Outline of Chapter 15:

         vv.     1–10         David Summons the Levites to Move the Ark

         vv.    11–15         David Explains What Went Wrong Before

         vv.    16–24         The Chief Levites in Attendance

         vv.    25–28         Highlights from the Procession

         v.       29           Michal, David’s Wife, Despises David

Addendum

Charts, Short Doctrines and Maps:

         Introduction         Matthew Henry Outlines 1Chronicles 15

         v.       1              Why Hiram Built a Palace for David prior to David’s Construction Project

         v.       1              Why There are Two Separate Building Projects

         v.       1              What We Know about the Tabernacle of God

         v.       1              Questions about the Tabernacle and David

         v.       1              Why Doesn’t David Bring the Tabernacle to Jerusalem?

         v.       1              Why Did God Allow Tabernacle Worship and the Ark to Remain in the Background?

         v.       3              Reasons for Our Confidence in God’s Word

         v.       5              The Uriel’s of Scripture

         v.       6              The Asaiah’s of Scripture

         v.       7              Which Joel is Joel? Are These the Same Man?

         v.       8              The Shemaiah’s of Scripture

         v.      10              The Uzziel’s of Scripture

         v.      10              The Levite Branches

         v.      11              The Two High Priests

         v.      13              1Chronicles 15:13 Text from the Greek Septuagint

         v.      16              Dramatic Differences in Translations

         v.      17              The Berechiah’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Zechariah’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Ben’s of Scripture

         v.      18              A Comparison of Names

         v.      18              The Jehiel’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Eliab’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Benaiah’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Maaseiah’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Mattithiah’s of Scripture

         v.      18              The Jeiel’s of Scripture

         v.      18              What Do All of These Names in 1Chronicles 15:18 Mean?

         v.      21              The Azaziah’s of Scripture

         V.      23              The Elkanah’s of Scripture

         v.      24              The Shebaniah’s of Scripture

         v.      24              The Joshaphat’s (Jehoshaphat’s) of Scripture

         v/      24              The Nethanel’s of Scripture

         v.      24              The Amasai’s of Scripture

         v.      24              The Eliezer’s of Scripture

         v.      25              The Obed-edom/Jeiel Confusion

         v.      26              When Bulls and Rams are Offered Together

         v.      28              2Samuel 6:15 Compared to 1Chronicles 15:28

         Addendum          Commentators Associate Specific Psalms with the Moving of the Ark

         Addendum          The Psalms of 1Chron. 16

         Addendum          Psalms to be Covered with 1Chron. 15

         Addendum          Psalms NOT to be Covered with 1Chron. 15

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of 1Chronicles 15

I ntroduction: In 2Sam. 6, David makes his first attempt to move the Ark, fails, and then successfully brings the Ark to Jerusalem on the second try. As we have already studied, all of 1Chron. 13 is devoted to the first attempt to move the Ark; 1Chron. 14 deals with David in Jerusalem (and parallels 2Sam. 5:11–25), and this chapter, 1Chron. 15, and the next, correspond to the second half of 2Sam. 6. Since the 2^nd half of 2Sam. 6 is comprised of 12 verses and 1Chron. 15–16 make up 72 verses, we are going to find a lot more detail of this event in Chronicles. The reason that two chapters are given over to this event in Chronicles is that there are two separate but related events: the transporting of the Ark from the home of Obed-edom to Jerusalem; and the celebration of the Ark being placed in its tent in Jerusalem. Part I: Transport of the Ark (1Chron. 15); Part II: Celebration of the Successful Transport of the Ark (1Chron. 16).

What is striking in the Chronicles record is the great organization and celebration which takes place the second time the Ark is moved under David’s direction. The book of Samuel only devotes 3 verses to the celebration and 2^nd move of the Ark, wherein, it is clear that there was a celebration; but the extent of this celebration is revealed in Chronicles. In Samuel, you read the text and you think, “Hmm, sounds like maybe this was a big deal?” However, the text of Chronicles makes it unmistakably clear, this is a big deal!

As will be clear in this chapter of Chronicles, there will be a great deal of music and singing which takes place while the Ark is being moved and once it comes to its place in Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, 3 psalms are alluded to in 1Chron. 16, but no psalm is actually named in 1Chron. 15 (although there will be numerous references to musicians, singers and a musical celebration performed while the Ark was being moved). So, we may reasonably assume that there were psalms sung during this event which David and the music leaders picked out, but we do not know which psalms these were (assuming, of course, that they chose particular psalms which are extent today). Therefore, we will make reasonable guesses as to which psalms were sung at this time, and study those particular psalms with the procession of the Ark in mind (we will do this in between the chapters). When we study 1Chron. 16, portions of the psalms sung will be included in that chapter, and we will study those psalms as they are alluded to by the editor of Chronicles.

There are several themes to be found in this chapter of Chronicles: most obvious is, the moving of the Ark from a temporary holding place with Obed-edom (which is never described in any way). However, what is also clearly pointed out is the important place of the Levites in this celebration. They are both verified as to which branch of Levites they belong to, and the part which they play while the Ark is being moved. Interestingly enough, even though we can make some reasonable guesses as to who exactly moved the Ark (the 4 gatekeepers?), this is not clearly presented. Finally, it is important to recognize that the driving force behind all of this is King David. Levites did not come to David and petition that he bring the Ark to Jerusalem; this was in David’s mind, and it will be apparent throughout Chronicles that he has put a lot of thought into the Ark (David wanted to move the Ark in the first place; he knew what went wrong originally and he knew how to fix that; he prepared a place for the Ark to go; and he wanted to design and build a permanent place for the Ark of God). What has less emphasis, but is important, is, this is a celebration for all Israel. With all that goes on when the Ark is moved and when it comes to its tent in Jerusalem, indicates a great celebration.

If you read critically, you should have a number of questions occur to you in v. 1 (look in your Bible and read that verse right now, and determine if one or two questions come to you). Most people who read the Bible rarely think critically during their reading of it, unless they are simply looking to find something wrong or contradictory.

Chronicles is said to be man's history from God's viewpoint, and God emphasizes here that which He deems is important. The successful move of the Ark and the ensuing celebration no doubt have important spiritual implications.

David builds some houses for himself and sets up a tent for the Ark (v. 1). He comments that the Levites should have been the ones to move the Ark (v. 2). David gathers many from Israel for this second attempt to move the Ark, including many leaders from the prominent branches of Levites (vv. 3–10). David appears to assign 2 priests and 6 Levites to the actual moving of the Ark, although probably not all 8 were needed to actually lift and carry the Ark (vv. 11–12). David reiterates the importance of moving the Ark the correct way in v. 13, and the Levites prepared themselves and began to move the Ark (vv. 14–15). There are apparently a large number of musicians and choir types who are involved, who are partially enumerated in vv. 16–24. The overall celebration as the Ark was transported by the Levites is described in vv. 25–28. Then, at the very end of the chapter, we get another viewpoint, which is that of Michal, Saul’s daughter and one of David’s wives—who sees David and hates him (v. 29).

In our chapter, we will focus on the successful move of the Ark, the Levites who played a part in this move, and the gathering of Israel. The celebration will be examined in the next chapter.

David Summons the Levites to Move the Ark