1 CHRONICLES - CHAPTER 16
The People Worship and Praise the LORD – 1 Chronicles 16:1-43
v1 David set up a tent for the ark of God. They brought the ark and they put it in the tent. Then they gave to God sacrifices by fire and sacrifices for peace. v2 When David had given all these sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. v3 He gave to every man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, and some dried fruits called dates and raisins.
v4 Then David appointed some of the Levites to serve in front of the ark of the LORD. They would pray and they would give thanks to the LORD. And they would praise the LORD, the God of Israel. v5 Asaph was the leader and Zechariah was second to him. Then there were Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. These men played harps and lyres. Asaph played the cymbals. v6 Regularly, the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel would sound the trumpets in front of the ark of God’s special promise.
v7 That day David first gave to Asaph and to his relatives the task to praise the LORD with songs.
v8 Give thanks to the LORD and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
v9 Sing to him, praise him with songs.
Tell about all his wonderful works.
v10 Praise and worship his holy name.
Let the hearts of the people who desire the LORD be full of joy.
v11 Follow the LORD and depend on his strength.
Always desire to please him.
v12 Remember the wonderful works that he has done.
He has done great deeds and he has spoken his judgements.
v13 You are the descendants of his servant, Israel.
You are the children (descendants) of Jacob. The LORD chose you to be his people.
v14 He is the LORD our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
v15 Always remember his special promise.
He gave that promise to people for 1000 ages.
v16 He made that special promise to Abraham. And the LORD will do all that he said.
He will do all that he promised to Isaac.
v17 He made that special promise to be a law for Jacob’s people.
It is a special promise for Israel that will last always.
v18 He said, ‘I will give the country called Canaan to you.
It will belong to you.’
v19 When God’s people were few in number,
not many, they were strangers there.
v20 They went from one nation to another.
They went from one kingdom to another.
v21 But he did not let anyone hurt them.
To protect them, he warned kings.
v22 He said, ‘Do not even touch my people. I chose them.
And do not hurt my prophets.’
v23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Declare each day that the LORD rescues us.
v24 Declare his glory among the nations.
Tell the people from all the nations about his wonderful deeds.
v25 The LORD is great. And he deserves that everyone should praise him.
All people should respect him because he is much greater than all other gods.
v26 All the gods of the nations are false gods
but the LORD made the skies.
v27 Honour and royal greatness belong to him.
Strength and joy are in his home.
v28 All you families in the nations give to the LORD!
Give him honor and strength.
v29 Give to the LORD the honor that his name deserves.
Bring a gift and come to him.
Worship the LORD because he is wonderfully holy.
v30 Let the whole world tremble in front of the LORD.
He established and he put the earth in its place. And nobody can ever move it.
v31 Let the skies be glad and let joy fill the earth.
And let the people in other nations say, ‘The LORD rules.’
v32 Let the sea and everything in it shout.
Let the fields and everything in them be glad.
v33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy to the LORD.
They will sing because he comes as the judge of the earth.
v34 Thank the LORD because he is good.
And his love will never end.
v35 Cry out to him, ‘Rescue us! You are the God who saves us.
Bring us back and rescue us from other nations.
Then we will give thanks to your holy name.
We will be glad and we will praise you.’
v36 Praise the LORD, the God of Israel.
He always was and he always will be.
Then all the people said ‘Amen’ and they praised the LORD.
v37 David left Asaph and the other Levites there in front of the ark of the LORD’s special promise. There they would serve the LORD as they carried out the proper duties for each day. v38 David also left Obed-Edom and 68 other Levites to serve with them. Obed-Edom (the son of Jeduthun) and Hosah would guard the ark.
v39 David left Zadok the priest and the other priests with him in front of the LORD’s tent. This tent was at the place of worship in Gibeon. v40 In the morning and in the evening these priests made sacrifices by fire to the LORD. They put these sacrifices on the altar for burnt sacrifices. They did this as it says in the law of the LORD. This is the law that the LORD gave to Israel to obey. v41 With the priests were Heman, Jeduthun, and other Levites. David chose each of these by name. Their task was to praise the LORD with songs because his love never ends. v42 Heman and Jeduthun sounded the trumpets and cymbals. They also played other musical instruments for the songs of worship. The sons of Jeduthun were guards at the gate. v43 Then all the people went home. And David went home to bless his family.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 1-6
David had prepared a place for the ark. He set up a special tent for it. The Levites put the ark in its place. David provided sacrifices by fire and sacrifices for peace. The priests would have made the sacrifices on behalf of David. Only the priests (the descendants of Aaron) could offer the sacrifices to God. The priests had to belong to the family of Aaron. When the priests had made the sacrifices, David blessed the people.
