“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” — 1 Chronicles 16:29
I grew up during the Great Depression, when times were hard and money was scarce. One day, someone stole the morning’s milk that had been delivered to our front porch. My sister was just a baby, and the milk was needed for her. That day, my father went to work at the sawmill, where his job was to pull slab wood off the conveyor chain that went up to the scrap burner. As he was pulling the slab wood, he spotted a ten-cent piece, and with that dime he was able to buy the necessary milk for my sister. We did not know where that dime came from, but God knew and we gave Him the glory. Over the years, God graciously provided for us many times, blessing us in so many ways that our needs were more than met.
While money is not everything, it is still our medium of exchange, and at times, we have opportunities to “bring an offering” of some of the material blessings God has given us. For example, some years ago my wife became very ill, but the Lord stepped in and helped us through that crisis. We were so thankful for His goodness to us! Not long after that, there was a need for funds to support a youth camp in Romania, and we saw it as an opportunity to give an offering as a token of our appreciation for His goodness. We knew we had been blessed, and we wanted someone else to be blessed as well.
That must have been how David and the people felt in the account recorded in our text today. After many years, the Ark of the Covenant—the symbol of God’s presence and glory—was in its proper place in Israel. What a reason to rejoice! David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings to the Lord, and appointed Levites to honor God before the Ark in an ongoing ministry of thanksgiving. Then he delivered a psalm that began with a call to praise. He challenged the people with the words of our focus verse, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
In his psalm, David listed a number of ways individuals can praise and glorify God. He told the people to “give thanks,” to “make known his deeds,” and to “sing unto him.” He admonished them to “talk . . . of all his wondrous works” and to “glory in his holy name.” They were to “rejoice” in him, to “seek his face continually,” and to “remember his marvelous works.”
We can never do enough to repay God for all He has done for us, but it is a good idea to try to show our appreciation by giving offerings. In this way, we can be used by God as He fulfills His promise to supply His children’s needs. One time a minister told his congregation, “If God blesses you or answers a prayer, put some shoes on a poor child’s feet or help to feed them!” While shoes and food are not always the specific need, the principle is good advice, and one way we can show our appreciation for God’s goodness to us.
Following the description in chapter 15 of David’s moving of the Ark to Jerusalem, chapter 16 of 1 Chronicles covers the celebration that took place when the Ark was placed in its new location (verses 1-6). That was followed by David’s psalm of thanksgiving (verses 7-36), and the appointment of ministers who would serve before the Ark continually (verses 37-43). Additional details about this event are given in 2 Samuel chapter 6.
King David and the people commemorated the placement of the Ark of the Covenant with a celebration that included burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. These sacrifices possibly had been neglected in the first attempt to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, as no mention is made of sacrifices in that account. The burnt sacrifices represented atonement, and the peace offering alluded to reconciliation and the enjoyment of harmony with God.
Verses 2-3 indicate that a distribution of food was made to the people. In verse 3, the word translated “flagon of wine” is ashiyshah, which literally means, “something closely pressed together.” Bible scholars generally agree this was actually a reference to dried, pressed cakes made of raisins or grapes.
At the conclusion of the day of celebration, David appointed Levites to provide music and praise to God before the Ark in ongoing ministry (see verses 4-6). This marked a significant transition in the history of Israel’s worship. Prior to that time, songs had been created and performed at special occasions; at this point, David implemented continual worship through music. Although the Levites had been set apart for service at the Tabernacle from the time of Moses, they were more fully organized by David. From this time forward, there was more system and efficiency in the Levitical ministrations.
David compiled the psalm/song given in verses 8-36 from four psalms already known: Psalms 96, 105, 106, and 107. It includes an admonition and summons to praise the Lord, a record of God’s goodness, praise for God’s attributes and character, a prayer for salvation, and a closing doxology.
The final verses of this chapter record those who were to lead the worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon. Zadok, who likely had been the high priest under Saul, would serve at the Tabernacle in Gibeon, while Asaph would minister before the Ark in the tent David had prepared at Jerusalem. Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun (called Ethan in 1 Chronicles 15:19) represented the three families of the Levites (see 1 Chronicles 6:33, 39, 44).
II. The reign of David
B. The establishment of his kingdom
2. The prosperity of David’s reign
a. The establishment of God’s presence in Jerusalem
(4) The thanksgiving for the Ark (16:1-43)
(a) David’s sacrifices (16:1-3)
(b) David’s choir (16:4-6)
(c) David’s psalm of thanksgiving (16:7-36)
(d) David’s appointed ministers before the Ark (16:37-43)
David offered sacrifices to God as a way of expressing his devotion and appreciation for God’s blessing. We too can express our thanksgiving to God through offerings of our time, resources, and worship.
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