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1
Chronicles Chapter Fifteen
1 Chronicles 15
Chapter Contents
Preparations for the removal of the ark. (1-24) The removal
of the ark. (25-29)
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 15:1-24
(Read 1 Chronicles 15:1-24)
Wise and good men may be guilty of oversights, which they
will correct, as soon as they are aware of them. David does not try to justify
what had been done amiss, nor to lay the blame on others; but he owns himself
guilty, with others, of not seeking God in due order
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 15:25-29
(Read 1 Chronicles 15:25-29)
It is good to notice the assistance of Divine Providence,
even in things which fall within the compass of our natural powers; if God did
not help us, we could not stir a step. If we do our religious duties in any
degree aright, we must own it was God that helped us; had we been left to
ourselves, we should have been guilty of some fatal errors. And every thing in
which we engage, must be done in dependence on the mercy of God through the sacrifice
of the Redeemer.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Chronicles》
1 Chronicles 15
Verse 1
[1] And
David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of
God, and pitched for it a tent.
Houses — A
palace consisting of many houses or apartments for his several wives and
children.
A tent — He
did not fetch the tabernacle of Moses from Gibeon, because he intended
forthwith to build the temple.
Verse 5
[5] Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and
twenty:
The sons — Of
Amram or Izhar, Kohath's sons, Numbers 3:27, otherwise Elizaphan, verse 8, and Hebron, verse 9, and Uzziel, verse 10, were Kohath's children.
Verse 11
[11] And
David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for
Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,
The Priests —
Abiathar the high-priest, and Zadok the second priest.
Verse 18
[18] And
with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and
Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and
Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters.
Second degree —
The first rank of sacred musicians being those three famous persons named verse
17, next to whom were these here named.
Porters —
who were to keep the doors of the tabernacle and courts, but with all were
instructed in musick, that when these were free from attendance upon their
proper office, they might not be idle nor unprofitable in God's house.
Verse 20
[20] And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and
Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;
Alamoth —
Or, with Alamoth which is thought to be the name of an instrument of musick; or
of a certain tune, or note, or part in musick. The certain signification of it
is not now known; and the like may be said of Sheminith, verse 21.
Verse 21
[21] And
Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah,
with harps on the Sheminith to excel.
To excel —
Which word may be added to note the excellency of that instrument, or part of
musick; or that there was a greater extension or elevation of the voice than in
the former. This way of praising God by musical instruments, had not hitherto
been in use. But David instituted it by divine direction, and added it to the
other ordinances of that dispensation.
Verse 22
[22] And
Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song,
because he was skilful.
For song — He
was the moderator of the musick, instructing them when and how to lift up their
voices, or change their notes, or make their stops.
Verse 23
[23] And
Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.
Door-keepers —
They were appointed to keep the door of the tent in which the ark was to be
kept, that no unallowed person might press in and touch it; and in like manner
they were to attend upon the ark in the way, and to guard it from the press and
touch of prophane hands; for which end these two went before the ark, is their
other two brethren mentioned in the close of verse 24, came after it.
Verse 26
[26] And
it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant
of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.
Helped —
Encouraging them in their work with some comfortable sign of his presence with
them. In all our religious exercises, we must derive help from heaven. God's
ministers that bare the vessels of the Lord, have special need of divine help
in their ministrations, that God may be glorified thereby, and the people
edified.
Verse 27
[27] And
David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the
ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers:
David also had upon him an ephod of linen.
Linen —
With a linen ephod. This circumstance is repeated, because it was an unusual
thing for one, who was no Levite, to wear a Levitical garment.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Chronicles》
15 Chapter 15
Verse 1
1 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Chronicles 15:24
And David made him houses in the city Of David, and prepared a
place for the ark of God.
Removal of the ark, or carrying on the work of God
I. Preparation for
God’s work.
1. By personal sanctification.
2. By implicit obedience to God’s command.
II. Hearty
co-operation in god’s work.
