David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering... (1 Chronicles 16:39,40)In approximately 1050 BC the Philistines won a decisive victory over the confederated tribes of Israel at Shiloh. Though Israel brought the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield as their ultimate weapon, it did them no good, and they were soundly thrashed in a major defeat leaving Israel subservient to Philistia.
Philistine celebration soon turned to concern and then panic as the power of God turned against them. They sent the ark back to Israel where it found its rest in Kiriath-Jearim.
For over fifty years the ark remained in the care of Abinadab's family. Never during the reign of Saul did he inquire of the ark. When David conquered Jerusalem, establishing it as the religious and political center of Israel, he retrieved the ark placing it in the new tent he had built for it there.
At some point after the defeat at Shiloh, Moses' tabernacle was moved to Gibeon, and from today's passage it seems that sacrificial worship continued there - business as usual. One difference: God was not there. The Ark of the Covenant (the symbol of God's presence) was housed elsewhere.
How life changing could worship be that doesn't require the presence of God?
When's the last time you encountered God's manifest presence?
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