Also, the people brought sacrifices to the priests. The priests made sacrifices by fire and sacrifices for peace on behalf of the people (2 Samuel 6:17).
In the sacrifice for peace, the priests would burn certain parts of the animal. The people ate the rest of the meat (Leviticus 7:11-15). They sat as if they were guests at the LORD’s table. In this meal, they showed that they had peace (a right relationship) with God. In addition to the food from the sacrifices for peace, David gave more food to the people. He gave them bread, dates, and raisins.
David had appointed Levites as musicians and leaders of songs to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Now he gave to the Levites new tasks. They would pray and they would give thanks to God in front of the ark. The other Levites in the previous list (15:16-22) probably served in the old tent at Gibeon. David made Asaph the chief musician in place of Heman (15:17). Asaph was a leader in the clan of Gershon. Asaph and his family wrote many of the Psalms. The Book of Psalms shows 12 that they wrote (Psalm 50; Psalms 73 to 83).
The worship of the LORD was now in two places. The old tent was still in Gibeon. There the Levites served in front of the altar of the LORD. The new tent was in Jerusalem. There the Levites served the LORD in front of the ark of God. These two separate places of worship came together when Solomon built the temple.
COMMENTARY
VERSE 7
When the ark was in its new place, David gave Asaph the duty to sing to the LORD. He gave to Asaph this song, which follows in verses 8-36. The text does not say that David wrote this song. But probably he did write it.
Parts of this song are, with some changes, in other Psalms. Verses 8-22 are in Psalm 105:1-15.
Verses 23-33 are in Psalm 96. And verses 34-36 are in Psalm 106:1 and 106:47-48. None of these Psalms has a title that shows the author.
This song has three main sections. The first section is in verses 8-22. In this part, God has done what he promised to do. The second section is in verses 23-33. In this section, God is king over all the earth. The last section is in verses 34-36. This is a short prayer for help.
VERSES 8-22
The start of the song invites the Israelites to give thanks to the LORD. It tells them to praise and to worship the name of the LORD. They must follow him. They must depend on him. And they must remember what he has done. The LORD chose them to be his people. All of the song refers to God’s actions among the nations on behalf of Israel.
The LORD is the God of Israel. He made a special promise to Abraham. He will do what the special promise said. He repeated his promises to Jacob. He gave the country called Canaan to Israel. That country will belong to them for all time.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wandered without a home of their own. They were strangers in the country called Canaan. God promised to give that country to them. They had not received it, but their descendants did possess it.
While they were few in number, God protected them from nations and kings. These were God’s chosen people and His prophets.
VERSES 23-33
The LORD is not just the God of Israel. He is the LORD of all the earth. He is greater than all the gods of the nations. He is the only real God. All other gods are false gods. Therefore, all people should praise Him.
The LORD made the skies and the earth. He is the king of all that he has made. So, all people should give Him the honor that he deserves. They should worship Him, and they should bring gifts to Him.
All that God has made should shout for joy. The skies, the earth, the sea, the fields, and the forests will all sing for joy.
The LORD will come, and HE will be the judge of the world. He will be the judge of all people. They will all have to give an account of their lives to God. So, He will reward or punish them.
VERSES 34-36
God is good, and He loves his people. He will always love them. Therefore, they thank Him, and they praise Him.
God’s people were slaves in Egypt. In Canaan, the nations around them fought against them. The Philistines defeated them and ruled over them. In David’s time, God’s people trusted God, and they cried out to him for help. Each time God’s people turned to him for help, he rescued them. David defeated the Philistines, but he knew that without God, he could not win.
The song ends with a call to praise the LORD. Then all the people said, ‘Amen,’ and they praised the LORD.
The word ‘amen’ shows that the people agreed with the song. It comes from a Hebrew word. That word means ‘it is true.’
VERSES 37-43
David appointed the Levites and priests to serve the LORD. Some of these would serve at the ark of God in Jerusalem. Zadok and other priests and Levites would continue to serve the LORD at the tent in Gibeon.
Both Zadok and Abiathar were chief priests at this time. Zadok served in Gibeon while Abiathar was in Jerusalem.
At the tent in Gibeon, there was the altar for burnt sacrifices. On the altar, the priests made the daily sacrifices to the LORD.
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