1 Chronicles 15:1

1 Chronicles 15:1 says, 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.  David began to build houses for himself in the city of Jerusalem.  He also prepared a tent for the Ark of the Covenant.  I believe that we should be more concerned with the things of God than we are with our own comfort.  Verse two adds, Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.  David then said none but the Levites should carry the Ark, since God had chosen them to do so.  We today should do what God calls us to do individually, but we should also all carry the gospel into the world as followers of Christ.  We are all a part of the priesthood of believers.  Verse three continues, And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord unto his place, which he had prepared for it.  David gathered all of Israel when the Ark was brought to the place he had built for it.  We should always have a place for God's commandments in our heart and we should always make sure that we have prepared a place for them in our everyday life.  Verse four states, And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:  David then began to assemble the priests, both those who were descendants of Aaron and those who were Levites.  We need to all work together today to share God's gospel with the world.  Verse five adds, Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty:  We then have a listing of the various ones assembled and the number in each house or family group in this verse and the next five.  Verse six continues, Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:  Verse seven says, Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief and his brethren an hundred and thirty:  Verse eight adds, Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:  Verse nine continues, Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:  Verse ten concludes, Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.  There were differing numbers in the families, but they were all to work together as priests, just as we must today as individual Christians and also as local groups of believers when we assemble to worship God and carry out His mission.  Verse eleven states, And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,  David called certain of the priests and Levites to him.  Verse twelve adds, And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.  He told them as the chief of the Levites that they were to sanctify themselves, as well as their brethern, so the could go and bring the ark to the place David had prepared for it.  We really can't sanctify others, though we might have a service calling for the sanctification of all those there, but individually we must always sanctify ourselves by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and committing to following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  I believe we should especially do this when we gather to worship and serve God.  Verse thirteen continues, For 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.  David said that they had not done this when they first started to bring the Ark to its place, and God had punished them for it.  We should never attempt to do things for God without first purifying ourselves by confessing our sins and dedicating ourselves to following God's will.  If we don't do this, we will likely find ourselves defeated.  Verse fourteen says, So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.  The priests and Levites did as David told them to do and sanctified, or set themselves apart for doing what God wanted them to do.  We must do the same as Christians today, no matter what we are doing.  Verse fifteen adds, And 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.  They carried the Ark on their shoulders, as God through Moses had commanded them to do.  We cannot change God's law because we think we have a better way of doing things, but as followers of Christ, we must always be dedicated to following His commandments.

1 Chronicles 14:8

1 Chronicles 14:8 says, And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them.  When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of all Israel, they went to war with him.  Unlike Saul, who David ran from to keep from having to kill him, David went to meet the Philistines.  We may avoid confrontation with other Christians if confronting them would somehow bring harm to God's kingdom, but we should never avoid standing up against sin and evil.  Verse nine adds, And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.  The Philistines spread out across the valley of Rephaim.  The enemies of God may set themselves up in positions of power in the world today, but if so, we should never be afraid of them.  Verse ten continues, And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? And wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.  David did not just go to battle against them relying on his own strength, but asked God if he should go against them, and God told him to go and that He would deliver him.  We should never go against the forces of evil without first seeking God's guidance in the situation, and if He says go, we should go, because He has already secured the everlasting victory.  Verse eleven states, So they came up to Baalperazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baalperazim.  The Philistines were defeated, and David gave God the credit.  We should always give God the credit for our victories today and not glorify ourselves.  Verse twelve adds, And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.  The Philistines left their gods there, since they were powerless manmade things.  David had them burned in a fire.  No one can destroy our God, and if we are in a battle, we should never abandon Him, because He will never abandon us.  Verse thirteen continues, And the Philistines yet again spread themselves abroad in the valley.  The Philistines may have been defeated once, but they didn't give up.  They came back to fight once more.  Just because we win a battle against the enemies of God one day doesn't mean that they are defeated forever.  Thay won't happen until Jesus Christ returns.  Verse fourteen says, Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.  David didn't just rely on what God had told him and his victory the first time but inquired of Him again about going into battle with the Philistines.  This time, God told David to not go against them in the valley, but to turn away from them and then meet them at the mulberry trees.  We should never assume that God's answer in one situation will be the same for all situations, even if things went well the first time, but we must always seek His will in each situation.  Verse fifteen adds, And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.  David was told when he heard the sound of the wind going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then he was to go into battle, because God was going before him.  We need to always wait until God tells us to go, and we can be certain that when He does that He is going before us, whether we have some sign of this or not.  Verse sixteen continues, David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer.  David did as God commanded him and he was successful in defeating the Philistines once more.  If we are doing what God commands us to do, we are always going to be successful spiritually as long as we to rely on Him.  Verse seventeen concludes, And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.  David's fame grew, but it was because God had put the fear of him in all the nations.  We really shouldn't look for our fame to grow as Christians, but we should look to bring glory to God instead, since He is responsible for our victories.

