Tonight, let’s tie together most of the remaining references to the Ark of the Covenant. In II Samuel 11, David probably wished that the temple had been built. The lack of a temple actually thwarts one of the most wicked things that David ever did. Again, we can say that when the Ark of the Lord, illustrating the Person of Christ, is firmly settled in a person’s heart, he will be successfully kept from sin. David had sinned with Bathsheba and in an attempt to cover his wickedness, the King ordered the woman’s husband back from battle. But Uriah respectfully refused to go home to his wife. “Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.”
Another reference on which we will not speak is found in II Samuel 15:24. It was at that time that David was fleeing Jerusalem before his son, Absalom. Zadok the High Priest wanted to bring the Ark of God with him as he accompanied David, but the king sent both him and the Ark back to the city. “And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:” David was under the just judgment of God for many of his sins – this familial sins. Maybe he felt himself unworthy to be in the presence of the Ark under those circumstances. Maybe he thought that to carry the Ark into the wilderness was a burden that Zadok and the Levites did not need to suffer. But if there was ever a time when David needed the Lord it was at this time. It’s not for me to say, but the king might have been wrong to send the Ark back to Jerusalem.
Then eventually the Temple was built by Solomon as we are told in I Kings 8 and II Chronicles 5. With the utmost pomp and circumstance the Ark was moved from its temporary residence into a more permanent and divinely approved sanctuary. The glory of the Lord filled the Temple, just as it had the Tabernacle so many years before, and as the Lord filled His new Temple in the Book of Acts. Obviously, where the Lord is – there will be glory.
I think we have now either studied or at least mentioned every reference to the Ark in the Word of God. But stepping back, let’s think about David’s desire for a permanent house for the Ark of the Covenant. David yearned for an opportunity to build a Temple putting the Ark at its holy heart.
We begin with David’s desire.
“It came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” And Nathan, reading the king’s mind, said, “That is an excellent idea. Run with it.”
There has always been a designated place of meeting between Jehovah and His people. During the very first day, it was in Eden, then later it was at the doorway to Eden. In the days of the Patriarchs, there were some notable places of sacrifice. But then the Lord ordained the construction of the Tabernacle – according to His express design. And arguably, the key component in that Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant. I know that we could point to other pieces of furniture or to some of the rites which were carried out in and around the Tabernacle and say that they were critically important. But the truth is, everything revolved around the Ark and the Mercy Seat upon it. The covenant included an agreement to meet together at the place of the sprinkling of blood. Amongst all the high or important sites in Canaan, only at Shiloh was Israel to offer sacrifices to the Lord. That was the only place where the Ark was to reside. But then came Hophni and Phinehas, the Philistines, the disaster at Bethshemesh and so on. The Lord still had only one place of meeting, but Israel was no longer interested in what the Lord thought. Then David desired and prayed for revival and a reestablishment of the true worship of the Lord.
When we move into the New Testament the Lord still has only one house of worship. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the house of God for this day in which we live. Although we may pray in our closet, pray with our spouse, and pray with our family and our brethren, where ever we may be… Not just any holy place, high place, cathedral or chapel is scriptural. God may tolerate them for a time, but He has not necessarily ordained them. The church – the “ecclesia” – “assembly,” is God’s house in the 21st century. It is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” The matter is not open to debate – this is the fact declared by II Timothy 3:15. No religious organization above or beyond a scriptural church has scriptural authority to exist. No missionary board, no convention, no independent radio program, no fly-by-night evangelist. No denominational publishing house, no Bible college or seminary has scriptural authority. The commission to evangelize the world, to teach the Bible, and to baptize has been given only to God’s churches. And of course that means local congregations – the only churches found in the Word of God.
Just as David wanted to build an house for the Ark of the Lord, so every Christian should want to bring glory to Christ in one of His churches. There are a lot of Christians who need to read and study Ephesians 3:20-21 with an open mind and heart. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” The Lord desires to be glorified in THIS place – Let’s bring the Ark in hither. Remember that throughout this series of messages we have said that the Ark represents the presence of Christ Himself. so note David’s desire: “I want to build a house to glorify the Ark of the Covenant.” In verse 5 the Lord reminds us that meant an House for God Himself.
So an idea popped into David’s head.
How did that idea develop, and how was it expressed? It grew out of David’s love for the Lord, unlike the thinking of a lot of modern churches. How many hundreds, even thousands, of churches have been started out of various degrees and kinds of sin? How many people, claiming the glory of the Lord, have split existing churches? In some cases there have been power struggles between the pastor, the deacons, or individuals. Then when they didn’t get their way, one or the other went off to start a church. Some churches have split because one woman got mad at another women over some slight. But David’s desire for a Temple was based upon the fact there wasn’t one in Israel at the time. The original Tabernacle was in disrepair, and there was need for a place for unified worship. David had no desire to take people away from the service of God; although he wasn’t averse to taking them away from their idolatry. It appears that he wanted the mission work to be done according to the will of God.
