And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had spread for it; and they presented burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God.
David brings the ark to Zion and houses it in a tent, not in the old tabernacle at Gibeon. Why there, and why the two offerings that follow?
David had the option of returning the ark to the structure Moses made. He did not take it. One writer sees a deliberate refusal to patch up a system that had already broken down:
David knew the tabernacle had been abandoned, and he did not dream of putting the ark there. That would have meant rebuilding things on the ruined ground of the law. The outward routine had fallen completely short of God's glory. The king takes the lead, because the priesthood had failed. The ark takes its place in the seat of royal power. In the same way Christ the deliverer in grace will one day set everything in order in Zion, and from there the rod of His power will go out.
This left an odd split. The altar where the priests offered sacrifices now stood far from the ark:
The priesthood of Aaron could not keep the people in their relationship with their God. As a result the outward order had completely failed. The altar where the priests were to sacrifice stood elsewhere, at Gibeon. It was not in front of the tent that held the ark. And the ark, the sign of the covenant and of the throne of Jehovah, stood far from the altar where the priests served.
Behind the tent lies a longer story. Years earlier Israel's enemies had captured the ark, and the name "Ichabod" — the glory has departed — hung over the nation. What comes next is not a repair job but something new:
Even the time of responsibility, under the mercy declared through Moses, came to an end when the Philistines captured the ark. There could be no day of atonement, and no blood on the mercy-seat. Ichabod was written on all... Sovereign grace raised up Samuel the prophet, and then David. David brought the ark not into the tabernacle at all, but to Mount Zion. Zion was in this way the seat of sovereign grace in power, in contrast with Sinai.
A throne on Zion was not the whole of what God wanted:
It is not enough that the seat of the kingdom of David — or of Christ — be set up at Zion, the mountain of grace. God Himself desires to dwell there with His king forever... God's glory finds no rest except in the place of grace. The ark, God's throne, is closely bound up with the throne of David, the throne of the Son of God.
The verse names two kinds of sacrifice, and each carries its own meaning:
The tent was God's centre, and yet there was to be no temple for the ark until the days of Solomon. But when the ark was set there David again offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. This is the important reminder that Israel can only enjoy God's presence on the basis of the value of the sacrifice of Christ. The burnt offering speaks of what God receives from that sacrifice. The peace offering brings both God and man into a share of its value, in living agreement.
Read the surrounding verses and one absence stands out: no priest steps forward. The king himself offers, and then blesses the crowd — an act only one other king ever attempted:
Then the king blessed the people. No other king but Solomon ever attempted this. Together the two of them are a picture of the King who will be able to bless the people in the future. This was the last time they offered sacrifices before the ark while it stood in the tent on Zion.
The same writer ties David to Melchizedek, a man who was both priest and king:
David himself takes on something of the character of Melchizedek. But this is only a testimony, and it points forward to what is still to come (1 Chron. 16:1-3). In these verses the priests do not appear.
Once the ark is in place, worship follows:
David brought the ark of God to Jerusalem and set it in the middle of the tent he had pitched for it. The ark then became the centre of the worship of Jehovah... Worship, praise and thanksgiving flowed freely to God when the ark had its proper place in the middle of His people.
- Ruin. The ark's capture wrote "Ichabod" over Israel; the old order had failed, and David refused to rebuild on it.
- Grace. Instead of returning the ark to Gibeon, David set it on Zion — the seat of sovereign grace, in contrast with Sinai.
- Sacrifice. Burnt and peace offerings mark the moment: God's presence rests on the sacrifice they picture.
- King. No priest appears; the king offers and blesses, a shadow of the coming King, like Melchizedek, who will bless His people.
- Praise. With the ark in the middle of the people, worship and thanksgiving flow freely.
And when David had ended offering up the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah.
The ark has just reached the place David prepared for it, and David's first act there is sacrifice, not a speech. Only then does he bless the people — and a king who blesses Israel raises the question of who may do a priest's work.
Two offerings come before the blessing, and they are not the same kind of gift.
The ark has been brought into the place prepared for it, and now there are burnt offerings and peace offerings. One is for the heart and pleasure of God. The other is what His people can feed on in His presence, in communion with Him. After the sacrifices, the king "blessed the people in the name of the LORD," and handed out to them what would nourish them and make their hearts glad.
In Israel the throne and the altar belonged to different families. One writer sets David beside Melchizedek, and counts how rarely any king of Israel blessed the people — while marking the line David never crossed.
He was a real person, not an ideal one, a man like any one of us, but a king and a priest together. In Israel's priestly service and in its history these two offices were completely separate. The high priest was of the tribe of Levi. The king was of the tribe of Judah. On two memorable occasions David first and then Solomon blessed the people (1 Chron. 16:2; 2 Chron. 6:3). No later ruler of the house of David ever did this again, because no others were pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ as king. Yet neither David nor Solomon ever claimed the priestly office for himself.
One writer traces the ground of David's authority here, then adds up the offerings, the blessing and the bread. He sees several roles meeting in one man, and looks past David to someone greater.
