And behold, Zadok also, and all the Levites 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 passed completely out of the city.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the king said to Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favour in the eyes of Jehovah, he will bring me again, and shew me it, and its habitation.
Absalom has seized the throne, and David has fled Jerusalem with the ark of God carried out behind him. The king sends it back — why refuse the sign of God's presence when you need it most?
David knows why this is happening. The rebellion is God's hand on him, and he will not pretend otherwise.
Leslie M. GrantDavid realised that he had no right to have the ark accompany him. He knew he was under the chastening hand of God. He should bow to this. He should not give the people the impression that the ark had to leave its proper place in Jerusalem just because David was in exile.
The same writer notes that David still acted wisely. He told the priests to keep their two sons with them and send him any useful news (verses 27–28).
One commentator sets David's choice beside an earlier moment in Israel's history.
William KellyThe people and priests panicked before the Philistines. They brought out the ark of God, hoping it might serve as a charm against the swords of their enemies. But here David refuses to use it selfishly and irreverently, whatever his need and danger... In this supreme hour of his deepest extremity and greatest humiliation he refuses to put the ark of God at risk. For his own sake, he will not let the smallest shadow fall on it.
One writer adds that David would not let any harm come to the ark. He sees in this "how completely the heart of David had been restored" (An Outline of Sound Words).
Sending the ark away cost David something. One commentator explains the reasoning of a man whose own conscience is against him.
J. G. BellettIn the same spirit he sends back the ark and its priests, as having a joy for him that it was not fitting for him now to taste. The ark, the presence of God, was David's best joy; but he was not entitled to have it now, and so he sends it home.
The same writer notes why David sent his friend Ittai away too. David alone, he says, "had sinned and drawn out the hand of the Lord."
David's sentence has two halves that most of us keep apart. He deserves what is happening, and he still expects mercy.
H. L. RossierWhat an admirable result of the work of God's Spirit on a heart exercised by discipline. What perfect submission to God's will, knowing that one deserves judgment! What perfect confidence in His goodness that endures forever, and in His interest in His own even though they are unworthy of it! Everything that happens to him is righteous. But David counts on grace. He accepts this humiliation and leaves it to God to justify him.
Another writer names the claim David refuses to make. He would not "claim the token of a favour which had in fact departed" (F. W. Grant).
Owning the right object is not the same as being right with God.
A J PollockDavid recognised God's discipline — discipline only for good. He knew that merely possessing a symbol would not improve matters. What concerned him was his moral condition under God's eye. And he showed he had this by placing himself unreservedly in God's hands.
Yet David's hope reaches past the ark itself. He asks to see God's dwelling place again. One commentator notes that the city is where the ark is "destined to rest forever, once the Lord Jesus establishes it" (William Kelly).
- Chastening — David saw Absalom's revolt as God's hand on him for his own sin, and bowed to it instead of trying to escape it.
- Restraint — others once carried the ark into battle as a charm. David would not use the sign of God's presence to shield himself.
- Cost — the ark was his greatest joy. Real repentance gave up the comfort he had forfeited.
- Confidence — "If I find favor" is not despair. He admits he deserves judgment, yet counts on grace and leaves God to justify him.
- Reality — he did not want the symbol in his camp. He wanted God's house back, and asked to see "both it and His dwelling place."
But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, [here am] I, let him do to me as seemeth good to him.
David has fled Jerusalem during his own son's revolt. The priests follow him out of the city, carrying the ark — the chest that marked God's presence with Israel. He sends it back. This verse gives his reason. He will not bargain with God over the outcome. If God has no pleasure in him, David will take whatever God decides.
The rebellion did not simply happen. One writer traces it to God's own hand on a man He loved.
J. N. DarbyIt is painful to see the conqueror of Goliath driven from his home and his throne by his beloved son. And this happened under God's hand. For if God had not allowed it, who could have driven the man God had chosen from the royal seat where the Lord had placed him?... But He disciplines those He loves. So all this shows the righteous rule of God. For David it is also a deep searching of heart, and it brings him to know God more truly and more closely.
One writer sets David's refusal beside an earlier scene, when Israel had treated the ark as a good-luck charm.
William KellyThe people and priests panicked before the Philistines. They brought out the ark of God, hoping it might work as a charm against their enemies' swords. But here David refuses to use it for himself, without reverence, whatever his need and danger... Still, in this hour of his deepest need and greatest humiliation, he refuses to put the ark of God at risk. He will not let the smallest shadow fall on it for his own sake.
Another writer adds what David did not want the people to think.
Leslie M. GrantHe knew he was under the chastening hand of God, and he should bow to it. He would not give the people the impression that the ark should leave its proper place in Jerusalem just because David was in exile.
For another writer, the reason lies further back, in David's own sin.
J. G. BellettIt is sin that has found him out, and has brought him into remembrance before God, and it is not for such a man to keep a holy day. He must bow his head and accept his punishment... The ark, the presence of God, was David's best joy; but he was not entitled to have it now, and so he sends it home.
One writer says the ark's travelling days were over. He then reads David's words as submission and confidence at once.
H. L. RossierDavid refuses the ark; he cannot accept such an honour. The ark has entered into its rest and cannot start the wilderness wanderings again with David... What perfect submission to God's will, in a man who knows he deserves judgment! What perfect confidence in God's goodness, which lasts forever, and in His care for His own, unworthy though they are! Everything that happens to him is righteous. But David counts on grace. He accepts this humiliation and leaves it to God to justify him.
The same writer asks whether the two priests were wrong to bring the ark out at all.
H. L. RossierZadok and Abiathar are not wrong to think that the ark ought to be with the king. They understand God's mind in general, but they take less account of His ways with David. David himself teaches them this by sending them back. He must count on God alone to bring him back, for he has deserved this discipline. Even if God were to reject him completely, David submits, because all that God does is good.
One writer sets David's bowed head beside a deeper submission still.
C. H. MackintoshHe meekly bows his head to the dealing of God. He felt, no doubt, that he was only reaping the fruit of his sin, and he accepted it. He saw God in every circumstance... The Lord Jesus was living in the most profound subjection to the Father. "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" This gave Him power over anything. He looked beyond the instrument to God — beyond the cup to the hand which had filled it.
- Cause. The revolt was God's discipline on a man He loved. David took it from God's hand, not just from Absalom's.
- Refusal. He sent the ark back. He would not use the sign of God's presence as his own protection, or let any shadow fall on it.
- Confession. A man whose sin had found him out would not claim the joy he was no longer entitled to.
- Confidence. He deserved judgment, yet he counted on grace. He left it to God to bring him back and to justify him.
- Consequence. David saw God in every circumstance and bowed. Christ showed this perfectly, looking past the cup to the hand that filled it.
And the king said to Zadok the priest, Thou art the seer return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
See, I will stop in the plains of the desert, until there come word from you to inform me.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem; and they abode there.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.