Yesterday we talked about how the Sacred Tent at Shiloh was neglected to the point where it didn’t even have a roof and the floor was made up of stones.
Later, according to the historical records, around 1000 B.C., King David took possession of the Ark of the Covenant and just stored it in a common tent.
This is interesting because it raises the question of why didn’t David just relocate the Wilderness Tabernacle to his headquarters?
And we don’t hear about the Priests and Levites complaining about this either and they should of.
Why?
Because think about it.
The most sacred object in Israel’s history was not only being handled by common Israelites but was now being controlled by a king who hailed from Judea instead of the proper Levitical High Priest.
The only real answer to this question of why no one objected is that by this point in time, the Wilderness Tabernacle must have been in shambles.
The curtains, originally stunning in their beauty, were now worn out and filled with holes.
Most likely they had been replaced with cheap, substitute coverings or heck, maybe they weren’t even replaced at all.
But that’s not the worst of it.
The priesthood wasn’t operating as it should have been according to the Torah at this time and things only got worse once the office of king was established in Israel.
Saul was the first king followed by David (who is the pattern of Messiah by the way).
The truth be told, once a kingship was established in Israel, we shouldn’t be too surprised there was trouble in figuring out just what type of government structure would be suitable in terms of dividing up the authority and duties of the King and the Priesthood.
In other words, the big question was…
…who should be responsible for what in Israel?
Keep in mind the Lord had not intended for Israel to have a normal king as was the way of the gentile nations.
He ended up giving them a king because the people begged Him for one but the result more often than not was confusion and chaos rather than peace and calm.
This is to be expected when we start questioning and tinkering with God’s original plans for us and try to replace His plans with our plans.
And sometimes the Lord will allow us to have our way (as He did with Israel when He allowed them to have a king) to teach us a lesson that at the end of the day His Way is always the perfect way for every area of our life.
Amen.