Bible Passage: “Let the trees of the forest sing,
let them sing for joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.” (1 Chronicles 16:33)
Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 16:1-43
When I was a boy, I longed to be like the heroes in my stories.
Whether they were in the books I read, the movies I watched, or even in the Bible, I wanted to be like them. To do the brave and amazing things they did.
That’s not surprising, really. Stories are meant to do that. To capture our imaginations and make us dream of who and what could be.
This is especially true of (some) of the stories in the Bible. We are meant to see in the stories of Scripture the potential of humanity, the potential of ourselves. Scripture gives us models to follow and models to avoid.
David, for the most part, is one that we should follow.
Chronicles does not tell all the stories of David. Goliath and Bathsheba are missing, but remember, Chronicles is telling the story in a particular way and on purpose, and that purpose breaks through in chapter 16.
Throughout the book, the Chronicler has taken great pains to show David as a model king. He is faithful to the Lord and leads the people in humble service. David is the king God wanted and the king God promised, but he was not the fulfillment of the promise that God made.
While Israel flourished under the reign of David and Solomon, they were not the ones for whom Israel was waiting.
David offers a glimpse of the goodness yet to come for Israel. He points forward to the good and ultimate King still to come.
David reveals this coming Messiah in his beautiful prayer after appointing Asaph to lead Israel’s worship. He reveals the Judge who is coming, before whom the forests and the trees sing for joy (1 Chronicles 16:33).
Jesus was always the coming King. David models faithfulness to God in a broken and sinful way but also points forward to the One who will forever change things—the One who will rule in perfect wisdom and lead us in grace and mercy. Under the coming King, there will be no more tears and no more death (Isaiah 25:8).
Along with David, as men who live for the Lord, we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Prayer: God, thank You for the examples You give us in Scripture. Thank You for the ways in which they model faithfulness to You. But thank You most of all for the fact that they point us forward to Jesus, the One whom You sent and through whom we find forgiveness and restoration. Amen.
Reflection: How do you point people toward Jesus?
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