The narrative of King David’s efforts to transport the Ark of the Covenant is rich with lessons for our Christian walk. Following the initial tragedy where Uzzah loses his life, David learns a crucial lesson on the importance of adhering strictly to God’s commands. This episode guides us through David’s eventual success as he corrects his course, receives divine assistance, and celebrates with Israel’s elders and commanders. Through detailed retellings and personal reflections, this episode challenges listeners to evaluate their own adherence to God’s word. It paints a vivid picture of how even the best of intentions can lead
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are going to listen to three chapters of 1 Chronicles, chapters 13, 14, and 15, read by our guest reader, Senator Kevin Grantham.
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1 Chronicles 13 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. And David said to all the assembly of Israel, If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and the Levites in the cities that have pasture lands, that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, For we did not seek it in the days of Saul. All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So David assembled all Israel from the Nile of Egypt to Lebu Hamath to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-Jerim. And David and all Israel went up to Baala, that is, to Kiriath-Jerim, that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord, who sits enthroned above the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. And David and all Israel were rejoicing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets. And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark. And he died there before God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-Uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of God that day. And he said, How can I bring the ark of God home to me? 1 Chronicles 14 1 Chronicles 14 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters, to build a house for him. And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel. And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim, and David inquired of God. Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to him, Go up, and I will give them into your hand. And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a bursting flood. Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned. And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, You shall not go up after them. Go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle. For God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines. And David did as God commanded him. And they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. and the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations. 1 Chronicles 15 David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites. Of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with one hundred twenty of his brothers. Of the sons of Merari, Esaiah the chief, with two hundred twenty of his brothers. Of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with one hundred thirty of his brothers. Of the sons of Elezavhan, Shemaiah the chief, with two hundred of his brothers. Of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with eighty of his brothers. Of the sons of Uziel, Amminadab the chief, with one hundred twelve of his brothers. Then David summoned the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Esaiah, Joel, Shemiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, and said to them, You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have 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. So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers, who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps, and lyres, and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. So the Levites appointed Heman, the son of Joel, and of his brothers Asaph, the son of Berechiah, and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan, the son of Cushiah. and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jeaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Uni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseah, Mattathiah, Eliphelahu, and Micniah, and the gatekeepers Obed-Edom and Jael. The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals. Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Uni, Eliab, Maaseah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth. But Mattathiah, Eliphelahu, Micniah, Obed-Edom, Jael, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminoth. Kenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. Shebaniah, Josaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eleazar, the priests, should blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with rejoicing. And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark. And the singers, and Keniah the leader of the music of the singers, and David wore a linen ephod. So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting to the sound of the horn. trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres. And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michael, the daughter of Saul, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing, and she despised him in her heart.
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Rather than look at my personal Bible reading journals today, I’d like to discuss the storyline of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. In chapter 13, David is well-intentioned. He wants to bring the Ark of the God back to his home city. He wants the presence of the Lord, but he does it in the wrong way. So though David is well-intentioned, his behavior has to line up with the Word of God. In chapter 13, verse 7, it says, “…and they carried the Ark of God on a new cart.” And verse 8 says, And David and all Israel were rejoicing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets. Quite a procession, quite a celebration. But then something tragic happens. The ark stumbles, and Uzzah puts his hand up to take hold of the ark, and God strikes him dead. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. Why did this happen? Because though David was well-intentioned, he was not following God’s word. He used the technique of the enemy, the Philistines, to move the ark. The Philistines are the ones that sent the ark back on a cart. In Exodus chapter 25, starting with verse 12, it tells us how the ark is to be transported. It says, “…you shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and you shall put the poles into the rings on the side of the ark to carry the ark by them.” Because David disobeyed the word of the Lord, oozes dead, and the celebration of bringing the ark back into the presence of Israel is squelched. But the story continues in chapter 15. Let’s look at verse 1. David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. Let’s jump down to verse 13. 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. So somewhere between chapter 13 and chapter 15, David has learned his lesson. He’s probably gone back to the Torah, the law of God, and found out how to properly transport the Ark of the Covenant. Let’s continue with verse 14. So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. So the procession to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the holy city of David, the city of Jerusalem, now continues with songs and celebration. Let’s go down to verse 25. So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the house of Odom-Edom with rejoicing. And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. Oh, what a difference, friends, when we obey the word of the Lord. God even helps the Levites carry the ark this time. Verse 28, So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres. What’s our very important application from this story? Like David, we may be well-intentioned in our Christian walk, but it must be consistent with the Word of God. Because David did not do that the first time, someone died. That’s on his hands because he was the leader. He was the one that did not follow the law of God. After this tragic incident, he then goes to the Word of God to learn how to correctly do the things he’s trying to do. Oh, friends, aren’t we the same? So often we are well-intentioned in our Christianity, but we may do things that end up causing us great pain and suffering because we have not done them according to the Word of the Lord. And like David, we get angry with God, and it’s not God’s fault. It’s our fault. So the way to prevent Uzzahs from dying around us is to be consistently in the Word of God. May our behavior be consistent with the Word of God, not only well-intentioned. Let’s pray. Father, thank you for this incredible story. David trying to celebrate, bring your presence back into Israel as he becomes the king, has the right motives, well intentioned, but did it the wrong way. God, forgive us when we’re the same, when we’re well-intentioned. We might even be very excited about something, but we don’t do it consistently with your word. Forgive us, Lord, and like David, bring us back to correct knowledge, understanding, and wisdom through your word so that we can behave consistently with your scriptures. We ask you to prevent oozes in our lives. Give me a love for your word. Give me a love for the guidelines and rules you have laid forth for my life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
