1 Chronicles 13:13, 14 So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.… We must take care to read these verses intelligently, or we may misread them altogether. It is possible to draw from them a conclusion which is not in accordance with the mind of God. There is - I. A SUPERSTITIOUS ERROR AGAINST WHICH TO GUARD. It would be a great mistake to suppose that the mere fact of the presence of the ark in the house ensured prosperity; or that, similarly, the mere presence of sacred rites or persons will now command the favouring regard of God. That there was something more than this in the case of Obed-edom is proved by the facts: 1. That the presence of the ark in the midst of the Philistines proved to be disastrous (1 Samuel 5). 2. That the presence of the ark in the camp of the Israelites proved to be fruitless of help (1 Samuel 4.). 3. That the ark was nothing more in itself than a box of wood, and, apart from God's determination to bless, could not possibly effect anything at all. 4. That to trust in a thing manufactured of man and not in the living God himself would partake of the idolatrous (see 2 Kings 18:4). If we cherish the idea that, because we are connected by blood (or in any other way) with sacred persons, or that because we have much to do officially with sacred things, with the utterance of sacred words, or the performance of sacred rites, or the care of sacred buildings, therefore it will be well with us in the books of heaven, we are only harbouring a fiction, we are leaning on a brittle reed, we are building the house of our hope upon the sand. II. THE RELIGIOUS TRUTH TO BE RECEIVED AND WELCOMED. God blessed the house of Obed-edom because he cheerfully and reverently made room for the sacred chest. His act was one of simple piety, rendered in an hour of need and offered devoutly, intelligently unto God; therefore God "blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had." It was the mark of God's approval of a service rightly and worthily rendered. The truth for us to gather is that God's abidingfavour is the one sure source of blessedness. If God be "with us," i.e. for us, on our side, who or what can be against us? "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Those who, in constructing their life, leave God's favour out of the account, make a fundamental and fatal error. Those who go on the principle that his Divine favour will secure true prosperity are proceeding along the lilies of truth. Let every man be discontented and disturbed in soul until he has first made sure of the abiding approval of the Most High. Till then it will be wrong with him and with all that he has; when that is gained, all is well with him and his. But how is this approval to be secured? 1. By doing the one thing which God demands of all his children now. This, first of all and most of all, is the work or the will of God, that we "believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ," etc. (see John 6:29; 1 John 3:23). The acceptance of Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord is the way to secure the abiding favour of the Father of all. Having thus gained his Divine regard, we must continue therein. 2. By striving to be and to do all those things in all our relations which are pleasing in his sight (see Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:17, 23). Among many other ways of pleasing Christ, we may win his approving smile in the particular way suggested in the text. 3. By showing special attention to that with which, and to those with whom, he is specially connected - his house and his disciples. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite. |
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