The Book of 1 Chronicles

Word Study

"chosen," Hebrew bachar (בָּחַר), to choose, select, appoint. The change from chapter 13 is unmistakable. There David acted on good intentions but the wrong method; here he acts on God's clear word. He first "prepared a place for the ark of God," and then declares the principle he had learned at such cost: "None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen (bachar) to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever." The failure with the new cart drove David back to the Scriptures, where he found God's explicit command that only the Levites, borne on their shoulders, should carry the ark (Numbers 4:15; Deuteronomy 10:8). Notice that David does not blame God for Uzza's death; he searches out where he himself had departed from God's order and corrects it. This is the mark of a humble, teachable heart: failure sends him not into resentment but into obedience. And he gives God's appointment its due, "them hath the LORD chosen." God's work must be done by God's appointed means, in God's appointed way. David the king submits himself and the whole nation to the word of God.

Explanation

David built houses in his new capital and, most importantly, prepared a proper place and pitched a tent for the ark of God. Having learned from the disaster of his first attempt, he now declared the right principle: only the Levites were permitted to carry the ark, because God had chosen them for that sacred task and for His service forever. Then he gathered all Israel to Jerusalem to bring the ark up to the place he had prepared. The whole approach is now governed by obedience to God's revealed instructions, in contrast to the well-meaning but disobedient effort of chapter 13.

Gospel Focus

David's response to failure is a model for every believer. When we discover we have grieved God by doing His work our own way, the right response is not to give up or to blame God, but to return to His word and do it His way. David "prepared a place" and searched out the "due order," submitting to what God had chosen. So the Lord still teaches us through our failures, that we might learn obedience and reverence. And the principle that God's work must be done by God's chosen means points ultimately to the one Mediator God has chosen: as only the appointed Levites could bear the ark, so there is only one appointed way to God, "for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). We cannot come to God on the "new cart" of our own invention; we come only through the One whom God has chosen and appointed, "the stone which the builders refused" who "is become the head stone of the corner" (Psalm 118:22). Let David's humility teach us to receive correction gladly and to draw near to God only in the way He has ordained, through Jesus Christ.

Word Study

"after the due order," Hebrew kammishpat (כַּמִּשְׁפָּט), according to the ordinance, the prescribed manner. David openly names both the failure and its cause: "because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order (kammishpat)." The word mishpat means the ordained pattern, the way God had prescribed. The disaster of Uzza came not because God was harsh but because they had not followed His revealed order.

"sanctify yourselves," hitqaddeshu (הִתְקַדְּשׁוּ), consecrate yourselves, make yourselves holy. David commands the Levites, "sanctify yourselves," for those who bear holy things must themselves be consecrated. Then comes the corrected obedience: "the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD." Every detail is now right, borne by the right people, on their shoulders, by the staves, exactly as the word of God commanded. This is worship "after the due order," and it succeeds where the sincere-but-disobedient attempt had failed. Holiness of persons and obedience of method go together: God is served acceptably by consecrated people doing His will His way.

Explanation

David summoned the priests and the leading Levites and charged them to consecrate themselves so they could carry the ark properly. He frankly acknowledged that the earlier tragedy, when God struck Uzza, had happened because they had not handled the ark according to God's prescribed way. This time the Levites purified themselves and carried the ark on their shoulders with the poles, exactly as Moses had commanded in God's law. The passage stresses two things: the need for those who serve God to be sanctified, and the need to follow God's instructions precisely. Where the first attempt failed for lack of "the due order," this obedience brought success.

Gospel Focus

David's honest confession, "we sought him not after the due order," teaches us to own our failures plainly and to correct them by God's word. Two requirements stand out for all who would serve God: sanctified persons and obedient methods. "Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16), for those who bear holy things, and under the new covenant every believer is called to bear the presence of God, must be consecrated. "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19). And God's work must be done God's way, not ours. Yet the deepest comfort is that Christ Himself is our sanctification: we cannot make ourselves holy, but "of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us... sanctification" (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is the one who bore the true weight of God's presence perfectly, and by His blood He consecrates a people to carry His name in the world. Where Uzza's casual hand brought death, Christ's consecrated obedience brings us near. Confess where you have not sought God "after the due order," be cleansed in Christ, and serve Him as a sanctified vessel, in the way He has appointed.

Word Study

"despised," Hebrew bazah (בָּזָה), to hold in contempt, to scorn. Now the ark comes up "with joy," and the phrase "when God helped the Levites" shows that this time God's blessing rested on the obedient effort; in gratitude they "offered seven bullocks and seven rams." David lays aside his royal splendor and is "clothed with a robe of fine linen" and "an ephod of linen," a priestly garment, joining the Levites and singers in humble worship. All Israel brings up the ark "with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets... psalteries and harps," a great festival of praise. But into this scene of joy falls a shadow: "Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised (bazah) him in her heart." Notice she is called "the daughter of Saul," for she shares her father's proud spirit that could not humble itself before God. Where David gladly humbled himself, laying aside his dignity to rejoice before the LORD, Michal watched from a distance, detached and disdainful, and scorned him. The same act of humble worship that filled David with joy filled her heart with contempt. Worship divides: it is life and gladness to the humble, but offense to the proud.

Explanation

This time the ark was brought up joyfully and successfully. Recognizing that God was helping the Levites who carried it, they offered sacrifices in thanksgiving. David, dressed in a simple linen robe and priestly ephod rather than royal finery, joined the celebration wholeheartedly, and all Israel escorted the ark into the city with shouting and every kind of music. But as the ark entered the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter and David's wife, watched from a window and saw David dancing and celebrating before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. Her proud contempt stands in sharp contrast to the joyful, humble worship of the king and the people.

Gospel Focus

Two hearts are revealed as the ark comes home: David's, so glad in God that he gladly humbled himself, laying aside royal dignity to dance and rejoice before the LORD; and Michal's, too proud to worship, watching from a distance and despising him. This is the great divide worship still creates. To the humble, abandoning ourselves in praise before God is pure joy; to the proud, such self-forgetful devotion looks foolish and undignified. But Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4), and "whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11). David, who humbled himself, prefigures the greater King who "made himself of no reputation" and "humbled himself" even to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:7-8), and was therefore highly exalted. The world, like Michal, despises the humility of the cross, "unto the Greeks foolishness" (1 Corinthians 1:23), but to those who are saved it is the power and wisdom of God. Do not be a Michal, standing aloof and scornful; be a David, so glad in your God that you gladly humble yourself to worship Him. The kingdom belongs to the lowly who rejoice, not to the proud who despise.