THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID   PART 2    

Last week we left off with the Ark of the Covenant having arrived at the Tabernacle of David and the totally wrong attitude of Michal making fun of, rather than participating in, the joyous occasion.

(1 Chronicles 16) (2 Samuel 6:17)  - The implication in these references are rich in thought.  Remember, the Ark had been taken out of the Tabernacle of Moses under the corrupt priesthood of Eli and his sons.  It had been captured by the Philistines, bringing death, plagues, and destruction its journeys.  Even when it had been returned to the land of Judah, death had followed.  Now after all this time, David had received revelation from God and had set up another Tabernacle for the Ark of God.  David had called the Tabernacle by his own name.  This would have been a great presumption indeed had this not been in the will of God.

On this dedication day, David brings the Ark and places it in the Tabernacle of David.  This is now called “His place” just as the Tabernacle of Moses had been called “His place” in the past.  This was a transference of the dwelling place of God among His people.  Once the Ark was taken out of the Tabernacle of Moses, it would never returned there.  The glory of God had departed from the Tabernacle of Moses.  God had moved on.  God had chosen to dwell in the Tabernacle of David, but this was merely a stopping off place until the Temple of Solomon was built.

(1 Chronicles 16:2,3) (2 Samuel 6:18,19) - The role that David takes in the inauguration of the Tabernacle shows that he actually touched something in God after the Order of the Melchisedek Priesthood.  Remember, there had only been one other person who had taken on both the role of King and Priest (Melchisedek himself).  Now we have David who is both King and by offering sacrifices and blessing the people, acting as Priest also.  This was a foreshadow of the ministry to be performed by David’s “greater Son”, Christ Jesus.

Now there are two Tabernacles in existence at the same time.  Each Tabernacle had its own particular function and its own company of Priests.  The Tabernacle of Moses functioned in Mt. Gibeon and the Tabernacle of David functioned in Mount Zion.

(1 Chronicles 16:37-42) - David set Zadok the Priest and his brothers to minister before the Tabernacle of Moses at Gibeon.  Their ministry consisted of offering the morning and evening sacrifices on the Brazen Altar, according to the Law of Moses.  Exodus 29:38,39 and Numbers 28:3-6.  Therefore we see a company of priests at Mt. Gibeon who are maintaining the legal order of Moses, functioning in the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and Most Holy Place.  The significant thing about this is that the Most Holy Place was empty.  There was no Ark of the Covenant there.  The fact must not be ignored that God did bless that which attended the Tabernacle of Moses; however, He had something else in mind in that which functioned in the Tabernacle of David. David also set singers and musicians in the Tabernacle of Moses.

(1 Chronicles 16:4-6)  1 Chronicles 16:37 - At the Tabernacle of David in Mt. Zion, David placed a company of Priest and Levites who had been taken from the “old order” of worship in Moses’ Tabernacle and placed them into a “new order” of worship.  These Priests no longer offered animal sacrifices, now they offered sacrifices of praise and joy and thanksgiving.  Here the ministry of singing and playing of musical instruments was in full operation. 

They were now to offer up “spiritual sacrifices” day and night.  They no longer had an Outer court or Holy Place, now they simply had the Most Holy Place and in it was the Ark of the Covenant.  Now the Priest could boldly enter into the very presence of God.  There was no longer a veil standing between them and the Ark.  This typifies the church today, we no longer have to have the Priest go between us and God but we can enter boldly into His very presence.  That which David did typically and prophetically was fulfilled historically and actually by Jesus Christ.

In 1 Chronicles 25 we find that David set up great courses of singers and musicians at the Tabernacle of David and they were to minister before the Lord day and night.  (1 Chronicles 25:7)  1 Chronicles 15:16 - That amounts to 288 singers.

(1 Chronicles 23:5,6) - David ordained musicians with a variety of instruments to play before the Lord in His Tabernacle.

(1 Chronicles 16:4) - David wanted this order of worship to be remembered and so he set up Levites to “record” or “set it down so that it might be remembered.”  These were the Scribes who were appointed and were responsible for recording many of the Psalms. 

(1 Chronicles 16:4) - David also appointed Levites to thank the Lord always for all things. The giving thanks to the Lord did not end with the Tabernacle of David or even the Temple of Solomon but is still in effect for the church today. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

(Psalms 47:6,7) - It is Scriptural to sing praises unto the Lord.  There are over 70 references in the 150 Psalms concerning singing praises.  In the Tabernacle of David there was a continual sound of praising. 1 Chronicles 16:9 instructs us to sing Psalms into the Lord. There was great joy and rejoicing in the Tabernacle of David.  The Canaanite regions had no real joy.  Even the Tabernacle of Moses was characterized by a solemn worship.  New Testament Scriptures tell us that we are to rejoice in the Lord always. (Philippians 4:4).

