📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 13:4
What does 1 Chronicles 13:4 mean?
"All the assembly said that they would do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people."
— 1 Chronicles 13:4 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader.
David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of Yahweh our God, let us send word everywhere to our brothers who are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have suburbs, that they may gather themselves to us.
Also, let us again bring the ark of our God back to us; for we didn’t seek it in the days of Saul.”
All the assembly said that they would do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor the brook of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring God’s ark from Kiriath Jearim.
David went up with all Israel to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there God Yahweh’s ark that sits above the cherubim, that is called by the Name.
They carried God’s ark on a new cart, and brought it out of Abinadab’s house; and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart.
Explanation
First Chronicles 13:4 records a moment of complete unity among God's people. In the verses just before this one, King David had proposed to the leaders of Israel that they bring the Ark of the Covenant—which had been neglected for years, sitting at Kiriath Jearim—back to a place of prominence among the people. This verse simply reports the response: everyone in the assembly agreed. The idea seemed good, right, and appropriate to the entire gathered community, not just to David or a few select leaders.
To understand this verse, it helps to know the setting. First Chronicles was likely compiled after the Babylonian exile, addressed to Israelites who had returned to their homeland and needed to reconnect with their national and spiritual identity. The Chronic
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