In 1 Chronicles 13, David was attempting to bring the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. It had been taken captive during a loss in battle with the Philistines during the corrupt priesthood of Eli. God caused so much “deadly confusion” on them while in their presence that they decided to send the ark back to the Israelites. They prepared a new cart and sent it back, across the border, to the city of Beth-shemesh (which means “house of the sun”; see 1 Samuel, chapters 4-6 for more on this). This was not the final resting place, though, that God desired for the ark of His presence to dwell. There would still be more to this journey that needs to be revealed for our life's sake today.
David conferred with the whole assembly of Israel in regards to the relocating of the ark back to Jerusalem and it was right thing to do in the eyes of all the people (1 Chronicles 13:1-4). They would soon come to find out, though, that it was a good desire, but they should have sought the Lord first to see if there was a certain way they should approach this.
Because it was not carried out per the “prescribed order” of the Lord (1 Chronicles 15:13), it would cost the lives of two men. They moved the ark of God on a “new cart,” much like the Philistines had, which seemed completely logical, and probably even respectful in their minds. Tragically, though, the new thing was not done God’s way. He had a new thing in mind also, but it would be revealed to David and the rest of Israel just how serious of a matter it is to not walk in the sin of presumption, but rather to seek Him for HIS way first when carrying His presence.
David would write in a psalm;
“Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous [“arrogant”] sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.”
(Psalm 19:13)
This same sin of presumption towards God is happening within the church today. Much of what we do in our worship of God and the ushering in of His presence is unacceptable before Him. We do things our way, according to our denominational traditions taught by the elders, and then ask God to bless it. If not repented of among those leading the way, some will perish as they attempt to hold up that which God is tipping over (1 Chronicles 13:9-10). The fear of the Lord fell on David that day, causing him to ask a very important question that is also ours to ask; “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?”
Later, David would try again, but not in the same manner as before. In 1 Chronicles 16:1 we read that when everything was made ready, “per the instructions of the Lord,” the ark of His presence was finally brought to rest in the place David had prepared for Him on Mount Zion. The fear of the Lord had been strongly instilled in his heart first, resulting in a reverential search for God’s ways that would answer his question. Eventually, with great joy, they brought the ark of God’s presence, per His will, to the place David had prepared for it.
What has been revealed to me by the Holy Spirit through this is that there is a way to bring God’s presence into our midst that must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Like David, we must search the Word to see what is required by Him lest some in leadership positions die presumptively in the process.
I see God’s order of worship, His bulletin so to speak, given to us by Paul within 1 Corinthians 14:20-40 (compare this passage to 1 Chronicles 15). If we will do what He says, and an “unbeliever” or “ungifted man” enters into our gathering, they will have the secrets of their heart disclosed and they will fall on their face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among us. Today, this is an extremely rare occurrence within the current “style” of western churches. Instead of preparing a place for people to come through worldly business models, we need to do as David did and prepare a place for God to come, per His prescribed way (1 Chronicles 15).
The Dying Order Of The Old Religious Structure
It’s interesting to note that about six miles away, at Mount Gibeon, the tabernacle of Moses was still in operation (1 Chronicles 21:29), void of the presence of God which resided within the ark;
“And he [David] left Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place which was at Gibeon, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which He commanded Israel.”
(1 Chronicles 16:39-40)
It would continue functioning for a while longer, but the ark would never be restored within the old structure that would soon fade away. Worshipping the Lord at the place where He had chosen for His name to dwell (Deuteronomy 12:10-14) had begun.
In his book “From Tent To Temple,” George Warnock wrote the following statement;
“If we are going to be spared the frustration of trying to restore something that has served its purpose and belongs to a dying order, we must recognize that God has new things in mind. And that He moves onward and forward and upward, enlightening the path of the just with the Light of a new day… He is not in the least interested in renewing some old religious structure that He may have seen fit to use in days gone by. God has an entirely new order for His people.”
God’s plan is always moving forward until the desired objective of completion in Christ has been accomplished. His presence would never again return to the temporary tabernacle of Moses in Mount Gibeon. It had served its purpose, being a temporary means unto the end, but not the end itself.
This is where many within the church today will fight against the Lord’s will. They have become very complacent and comfortable within their denominations and are not willing to set out at the Holy Spirit’s call to “come out” and prepare themselves with other wise virgins who are eagerly looking forward to meet the Lord at the end of this age in the air (Matthew 25:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). They have become spiritually hard of hearing, preferring to remain dwelling on the wrong side of the Jordan River with no desire to cross over and possess the “Promised Land,” or should I say the “Promised Place” in Christ.
We will have no excuse one day when we stand before God and are required to give an account as to why we would not answer the final call of the Holy Spirit to prepare ourselves to enter into the final resting place of the glorious inheritance in Christ (Ephesians 5:5). Foolish virgins assume they are ready, refusing the need to allow the Holy Spirit to search their hearts to see if there is any wickedness that needs to be repented of. Their wedding garment is stained, causing them to be cast out of God’s kingdom into a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
As with the moving of the ark of the covenant in David’s day, God is moving toward His final dwelling in Zion, the divinely designated place of His throne that begins within the heart of His people first. It is nearing the time of His coming again to snatch away His Bride and her attendants. We are being called to rebuild and restore this desired place that now lies in ruin within the hearts of many. The place within His people, the temple of His Body that fell in the Garden of Eden, will once and forever, at the end of this age, be restored to an even greater glory than at the beginning.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven draws near!”