1 Chronicles 14:1

1 Chronicles 14:1 says, Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house.  Hiram, the King of Tyre, sent messengers to David along with timbers of cedar and masons and carpenters to help David build himself a house.  David had a vast kingdom and Hiram a smaller one, but David needed Hiram's help.  I guess he could have tried to take these things from Hiram, but it was so much better that Hiram offered them freely.  Just because we as Christians may be more powerful than someone doesn't mean that we can just take what they have if we need it, nor does it mean that we may not need their help.  Verse two adds, And David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.  David did not give himself credit for his being king but gave the credit to God.  We also need to give God the credit for whatever success we have in the world today.  Verse three continues, And David took more wives at Jerusalem: and David begat more sons and daughters.  David gave God credit for his success, but then he began to break God's law by having more than one wife.  We should never give God credit for our success in life and then turn around and break his commandments.  David had sons and daughters with these wives.  These next four verses tell us the names of these children.  Verse four states, Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon,  Verse five adds, And Ibhar, and Elishua, and Elpalet,  Verse six continues, And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia,  Verse seven concludes, And Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphalet.  Matthew Henry says that these children added to David's strength, and that it was an honor to have so many children, which is true.  Still, this happened outside of God's plan for marriage and family.  We also see that Solomon was one of these children, so God blessed him even if his birth was outside of God's will.  Our birth does not determine whether God can use us or not, but our rebirth through putting our faith in Jesus Christ does.

1 Chronicles 13:6

1 Chronicles 13:6 says, And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the Lord, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.  David and all the people went to Kirjathjearim to return the Ark.  It would seem everyone was involved, which showed how important this was to them.  We as followers of Christ all need to be involved in the carrying of the gospel into the world.  This should be a priority to us.  Verse seven adds, And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart.  They. like the Philistines, carried the Ark in a new cart that was driven by Uzza and Ahio.  The Philistines had put the Ark in a new cart and then just let go without anyone attempting to drive it, because that had not worked.  Matthew Henry says that David and the Israelites, and especially the priests, should have known the proper way to transport the ark.  We should not attempt to make God's ordinances fit our way of enacting them but must make our lives fit under the authority of His ordinances.  Verse eight continues, David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.  The people were celebrating with many kinds of musical instruments and singing, playing and singing with all their might.  If anyone says that there should not be music in church today or that it should be limited to one or two instruments, they need to look back at worship in the Bible, where many different musical instruments were used in worship.  Verse nine states, And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.  When they got to the threshing floor at Chidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzza put his hand on the Ark to steady it.  Touching the Ark for any reason was against God's law concerning it.  We cannot go against God's laws without consequences, even if we say we are doing so to help support them.  Verse ten adds, And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.  We are told that God's anger was kindled against Uzza because he had touched the Ark, which was forbidden by God and Uzza died.  If we refuse to accept God's gift of salvation, we will one day face His judgment and be sent away to everlasting punishment.  Verse eleven continues, And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perezuzza to this day.  David was displeased with God and called the place Perezuzza.  We should never become displeased with God, but sometimes when He rebukes us for attempting to do things against His will, we get mad at Him and try to prove He is wrong.  Verse twelve says, And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?  David became afraid of God and questioned how he could bring the Ark home without getting killed.  Of course, if he had talked to God about this and followed His laws concerning the Ark, he would have had no reason to be afraid.  As long as we obey God's laws under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we never have a reason to fear God.  If we attempt to do things our own way in disobedience to His word, we do have a reason to fear how He will react to us.  Verse thirteen adds, So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.  David did not bring the Ark to his own house, which here is said to be in the city of David, which is Jerusalem, so he must not have thought about bringing the Ark to its rightful place until he had been king for a few years but placed it in the house of Obededom the Gittite.  If we are to be saved, we must bring the truth of the gospel into our life.  Having it in someone else's house because we are afraid of its requirements will never save us.  Verse fourteen continues, And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had.  The Ark remained there for three months, and God blessed Obededom and all that he had.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and have the Holy Spirit guiding us, we are always going to be spiritually blessed.

