OVERVIEW:
King Hiram’s blessing upon David; the Philistines defeated; the ark is brought to Jerusalem; David’s psalm of thanksgiving; David’s desire to build the temple; David is forbidden to build the temple; God makes a covenant with David (the Davidic Covenant).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
At the end of yesterday’s reading, in 1st 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 the ark returned to Jerusalem, and had it stored in the house of Obed-edom. That’s how disillusioned he had actually become. The ark remained there for three months, but upon seeing the blessing of God that had come upon the house of Obed-edom and “all that he had” because the ark was in his home (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 the ark into Jerusalem will 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 providing any commentary, 14:3 very straightforwardly states, “And David took more wives at Jerusalem”. This practice was common among ancient kings, and, in fact, had come, not only to be ACCEPTED by the people but almost EXPECTED as a sign of their ruler’s royalty and prestige. Regardless of how the people viewed it or regarded it, it was clearly 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 at the harvest of sorrows David, and others like him, reaped in their families proves different, teaching us the principle, once again, that 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 now Israel’s king, the Philistines thought they might try their hand against David’s army. David “spanked” 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 in more haste. (14:12) Call us crazy, but would we really want to put our trust in any “god” that can be dropped like a hot potato on a battle field, 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 this 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 in and for every decision. God did give David the “go ahead” but revealed a very particular battle plan to achieve the victory. It is interesting to note that this battle plan would not have been revealed to David had he not “enquired again of God”! What clear direction from the Lord might we be forfeiting, simply because we fail to enquire of Him? (James 4:2b)
As chapter 15 begins, David is once again moving to get the ark in 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.” Or, in other words, “because we didn’t ask God how He wanted us to do it!” This time, David made sure that the right people were carrying the ark (15:2), that they were properly prepared for the task (15:12), and that it was being carried the right way (15:15). Once the ark was in its proper place (16:1), the priority of worship was once again restored to Israel (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 a 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) – 1st Chronicles 14:17 (Philippians 2:9–11; Romans 14:11)
- Through DAVID, THE SHEPHERD-KING – 1st Chronicles 17:7 (Matthew 1:1–2; Romans 1:3; John 10:11; Revelation 19:16)