1 Chronicles 15:13

“For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”

This was David’s second attempt to bring the ark of the covenant to its new home in Jerusalem. The first time was an utter failure, resulting in death. This time, David wanted to be sure to do things right, so he consulted the Word of God. Because God designed the Tabernacle, He is also the one who wrote the instructions for how things were to operate. When David and Israel chose to look into the Word of God, they found the proper way to move the ark. What had once been a disaster, became a time of rejoicing; and the same will be true of us.

The New Testament refers to God as the “Author of life.” He designed…

1 Chronicles 13:8

“Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.”

Proverbs are brief popular sayings that give advice about how people should live. A very popular modern proverb states that “the ends justify the means.” In other words, how something is done is not nearly as important as getting it done. We might even say, “there is more than one way to skin a cat” (although, I personally have no desire for a skinned cat). There may be many cases where the ends justify the means, but David found, as it relates to worship and serving the Lord, the method is as important as the activity.

The nation joined with David to bring the ark to Jerusalem. They organized a worship team, put the ark on a cart, and began…

Psalm 109:2 

“My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.”

When I read the songs of David, I am fascinated with the level in which He knew the Lord. He expresses praise in a way that reveals the depths in which he understood the majesty of God. He speaks of mercy, grace and loving-kindness, not as one who studied it in a classroom, but as one who experienced it daily. This psalm reveals the level in which David understood the justice of God. If this Psalm seems harsh, it may be partly due to the limited understanding we have of God’s justice. We live in a world that finds it difficult to reconcile love, mercy and justice. We see it as unloving to punish an offender, yet we know it to be unjust to allow them to go free. It is common to project…

1 Chronicles 12:15

“These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.”

As I read through 1Chronicles, I am struck by the heroic actions of those who served alongside king David. His reign led Israel to the height of their success as a nation, and resulted in establishing peace with the surrounding nations. This success was not accomplished alone, but was a result of heroic men who stood tall in the midst of great difficulty and opposition. This seems to always be the case. One person put it this way, “Heroes are not born they are made”, and it is clear it is the circumstances they faced that made their actions heroic. In other words, Heroes are made when men and women stand…

Psalm 106:13-15

“They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.”

As Israel followed God out of Egypt and through the wilderness, they faced many obstacles. Some of the more memorable ones were the Egyptian army, the Red Sea, and the wilderness without food or water. These obstacles became opportunities for them to see God accomplish great things. He parted the Red Sea, exterminated the Egyptian army, provided water from a rock, and sent food from heaven to feed His people. As time went on, the people grew tired of the provision of God, and began to yearn for something else. This passage refers to an event recorded in Numbers 11, where the people complained to Moses about the Manna. In response, the Lord sent an…

1 Chronicles 11:1-3

“Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, ‘Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord your God said to you, “You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel. “‘ Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.”

My father-in-law uses the phrase,“So soon,”to chide anyone who is late. I personally have heard the term more times than I care to admit. The basic idea behind it is “I am glad you are finally ready, but what took you so long.” I cannot help…

1 Chronicles 10:13

“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.”

I can remember as a child standing in line to enter Disney’s Haunted Mansion. While I have forgotten most of the details about this particular attraction, the epitaphs on the gravestones left an indelible mark on my memory. One reads, “Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head”. Another read, “Dear departed brother Dave, he chased a bear into a cave”. I wonder what will be said of me when my time reaches it’s end.

For each of us, there will come a day when this life has reached its end. The way in which we die is not nearly as relevant as the way in which we live. For Saul…

Psalm 103:11-13

“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.”

It is common advertisement to attempt to sell an item by comparing it to something else. We might see a car commercial with a cheetah running, to convince us of the speed of the vehicle; or a flowing river, to reveal the thirst quenching power of a soft drink. David is, in a sense, attempting to sell us on the greatness of God. He knows the Lord and wants everyone to taste and see for themselves that the Lord is good. To do this he makes a series of comparisons, to convince us to trust in…

Psalm 101:3

“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.”

One of the saddest experiences in life, is to see a close friend fall away from the Lord. From the outside, the process often looks the same. A person, who once walked closely with the Lord and was involved in Christian service, begins to drift ever so slightly. First, their conversation changes. Instead of talking about the Lord, sharing from their times of Bible reading or service, they begin to talk only of the waves and the weather. Next, we begin to see them a little less frequently around the church. In some cases, only the responsibility of a service commitment keeps them coming; until finally they step down from their responsibility, and seem to vanish. Sometimes, it will take weeks or even months…