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celebrating the presence

1 Chronicles 15:1-16:3

1 Chronicles 15:1 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.
1 Chronicles 15:2 Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because Yahveh has chosen them to carry the ark of Yahveh and to minister before him forever.”
1 Chronicles 15:3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of Yahveh to the place he had prepared for it.
1 Chronicles 15:4 Then he gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
1 Chronicles 15:5 From the Kohathites, Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives;
1 Chronicles 15:6 from the Merarites, Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives;
1 Chronicles 15:7 from the Gershomites, Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives;
1 Chronicles 15:8 from the Elizaphanites, Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives;
1 Chronicles 15:9 from the Hebronites, Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives;
1 Chronicles 15:10 from the Uzzielites, Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.
1 Chronicles 15:11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
1 Chronicles 15:12 He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of Yahveh God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.
1 Chronicles 15:13 For Yahveh our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn’t inquire of him about the proper procedures.”
1 Chronicles 15:14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of Yahveh God of Israel.
1 Chronicles 15:15 Then the Levites carried the ark of God the way Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord: on their shoulders with the poles.
1 Chronicles 15:16 Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments — harps, lyres, and cymbals.
1 Chronicles 15:17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah.
1 Chronicles 15:18 With them were their relatives second in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.
1 Chronicles 15:19 The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;
1 Chronicles 15:20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth
1 Chronicles 15:21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to the Sheminith.
1 Chronicles 15:22 Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music because he was skillful.
1 Chronicles 15:23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.
1 Chronicles 15:24 The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be gatekeepers for the ark.
1 Chronicles 15:25 David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of Yahveh from the house of Obed-edom.
1 Chronicles 15:26 Because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with God’s help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
1 Chronicles 15:27 Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.
1 Chronicles 15:28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Yahveh with shouts, the sound of the ram’s horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and the playing of harps and lyres.
1 Chronicles 15:29 As the ark of the covenant of Yahveh was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.
1 Chronicles 16:1 They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence.
1 Chronicles 16:2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
1 Chronicles 16:3 Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

celebrating the presence

Getting it right took a great deal of cooperation and attention to detail, but David was determined to correct his former mistake. The ark of the covenant belonged in Jerusalem. Following the rules meant bringing the ark into the city with worship, rejoicing, and just lots of noise. It was not to be a mundane logistics task, but part of a celebration. David even distributed a meal to all Israel – another reason to remember the day – not because it was a solemn observance, but because it was a celebration. This is what it is like when the presence of God manifests.

LORD, make our lives acts of worship appropriate for your presence.