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Day 222 – Thru the Bible
Today we continue in First Chronicles.
1 Chronicles 15 & 16 – Chapter 15 completes the section form yesterday’s notes and chapter 16 describes a series of events surrounding the arrival of the ark of the covenant in the city of David. There was rejoicing that included feasting, singing, and prayers of thanksgiving. God’s people were celebrating because they recognized the arrival of the ark in the city of David as a sign of God’s covenant faithfulness to the very covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The events of this chapter are framed by the statement that David was a blessing, first to God’s people and then to his household. David was a blessing to God’s people for at least two reasons. First, David brought the ark, the footstool of God’s throne, to the city of Jerusalem, the city in which God would cause His name to dwell (Deuteronomy 12:11; 14:23; 16:2, 6, 11; 26:2). Second, David was a blessing to God’s people because he recognized that his temporary, geographically limited reign was but a mere shadow of God’s eternal, universal kingship. In the midst of his song of thanksgiving, David declared that the Lord was King over the nations and the judge of the earth. This was David’s good news, and he exulted in the fact that he stood at the earthly center of this reality as the Lord’s royal ambassador.
As we reflect on the extravagant celebration and worship detailed in this chapter, we understand that this celebration eventually came to an end, and so did David’s earthly reign. We also know that the ark of the covenant no longer is displayed in the earthly Jerusalem. But the failure of these shadows to sustain our hope gives way to a greater joy. The temporary joy of God’s people over the first David gives way to our eternal joy in the true and better David (Matthew 1:1; Romans 1:3; 2 Timothy 2:8). Likewise, joy in the first Jerusalem must give way to an ever increasing joy in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12; 21:2), where feasting, thanksgiving, and blessing will never cease.
1 Chronicles 17 – At first glance, David’s desire to express gratitude by building a house for the Lord appears appropriate, even noble. However, the Lord is not someone whom we can pay back for His blessings, and it should not appear that the kingdom promise He is about to give to David for the redemption of humanity has been purchased by any man’s gift. The Lord is no man’s debtor. Divine grace is not for sale nor offered in return for any human favor. So the Lord rejects David’s desire to build a house for Him, and then He counters with the grand promise to build a house (dynasty) for David.
The house that the Lord promised to build for David, the least son of Jesse, outstripped any mansion, estate, or castle that can be imagined. This “house” of the Lord would include eternal dynasty, eternal sonship, and eternal love, a reality far exceeding even the glory of the kingdom of Solomon, David’s lesser son.
The promises of God to David in this chapter are remarkable. Their fulfillment in Jesus is even more remarkable (2 Timothy 2:8). However, equally important to note is the fact that the Lord taught David about grace and mercy by lavishing upon Him even more grace and mercy. Such divine generosity brought Israel’s king to his knees, taught him to boast in the greatness of God, and gave him the courage to pray.
How do you express your thankfulness for all that is now yours in Jesus?
What other thoughts or questions does today’s reading bring up?
Some of these notes are from the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible study notes. We highly recommend this study Bible.
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