1 Chronicles 13: A Good Goal, but the Wrong Method

Introduction

On Tuesday, September 22, at the dawn service of Osaka Onnuri Christian Church, the meditation was on 1 Chronicles 13:1-8. Pastor Inoue was away at the young adults' retreat, so another preacher led the meditation that morning.

The passage tells the first big project of David as king: bringing the ark of God back to Jerusalem. It is a national project, the people agree, and joy overflows. And yet, the next day, the text will tell the death of Uzzah. The message stops just before that, on what prepares the way for this failure.

There is only one point, the one in the title: "a good goal, but the wrong method." You probably have a heart to do something for God. This passage asks you a simple question: is the way you do it pleasing to him?

Outline of the message

1. David's first project as king

• Chapter 10 reports the death of Saul. Chapter 11 then follows with David's anointing as king and the story of his mighty men: David's kingship does not rest on him alone, because many supported him.
• Chapter 12 shows that, even back when he was on the run, before he was king, many people had already gathered around him to support him.
• Chapter 13 tells the first thing David does after being anointed: carrying the ark of God to Jerusalem, the capital. It is during this great project that Uzzah will be struck down by God, a well-known episode that will be read the next day.
• The text falls into two parts. Verses 1 to 6 describe David's proposal and the preparation for the move. Verses 7 and 8 describe the transport of the ark and the joy of the people.

2. Where was the ark of God?

• David consults the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and proposes to bring the ark back. Two questions shed light on this story: where was the ark until then, and why did David want to bring it back?
• Verse 5 shows it: the ark was at Kiriath Jearim. The story goes back to before Saul even became king. In 1 Samuel 4, during a battle, the Philistines capture the ark and place it in the temple of their idol.
• The hand of God then brings many disasters on the Philistines. They no longer want the ark and send it back to Israel (1 Samuel 6:21 to 7:1). The people of Kiriath Jearim come to get it and bring it to the house of Abinadab, on the hill.
• Kiriath Jearim was about 13 kilometers (8 miles) west of Jerusalem. All through Saul's reign, the ark stayed there, set aside.

3. Why David wants to bring it back to Jerusalem

• In verse 3, David says to bring the ark of our God back to us, because it was neglected in the days of Saul. He takes Saul's reign as a counter-example.
• David is not just thinking about moving a precious object. He longs to welcome God himself, his presence, into the heart of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
• A newly established king has plenty to do, both inside the country and beyond its borders. Yet his first act is not political. Learning from the days of Saul, he wants to gather Israel again as a people centered on God, a people who worship him. For that, nothing seems more necessary to him than welcoming the ark to Jerusalem.
• The proposal is excellent, and no one opposes it. In verse 4, the whole assembly agrees, because the thing seemed right to all the people.
• In verse 5, David gathers all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, that is, from the southern end to the northern end of the territory. Representatives from every region are there: it is a great national project.

4. A new cart, immense joy, a method foreign to the law

• In verses 7 and 8, the ark is placed on a new cart, taken from the house of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, two sons of Abinadab, drive the cart. David and all Israel dance before God with all their might, with songs, harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.
• But the cart is pulled by oxen. This is not the way the law prescribed: it is the Philistines' method, when they sent the ark back. In 1 Samuel 6:7-8, they take a new cart, hitch two nursing cows that have never carried a yoke to it, and place the ark on it.
• The law of Moses said something else. The preacher points out that the ark has poles and that it is the sons of Kohath, a family of Levites, who are to carry it on their shoulders. He reads Numbers 4:15: the sons of Kohath are to come to carry the sanctuary and its furnishings, "but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die."
• Even Levites of the family of Kohath would die if they touched the ark: God had announced it in advance.
• David leads this national project with all his heart. But it is not the method God had set. "The goal and the motivation were excellent, but the method was wrong." The preacher admits to a sort of bad feeling: what follows will confirm it in the next day's text.

5. Two conditions, and only one checked

• In verse 2, David says that if it seems good to them and if it is from the LORD our God, they will do it. There are two conditions here: that the people agree, and that the thing be in line with the will of God.
• The first is met: in verse 4, everyone says yes. But for the second, the text does not clearly say whether God himself gave his agreement. Here again, the preacher senses danger coming.
• Bringing the ark back to Jerusalem was no doubt in line with God's will. But once the people's agreement was won, David gives the impression of having neglected, or forgotten, to pray further to seek God's mind.
• This is what will lead to the great failure of the next day. If David had once more sought God, we can think that God would have shown him, one way or another, how to do it.
• Making Jerusalem the center of worship, raising up a people who worship God: David's goal was magnificent. He had passion, and he put his whole heart into it. But he got the method wrong.

