1 Chronicles · chapter 16 of 29
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1 Chronicles 16 narrates the arrival of the ark at the tent David prepared in Jerusalem, with burnt offerings, peace offerings and a blessing for the people. David appoints Levites to minister before the ark and hands Asaph and his brothers a psalm of thanksgiving that calls us to give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his glory among the nations and trust his faithfulness. The chapter ends with the organization of worship at Jerusalem and at Gibeon.
The previous chapter ended with the ark on its way to Jerusalem; this one narrates the moment of its arrival and the feast that goes with it. At the center is a long psalm, made of fragments also found in Psalms 105, 96 and 106. For readers who had come back from exile, this song was an invitation to remember who God is and to hope for his salvation.
The Levites bring in the ark and set it inside the tent David had pitched for it. David offers burnt offerings and peace offerings before God, blesses the people in the name of the Lord and gives each Israelite, men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a cake of raisins. He then appoints some Levites to minister before the ark, to invoke, thank and praise the Lord, with Asaph as chief and others accompanying with instruments. The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blow the trumpets regularly.
On that day, David first gives Asaph and his brothers the psalm of thanksgiving. The song invites us to give thanks, call on the name of the Lord, sing to him, tell of his wonders and remember the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom he promised the land of Canaan. It then calls all the earth to sing to the Lord, to proclaim his salvation day after day and to declare his glory among the nations, for great is the Lord and the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. The heavens rejoice, the sea roars and the trees of the forest sing, for the Lord comes to judge the earth. The song ends with an invitation to give thanks because his steadfast love endures forever, with a plea for salvation and with a blessing. All the people say Amen and praise the Lord.
David leaves Asaph and his brothers before the ark to minister regularly, and Obed-edom and others as gatekeepers. Zadok and the priests stay before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon, offering burnt offerings morning and evening according to the law. Then all the people go home, and David returns to bless his own household.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The psalm opens by inviting us to give thanks to the Lord, call on his name and make known his deeds among the peoples. Worship here has two movements: thanking God and speaking of him to others.
The people are to remember his covenant always, the word he commanded for a thousand generations. To praise is to recall what God promised and fulfilled, and that is why the song reviews the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The song proclaims that the Lord is great, deserves all praise and is to be feared above all gods. In this way it confesses that the Lord is incomparable, and affirms that the gods of the peoples are nothing, because he made the heavens.
The people are to thank the Lord because he is good and his steadfast love never ends. This is the idea that sums up the psalm and that God's people will repeat throughout history. God is good and his faithful love does not run dry.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Inside the tent David had pitched for it. — 1 Chronicles 16:1
Answer: A loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a cake of raisins. — 1 Chronicles 16:3
Answer: To Asaph and his brothers. — 1 Chronicles 16:7
Answer: The one God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, promising them the land of Canaan. — 1 Chronicles 16:15-18
Answer: Because the Lord comes to judge the earth. — 1 Chronicles 16:33
Answer: Amen, and they praised the Lord. — 1 Chronicles 16:36
David's psalm teaches a worship that looks backward and forward. It remembers what God has done, announces what he will do and calls all nations to join. In a small group, a good exercise is to list what God has done in each person's life and to thank him aloud. Gratitude is learned by practice.
The chapter also shows that praise should be constant. David organized worship so that it would not depend on a special moment. We can think about how to care for the habit of giving thanks to God every day, in the family and in the community, and not only on Sundays.
1 Chronicles 16 puts the ark in its place and leaves a psalm that all the people repeat with an Amen. The next chapter tells God's answer to David's devotion: the covenant in which he promises to build a house for David, a dynasty that will last forever.
Because Chronicles gathers in this song fragments of those psalms: the beginning resembles Psalm 105, the middle Psalm 96 and the end Psalm 106. Psalms were well-known songs of worship, and the author shows how they were used at this historical moment. There is no contradiction: the song was handed down and reused.
The ark was in Jerusalem, but the original tabernacle Moses built was still at the high place in Gibeon, where Zadok and the priests offered the daily burnt offerings. This situation lasted until Solomon built the temple and joined both elements in one place.
The psalm does not speak of a judgment that terrifies the righteous but of a judgment that will set things right. That is why the sea, the fields and the trees rejoice. For Christians, that hope is completed in the coming of Christ, who will judge the world in righteousness.