1 Chronicles 13 records David’s first attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant back from Kiriath-Jearim. The account is similar to that found in 2 Samuel 6. As the Ark was being moved, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady it. The LORD struck him dead, which both angered and frightened David, so he decided to leave the Ark at the home of Obed-edom.
In 1 Chronicles 14, we read the record of the children born to David in Jerusalem. Then we read the account of David defeating the Philistines twice. The second time, David and his men didn’t even have to fight, because the LORD sent His army into the battle. While this might seem difficult to believe from our perspective, the reality is spiritual warfare is going on around us all the time. the LORD’s angels are fighting against Satan and his minions. At times, the LORD makes these battles apparent to us, and at times He even sense His warriors to engage in our battles.
1 Chronicles 15 records the successful transportation of the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem. The Chronicler gives us a much more detailed account of all the Levites who were involved in the procession, and the roles they played. We are told once again that King David danced before the Ark wearing a linen ephod, and that this caused Michal, his wife, to despise him. While we were told in 2 Samuel that because of Michal’s disdain for David’s dancing, she remained barren for the rest of her life, the Chronicler did not include this detail in his account.
Matthew 15 begins with the account of the Pharisees and Jesus in disagreement, because Jesus’ disciples ate without practicing the Jewish ritual of hand washing. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites for practicing this aspect of tradition, while ignoring the weightier matters of the Law. Jesus made it clear, and even explained in detail to the disciples, that whether we wash our hands before we eat, and whatever we eat does not make us unclean. It is not what we ingest into our bodies that make us clean or unclean, according to Jesus. Rather, it is what comes out of our hearts that demonstrates our state of being. Next, we read the account of Jesus healing a Canaanite woman’s daughter, even though at first He was not going to respond to her request, because she was a “foreigner.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He only healed non-Jews on a couple of occasions. He kept His focus on “the lost sheep” of Israel, while at the same time equipping the disciples to be ready to minister to the people of all nations. The chapter closes with the account of Jesus healing many sick and demon possessed people, and then feeding the 4,000. Jesus’ compassion is once again accounted as the reason for these amazing practices. Jesus would one day remind us in John’s gospel that we who follow Him will do greater things than He has done, which is an incredible promise given what he did in this chapter. The key is for us to trust and obey Him and follow wherever He leads us and to ask whatever we need from Him be done in His name.