Read 1 Chronicles 15
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
15 After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”
3 David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it. 4 He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 From the descendants of Kohath,
Uriel the leader and 120 relatives;
6 from the descendants of Merari,
Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;
7 from the descendants of Gershon,
Joel the leader and 130 relatives;
8 from the descendants of Elizaphan,
Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;
9 from the descendants of Hebron,
Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;
10 from the descendants of Uzziel,
Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives.
11 Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. 12 He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. 13 It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.” 14 So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.
16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.
17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaphson of Berekiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their relatives next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.
19 The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth, 21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith. 22 Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.
25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. 26 Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. 27 Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.
29 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.
Go Deeper
Most of what we read about in 1 Chronicles 15 today is in reference to what we read a couple days ago in 1 Chronicles 13. What we saw then was a lack of attention to details; the ark was instructed to be taken care of in Numbers 4 in a particular way because of God’s holiness. And out of His kindness, David has been given a second chance to do things over again, this time the right way.
An important element in doing this right is making sure that they are consecrated before the Lord (v. 12, 15). Consecrate means to be set apart for sacred use. It is purification for a purpose. Leviticus 11:44 instructs, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” So we are called to consecrate not just because of His holiness, but also as a way to imitate Him. How great that we are called to be like Him, to be His image-bearers, set apart for a purpose to look like him.
Then the second half of this chapter goes into a beautiful moment during the carrying of the ark–they go into worshiping the Lord! It goes into great detail about all the instruments and people involved in this ceremony. Verse 28 says, “All of Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts.” All of this was a celebration for His presence. When done properly, we see it filled with joy and gladness. Imagine what this looked like: all of God’s people lifting up a shout of praise to Him! That is what is emphasized here, that the assembly of His people came together to worship Him. More often than not, we see examples in scripture of Israel’s hard, wayward heart toward God but today we get to see a moment of faithfulness–and not just by David. They all were given a second chance, and the result was whole-hearted praise! Psalm 103:1 says “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”
While this is Israel’s response, at the very end we see Michal (David’s wife) witnessing all of this and “despising him in her heart” (v. 29). When in the presence of true worship, she turns her heart away from praising the Lord. Worship isn’t about us, and yet sometimes we can get caught up in the way it is done and criticize it. May we be aware of having a right response to praise and worship, that when we encounter dancing and celebrating, that we would remember it is about praising the Lord and remembering His faithfulness!
Questions
- Where do you see God’s character in this chapter?
- Just like Michal, sometimes we can have hardened hearts to what God is doing around us. Where do you find yourself leaning towards cynicism and judgment? How can you work towards changing this?
- What does it look like for you to worship the Lord today?
Did You Know?
This scripture is almost exactly cross referenced in 2 Samuel 6. The main difference is in 2 Samuel we see more of an emphasis on how David led and worshiped the Lord and here we see what all of Israel did in praise of the Lord.
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4 responses to “1 Chronicles 15”
The Ark The Details
What was it truly? A home for God in a box? What does it represent? A symbol of His presence?
God wanted to be with His people, whom He had chosen.
It also represents His Holiness.
In the ark was the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
God is with us and God is Holy.
The ark of the covenant represents the holy presence of God.
The presence of God is no trifling matter. He should command our holy reverence and inspire unrestrained joyful celebration. This passage provides tremendous insight into how we should approach a holy God in worship and praise.
God is a very detailed minded God. Just look at the intricacy of your body. Still man is learning more about the details of how and what goes together and why. So of course He has details that go into design, making, using, and representation of this object that is house, be a part of worship to Him.
Thought—–David was far from perfect, but he had a teachable spirit. Do you learn from your mistakes? If so, thank God for you are on your way to being a man or woman after God’s own heart.
This chapter for me has so many amazing thoughts to share and discover. It is hard to see just one. BUT GOD is a God of details and wonder.
I want to be like David! Dance,shout WOOHOO’s!! and Love God in expression of heartfelt worship.
God thank You for my love I have for You! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I give you all praise, honor and glory for the minutes of this day!! This day let thie mindset of David dancing and singing frequently enter my heart and let me see what a difference it makes in all the circumstances of my life. God I want to worship before the You wholly and completely so that I can see how it makes an empact on my daily walk in this world. I desire a heart of continual worship, enabled by Your Spirit and Word and made possible through You and my High Great Priest, Christ Jesus. Singing in my heart is” I coming back to the heart of worship when it is all about You!!!!!!” God thank You that these minutes of this day is all about You! Thank You for going before me and that I can be, do and say gloifications to You in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love how God pairs this sacred event with both consecration and celebration. In the presence of this holy moment the people break out in worship with their voices and instruments. I can only imagine the glorious sound! And their king danced! May we abandon ourselves to love God completely with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
29 “And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.”
This story always discourages me. It is so sad that David is rejoicing and worshiping as the ark is brought to Jerusalem. Yet, Michal is not rejoicing with those who rejoice, but rather she “despises”
David during this pivotal moment. Such an unexpected and harsh response!
. Psalm 150:6 encourages us, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” Music is a powerful tool to express our adoration and gratitude to God.