1 Chronicles | Sunday June 14th, 2026
Last week we covered chapters 11 and 12. Today chapter 13.
1 Chronicles 11:1 (NASB95)
1 Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
I’ll remind you that Chronicles is a book meant to give hope. Last week we found hope in seeing the world/circumstances from God’s view, according to His plan, which brings clarity/perspective in an often-unclear world.
We also saw that if God is “doing something” then He brings the ppl, supplies the power, equips the individuals, and accomplishes His purposes.
1 Chronicles 12:38–13:4 (NASB95)
38 All these, being men of war who could draw up in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel were of one mind to make David king.
39 They were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen had prepared for them.
40 Moreover those who were near to them, even as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, camels, mules and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.
1 Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader.
2 David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us;
3 and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.”
4 Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
The Idea: Bring the ark to Jerusalem. A good desire!
Before we move on, I want to make sure and remind you about the Ark.
Exodus 25:10–11 (NASB95)
10 “They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.
11 “You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it.
Exodus 25:21–22 (NASB95)
21 “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you.
22 “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.
The Ark was the visible representation of the one true God dwelling with them and leading them.
1 Chronicles 13:2–3 (NASB95)
2 David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us;
3 and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.”
The realization: They are convicted they had neglected a walk with God and they want to get right
1 Chronicles 13:5–8 (NASB95)
5 So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
6 David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called.
7 They carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart.
8 David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets.
Look at this crowd and the excitement. They are dancing, singing, they got a brand-new cart for the Ark. What is the outcome?
1 Chronicles 13:9–14 (NASB95)
9 When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly upset it.
10 The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.
11 Then David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzza; and he called that place Perez-uzza to this day.
12 David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?”
13 So David did not take the ark with him to the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
14 Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.
Great motive, born out of conviction, to please the Lord/draw near to Him, but the results are that God strikes down Uzzah, David gets angry, David gets fearful, and the ark does not make it to the city of David.
We need to examine why things happened the way that they did.
Exodus 29:45–46 (NASB95)
45 “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God.
46 “They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NASB95)
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
In the chapters where you find the Ark and tabernacle you also find many commandments of God communicating the “how” people should live in fellowship with Him. Kyle—Leviticus and Letters of John
What was wrong with David wanting to bring the Ark? What was wrong with Uzzah’s desire to save the Ark? Was God pleased with the cart? Was God pleased with the way the Ark was transported? Why not?
David and Israel let their own worldly thinking guide them.
Proverbs 16:25 (NASB95)
25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Exodus 25:12–15 (NASB95)
12 “You shall cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it.
13 “You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
14 “You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them.
15 “The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it.
Numbers 4:4–6 (NASB95)
4 “This is the work of the descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.
5 “When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it;
6 and they shall lay a covering of porpoise skin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert its poles.
Numbers 4:15 (NASB95)
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
Very clear “how.” But that’s not what they did. They evidently saw how the philistines after capturing the ark had transported it
1 Samuel 6:7–8 (NASB95)
7 “Now therefore, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them.
8 “Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go.
and so then, intentionally or unintentionally, thought to themselves, “We will transport it like the Philistines did.” They had fallen prey to the natural way.
Where have you been letting your own thinking guide you in your walk with God? You think I want to live for God (good desire), and this is how I will do it -
You try to look really nice—instead of being actually nice
You say, I will pray for you"—then forget or spread gossip
You are morally “good,” work hard, and don’t cheat people—but are so self-sufficient you don’t actually need God and only remember to pray at meals
You attend church – but only as a consumer rather than a participant.
You volunteer to serve—but make it all about yourself instead of being there to serve.
You try to do stuff for God—but don’t let God transform your heart.
You think I don’t struggle with any of these—but don’t realize your pride.
When you try to live for God (fellowship) by doing it the way you naturally think is best, you are never going to get the results you want or expect.
God will never be pleased when His people ignore His word and instead adopt the world's thinking.
I need to be sure you hear me - God is not against thinking! He wants you to use your mind but He doesn’t want you to go at it on your own.