The Holy Spirit is presently stirring His people from spiritual lethargy to prepare His way within us through repentance and consecration so that together we will carry His presence per the prescribed order revealed to us within the Scriptures. The seat of His government will be established within the hearts of His people who respond by consecrating themselves in preparation of His appearing. They are the wise virgins who took oil with them to keep their lamps lit. The oil of the Holy Spirit was poured into them because they turned to the Lord’s reproof at the appointed time of His return (Proverbs 1:23).
Because the Lord’s Bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7-8), she will enter into the wedding feast with the Bridegroom and the door will be shut. Those on the outside will find themselves in a place of great darkness, outside the light of His presence, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (see the Bible study Outer Darkness). We, His children, must humble ourselves and take heed lest we fall with an apostate heart through arrogance and presumption.
As Paul declared through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we are not above Israel, the natural branches. If they were broken off for unbelief, we must not become conceited, but fear. If God did not spare the natural branches (i.e. the Jewish people), He has warned us that He will not spare those of us in the church who are grafted-in Gentiles either (i.e. the Israel of God; Galatians 6:16) that turn away in unbelief AFTER receiving Him (see Romans 11, Hebrews 10:26-31, and the Bible study Unbelieving Believers.)
Some would say that the people Paul is speaking of are not true Christians. You cannot be grafted into the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, unless you have become a believer, a disciple, a follower of Him. As written, this apostasy will occur en masse during the great falling away from Jesus that occurs right before His return (2 Thessalonians 2). It is crucial that we listen to what the Spirit is saying in this midnight hour, and then prepare accordingly;
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
(Revelation 19:7-8)
Church, we must seek out His ways in order to prepare the way for Him to come into our midst, before it’s too late and the door of His ark of deliverance is shut. The dead religion and useless rituals that have leavened the church in America must be repented of. The King is coming, but not for all. It will only be for those who hear what the Spirit is saying to the church in this last call, and then do what He says that will be welcomed into the wedding supper of the Lamb.
May you be numbered among those who hear the Lord declare, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21) To God be the glory.
(The following notes are from the Bible study House Church Gatherings.)
The Danger Of Doing God’s New Thing Man’s Way
(1 Chronicle 13:7, 1 Samuel 6:7, 2 Samuel 6)
The ark of God had been captured by their enemies, the Philistines, during the corrupt priesthood of Eli.
Because of the tumors that broke out on them, they decided to send it back to Israel on a new cart.
Years later, when David became king, he desired to bring the ark of God back to Jerusalem, also on a new cart, like the Philistines.
1 Chronicles 13:7 – “They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart [like they had seen the Philistines do when the ark was returned], with Uzzah [ooz-zaw’; “strength”] and Ahio [akh-yo’; “brotherly”] guiding it.” (NIV)
By all outside appearances, it looked like a wonderful, “brotherly” movement, but their was an issue with those guiding it that the Lord would soon reveal. When Uzzah, the man of “strength,” stretched out his hand to hold up the ark, he was struck dead by God. He's a picture of man attempting to uphold the move of God in his own strength, through his own way. In these last days, when the Lord returns to His rightful throne on earth, we must be very careful how we handle ushering in His presence. Anyone who attempts to operate in the flesh will in like manner be struck down, quickly, so as to place the fear of the Lord in everyone else. Oh Lord, give us wisdom!
1 Chronicles 15:1-2 – “After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, ‘No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.’” (NIV)
1 Chronicles 15:12-14 – “He said to them, ‘You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way [NAS “the ordinance”; KJV “due order”; NKJV “proper order”].’ So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.” (NIV)
David, after the fear of the Lord had been placed in his heart through the death of Uzzah, searched the word of the Lord and found the proper way to handle God's presence. For those called to carry His presence, consecration was the key. It's ours as well.
A Final Warning:
The appointed time for the Lord’s return for His Bride draws near. It’s the time, for those who hear the call, to prepare a place within us for the Lord to dwell in. The way to bring God’s presence back to Jerusalem, the Divinely designated destiny for His throne, had already been given by Him to His people. Unfortunately, due to the negligence of those who were responsible for upholding His ways before the people, it had been lost. After being rediscovered through previous revelation from Him, they did what He had ordained through David’s leadership, and great joy ensued among His people.
Understanding His way at the end of this age is also just as crucial for us lest some die in trying to usher in His presence their way. For those with ears to hear, and eyes to see, He is now revealing His way, in His new thing. Believing they already know, many in the church no longer have ears to hear what the Spirit is directing His people to do so as to not be struck dead through an arrogant, presumptive heart. He will not dwell in a denominational setting ruled by the flesh of men who would claim it under their banner, by their own strength, for their glory instead of the Lord’s. Even so, “Come Lord Jesus!” Be glorified among Your people who earnestly desire Your presence in their midst.
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