1. Gained by consultation. Teachers’ Meetings, Ministers’
Conferences, National Councils of great help in effective work.
2. Displayed in united ranks.
3. Expressed by individual effort.
III. Success
achieved in God’s work. (J. Wolfendale.)
The call to service
I. The call.
1. Personal.
2. Pressing.
3. Worthy.
II. The response.
1. Ready.
2. Universal.
3. Immediate.
III. The directions
to carry it out.
1. Clear.
2. Right.
3. Safe. (J. Wolfendale.)
Verse 1
1 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Chronicles 15:24
And David made him houses in the city Of David, and prepared a
place for the ark of God.
Removal of the ark, or carrying on the work of God
I. Preparation for
God’s work.
1. By personal sanctification.
2. By implicit obedience to God’s command.
II. Hearty
co-operation in god’s work.
1. Gained by consultation. Teachers’ Meetings, Ministers’
Conferences, National Councils of great help in effective work.
2. Displayed in united ranks.
3. Expressed by individual effort.
III. Success
achieved in God’s work. (J. Wolfendale.)
The call to service
I. The call.
1. Personal.
2. Pressing.
3. Worthy.
II. The response.
1. Ready.
2. Universal.
3. Immediate.
III. The directions
to carry it out.
1. Clear.
2. Right.
3. Safe. (J. Wolfendale.)
Verse 12
Sanctify yourselves.
Personal holiness essential to sacred service
I. Personal
holiness required in those who serve.
1. In heart.
2. In life.
II. Personal
holiness the pattern according to which we must serve (Ephesians 5:1).
III. Personal
holiness is the only condition on which we can serve.
1. By this we influence others.
2. By this we answer the end of our being. “He hath not called you to
uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (J. Wolfendale.)
Verse 13
For that ye sought Him not after the due order.
Seeking the Lord
There are historical details connected with these words which we
wish you carefully to consider. David had prepared a place for the ark of God,
which had been retained by the Philistines from the days of Eli; and for a long
period had been banished from the congregation of Israel. He now determined to
go down to the house of Obed-edom, where the ark was, and bring up to Jerusalem
with all due solemnity this precious emblem of the presence of the Lord. He
exhorts the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves, to observe, that is,
all the prescribed ceremonial purifications, in order that they might be fitted
to carry the ark. This was not the first attempt at bringing back the ark of
the Lord. The Philistines, finding that its presence only brought down
judgments upon their land, carried the ark into the country of the Israelites,
where it remained for many years with Abinadab, in Kirjath-jearim. But when
David, after the decease of Saul, had placed himself on the throne, he went
down to the house of Abinadab, that he might bring up thence the sacred
deposit. The ark of God, you read, was put on a new cart, and Uzza and Ahio,
the sons of Abinadab, drove the cart. After proceeding some distance the oxen
stumbled; and Uzza put forth his hand and laid hold on the ark to prevent it
from falling. Uzza was not a priest; and every other was expressly forbidden to
touch the ark. Alarmed at so signal and unexpected an interference of God,
David gave vent to his feelings in the exclamation of our text: “How shall I
bring the ark of God home to me?” and determined, that for the present at
least, he would make no further endeavour to remove what it was so perilous to
touch. In process, however, of time, when he had duly considered the causes of
his failure, he set himself again to recovering the ark. Warned by the fate of
Uzza he was a little more careful and cautious in the several arrangements.
