God’s Word for You
1 Chronicles 21:28-30 Worship for David
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, April 25, 2024
28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. 29 At that time the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were on the high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
What had happened to worship by David’s time?
1, The ancient worship of the patriarchs.
Already in the days of Adam and Eve and their children, there was public worship in the world. By the time Seth had his son (Adam was a mere 235 years old at the time) “men began to call on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26). This was carried along by the ancient Patriarchs: Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and of course Noah. Noah built an altar right away after the flood abated “and sacrificed burnt offerings on it” (Genesis 8:20).
2, The tabernacle worship given to Moses.
About four hundred years before David brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, God commanded Moses to build that ark, and commanded Aaron as to how to use it and when. This began the worship at the tabernacle.
3, The lost ark.
A little more than three hundred years later, Eli’s sons carried the ark foolishly into battle without the Lord’s command and lost it, and during the long decades of its return, it remained separated from the tabernacle. Never once in David’s lifetime was the tabernacle of the Lord ever brought together with the ark in the Most Holy Place.
4, David’s concern and plan to bring the ark to a place of safety.
When the ark was recovered, David struggled with getting it to safety. It had been in Philistine hands for about seven months (1 Samuel 6:1), it was returned by oxcart. It arrived at Kiriath Jearim and remained there for twenty years (1 Samuel 7:2). During this time, King Saul died, and David became King of Israel. After he captured Jerusalem, he tried to bring the ark into the city. Another delay of three months on account of mishandling the ark led to David’s extreme care with the golden chest. Finally it was brought safely into the city and put in a new tent—not the tabernacle of Moses—but somewhere near David’s own house. The tabernacle of Moses along with the altar of burnt offering remained at Gibeon.
5, Default worship of David.
David’s sacrifice on Moriah’s summit was more like one of Abraham or Isaac’s offerings than anything to do with the holy tabernacle of the Lord. The King obviously wanted to bring the ark and the tent back together but in a more permanent way, yet he did not complete the old tent. He did not go up to the tabernacle at Gibeon even now, but this was because the Lord commanded him to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah. Yet, why does the text also tell us that David “could not go before it (the altar at Gibeon) to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD”? Did he fear that doing so would bring his vision of a stone temple to an end? If people had the whole tabernacle of Moses, was he afraid that they would question why they might need a Temple of David? No—these points are speculation. He was afraid of God’s vengeful sword, and that is more than enough to explain what happened here. The Lord had commanded him to build an altar where the angel stopped and put his sword back in its sheath, and David was afraid to go anywhere else to worship. He could not go back to Gibeon, even if the altar and the tent were there. David was commanded to build an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah, that is just what he did.
For the rest of David’s reign, this remained the situation. He was not permitted to build a temple for God, but he drew up all its plans, gathered its materials, and raised its funds.
One final point should be made here. Araunah was not a Jew, at least by birth. He was a Gentile; a foreigner. Therefore the statement is perfectly true: “Most significantly, in its typical aspect, were Jew and Gentile here brought together to cooperate in the dedication of the Temple site.”
How frequently David wrote Psalms for worship, and how frequently they depict worship on Mount Zion, but how seldom with reference to any building!
“Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.” (Psalm 9:11).
“Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out from Zion!”
(Psalm 14:7).
“May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.” (Psalm 20:2)
“It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life evermore” (Psalm 133:3)
To return to the article cited yesterday about worship: “‘Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells’ (Psalm 26:8). But what do I say and what do I do when I get there? This is the question that faces every lay person, every called minister, every congregation and every denomination Sunday by Sunday. The question cannot be answered, however, by referring to Biblical or confessional rules and regulations. We respect the past and are edified by it, but we are not enslaved by it. We gather to proclaim and gain the gospel.” (Tiefel, WLQ 117:2 p. 122). As Paul taught: “We preach Christ crucified… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23,24).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.