If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t have brought the matter up before God’s prophet. And when Nathan corrected his original counsel, David willingly listened. I picture the King in the comfort and ease of his own home – a beautiful palace, something like yours. In came some of his children, and out they went playing their childish games. A wonderful meal has been slowly enjoyed in good conversation and with good company. One of the guests that evening was Nathan, a man of God who was counted among David’s friends. Perhaps during the third course of the evening meal Days said, “You know, Nate, I’ve got a burden.” “What is that David, my friend?” “I would like to build a permanent place for the worship of the Lord and for the teaching of His word. I want to build a Temple in which to keep the Ark of the Covenant, facilitating the service of God.” Perhaps Nathan had never considered the idea himself, but off the top of his head it sounded like a great idea.
That desire of David’s was apparently based on several considerations. One of was the tremendous blessing that Jehovah had been to the new King. There was David in a beautiful house of imported cedar surrounded by luxury. His family had been through terrible adversity, but now it lay back in peace. They had all the food and comport that society and wealth could provide. David had often been to the little tent he erected to house the Ark. And he had offered hundreds of sacrifices in the past – both for sin and thanksgiving. But his heart had been searching for a what to do more for the Lord Whom he loved so much. “I want others go grow to love Jehovah, just as I do.” David wanted a place in which the Lord could be worshipped, as He had been in the days of Moses. “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” “Let us glorify the Lord in the church of the living God which is the house of God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
Secondly, David wanted a place for God’s glory through service – beyond worship. There had been such excitement a few month’s earlier when the Ark was brought up form Baale. There had been a revival of sorts in the hearts of many, especially in David’s. It came about through the teaching of God’s Word in relation to the Lord Himself. How important it is, not only to have the Ark in the center of lives and worship, but it is also essential to have a place for the declaration of the Word in the shadow of the Ark. But like so many things which are called “revival” today, the excitement of the earlier day had passed. David was wondering that if there was a more glorious and permanent place the interest of the people would remain stronger.
And besides, the worship of the Lord was somewhat divided as things were then arranged. The successor to the Tabernacle of Moses was sitting in Nob. It had been moved in the days of King Saul, and David had been refreshed there. That was the place where the High Priest and most of the Levites were ministering at the time. But the Ark itself was in Jerusalem; there was religion in one place, but the Lord was in another. Why can’t they be united the way it ought to be?
There is a lot of religion in our world today – there is a lot of “Christianity” in the world. There must be thousands of organizations trying to do the Lord’s work, but often, contrary to scripture. They are contrary to the Bible, and they were not established with the Lord’s authority. They are sometimes little more than heathenistic high places, but other times just empty Nobs. “David, God’s work must be done God’s way, not just according to your whim, as good as that might sound.”
What is our purpose as a church? What are our goals? Whatever they are, they should, like David, come out of a heart of love and thanksgiving. It should be to bring glory to God “by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end.” And in order to do that we have two responsibilities – Word and worship. When we open the pages of God’s Word it should be in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. This place has been ordained to be a glorification station – not of ourselves, but of Christ. “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” This is supposed to be a place of joyful and holy worship. A place where God’s people meet together for their mutual adoration of the Lord. It is supposed to be a place of prayer. David yearned to build a permanent place to glorify the Lord and the Ark of the Covenant.
But David was dissuaded from fulfilling of this desire.
You see, the house of God is not up to the decisions of men – no matter how noble. We have far too many of the man-made houses of God in our country. There are too many lone rangers and lone strangers. If this is God’s Ark to be glorified, then it must be in the place which God designates.
That means God’s call and authority are essential. The authority to carry out Christ’s ministry was given originally to only one congregation. To that congregation was given the responsibility of God’s world-wide glorification. All teaching, preaching and baptizing was put into their hands. No man, however pious has the right to arbitrarily start a second or third succession of churches. Moses built the Tabernacle according to God’s blueprints – only God can authorize His Temple. Christ organized and authorized the first church, and any church which has not descended from that one is not commissioned to house the Ark of the Covenant. “David, you are going to have to wait; you may NOT build a Temple unto Jehovah.”
Why was David forbidden? We can speculate, estimate and calculate, probably coming reasonably close. David was a man with lots of sinful luggage, and he was a man with blood on his hands. But the Lord doesn’t have to explain His reasons for what he commands or forbids. “No David, you may not build me a Temple, but I will ordain your son to do it.” Solomon was just as much a sinner as his father, but he was not a man of war. Was that the reason? It doesn’t matter that much.
I believe that God has planted this church, just as He did Solomon’s temple. To us has been commissioned the Ark of the Covenant – the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, are we fulfilling the Lord’s purpose and commission for our existence? Are we glorifying the Lord properly? Are we magnifying the Ark of the Covenant? Are we properly teaching the Word of the Lord?