1 Chronicles 13:1

1 Chronicles 13:1 says, And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.  David then consulted with all the leaders of the people.  He didn't just start dictating to them, and neither should we just dictate to people if we are in a position of leadership in the church today.  We need to consult with others under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the Lord our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:  Once more, David didn't just tell them what they were going to do, but said if it seemed good to them and under God's direction, they should send for the Israelites everywhere to come gather with them.  He especially included the priests and Levites.  We need to reach out to all of God's people today and ask them to join us in the battle against sin and evil and we all need to do everything by God's guidance.  Verse three continues, And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul.  David then said they needed to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Hebron or Jerusalem, since it had been ignored all of the days of Saul.  Matthew Henry says they were bringing it back to Jerusalem, but if this occurred soon after David assumed his place as king, then he was in Hebron at that time.  Either way, they were to return the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place in the center of the government.  Though it was eventually returned to Jerusalem, there was the early attempt that failed. The Philistines may have no longer had it, but God's people were ignoring it, so they might as well have.  The people of the world may not control the things that are important to God, but if we have them and ignore them, then they might as weel have control of them for all the good they do us.  Verse four states, And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.  All the congregation said they would return the Ark to its rightful place in the kingdom because it seemed good to them.  We need to keep the things of God in their rightful place today, not because it seems good to us, but because it is what God calls on us to do.  Verse five adds, So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim.  David gathered all of Israel for the purpose of returning the Ark from Kirjathjearim.  We as followers of Christ also need to be united in carrying the gospel into all the world.  

1 Chronicles 12:29

1 Chronicles 12:29 says, And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul.  There were three thousand descendants of Benjamin, who had mostly guarded Saul.  These three thousand now followed David.  No matter who we may have followed or protected before, we need to come to Jesus Christ if we are to have salvation, and we who are Christians should never reject others simply because of what they may have been before.  Verse thirty adds, And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valour, famous throughout the house of their fathers.  The men of the tribe of Ephraim who were supporting David numbered twenty thousand eight hundred, and they were called mighty men of valor as many others had been.  I will say again that as Christians, we should be mighty in our stand for God.  Verse thirty-one adds, And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name, to come and make David king.  Of the half of the tribe of Manasseh who did cross over the Jordan there were eighteen thousand and they came to make David king.  They were separated from the other half of the tribe by the Jordan, but they were all still a part of the tribe of Manasseh.  No matter where we may live in the world, if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are a part of God's kingdom.  Verse thirty-two states, And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.  This was the smallest listed of the tribes in numbers, with only two hundred men listed, but it also says all their brethren were at their command, and they were said to understand the times.  Matthew Henry says this could have meant the planting times, the ceremonial times of worship, but likely meant the political times of the world.  They may have been small in numbers, but they were of great service to David.  We need to be knowledgeable about what is going on in the world today, from the environment, to the worship of God, and even to the political affairs in the world.  Verse thirty-three adds, Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart.  Of the tribe of Zebulun there were fifty thousand men, who were noted as expert in war and who brought their weapons with them.  They were said to be able to keep order and were not double in heart, or dedicated to anyone but David under God's guidance we would hope.  It is good to be brave and devoted as long as we are brave and devoted to God and not doubleminded about our loyalty.  Verse thirty-four continues, And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand.  From the tribe of Nephtali, there were a thousand who were referred to as captains, or military leaders, and thirty-seven thousand men under them who brought their shields and spears.  There should always be leaders in the church today, and we should follow them under God's direction and armed with the armor of God.  Verse thirty-five states, And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred.  Of the tribe of Dan, there were twenty-eight thousand, six hundred men who were said to be expert in war.  I believe this means they had experience in fighting wars, just as we should be experts in fighting the spiritual war in the world today.  Verse thirty-six adds, And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand.  Of the tribe of Asher, there were forty thousand men who were also said to be expert at war. Verse thirty-seven says, And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand.  Of all those who didn't cross over the Jordan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, there were a total of one hundred and twenty thousand men with their weapons.  Though physically separated from the rest of Israel, they were still very much a part of Israel.  Verse thirty-eight adds, All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king.  All these men came to Hebron to make David king.  We must all come to Jesus and make Him our King today if we are to be saved, and then we must become engaged in fighting the spiritual war against sin and evil.  Verse thirty-nine continues, And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them.  These men from across the Jordan spent three days with the others, eating and drinking what their brothers, the rest of the people of Israel had prepared for them.  We need be united as God's people and support one another's needs.  Verse forty concludes, Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.  Those that were the closest to Hebron had brought an abundance of food to feed the others.  We who are closest to God should be willing to give generously to help others who may be in need, especially our fellow Christians. 

