1 Chronicles 14

1 Chronicles 14:1

THE PROSPERITY OF KING DAVIDIn chapter 14 we see that God is prospering David and that his fame is spreading. David and Hiram were great friends. We are told elsewhere that Hiram loved David. Here at the beginning of David’s reign, Hiram wants to help him build his house, his palace.

1 Chronicles 14:2

Now perhaps you are saying, “And David permitted this!” Yes, God permitted a multiplication of wives, but God did not approve of it. In fact, this will eventuate in God judging him, and it will bring sorrow to him for the rest of his life. It is wrong. This record is not given to us because God approved of it. But God wants us to know that this is exactly what happened. This is a historical record, and as we follow it we will discover God’s attitude. At one time, during the time of David’s rejection, the Philistines thought he had become their man (1 Sam. 27). Now that he has returned to his own people and has been crowned as their king, the Philistines are out to get him.

1 Chronicles 14:9

This was a great victory for David over the Philistines. And Israel hadn’t had many victories over these people.

1 Chronicles 14:13

David could have said, “Well, here are the Philistines back again to fight against me. I had victory before, so I’ll go out against them again.” No, he inquired of God, and God said he shouldn’t do it. He told David to retreat and to draw the Philistines to the mulberry trees. There David would have the advantage. There are a great many Christians who actually tempt the Lord. They don’t trust Him; they actually tempt Him. They enter into some sort of a business, or an agreement, or they try to do something and, as the saying goes, they bite off more than they can chew. They claim to be doing it because they “trust the Lord.” Well, what makes them think the Lord told them to do it that way? My friend, God expects you and me to use sanctified common sense. I have known folk who say they are acting on faith, when it is not faith but presumption. They call it trusting the Lord but, actually, they do these things when the Lord never indicated to them that they should. God wants us to use sanctified common sense and to wait for His leading. Everything that is called faith is not actually faith. I have seen folk make shipwreck of faith in that way. A dear lady came to the church where I served in Pasadena years ago. She said she was going to a faith healer and I advised her not to. I thought she should go to a doctor. She said, “Oh, Dr. McGee, you are so wrong. God is going to heal me. You think I ought not to go to this faith healer but I am going and I will be healed.” She went and she was not healed. She couldn’t understand it. She thought God was going to heal her. The whole affair made shipwreck of that woman’s faith and she got to the place where she completely turned her back upon God. She said, “He let me down.” No, He didn’t. He doesn’t want us to do something very foolish. He wants us to use good old sanctified common sense. She should have gone to a doctor. Her foolishness eventuated in her death. My friend, of course we need to trust the Lord. But we need to make sure we are getting our directions from Him. Sometimes we are to go out and do battle, and sometimes we are to withdraw.

1 Chronicles 14:15

A pastor friend of mine came to tell me about a church he was going to serve; and, because I knew things about the church, I advised him not to go. He asked, “Why?” I answered, “You had better wait until you hear the ‘sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees’ before you go there.” You see, there are times when you and I are simply to wait until there is no doubt that God is preparing the way for us. This talk of stepping out on faith may not be faith at all. It may be presumption. Instead of trusting God, we may be tempting God. We need to wait for the Lord to give the signal, for that sound in the tops of the mulberry trees. We need to be careful that what we call stepping out on faith isn’t simply a foolish move. Sometimes we are tempting God instead of trusting Him.

1 Chronicles 14:16

This is why I said that David was one of the great world leaders. His kingdom was one of the great world kingdoms at that particular time. God was with this man. That little nation in that insignificant land became a great world power. This should not strike us as strange. There have been other instances like it in the history of the world. Venice, the city of Venice, ruled the world at one timeand it was just a city. So it is not a surprise that a little nation like Israel could be a world power. We are told the reason for it. Verse 1Ch_14:2 told us that David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, and verse 1Ch_14:17 tells us that the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations. It was God who brought David to world power. As we have seen, chapters 13-16 are devoted to David and the arkthat is, of his bringing the ark up to Jerusalem to the place he had chosen. This is quite interesting in view of the fact that these chapters could be giving us a report of the business of the state, some of the many decisions that David made, treaties he signed with the surrounding nations, wars he fought, even accounts of state dinners and other state functions. It could be very much like a newscast we would see on television today. Instead these chapters tell us about the moving of the ark. There is a lesson in this for us. It helps us to see what is the important matter in the sight of God. We get the news and a lot of propaganda on our newscasts. What do you think would be God’s viewpoint of the news today? Would the emphasis be where we find it on CBS or NBC or XYZ? Where does God put the emphasis? We should learn from this attention to the moving of the ark that God is interested in the worship of His people. The ark was the very heart and center of the worship for Israel. This is where God puts the emphasis. History itself should teach us that all too often we put the emphasis on passing things. Once there was a busy staff in the palace of Napoleon in Paris. Today it is a museum. There are no important decisions being made there today. We think of Versailles and how beautiful it is. How important it was in the past. Great decisions were made there, but now it is just a showcase. It is something for tourists to visitthat is all. It would have been well to have known what God thought was important during those years. Another question arises. What happened to the tabernacle? My feeling is that it was worn out. After all, it was a tent, made largely of cloth. The golden boards, the brass pillars, and the silver bases were probably taken by the Philistines. There is no record of what happened to the tabernacle other than the ark. The important thing was the ark. Why? Because crowning the ark was the mercy seat. That is the place where God met the people of Israel. The important thing for you and for me is to have a place where we can receive mercy from God. All of us need God’s mercy. God is prepared today to extend mercy because He has a mercy seat for us. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1Jn_2:1-2). That word propitiation means “mercy seat.” Christ is the mercy seat for our sins. Now this is important to God. Actually, it is not what you and I hear on television that is really important, and it is not the decisions made in Washington (although I do not belittle them), but the important decisions are God’s decisions. As we have seen, David attempted to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Although that was the proper thing to do, he did it in the wrong way. Not only had David chosen Jerusalem as the place for the ark, but God had chosen that same place. So it was important that the ark be brought to Jerusalem. The problem was that David tried to do it in the wrong way. God had given instructions in the Book of Numbers that the ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the Kohathites of the tribe of Levi. There could not be an easier way or any kind of short-cut method used. My friend, getting out the Word of God today is not easy. Too many people think that the work of the Lord should be some kind of picnic and something very delightful. It is delightful to know one is doing His will out of love for Himthat always makes it a thrilling experiencebut it does not make it easy. God’s Word needs to be carried by God’s people. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom_10:17). God blesses the proclamation of His Word. Paul goes on to say that they have to hear, but how are they going to hear without a preacher? Paul also tells us: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1Co_1:18). God wants the human family to hear His Word through human means. He doesn’t write it in the sky. He expects us to preach it, my friend. As we look around us, we see a restlessness. The church, having departed from the Word of God, is in as much disarray as any other institution. The theology of both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism is a shambles, my friend. Why? Because both got away from the Word of God, and as a result they are not doing it God’s way. My firm conviction is that the most important matter is to get the ark of God on the move, by which I mean get the gospel going out, get the Word of God moving out to the human family. Let’s put the emphasis where God puts it. Now here in chapter 15 David is going to move the ark in the right way.