Day 123—We have begun our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   What insights have you gained about God and yourself through reading so far?  Share in the comments section.

    Day 124 – 1 Chronicles 13 – 16 – (David’s attempts to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.)

(As we read through the history books, some things will seem repeated, but we will get more details of the whole picture.)

Ever since the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and returned it to Israel when God plagued them, the Ark has been sitting in the house of Abinadab (and his two sons, Uzzah and Ahio) in Kiriath-Jearim. Now that David has been crowned king of Israel and captured Jerusalem as his capital city, he wants to bring the “Ark of God” to the City of David.

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1 Chronicles 13. King David consults with all his commanders, the people, and the Levites and priests. All of them agree that it would be a good thing. So, King David and all the people go to the house of Abinadab. They build a new cart for it and hitch it to a team of oxen. Uzzah (and Ahio) walk on either side of the cart, presumably to “protect” it.

And King David, with all the people, rejoice before God with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets as the Ark on the cart makes its way north.  UNTIL IT DOESN’T.

At one point, the oxen stumble (not the cart, not the Ark), and Uzzah puts out his hand to take hold of the Ark!

Uzzah tries to keep THE THRONE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE LIVING ALMIGHTY GOD from falling!!!! As if God depended on him! On any man. At all.  And Uzzah is stricken dead on the spot.

Why, you may ask? Wasn’t he doing a good thing?  What if the Ark had fallen to the ground and gotten dirt on it? What if a piece of the golden border had broken off?  —REALLY???—

Let’s remind ourselves that the God who created Heaven and Earth and all that is in them does not need man for anything.

Also, there is this “small” law in Numbers 4:15.  “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die.”  These top Levites were to carry the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders by the golden poles that were put through the rings on the bottom four corners of the Ark. THIS is how the Ark of the Covenant should have been transported to Jerusalem.

(Note: besides this setting the things of God apart as holy, carrying the Ark in this way would put the Mercy Seat (the lid) and the golden Cherubim, where the presence of God would dwell, ABOVE the heads of the Levites and all the people. On the cart, the people’s heads would have been higher than the “presence of God.” They would look down on it.)

King David was ANGRY about what God had done.  And he was AFRAID of God that day too.  “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” he cried.  (Go read the law, Davie.  See how it’s supposed to be done.)  And so, the Ark of God is once more housed in a house of an Israelite, Obed-Edom, for three months. And God blessed the man and his household.

1 Chronicles 14 is a repeat of 2 Samuel 5 and 1 Chronicles 3.

1 Chronicles 15 – After King David prepared a place for the Ark of God (the tent of meeting), he decided to again bring the symbol of God’s presence to Jerusalem.  Now, however, he said, “No one but the Levites may carry the Ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark and to minister to Him forever.”  (It seems that our boy has consulted the scriptures!)

Along with the sons of Kohath, he gathered the priests and all the Levites. He told them all to consecrate themselves so that they “may bring up the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel to the place that I prepared for it. Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we DID NOT SEEK HIM ACCORDING TO THE RULE.”

King David confessed his sin and did it right this time.  The chosen Levites “carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.”

There was more singing and musical instruments playing, to “raise the sounds of joy.”  They sacrificed bulls and rams, and then all Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD with shouting to the music of the instruments.

But………. David’s first wife, Michel, the daughter of Saul, “looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing, AND SHE DESPISED HIM.”  Whoa! What was that about? Perhaps it was because David had torn her away from the second man her father Saul had given her to, way back when, to spite David. Maybe she LOVED that man and had children with him.  He certainly had cried all the way as she was taken to David and he had begged for her. 2 Samuel 6.

1 Chronicles 16 tells of the Ark of God being set inside the tent, and of the many burnt offerings and peace offerings they made to God. After that, David distributed to all the people loaves of bread, portions of meat, and cakes of raisins. What a party!!

The next 18 verses tell of David commanding Asaph & his brothers to sing a beautiful psalm of thanksgiving to the LORD. Be sure to re-read this song of worship!!  Bookmark it and read it often. Whenever you want to read the book of Psalms, don’t forget this one. It is marvelous.

King David then left the Levites and priests in charge of the tent and the Ark to “regularly do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that He commanded Israel” and he went home to bless his household.