1 Chronicles 12:16

1 Chronicles 12:16 says, And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.  Some of the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin came out to meet David when he was hiding from Saul.  Matthew Henry says he was surprised to see them since the men of Ziph and Keilah, who were men of Judah, had often been a danger to him.  We cannot judge whole groups of people by the actions of some.  Verse seventeen adds, And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it.  David met them and told them that if they came to help him, he would welcome them, but if they came to betray him to his enemies that God would rebuke them.  As followers of Christ, we should accept people at their word but do so under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eighteen continues, Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.  Amasai had the spirit come upon him, and Matthew Henry says this was a spirit of wisdom and not of prophesy.  The Holy Spirit should guide us all as Christian, but He does not guide us all to the same role.  I find it interesting that Amasai said your God and not our God, since David had already proclaimed God to be their God.  He may have done this just to emphasize that he was referring to the same God that David worshipped.  We do need to make sure that if people speak about God today that they are speaking about the One true God.  David received them and made them captains. Verse nineteen states, And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads.  Some of the men of Manasseh joined David as well, but the Philistines sent David and them away when they were going to join with them. thinking David would fall to Saul and put them in jeopardy.  Verse twenty adds, As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh.  Verse twenty-one continues, And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host.  These men of Manasseh helped David in a battle against the Amalekites who had plundered Ziklag.  They hadn't chosen to not follow Saul because they were afraid, but because they didn't support him.  We should never turn away from God because we are afraid.  Verse twenty-two concludes, For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.  David had more men join him every day, and we need to be proclaiming the gospel every day so that others will join God's family.  Verse twenty-three says, And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord.  Then we have a listing of those by tribe who came to help David in claiming the kingdom from Saul.  Verse twenty-four adds, The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed to the war.  There were six-thousand eight hundred from Judah.  Verse twenty-five continues, Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valour for the war, seven thousand and one hundred.  There were seven thousand one hundred from the tribe of Simeon.  These first two groups were noted as being men of mighty men valor.  Verse twenty-six states, Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred.  There were four thousand six hundred from the tribe of Levi, who were the tribe of priests.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred;  We are told that Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, who were also priests, and he had three thousand and seven hundred men with him.  Nothing is said about these two groups being mighty men of valor in fighting. They weren't there to fight wars, but they were there to represent God.  We don't have this division between Christians today, since we all are a part of the priesthood of believers and are still to be brave in the war against sin and evil.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, And Zadok, a young man mighty of valour, and of his father's house twenty and two captains.  Then, Zadok is mentioned as a young man of valor, who brought with him twenty-two captains from his father's house.  We need to bring everyone that we can to Jesus Christ today so that they can become a part of His family and army.