One of the most natural of all human responses to joy and appreciation is the clapping of hands. (Psalms 47:1).              

(Psalms 47:5) - There was much shouting when the Ark was taken to David’s Tabernacle.  There are times when a shout is just an empty noise, but when God is in it and it is an act of worship unto the Lord, God works with the shout of His people. The Lord Jesus will return for His people with a shout.

(1 Thessalonians 4:16).

(2 Samuel 6:14) (Psalms 149:3) (Psalms 150:4) - Dancing is to be in joy, praise, and as a part of worship unto the Lord.  It was also associated with festival occasions, such as when Miriam and the women with her danced at their deliverance at the Red Sea.  

Psalms 134:2 says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.” The Levites lifted their hands as an act of worship to the Lord in David’s Tabernacle. The lifting of hands has several suggested meanings.  It is an act to surrender, of the person taking a vow before the Lord, and of prayer and worship.  In Psalms 141:2, we read, “Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”  Only Aaron could lift his hands in blessing in the Tabernacle of Moses, all could lift their hands in blessing to the Lord in the Tabernacle of David.  We as believers today are ministering Priests unto the Lord and are not only to lift our hands but also our hearts unto Him.               

(1 Chronicles 16:20) - To worship means "to honor, revere, adore, pay homage, render devotion and respect” in its broadest term.  It can also mean bowing before the Lord, prostrating oneself in deep adoration and devotion.

(1 Chronicles 16:11) - Only those into seek the Lord with their whole being will find Him.

Sacrifices offered to the Lord:  Joy  (Psalms 27:6); Thanksgiving and praise (Psalms 116:17).  The New Testament believer offers: his body ( Rom 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.); his praise (Heb 13:15 - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.); and his substance (Heb 13:16 - But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.) as spiritual sacrifices to God through Christ.

Amen means sure or so be it.  It involves faithfulness and truth.

(1 Chronicles 16:36) - It is worthy to note that Israel only responded with “amen” to the curses of the Lord in Deuteronomy and Numbers; but in the Tabernacle of David, it was the “amen” of blessing and was a form of worship. 

It is no wonder that the writer of Hebrews tells the believer that he is to come to Mt. Zion and the Tabernacle of David, to the ministration of the Spirit which gives life; not to Mt. Sinai and the Tabernacle of Moses with its silent order of worship and form after the letter of the Law that kills.

(Psalms 2:6,7)  - This Psalm is classified as being one of the greatest Psalms concerning the Messiah. King David was the anointed King in Zion in the Old Testament, but the New Testament writers apply this Psalm specifically to Jesus Christ.  He is the King of Zion.  All of Psalm 110 deals with the Priesthood of Christ after the order of Melchisedek.  It is taken up in detail in Hebrews chapter 7.   Zion was the earthly city were King David dwelt and also is referred to as the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem in Hebrews 12:22, “But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,”

          The Ark of the Covenant was eventually moved to Solomon's Temple where the staves were finally removed, signifying its pilgrimage was over.

The Gospels revealed the closing years of the Law Covenant and the Mosaic and Aaronic Priesthoods.  Animal sacrifices and Temple rituals were still in operation in the Messiah’s time.  The Outer Court and the Holy Place functions continued; however, The Ark of the Covenant was no longer in the Holiest of All.  It has not been seen since the Temple was destroyed by the King of Babylon in the days of the Prophet Jeremiah. The final mention of the Ark of the Covenant is found in (Jeremiah 3:16).  The acts of God when Jesus died on Calvary settled forever the fact that God had finished with the Law Covenant.  The Seal of God to His Son’s sacrifice was the rending of the veil of the Temple from the top to the bottom.  Once God had opened the veil, He would never sew it up again. The way of access was now open forever into the Holiest Of All for all.

(Amos 9:11) - The Lord said He would build again the Tabernacle of David.  He was not referring to a tent on the earthly Mt. Zion, but He was referring to His New Covenant Church which is being built today.  All

Christians make up that Church.  We are the Tabernacle of the Lord.

To the Christian today, it is a good thing to remember the principal set out in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  Ecc 3:1 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”  Yes, there is a time to sing, a time to clap, a time to lift our hands, a time to rejoice and dance before the Lord, a time to praise, and a time to worship.  There is a time for everything; however, we must allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide in every form of worship.

A principal of Biblical interpretation is to bring all things in the Old Testament to the cross.  The cross is a filter through which all things must pass.  Some things are abolished at the cross while others pass through the cross and are validated and elevated there.  Worship is one of those things which passed through the cross and was elevated.  It will never be abolished, it is for time and eternity.  The only worship that counts to God is that which is brought in spirit and in truth.  (John 4:23).