Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 13-16.

The first thing which struck me in today’s passage was that David left the Ark of the Covenant in the house of Obed-Edom for a mere three months.  Yet, that was long enough for people to note the way in which Obed-Edom and his family were blessed.  It took just three months for people to notice the difference which having the Ark of the Covenant made for Obed-Edom and his family.  The thing I am noting is not that the Ark of the Covenant was magical.  No, what I am noting is that being in the presence of God transforms us in a positive way.  So, when we turn to God, it does not take long for us to begin experiencing the blessings that come from being in His presence.

The other thing I took note of is that David’s two primary priests were Zadok and Abiathar.  At the end of David’s life, Abiathar supported Adonijah when he tried to make himself king when David could no longer govern, while Zadok opposed Adonijah and supported Solomon.  Now, very little of that is in today’s passage, but what is in today’s passage is that, after bringing the Ark into Jerusalem, David assigned Zadok to continue making offerings at Gibeon, where the tabernacle was set up.  So, Adonijah administered to the Lord in Jerusalem, the capital of David’s kingdom, while Zadok did the same in Gibeon.  By being in Gibeon, Zadok was away from the court intrigue which is prevalent in any capital.  I don’t know how much this had to do with Zadok and Abiathar being on opposite sides when Adonijah attempted to make himself king, since it appears that Zadok had moved to Jerusalem by the time Absalom tried to overthrow David.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Chronicles 13-16.

Today’s passage describes how David established himself as king of Israel.  Actually, the writer started the process of laying out the steps which David took to consolidate power under himself.  As I noted yesterday, David’s approach contrasted with that of Saul.  As yesterday’s passage noted, David started by conquering Jerusalem and making that his capital.  Jerusalem was not a traditional base of power for any of the tribes, so it could be perceived as belonging to all of Israel, not just one tribe.  Today’s passage starts with David getting the consent of the leaders of all of Israel to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  At first, that goes badly and David gives the Ark into the care of a Philistine living nearby, who was apparently loyal to David.  After two attacks by the Philistine armies, each of which David defeated decisively, David decides to finish moving the Ark to Jerusalem. Once the Ark is established in Jerusalem, David instituted regular worship before the Ark in Jerusalem and at the Tabernacle in Gibeon.  By doing this David unified the people of Israel in their worship of God.  Unifying the people of Israel had the effect of consolidating David’s power.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 13-16.

I am not sure that the order in which the account of David moving the Ark, Hiram sending him messengers, and the Philistine attempt to defeat him is the order in which these events occurred.  I suspect that the compiler of this book was also unsure.  Nevertheless, I find the difference between Hiram’s response to David taking the throne and that of the Philistines interesting.  Hiram sent messengers and offered to help David build palaces and otherwise fortify Jerusalem into a true capital.  The Philistines sent an army and tried to defeat David before he became too powerful for them.  Hiram established a long-term relationship with Israel which benefited both nations.  The Philistines provoked David to war and he completely defeated them.  They were never again a power in the region (although there is evidence that they maintained a separate identity until around the time Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians).

I love the psalm included in today’s passage.  It gives us some instructions which we should follow today, especially now.  Let us give thanks to God and proclaim to the whole world how great he is.  Sing to Him and exult Him and continually seek Him.  Give thanks to God and remember that He is in charge.  If we do these things and truly believe them, we will not be afraid, not even of disease and disaster.  Then when people ask us why we are not afraid, we should tell them that we are not afraid because God is in control; He is good and He loves us.