Psalm 119:11 (NASB95)
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
Psalm 119:29 (NLT)
29 Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
Psalm 119:80 (NASB95)
80 May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, So that I will not be ashamed.
Psalm 119:93 (NLT)
93 I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life.
If you don’t want your own thinking to get in the way of a walk with God, fill your mind with His truth AND walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16–17 (NASB95)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Don’t confuse energy and passion with being led by the Spirit. David dancing before the ark in ch. 13 has the appearance of what our world calls “spirit-led worship.” You cannot be led by the Spirit and act contrary to His Word.
Romans 8:5–8 (NLT)
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Living by the Spirit pleases God! Your natural self cannot live a life pleasing to God. You need a supernatural work.
Galatians 5:25 (NASB95)
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
It is great to be passionate! The Bible says we should stir each other up for good deeds
Hebrews 10:23–25 (NASB95)
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
But don’t mistake emotion for fellowship! Emotions are not the enemy; God has emotions; they are part of being made in His “image,” but you should let the emotions follow rather than lead. Let His truth lead.
Reiterate that the HEART is a big deal.
1 Chronicles 13:10 (NASB95)
10 The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.
The anger of the Lord burned—temperature rose, a fire was kindled, God was hot.
Don’t miss that this group had the right attitude and passion; they had a worthy goal!
But they let their own/worldly thinking guide them and did not act in obedience to God’s Word, so they utterly failed.
1 Chronicles 13:12 (NASB95)
12 David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?”
David asks, “How?” David is done “doing”; he is done “assuming” and is now seeking God, asking, “HOW?” David is ready for a change in mind.
I want to ask you a question: Where are you feeling hopeless? Is it in your job? Your relationships? Your self-image? Health? Propensity to sin? Parenting? Walking with adult children, grandkids who don’t know the Lord? Often, we can feel hopeless in these areas, like God isn’t doing anything and we are doing everything.
In whatever area you feel hopeless, maybe it’s time to stop “doing,” take a step back, and ask David, “How, God?” Ask: Where does my thinking need to conform to God’s Word? What has He said?
Colossians 3:23–24 (NASB95)
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
1 Peter 2:11–12 (NLT)
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
Matthew 5:16 (NASB95)
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Maybe you are feeling hopeless because you’ve been thinking if I would have done more when my kids were in the house, then they would be. Or maybe you’re feeling hopelessly lost as a parent. Ask, How should I think about this, God?
1 John 1:9 (NASB95)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Isaiah 55:11 (NASB95)
11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
The parents who are struggling to parent in a Godly way, realize the way forward is not better “rules/laws” it is in Christ/thru His strength. It is a today walk.
1 Corinthians 15:56–58 (NLT)
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
God was good to David; He let him fail and brought him to a place to ask, “How, God?”
God has been good to you as well; He wants you to ask HOW—He wants you to live in an active relationship with Him.
Think about the times when you went at life on your own; was it because you didn’t know God’s instruction or the simple fact you left Him behind? You just “acted,” maybe with good intentions and passion, but YOU acted.
Obedience is born out of trust. Trust is built in a relationship. Relationships take communication. ALL THESE TAKE TIME
Today, where are you in your relationship with God? How have you been communicating with Him? (prayer) and Him with you? (Word). Have you been putting in the time? Or just doing?
I told you last week that David was a good king because He did it trusting God, living in response to His Word, and little by little becoming what God declared he would be.
The writer of Chronicles wants you to have hope, so he tells you a story about David and his people that demonstrates a good king does not mean a perfect king. In the same way, a good Christian does not mean being a flawless Christian
The hope we find in Chronicles is not that people always do good and think correctly.
The hope is that God, knowing their shortcomings, dwells with them and instructs them from their midst, because He is good.
Believer, God dwells in you! And He has given you His Word so that you may walk in fellowship with Him. Go for it!
Do so remembering there is only 1 perfect King (Christ).
Good for you means knowing Him, trusting Him, obeying Him, living empowered by His Spirit, guided by His Word, and little by little becoming what God has declared you to be.