David goes on to address the Levites: “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.” We have a great lesson to derive from the facts thus briefly set before
you. The lesson is, that God may be sought, and yet not be found, because the
seeking is not in the way or “order” which He hath revealed as agreeable to
Himself. It was not that David and his people were not sincere and hearty in their desire
that the ark of God might be once more amongst them. We are told that while the
ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years, and
all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. So that the seeking was not
that of the hypocrite. The seeking God in a way of their own notion, and not in
that of the Divine appointment; or, rather, the neglecting to observe rigidly
what God had prescribed in respect of the manner in which He would be
sought--this it was which had been offensive to the Lord. And if where there
was sincerity of purpose, there might be this failure through want of exact
conformity to the revealed will of God, we are bound to conclude that in our
own day and
generation it is not the mere striving for masteries; but, as St. Paul has
expressed it, the “striving lawfully,” which will be crowned with any measure
of success. Now, we need hardly observe to you, that the right way of seeking
God must he the way that God Himself has been pleased to reveal. But there is a
twofold revelation--a revelation which God makes of Himself by and through
conscience, and a revelation which is contained in the Bible. Let us look at
both of these. There may be a due order prescribed by the one, as well as by
the other. You will all be prepared to admit that the first step which
conscience dictates, when it has roused a man to a sense of his moral condition
is, that he break loose from those habits of evil which have been formed during
years of carelessness and vice. There is a thorough harmony here between the
two revelations. But if we would overcome a habit, we must carefully observe
how habits are formed. A habit must be overcome through retracing step by step
that very process by which the habit was formed; so that there is a “due order”
to be observed, the neglecting of which will frustrate all our labours. A habit
is not formed in a day, neither is a habit to be overcome in a day. Now, if
this be the way in which a habit is formed; in what way may that habit be
loosened and destroyed? We reply that, as it was formed step by step, so must
it be destroyed step by step. And when you have determined that a habit is
obnoxious, there will rise a desire, however faint, to pursue a course of
conduct which is opposed to this habit. This desire, like the vicious one
already considered, will at first be obeyed with difficulty; an effort will be needed,
perhaps a painful, and in some cases l most intense effort. But this effort
will diminish with every instance of success. This is the “due order” in
dealing with habit, and thus labouring at the reformation which conscience
demands. But there may be a neglect of this “due order,” and then comes that
failure which is our chief subject of discourse. If you withstand an evil
habit, but take no pains to cultivate an opposite habit, you may produce an
external reformation, and yet make no advance towards an internal reformation.
The drunkard may force himself into a sober man, without undergoing any moral
change. He may impose some powerful restraint upon the evil passion, and thus
produce a suspension of the habit; but all the while the tendency remains
unsubdued; and if the restraint be withdrawn, the tendency will resume all its
power. The man is just what he was in all but the actual indulgence. But our
chief attention should be given to the theology of the gospel, though what we
have called the theology of conscience occupies a highly important place in
reference to moral reformation. It is not unfrequent to find repentance
described as a kind of condition to be performed on man’s part, in order that
he may be fitted to receive the blessings of the gospel. Repentance is spoken
of as a preliminary to be accomplished by ourselves, so that when disciplined
and penitent we may turn to Christ for forgiveness. But this is not the
doctrine of the gospel. This is rather the inversion of the “due order”
prescribed by the gospel. The doctrine of the New Testament is not
“repentance,” and then appeal to Christ. It is appeal at once to Christ in
order that you may repent. We know that before the blood of the atonement can
be applied to the conscience, and a man have reason to hope himself justified by
God, there must be an earnest and hearty resolution to mortify those affections
and desires whose indulgence has heretofore done despite unto God. But then we
equally know that such a resolution as this is not to be made out of anything
which man finds in himself, through the instrumentality of his unaided feelings
whether mental or moral. We know that a determination to forsake sin, if it be
anything better than a feeble purpose which will give way at the first onset of
temptation, must be a determination which is based on hatred of sin as despite
to a Benefactor; for such is the
construction of our minds, at least in this the eclipse and
degradation of man, that we cannot long avoid through mere dread of its
consequences what commends itself as desirable to the appetites of our nature.
