1 Chronicles13chapter 13

1 Chronicles 13:1

“During the reign of the late king, the ark had been left in culpable neglect. Consequently the people had, to a great extent, been careless about the ordinances of divine worship, or had contented themselves with offering sacrifices at Gibeon, without any thought of the ark, though it was the chief and most vital part of the tabernacle.”

1 Chronicles 13:2

“Let those that are left be quickened by late judgments, and present mercies, to seek unto God. (3.) He takes care that the priests and Levites especially should be summoned to attend the ark; for it was their province in a particular manner. Thus Christian magistrates should stir up ministers to do their duty when they see them remiss.”

1 Chronicles 13:3

“And let us bring again the ark of our God to us,.... The symbol of the divine Presence, than which nothing was more desirable to David, and he chose to begin his reign overall Israel with it: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul; he being indifferent to religion, and careless about it, and the enjoyment of the presence of God, and having direction from him; and the people also content with worship at the tabernacle at Gibeah, though the token of the divine Presence was absent.”

1 Chronicles 13:4

“And all the congregation said that they would do so,.... They unanimously agreed to the motion: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people; they saw the propriety, necessity, and usefulness of it.”

1 Chronicles 13:5

“From Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath - “Therefore David gathered all Israel, from the Nile, נילוס Nilos, of Egypt, even to the entrance of Antioch.” - T.”

1 Chronicles 13:6

“David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah--(See on 2Sa 6:1-11). whose name is called on it--rather, "who is worshipped there" (2Sa 6:2).”

1 Chronicles 13:7

“In a new cart - Lest it should be profaned by being placed on any carriage that had been employed about common uses. Uzza and Ahio - All the versions understand אחיו achyo as signifying brother or brothers; so does Jarchi, who observes, from 2Sa 6:3, that these were the sons of Abinadab.”

1 Chronicles 13:8

“DAVID had, in his heart, an intense love to God. During Saul's reign, God had been well-nigh forgotten in the land. The ordinances of His house had been almost, if not entirely, neglected, and when David found himself firmly seated upon his throne, one of his first thoughts was concerning the revival of religion, the reestablishment of that form of worship which God had ordained in the wilderness by the mouth of His servant Moses. So he looked about him to see where the Ark of the Covenant, that most sacred of all the ancient symbols, was, and he wrote, "We heard of it at Ephra-tah: we found it in the fields of the wood." Out of pure love and reverence to God, he called the people together, consulting with them so that the thing might not be done by himself, but by the nation. It was agreed that the Ark should be brought up and placed upon Mount Zion, near the palace of the king, in a conspicuous position where it should be the center of religious worship for the entire nation. It was to be placed near that sacred spot where Abraham had, of old, offered up his son, Isaac, that, in the great days of assembly, the Israelites might wend their way there and worship God as He had commanded them. David's intention was right enough, no fault can be found with that. But right things must be done in a right way. We serve a jealous God, who, though He overlooks many faults in His people, yet, nevertheless, will have His Word reverenced and His commands obeyed. "Be you clean," He says, "that bear the vessels of the Lord." He will be honored by those that attempt to draw near to Him. So it came to pass that, though David had a good intention and was about to do a right thing, yet, at the first, he had a great failure. When we have considered the cause of that failure, we shall note that this failure worked in David a great fear.”