1 Chronicles 13:5-6 describes the great assembly—all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath—going up to Baalah, that is, Kiriath-jearim, to bring up the ark of God, the LORD who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called.
The gathering matches the goal: 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 (v 5). The two place names mark the ideal reach of the promised land—the Shihor on Egypt's frontier in the far southwest, the pass toward Hamath in the far north—the same landmarks used for the land Joshua was told remained to be possessed (Joshua 13:3-5). The chronicler's reference to all Israel here spans its widest geography: a congregation drawn from border to border for a worship project. The kingdom's first fully national act after the coronation aimed at bringing God's presence home, and the whole land came.
The destination carried the ark's whole strange history: David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah (v 6). Baalah was the town's older name (Joshua 15:9). The ark had come to rest there after its captivity among the Philistines, when the men of Beth-shemesh looked into it and died, and the survivors asked, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?" (1 Samuel 6:20). Kiriath-jearim had kept the ark in Abinadab's house on the hill ever since (1 Samuel 7:1). The question asked at Beth-shemesh had gone unanswered for two generations, and this procession is about to receive its own schooling in it.
Before telling how the ark traveled, the narrator pauses over what the ark is: they wentto bring up from there the ark of God, the LORD who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called (v 6). The ark was an earthly representation of God's throne, the footstool of the King of the universe; the psalmist sings, "The LORD reigns...He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!" (Psalm 99:1). To move the ark was to approach the enthronedLORD Himself. This is the burden of the whole Bible's story of God's dwelling—His presence moving from tabernacle to temple, then coming near in person as Christ Jesus, also called "Immanuel," God with us (Matthew 1:23), until John's Revelation announces, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them" (Revelation 21:3). The chapter's tragedy and its blessing both flow from the weight of that identity.
1 Chronicles 13:5-6
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.
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1 Chronicles 13:5-6 meaning
The gathering matches the goal: 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 (v 5). The two place names mark the ideal reach of the promised land—the Shihor on Egypt's frontier in the far southwest, the pass toward Hamath in the far north—the same landmarks used for the land Joshua was told remained to be possessed (Joshua 13:3-5). The chronicler's reference to all Israel here spans its widest geography: a congregation drawn from border to border for a worship project. The kingdom's first fully national act after the coronation aimed at bringing God's presence home, and the whole land came.
The destination carried the ark's whole strange history: David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah (v 6). Baalah was the town's older name (Joshua 15:9). The ark had come to rest there after its captivity among the Philistines, when the men of Beth-shemesh looked into it and died, and the survivors asked, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?" (1 Samuel 6:20). Kiriath-jearim had kept the ark in Abinadab's house on the hill ever since (1 Samuel 7:1). The question asked at Beth-shemesh had gone unanswered for two generations, and this procession is about to receive its own schooling in it.
Before telling how the ark traveled, the narrator pauses over what the ark is: they went to bring up from there the ark of God, the LORD who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called (v 6). The ark was an earthly representation of God's throne, the footstool of the King of the universe; the psalmist sings, "The LORD reigns...He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!" (Psalm 99:1). To move the ark was to approach the enthroned LORD Himself. This is the burden of the whole Bible's story of God's dwelling—His presence moving from tabernacle to temple, then coming near in person as Christ Jesus, also called "Immanuel," God with us (Matthew 1:23), until John's Revelation announces, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them" (Revelation 21:3). The chapter's tragedy and its blessing both flow from the weight of that identity.