Thursday, October 6, 2011

ISRAEL'S POSTEXILIC HISTORY: LESSON 7 NOTES


LESSON 7: David and the Ark of the Covenant, His Family, and War with Philistia (1 CHR. 13-14)

David’s desire to make Jerusalem a holy city is now evident, so the ark was brought to Jerusalem. The Philistines were never victorious in their encounters with David. Their gods failed them and they fled before the mighty invisible army of Jehovah.[1]


Having explained how David had become commander-in-chief over the great army of Israel and how he had been duly anointed king over a great united kingdom, the historian now turns to David’s establishment of Jerusalem as a holy city.[2]

Not only was Jerusalem to be the capital of the kingdom, it was to be the center of religion. David now sought to bring the ark back to the people of God. He consulted with his officers and resolved to restore the ark to its rightful place. The ark had always been sacred. It was from between the two cherubim on the ark that Jehovah had promised to commune with his people (Exo. 25:21-22). This sacred object was carried around the walls of Jericho. Later the ark was carried into battle, and the Philistines captured it, carried it through their cities, and even placed it in the temple of Dagon, the god of the Philistines. Later the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh looked into the chest and the Lord smote them with a great slaughter (1 Sam. 6:19). After this incident the ark was moved to Kirjath-jearim and placed in the house of Abinadab. Here it stayed and was forgotten for fifty years. During the days of Saul, they "inquired not at it" (1 Chr. 13:3).[3]

The village where the ark was located is called by various names in the Bible record. Baalah, Kiriath-jearim, Kiriath-baa1 all refer to the same place. At one time this must have been a center of Baal worship. “Kiriath” means “city of” or “village.” Kiriath-jearim signifies “a village of forests.” The exact location is not known, but it is generally located about eight and one-half miles north of Jerusalem.[4]

The moving of the ark must have been a momentous occasion, for David took thirty thousand of his chosen men to accompany the ark as it was moved back to its rightful place. The Word of God had been explicit concerning the handling of the ark. It was to be covered, staves were to be inserted in its rings, and it was to be carried on the shoulders of the sons of Kohath (Num. 4:5-6, 15; 7:9). Kohath was a son of Levi and the head of the Kohathite family (Gen. 46:11; Exo. 6:16-18). Not only did David fail to carry the ark on the staves borne upon the shoulders of the priests, but he had it placed on a cart, clearly violating the command of Exodus 25:14-15.

Two sons of Abinadab (Uzza and Ahio) walked beside the cart as the ark was being moved. As the oxen stumbled Uzza sought to steady the ark and was immediately struck dead because of his error (2 Sam. 6:6-11). This so startled David that the ark was placed in the house of Obed-edom for three months and God blessed him and all that he had. There was a need for David to examine himself and make sure that he was following God's desire.[5]


CHAPTER 14
1 Chr. 14 deals with the period associated with the possession of the city of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam. 5:11-25). There is no record that David had had any association with the king of Tyre previous to the opening verses of 1 Chronicles 14. When David made Jerusalem his capitol, Hiram sent to him a great company of workmen and materials with which to build David's house (2 Sam. 5:11). Later he also befriended Solomon, and provided supplies and men for the building of the temple (2 Chr. 2:3-16). As David saw this contribution, he also felt that God was blessing him as the king of Israel. The providence of God is ever present in the lives of those who love and honor Him.[6]

The text says that David "took more wives at Jerusalem" (1 Chr. 14:3-7). 1 Chr. 3:1-4 lists the children born to him at Hebron, and now we read that he took more wives at Jerusalem and he begat more sons and daughters. It is interesting to notice that, with his rise in power, David sought to satisfy himself with this sin. It cannot be successfully argued that God approved of David's actions. God had already given a law concerning adultery (Exo. 20:14; Lev. 20:10). Neither this law, nor any others, was set aside to give special favor to David. This is clear in the teaching of 2 Sam. 12:1-14. God did not approve of David's having multiple wives (Gen. 2:23-24; Matt. 19:4-9).[7]

In 1 Chr. 14:8-17 we learn that David's rise to power brought dismay to the Philistines. After Isbosheth's death they had taken a firm grip on the central area of Palestine. As David had consolidated all Israel they must have felt threatened by this one ruler. They knew that if they could destroy David they could continue to dominate Canaan. With this intent they went up against the army of David.

David inquired of God, "Shall I go up against the Philistines?" It is clear that David had a great dependency upon the counsel of God, and God assured the victory for Israel. But again, we read in 1 Chronicles 14:13 that the enemy came up against David, and once again David inquired of God concerning the strategy for victory. God gave instruction and victory was assured. We must be impressed with the fact that on two occasions a battle was to be fought, and that on each occasion God gave specific instructions. These directives were followed and victory was the result.

Throughout the Word of God instruction is given. These instructions must not be altered or canceled. For example, Noah built an ark to save his family. Gen. 6:22 states, "Thus did Noah: according to all that God commanded him, so did he." Man is blessed as he walks in God's way (Ps. 128:1; 25:4; Prov. 14:12).[8]



[1] Robert E. Black. The Books of Chronicles in Bible Study Textbook Series. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1991.
[2] Pfeiffer, Charles F., The Biblical World, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1966, pp. 309-323.
[3] Toney L. Smith. “The Early Days of David’s Reign” in Studies in 1, 2 Kings and 1, 2 Chronicles. Ed. By Dub McClish, Denton, TX: Valid Publications, Inc., 1993.
[4] Pfeiffer, Charles F., The Biblical World, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1966, p. 16
[5] Toney L. Smith. “The Early Days of David’s Reign” in Studies in 1, 2 Kings and 1, 2 Chronicles. Ed. By Dub McClish, Denton, TX: Valid Publications, Inc., 1993.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.

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