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The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.
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so David inquired of God: “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, I will deliver them into your hands.”
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So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.
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The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, and David gave orders to burn them in the fire.
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so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go directly after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees.
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As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.”
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So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
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The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.
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And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.
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Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.
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Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed.
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Ministering Before the Ark
They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God.
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He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel:
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and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.
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He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
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For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
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For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
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Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.”
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Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”
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God’s Promise to David
After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”
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Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.”
