I Chronicles 16:8-36 NKJV
BE Grateful
The song of praise David offered in I Chronicles 16:8-36 wasn’t just a song that would have been given any day or even Sabbath of the year.
This song of praise was special.
This was a red letter day for Israel.
It was unlike any other day when David sang…
Verses 8-13 say:
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,O seed of Israel His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones!”
Yes, on this day, David reminded Israel about the wonder of God’s goodness and His wonderful works!
He reminded them this was a time to rejoice about God’s strength, to remember God’s good works, His wonders, and His judgements for His chosen ones.
In verses 14-19 we read,
“He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance, when you were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it.”
David reminded Israel their God was THE God of the earth and that this God made a covenant with Israel. God chose Israel by making a covenant with Abraham, an oath to Isaac, and a statute to Jacob reminding Israel of the everlasting covenant.
See the Ark of the Covenant that had been lost in battle, but now it had been returned to its rightful place on this red letter day. David reminded Israel of all the promises the Lord had given to Israel. He reminded them of God’s goodness generations before, he reminded them the land of Canaan was given as an inheritance to the few in Israel.
In Verses 20-22, David reminded Israel of their travels when he said,
“When they went from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no man to do them wrong; yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.”
God kept His promise to Israel.
God was good to them.
He remembered them and He protected them.
In Verses 23-30, David sang a song of PRAISE to their God,
“Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place. Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved.”
David reminded them in his song of praise that while they had been told there were other gods, Israel had a covenant with THE God who created the heavens and the earth. To Israel there WAS no other God.
Israel knew their God was worthy of praise and honor.
They worshiped the God of Glory.
The offering they brought that day was to the God of beauty. And as Israel stood before God that day, they trembled because they knew this was THE God would not be moved.
In Verses 31-33, David sang,
“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth.”
On that day, David told Israel, God reigns!
The sea roars and the trees rejoice for their God IS judge of all the earth.
Then in Verses 34-36, David declared,
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation; gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.” Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!”
From everlasting to everlasting, their God WAS God!
They knew their God even made their enemy return the Ark of the Covenant back to its rightful place.
I can’t begin to imagine what it would have been like to witness the return of the Ark of the Covenant.
This was the Ark of the Covenant that held the tablets that were engraved by God. The Ark held the Ten Commandments given to Moses when Israel was on Mt. Sinai in 1312 B.C.E. and by 587 B.C.E. Israel had been the keepers of the Ten Commandments for over 700 years (https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/moses_1.shtml).
We know from 1 Samuel 4:3–11 that the Ark of the Covenant had been brought to the battlefield and it was captured by the Philistines.
Then after holding onto it for a generation the Philistines actually returned the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites. Why did the Philistines offer to return it? We know from 1 Samuel 6:19 that there were fifty thousand and seventy Philistines who had been smitten when they gazed upon the Ark…ahhhh so that’s why they offered to returned it.
The Ark of the Covenant was returned because God gave it to Israel. While it was in the hands of their enemy God protected it and when the Philistines even looked at it they died.
THAT is why this was a red letter day…
It was a red letter day because God is good and He made sure the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Israel.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: God’s Goodness
Meditate on God’s Goodness for YOU, in YOU, and through YOU.
In God, Deborah
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