And if it be essential to the resolution in question, that there be hatred of
sin as despite to a Benefactor, there is little likelihood of its being
fabricated and fastened on the soul, so long as a man is at a distance from
Christ. It must be fabricated amid the scenes of crucifixion; it must be
fastened by the agonies of the crucified; so that, we again say, that applying
to Christ is the first step, and not the second in that “due order” which is
prescribed by the gospel plan for seeking the Lord. The ark of the truth of
God, in which is deposited the mysteries and the mercies of redemption how,
according to the question of our text--how shall this be brought into the human
breast and shrined in the recesses of the soul? Repentance and faith--these, so
to speak, are the anointed priesthood who alone may handle, alone move the
hallowed treasure. But if we would substitute for that repentance, which is the
gift of the interceding Saviour, another, human in its origin, and produced by
the workings of our unassisted feelings, what are we doing but placing an Uzza,
one not sprung of the consecrated line, to assist in bringing back the sacred
and magnificent treasure? The “due order” is that, stirred by the remonstrances
of conscience, by the pleadings of God’s Spirit, we flee straightway to Christ,
and entreat of Him to make us penitent; and then to give us pardon. Let him try
this method, and it may not be long ere the ark of the living God, weighty with
the blessings of eternity, moves majestically into his soul. But we have yet
some general remarks to advance upon what David calls seeking God after the
“due order,” or to speak more popularly, going the right way to work in the
matter of moral endeavour. When God has once made known His will, the question
is not whether there be sincerity of purpose, and earnestness of endeavour, but
whether in striving for masteries man strives lawfully--strives in the way
which has been revealed. If not, if there be any swerving from this way, it is
not the amount of energy which he brings to the effort, nor the devotedness
with which he follows out his course, which shall procure him favour with his
Maker. He offends by substituting his own way for God’s way; and, certainly,
the zeal with which he prosecutes an offence can in no sense repair the
offence. The decisions of the intellect are mightily swayed by the dictates of
the inclination. An investigation may be carried on with all candour and honesty;
yet the judgment has no fair play if there be a lurking wish that the verdict
may confirm a preconceived theory. Therefore do we hold a man answerable for
his faith, because we hold him answerable for that state of moral feeling which
he brings to the search after truth. If a man have himself destroyed or
impaired the organ of vision, surely he is answerable for not seeing what God
hath made plain. We unequivocally maintain that he who has revelation in his
hand, and either rejects, or resists its sayings in regard of the alone mode of
salvation, has nothing to expect but that as it was with David and his people,
the Lord God will break in anger upon him, because in the matter of his
endeavouring to “bring home to him the ark of the Lord,” he has failed to
proceed after the “due order.” If God hath been pleased to make known a method
in which the ark of His presence may be brought into the soul, we are
answerable for conforming ourselves to that method with all possible exactness
and all possible care. There can be nothing simpler than the directions which
are given us in Holy Writ. We are to set ourselves at once to the resisting
those known sins which we are sure must grieve the Holy Spirit of God. We are
to pray for the influences of His Spirit, that we may be led to Christ for
repentance and faith. Our whole dependence is to be placed on the sacrifice and
righteousness of the Mediator. Many--vast multitudes--perish in utter
indifference; they make no effort to be saved. Others make an effort, but not
in the right way; not in the way the Bible prescribes; and they, too,
perish--perish through planning for themselves, in place of submitting meekly
to the revealed will of God. We are all naturally in the condition of Jerusalem
at the time when the solicitudes of its monarch were given to bringing the ark
within its precincts. Created in the image of his Maker, the breast of man was
designed as a sanctuary in which the Lord God might tabernacle; but the
Philistine came down in his strength; the sanctuary was desecrated; and the
Lord God withdrew from the polluted abode. And now the question which should
interest us, and command our intense consideration--it is, How can the temple
be rebuilt and cleansed, and habited again with the indwellings of Deity? The
question of our text: “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” is the
question which presses hardest on every thinking man, conscious of the
corruption which has been woven into his nature, conscious of the immortality
to which that nature is heir. We thank God that we are not abandoned to our own
conjecture and our own strivings! The ark |s yet in the land, and though none
but a priest can presume to touch the mysterious thing, we have a High Priest
whose intercession is so rapid and so prevalent, that He can at once purify the
temple, and fill it with the long lost treasure. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The danger of not waiting on God after the due order
God is highly displeased with persons who perform duties, but are
careful not to perform them in a right manner. In discoursing which, I shall
show--
I. How it comes to
pass that men perform duties, but are not careful to perform them in a right
manner.
