quickly (14:12). Call me crazy, but I certainly don’t want any “god” that can be left hanging around on a field of battle and can be burned!
Note, however, that David “enquired of God” before leading the troops into battle (14:10). He wanted to make certain that it was completely the will of God. Note also, that when the Philistines returned to do battle (14:13), “David enquired again of God” (14:14). God’s previous “go ahead” was no guarantee of a “go ahead” today! We must learn to pray about everything, asking for God’s specific guidance for every decision. God did give David the “go ahead,” but revealed a very particular battle plan to achieve the victory. The plan would not have been revealed to David had he not “enquired of God.”
As chapter 15 begins, David is once again moving to get theArkin its proper place. It’s the same exact thing he sought to do in chapter 13, but this time it was being done, what we like to call the “BIBLICAL” way. David realized that they had received God’s judgment upon them (at Uzza’s expense), because they “sought him not after the due order,” (i.e. “We didn’t ask God how He wanted us to do it!”) This time, David made sure that the right people were carrying theArk(15:2), that they were properly prepared for the task (15:12), and that it was being carried the right way (15:15). Once theArkwas in its proper place (16:1), the priority of worship was once again restored toIsrael(16:1-6). David then offered a psalm of thanks to the Lord. It is a composite of Psalms 105:1-15; 96:1-13; 106:1, 47, 48.
Chapter 17 is divided into three basic sections:
- David’s desire to build God a house (17:1-2).
- God’s determination to build David’s house (17:3-15).
- David’s humble prayer of response (17:16-27).
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
Through the EXALTATION AND FAME OF ISRAEL’S KING (DAVID) – I Chron.14:17(Phil. 2:9-11; Rom.14:11)
Through DAVID, THE SHEPHERD-KING – I Chron. 17:7 (Matt. 1:1-2; Rom. 1:3; John10:11; Rev. 19:16)