According to God's thought expressed in 1 Samuel 2:35, the priesthood from now on depends on the kingship. David regulates everything. He offered "the burnt offerings and the peace offerings" (1 Chron. 16:2). He goes further still in taking up priestly work: like Melchizedek, "he blessed the people in the name of the LORD" (1 Chron. 16:2). Finally, as the true anointed of Jehovah, he satisfies the poor with bread (v. 3; Ps. 132:15-17). So he shows all the marks of the Levite, the prophet, the Aaronic priest, and the eternal priest and king. Christ, the Man according to God's counsels, will wear them all when He appears in His kingdom.
Honouring God and the good of the people are tied together here — and David's blessing did not stop at words.
When God is given His true place, it is inevitable that the people will be blessed. David delighted to bless them in the name of the Lord of hosts. More than this, he gave a gift to every adult in Israel, women as well as men. Each one received a loaf of bread, a good sized piece of meat and a cake of raisins. This shows too that those who give the Lord His place will also be glad to be generous toward others.
The day was full of joy. Yet one writer adds a note of restraint about where the ark now stood.
At length he honoured God in due order and reverence for the ark, to the joy of all but Michal (1 Chron. 15). Yet its place was only provisional, whatever the blessing and praise on that day (1 Chron. 16). David's son was to build Jehovah's house (1 Chron. 17).
- Sacrifice first. The burnt offering is for God's own pleasure; the peace offering is shared, so His people feed in His presence. Blessing comes after the offerings, never before them.
- Then blessing. David does not bless in his own name but in the name of the LORD — he passes on what God gives rather than what he owns.
- Then bread. The same day brings words of blessing and food for every man and woman. Giving God His place makes a person generous toward people.
- A king who blessed. Throne and priesthood were separate in Israel. Only David and Solomon ever blessed the people this way. Neither took the priest's office for himself.
- A greater King coming. Levite, prophet, priest and king meet in David for a day. They point to Christ in His kingdom. The ark still had no house, so the joy was real but not final.
And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a measure [of wine] and a raisin-cake.
David has set the ark in the tent he pitched for it, the offerings are over, and the king now turns to the crowd with a gift for every person there. Why does a day about the ark end with food for a whole nation, and what do the loaf, the meat and the raisin cake mean?
The handing out of food comes after the offerings, not instead of them. One writer sets the day against the years of neglect before it. Two portions were now in place at once:
There had been nothing like this all the days of Saul. Samuel the prophet had been with Israel, and the ark was in the house of Abinadab on the hill, but the worship of the Lord had been neglected. Now that the ark was cared for, there was a portion for the Lord from His people, and the people had their portion. This came after the king had offered his sacrifices and blessed the people in the Name of the Lord.
The same writer applies the pattern to God's people now:
When Christ is among His own, there will be a suited portion for God — what answers to the burnt and peace offerings. And there will be what answers to the bread, the meat and the wine for His people. God will see to it that if His people give Him His portion they will have something for themselves, that which will sustain and cheer them.
David acts here as king. One writer links the gift to the throne itself and to the blessing God ties to it:
Here we see the throne in the light of God's thoughts, and of the blessing God links with it according to those thoughts. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and blessed the people. Then he gave a portion to every one, both man and woman, for God will "abundantly bless her provisions" and "satisfy her poor with bread." Then David gives the Levites a psalm to sing praises to the Lord.
The verse names men and women alike, and each one. One writer draws out what follows when God gets His true place:
When God is given His true place, it is inevitable that the people will be blessed. David delighted to bless them in the name of the Lord of hosts. More than this, he gave to every individual adult in Israel, women as well as men, a loaf of bread, a good sized piece of meat and a cake of raisins. This shows too that those who give the Lord His place will also be glad to be generous toward others.
Older translations end the verse with "a flagon of wine." One writer traces the Hebrew word through its other appearances and concludes:
"Cakes of grapes," or "raisins," would appear to be the right rendering. So De Wette's translation gives "raisin cakes" not only here, but in 2 Samuel 6:19; 1 Chronicles 16:3; Song of Songs 2:5.
The ESV reads "a cake of raisins."
This day of joy grew out of a hard lesson learned earlier:
The lesson was a severe one, and God's blow was serious. But once learned, that lesson produced the atmosphere of joy, plenty and praise so fully shown in 1 Chronicles 15 and 16... So let us not be afraid of the heart-searching these chapters call for: God's choosing; God's preparation; God's due order; God's commandment according to His own word; the need for holiness and for seeking the Lord.
The joy of that day was real, but it was not the last word. One writer sees David's gift as a small picture of something far greater:
When the ark comes to its final resting place on Mount Zion, the Lord will repeat David's generosity, and far exceed it. But the joy of full victory over the sin of the world was still future. So on the night of His betrayal the Lord said to His disciples, "I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
- Portion given — the offerings came first. God had His portion, and only then did the people receive theirs.
- Portion guaranteed — give God His place and you are not left empty. He sees to it that His people have what sustains and cheers them.
- Portion shared — a heart that has just honoured God turns generous. The gift reached every person, women as well as men.
- Portion costly — this day of joy grew out of a severe earlier lesson about handling the ark God's way.
- Portion foreshadowed — the loaf, meat and raisin cake are only a sample. Commentators point ahead to a day when the King will far exceed David's generosity.