1. Because to perform duty is the easiest part of religion, but to do
it in a right manner is very difficult; and few people have a heart to manage
the difficulties of religion.
2. Because the bare performance of duties is within the reach of all,
the performing of them in a right manner is beyond the reach of the most part.
Natural abilities will serve for the one, gracious abilities are necessary for
the other (John 15:5; Hebrews 11:4). Nature cannot carry a man
above itself, more than the mouth of a river can be higher than the
spring-head.
3. By the bare performance of duties, men attain the base and low
ends which they propose to themselves in the service of God, viz.,
4. Because men may get duties done and keep their lusts too. To
perform duties in a right manner is inconsistent with peace with our lustre (Psalms 66:18).
5. Because most men have low and mean thoughts of God (Malachi 1:6-8).
II. How the Lord
testifies His displeasure against such persons.
1. By withdrawing from them in religious services. Ordinances are the
trysting-places where Christ meets with His people; but if they be not gone
about in a right manner, they will be but an empty sepulchre. The living God is
not to be found in a dead worship.
2. By rejecting their services (Malachi 1:13; Isaiah 1:11).
3. By spiritual strokes upon their souls (Jeremiah 48:10; Malachi 1:14).
4. By strokes upon their bodies.
III. Why is the Lord
so highly displeased?
1. Because God commands His service to be done in a right manner,
“With a perfect heart and a willing mind” (1 Chronicles 28:9).
2. Because the doing of a duty in a wrong manner alters the nature of
it and makes it sin. If a house be built of never so strong timber, and good stones, yet if
it be not well founded and right built, the inhabitant may curse the day he
came under the roof of it.
3. Because duties not performed according to the right order, are but
the half of the service we owe to God, and the worst half too. The Jews had it
written about the doors of their synagogues, “Prayer without intention is as a
body without a soul.”
4. Because duties thus performed are very dishonourable to God. (T.
Boston, D. D.)
Importance of small things in religion
You have before you now the picture. I shall want you to look at
it--
I. In detail. I
observe--
1. That God’s judgment of sin must differ exceedingly from ours.
2. That all changes from the written revelation of God are wrong.
3. Whenever the practices of Christians differ from Scripture they
are sure to incur inconvenience.
4. One innovation upon Sacred Writ leads to another.
5. A wrong thing done from right motives is not acceptable with God.
II. As a whole.
Here I have two pictures--
1. One for the people of God. Let us be done with everything
erroneous. Then will the ark be brought up out of its obscurity into the place
of glory. This is what is necessary to bring the kingdom of Christ on earth.
2. The other for the ungodly. It was a right thing for David to wish
to bring up the ark, but perhaps he was ignorant of the way to bring it, and see what inconvenience
he had to suffer. If you are not clear as to the plan of salvation, you will
have many joltings, much shaking, and you will suffer much inconvenience. The
plan of salvation is “Trust in Jesus.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 24
1 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Chronicles 15:24
And David made him houses in the city Of David, and prepared a
place for the ark of God.
Removal of the ark, or carrying on the work of God
I. Preparation for
God’s work.
1. By personal sanctification.
2. By implicit obedience to God’s command.
II. Hearty
co-operation in god’s work.
1. Gained by consultation. Teachers’ Meetings, Ministers’ Conferences,
National Councils of great help in effective work.
2. Displayed in united ranks.
3. Expressed by individual effort.
III. Success
achieved in God’s work. (J. Wolfendale.)
The call to service
I. The call.
1. Personal.
2. Pressing.
3. Worthy.
II. The response.
1. Ready.
2. Universal.
3. Immediate.
III. The directions
to carry it out.
1. Clear.
2. Right.
3. Safe. (J. Wolfendale.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》