15:1 David constructed buildings in the City of David; he then prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
King Hiram of Tyre assisted David in the building of the Jerusalem palace. David also built houses for his wives and concubines. He constructed a tent to hold the ark of the covenant. The tent may have been similar to the tent in which Moses had constructed.
2 Samuel 6:12-13 provided the historical account of moving the ark to Jerusalem. The author repeated this historical event in this book, but he added the specific names of the priests, Levites, and other people who took part in the transport. Believers will meet many of these people in heaven.
15:2 Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve before him perpetually.
Why did David not follow these stipulations of the Mosaic Law the first time? He learned by experience to follow the details to the letter of the Law.
15:3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord up to the place he had prepared for it.
All of Israel was invited to participate in this ceremony.
15:4 David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: 15:5 From the descendants of Kohath: Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives. 15:6 From the descendants of Merari: Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives. 15:7 From the descendants of Gershom: Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives. 15:8 From the descendants of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives. 15:9 From the descendants of Hebron: Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives. 15:10 From the descendants of Uzziel: Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives. 15:11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, along with the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
David assembled the same three Levitical family groups to carry the ark in which Moses had appointed during the wilderness march. The three Levitical families were the Kohaths, the Merari, and the Gershom tribes.
15:12 He told them: “You are the leaders of the Levites’ families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves and bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel up to the place I have prepared for it.
The Levites consecrated themselves by cleansing themselves with water, abstaining from marital relations, and offering a blood sacrifice for their sins.
15:13 The first time you did not carry it; that is why the Lord God attacked us, because we did not ask him about the proper way to carry it.”
Uzzah was killed for touching the ark, because the Mosaic procedures for carrying the ark were not followed. The Lord expects believers to know and follow all of His laws, not just the laws that one wants to follow. Ignorance of bible doctrine is no excuse. The biggest sins of modern Christians today is ignorance of the Word of God.
15:14 The priests and Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.
The priests completed the consecration procedures as outlined by the Mosaic Law.
15:15 The descendants of Levi carried the ark of God on their shoulders with poles, just as Moses had ordered according to the divine command.
The ark was not to be touched by sinful human hands. The ark was to be carried by poles. This law showed the distinction between a holy God and a sinful man. Sin must be separated from a holy God.
15:16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint some of their relatives as musicians; they were to play various instruments, including stringed instruments and cymbals, and to sing loudly and joyfully.
David was a musician. He wrote over 73 psalms. Music with various instruments was a large part of Jewish worship. Psalm 150 commands the believer to worship the Lord with all kinds of instruments. Jesus was Jewish. He worshiped with music as well. It is wrong for some local denominational churches (such as the Church of Christ) to forbid instrumental music in their congregations. This is legalism. They are adding to the Law of Christ.
15:17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; one of his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; one of the descendants of Merari, Ethan son of Kushaiah; 15:18 along with some of their relatives who were second in rank, including Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. 15:19 The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;
Heman, Asaph, and Ethan are are probably the same musicians whose names appear in the superscripts of some of the Psalms. Heman wrote Psalm 88. Asaph wrote Psalms 50, and 78-83. Ethan wrote Psalm 89.
15:20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play the harps according to the alamoth style;
It is very possible that the “alamoth style” referred to the musical scales.
15:21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to play the lyres according to the sheminith style, as led by the director; 15:22 Kenaniah, the leader of the Levites, was in charge of transport, for he was well-informed on this matter; 15:23 Berechiah and Elkanah were guardians of the ark; 15:24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; Obed-Edom and Jehiel were also guardians of the ark.
David was “a man after God’s heart.” This meant that he wanted to know the mind of God. He loved to worship the Lord with music. Cymbals, harps, and lyres were used in Jewish worship.
Believers are commanded to know the mind of Christ. One can learn the mind of Christ by asking for wisdom and studying Bible doctrine at the deepest level from the entire counsel of the Word of God.
15:25 So David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the house of Obed-Edom with celebration.
Bringing the ark to Jerusalem was a massive celebration. This celebration brought great joy to David and the people of Israel. It was David's community who was blessed by God. During this time period, Israel became the most feared nation in the world. They cornered the gold market. Their armies could not be defeated. This history lesson review motivated Ezra's Jews to return back to their land and follow the Mosaic Law.
15:26 When God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
Each of these sacrifices pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
15:27 David was wrapped in a linen robe, as were all the Levites carrying the ark, the musicians, and Kenaniah the supervisor of transport and the musicians; David also wore a linen ephod.
Notice that David was not wearing his royal clothes in front of the people.
15:28 All Israel brought up the ark of the Lord’s covenant; they were shouting, blowing trumpets, sounding cymbals, and playing stringed instruments.
Notice that “all of Israel” was involved in this celebration. The strong leadership of David infused a spiritual maturity into the nation that has never existed since David’s reign. This is why Israel never lost a battle, even though they were seriously outnumbered in almost every conflict. This is the kind of spiritual leadership which is needed in modern politics, religion, education, entertainment, and military. Any nation who possesses an electorate has no excuse not to know and apply bible doctrine. Those nations with an electorate will be judged with a stronger hand. Electorates who choose evil and call it good will be judged more harshly by God.
15:29 As the ark of the Lord’s covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him.
Michal was of royal blood. She saw David as a religious fanatic. Instead of honoring her husband as a man of God and leader of the house, she despised David. She condemned David, because she did not appreciate his godly influence on the nation. Often, Satan will use wives who possess weak bible doctrine against a godly husband. David never had sexual relations with Michal again. Michal died childless, which was considered a curse in Jewish society. The Holy Spirit recorded this historical incident as an example to husbands and wives.
The feminist movement would approve of Michal’s attitude. Feminism is an attempt to undermine the spiritual foundation of the family in which God established. The Lord Jesus Christ willingly placed Himself underneath His Father’s authority. Those wives who possess strong bible doctrine will love the Lord Jesus Christ so much, that they will willingly place themselves under their husband’s authority. If a wife will follow this biblical principle, then there will be no arguments or dissensions in the family. The husband will have no problem loving his wife just as Christ loves the church. This is why it is important that both spouses study the Bible at the deepest level and become equally yoked in Scripture. If one spouse has strong bible doctrine and the other does not, then there will be problems in the marriage. One spouse will possess the zeal of David while the other will possess the royal attitude of Michal. One spouse will desire to do things for the Kingdom of God while the other will desire to do things for self. This is a very bad combination in marriage. In a godly marriage, both spouses master and apply Scripture. They study the Scriptures daily at the deepest level. They do not become “too busy” to sit down and spend time with God.