1 Chronicles 16:1-3 meaning
1 Chronicles 16:1-3 records the ark's arrival in Jerusalem and the worship that greeted it: And they brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God (v 1). The tent is the one David prepared in 1 Chronicles 15:1 before the second procession set out, so the ark enters a place that has been prepared in advance. The two offerings named, burnt offerings and peace offerings (v 1), are seen together in the law. The burnt offering went up entirely to God as "a soothing aroma to the LORD" (Leviticus 1:9); the peace offering was shared, with portions for God, for the priest, and for the worshiper, who ate it "before the LORD" (Leviticus 7:15; Deuteronomy 12:7). One offering gave everything to God; the other provided for the the Levites and the people as well. Both were made before God.
This final detail in verse 1 tells the reader that the ark was now where it belonged. The entire purpose of the ark was to allow a way for the people to come before their God. It was a symbol and reminder that God was with His people in the wilderness, and that He would fulfill all His promises. The ark, the tent, and the law itself were all only symbols—shadows of heavenly things (Hebrews 10:1). The reverence for the ark and the rhythms of worship that David continued in His earthly kingdom point us ultimately to his promised offspring (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Jesus is the only One able to truly bridge the gap between God and man:
"Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;"
(Hebrews 9:23-24).
The next verse shows David acting on the people's behalf: When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD (v 2). To bless in the name of the LORD (v 2) was the work the law assigned to Aaron's sons, who were to "invoke [the LORD's] name on the sons of Israel" (Numbers 6:27). David wore the linen ephod of a worship servant that day (1 Chronicles 15:27), and here he pronounces the blessing. Solomon would do the same at the temple dedication (1 Kings 8:14, 55). The picture of a king who also blesses recalls Melchizedek, the king of Salem who was "a priest of God Most High" and blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-19). Psalm 110, a psalm of David, promises that the coming King will be "a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4), and Hebrews explains that Jesus holds both offices at once (Hebrews 7:1-3, 17). David's blessing in Jerusalem likely gives an early glimpse of that union, with the full reality waiting for his greater Son.
The blessing takes a tangible form: He distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake (v 3). The Hebrew word rendered portion of meat appears only here and in the parallel verse (2 Samuel 6:19), and its meaning is uncertain; the raisin cake, by contrast, was a known delicacy (Hosea 3:1; Song of Solomon 2:5). Whatever the middle item was, the shape of the gift is clear. Everyone, both man and woman (v 3), went home fed from the king's hand on the day God's presence came to the city. Deuteronomy had pictured worship in the chosen place as a meal in which the whole household would "rejoice before the LORD" (Deuteronomy 12:12, 18), and David supplies the meal. The LORD who gives Himself to His people also gives them bread, a pattern Jesus, the Son of David, would repeat on a hillside with loaves and fish (Matthew 14:19-20).