1 Chronicles 15 Study Notes

15:1-10 Three months elapsed between the time of David’s first attempt to move the ark and this renewed effort. The king prepared a tent in Jerusalem as its official resting place. He followed the instructions given to him by the Levites on how the ark should be carried. Numbers 4:15 states that the ark should be carried only by Levites, and only by two long poles inserted through rings in the ark. These poles should rest on the shoulders of the transporting Levites (1Ch 14:15).

15:11-15 The last-minute council of the leaders among the Levites and priests included two priests, Zadok and Abiathar. The official tabernacle stood at Gibeon, with Zadok working as priest there, even though the ark had not been there for about a hundred years. Because David had no regular access to the tabernacle during Saul’s reign, a Kohathite named Abiathar had become David’s personal friend and priest (1Sm 22).

15:16-22 David also put the Levites in charge of the music, playing various musical instruments. The three main musicians—Heman, Asaph, and Ethan—took charge. Among the secondary musicians were Obed-edom, the last host of the ark, who would soon become one of the official gatekeepers.

15:23-24 The list flows on, from those who were a part of the procession to the organization that would be implemented after the ark arrived in Jerusalem. Berechiah . . . Elkanah . . . Obed-edom, and Jehiah would become gatekeepers, and permanent trumpet players would also be designated.

15:25-26 When the ark reached Jerusalem, the Levites performed a sacrifice consisting of seven bulls and seven rams. This number would be eclipsed by the huge sacrifices of Solomon a generation later, and it was echoed much later when King Hezekiah reopened the temple (2Ch 29:21).

15:27-29 When Michal, David’s first wife, saw the king dancing before the ark in public (v. 25), she despised him in her heart. This moment finalized their estrangement. Of all David’s wives, Michal never bore him any children.