6. When you want to do something for God

• "Do something for God, show his glory": we all have this passion. But wanting to do something for God does not mean that any method will do. You also have to ask whether the method pleases God.
• The preacher takes a deliberately extreme example. A church plans a Christmas party to invite many people who do not yet know God. The goal is right, and there is nothing to criticize.
• But not all means are equal. If everyone chipped in about 100,000 yen to bring in a famous singer or actor, hundreds, even thousands of people might come. That does not mean you can invite just anyone.
• Instead, you would invite a Christian singer who stands on biblical faith, even if he is not famous. That is the method that pleases God.

7. The grill at the yakiniku restaurant

• The preacher tells the testimony of a pastor who taught him at seminary. Before heading into ministry, this man had decided to open a Japanese grilled-meat (yakiniku) restaurant.
• He was preparing everything for this restaurant. His idea: earn a lot of money, give generously to the church and support it financially. For him, this was his way of serving God.
• During the preparations, God put in him a desire to give his life to him more fully. He then prayed: "God, I want to give you my life more fully. Peter left his fishing nets before becoming a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 4:18-20). God, so what should I leave?"
• God's answer was: "What you must leave is your yakiniku grill." In Japanese, the same word (ami) means both the fisherman's net and the barbecue grill. On hearing this, he gave up the restaurant, entered seminary and became a pastor.
• Organizing a Christmas party or an evangelism outreach is good in itself. But a right goal does not guarantee a right method. We too can get the method wrong. "Am I not doing a right thing by a wrong path?" That is the message of the text.

8. Stop, pray, ask what the Bible says

• David may have thought that a new cart honored God more, that oxen would carry the ark with more care, and that it would be more efficient and easier than carrying it on men's shoulders.
• But the question was not whether the method looked good in human eyes. The question was: is this the method God commanded, the one that pleases him?
• The same thing can happen in church events and services, at work or at home: "We've always done it this way, everyone does it this way, it's the most efficient, everyone will be happy." At that moment, stop for a moment. Pray, even a little, and seek God's will: "Wait, what does the Bible say?"
• It may take time. It may be less efficient and require a lot of effort. "But the method that pleases God is the best." Even if good results do not come right away, God will end up blessing it.
• Even David failed because he forgot to pray a little. How much more should we earnestly seek, in prayer, the best way to do things.
• Hasn't your way of serving God, of showing his glory, become your own way? Before you start your day, ask him in prayer. Even if it is a detour, even if no one congratulates you right away, believe that God will use you for his glory and bless you abundantly.

Key takeaways

• David's first project as king is not political: he wants to welcome the presence of God into the heart of Jerusalem and gather a people who worship.
• The new cart pulled by oxen is the Philistines' method, not the law's: a good goal does not make just any method right.
• David won the people's agreement, but the text does not say that he sought God's agreement. Human approval is no substitute for prayer.
• "We've always done it this way" and "it's more efficient" are not sufficient criteria. The question is: what does the Bible say?
• The method that pleases God may be slower and costlier, but it is the best, and God blesses it in his time.

Personal application

1. What project do you have right now "for God": a service at church, an outreach, a commitment? Have you asked God not only whether he wants it, but also how to do it?
2. In which area (church, work, family) do you settle for "we've always done it this way" or "it's more efficient"?
3. Do you ever settle for other people's agreement without taking the time to seek God's mind in prayer?
4. Like this future pastor with his restaurant, is there a "net" that God is asking you to leave in order to give him your life more fully?
5. Are you ready to accept a slower, less efficient or less applauded method, if it is the one God approves?

Verses cited

• 1 Chronicles 13:1-8
• 1 Chronicles 10
• 1 Chronicles 12
• 1 Samuel 4
• 1 Samuel 6:7-8
• 1 Samuel 6:21 to 7:1
• Numbers 4:15
• Matthew 4:18-20

Frequently asked questions

Why did David want to bring the ark of God back to Jerusalem?

Under Saul, the ark had been left neglected at Kiriath Jearim, in the house of Abinadab. Once he became king, David did not start with politics: he wanted to welcome God himself into the heart of Jerusalem and bring Israel together as a people who worship the LORD.

What was wrong with the way the ark was transported?

David placed the ark on a new cart pulled by oxen, the method the Philistines used in 1 Samuel 6. The law of Moses required the sons of Kohath to carry it, without touching the holy things (Numbers 4:15). The goal was good, but the method was not.

How can I know whether my way of serving God pleases him?

The preacher invites you to stop for a moment before acting, to pray and to ask: "Wait, what does the Bible say?" The method that pleases God may take time and seem inefficient, but it is the best, and God ends up blessing it.