DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- OLD FASHIONED

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – OLD FASHIONED

"And David said to all the assembly of Israel, 'If it seems good to you, and it is of the LORD our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.' " (I Chronicles 13:2-3).

The ark of God, also known as the ark of the covenant, had been neglected for many years. You will remember that the ark had been captured by the Philistines during Samuel's leadership, and before Saul had been anointed as king of Israel (I Samuel 4-7). It was returned to Israel by the Philistines, and came to rest at Kirjath Jearim in the house of Abimilec, where it stayed during the 20 year reign of Saul. After Saul's death, David became king and ruled from his throne in Hebron. After 7 years at Hebron (II Samuel 2:11), David conquered Jerusalem, and moved His throne there. So the ark had been at Kirjath Jearim for about 30 years, and had not been the center of worship all those years. But David had a desire to bring it to Jerusalem.

So David prepared a place for the ark of God by pitching a tent for it in Jerusalem (I Chronicles 15:1), and with great rejoicing – with shouting and the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, and the music of string instruments and harps, and dancing – they brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, the city of David (vs 28). Do you catch the excitement of bringing back the past?

Perhaps it is my old age, but sometimes I long to bring back some of the fervor for the Lord that I had in my youth. I know I cannot live in the past, and I have grown in my faith in the Lord through the years. But there was an element of my faith that I long to rekindle. It is kind of like Jesus' words to the Church at Ephesus in Revelation. He commended them for their works of labor, and patience, standard of holiness, and good doctrine. But he said to them, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (Revelation 2:4). It may be old-fashioned, but I miss some of the naivety and freshness of the faith of my youth. I think I need to bring back the ark.

Love, Dad