Give Thanks to the LordPRIVATE 

1 Chronicles 16:1-43

Key Verse: 16:34 

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Two weeks ago I went to a swap meet on Lakewood and Firestone and bought two pairs of birds. I asked the owner of the pet shop, "Give me birds, male and female, that make the most joyful sound." The lady pointed to one. I bought them for $55 and they are with me in my backyard. Each time I think about birds I am reminded of the way in which my ancestors in Korea used to describe the noises birds make: they always say, "Oh, birds are crying." But after studying the Bible, my view changed. They are NOT crying. They are singing. They give thanks to the Lord. So this morning when I went out to the backyard the birds (whom I call Frederica and Pavarotti) greeted me. Frederica said, "Good morning!" Pavarotti said, "Praise the Lord." Freddy sang, "The Lord is good." Pavarotti responded, "His love endures forever." 

But we do not see people praising the Lord all the time. Rather, although the Lord blessed men with tons of blessings, they still cry out like cry babies. 

How then can we give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances? How can we sing joyful songs to the Lord from morning till evening? 

First, for praising the Lord we must first understand who the Lord is.

What King David did in this chapter (1Ch 16) is comparable to what the American forefathers did in writing the Constitution of this nation; they built it on Biblical principles such as "One nation under God" or "All men are equal [before God]". In the passage King David reached a point where, through the Lord's help, he brought the Israelites to be united under the God of Israel. King Saul had died, and so David took over the leadership fully. After getting himself inaugurated as the King of Israel, one of the first things he did was to bring the ark of the God of Israel to Jerusalem. It was on this occasion that he wrote "this Psalm of thanksgiving." Just like the early founders of this nation so also David composed the psalm and gave it to the Lord’s servants so that the nation under David's rule would constantly praise the name of the Lord. 

Let us stop for a moment and think about the significance of the ark. This ark is called the ark of God (or the Lord) of Israel. This ark then is equated with God himself. In the Bible the Lord God gave us many different ways to know who he is. The ark is one of these ways. The ark handily conveys to us who God is. It will take days, weeks, even months of study to fully dig into and understand all the meanings of the ark on the God of Israel. But for now, we would like to think about two things:

1) God is the God of love.

Inside the ark are the two stone tablets that contain Moses' Ten Commandments. These Commandments reflect who God is. When Jesus same he said that the essence of the Law of Moses is love. Speaking of this truth Jesus said that we are called to love our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Likewise we ought to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In Greek the word 'love' is agape, which refers not to a self-seeking love, but a selfless love, a love that desires to seek the highest good of the one you love. 

The Bible says that God is love. Speaking of God's selfless love, the Apostle John says, "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

Jesus Christ is the highest good he knows we need. God sent Jesus Christ, for he knows that without the meaningful fellowship with the Christ, Jesus the Savior, man will never be satisfied. King Solomon deeply understood this truth, so he said, "What a man desires is unfailing love." Then he said, "Many a man claims to have unfailing love. But a faithful man, who can find?" Through a prophetic insight he saw the deepest longing of all men, that is, the longing for unfailing love. And in Jesus Christ alone can we find this unfailing love. This love quenches the deepest needs of the soul. When one finds this love, then one is no longer thirsty. He no longer feels dissatisfied or insufficient. Although he might live in poverty, still he can give thanks 24/7. Like Luciano Pavarotti or Frederica Fonstade, he or she can sing joyful songs of music all the time, praising the Lord for his total goodness!

2) God is the God of power.

Also hidden in the ark is Aaron’s staff that budded overnight. At this moment, I would like to have the congregation rise and read Numbers 17:1-10 responsively. Notice that Aaron’s staff not only budded or blossomed but produced almonds, and the Lord did this "overnight"! Why then did the Lord give this sign? V. 10 says that this miracle is a sign to the rebellious, those who continually grumble against the Lord. What does this mean? The Lord says that this sign is for the rebellious (or for those who are dissatisfied and keep grumbling) because again he knows the way he made man, that is, man has the desire to fulfill what is noble and praiseworthy. We can see this truth in Genesis 1, that is, man being created in God's image. One of the consequences of the image of God imbedded in a man is the desire to fulfill what is noble and praiseworthy. God is the master of all that are excellent. This idea is reflected in the English word "excel" for the English word 'excel' has its origin in Hebrew, that is, "out of God" [Ex denotes out of, and el stands for God.] If anything is directly from God, it is excellent. Look around yourselves and think about what God does: Birds singing, flowers blooming, the sunset, rainbows, the four seasons, night skies studded with stars. But topping all of these great masterpieces of God's world of creation is seen in Aaron's staff. 

One of the imports this sign gives out is the ability for it to transform ingrates into cheerful children of God, children singing and praising the Lord all the time, for Aaron’s staff uniquely connects people living in a limited world into the unlimited. God is the source of all the resources. He can make a dry rod bud, blossom, and produce almonds 'overnight.’ When one comes to know the Lord, who performed this miracle overnight, in person, one no longer lives as a crybaby. He lives as a source of blessing. When all seem falling short, he sees what is full, rich, and abundant, overflowing with all the riches of his grace. Then he no longer fights with others. 

In our generation many people fight for a position, power, or money. Consider how the New York stock market goes up and down, depending upon how oil prices behave. People of the West fight with people of the East over what is limited and vice versa. 

Remember: Aaron's staff budded, blossomed, and produced almonds overnight. This miracle convinces us to live with "resurrection” faith, faith that believes in the hope of Israel, that is, the Lord Jesus coming back again and ushering believers into the perfected world, where there are no more pains, no more sorrows, no more tears. 

Once upon a time there lived in Israel a fine young man. His name was Saul. From birth he was endowed with what are finest of all that are fine - Jewish treasures, that is, the Scriptures, a bright mind, a good spiritual heritage, such as the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. With his bright mind and strong will power he made his way to the top. He acquired fame, reputation, power and wealth. But still he remained unhappy. For one thing, he could not control lustful desires. In deep agony, he said, "I do not know what I am doing. When I want to do what is good, I end up doing what is evil. What a wretched man I am!" 

Nowadays a lot of young college students cry out like this. In this electronic age, they find all the destructive attractions everywhere, especially on the internet. When they are supposed to focus on what they are supposed to be doing, such as their school studies, they end up getting involved in what they are not supposed to be doing such as computer games, drugs, pornography, and gang violence. The situation is no different with adults. There is an old man. He is in his seventies. Since he built a successful career, he was able to set aside enough money to enjoy his sunset years. But since he does not have the hope of the resurrected life, day in and day out he spends his time searching the internet, rummaging through garbage. Youth means the young population who do not know what they do not know. But according to Confucius, when you reach the age 60 finally you come to know the purpose of life. So when you are in your sixties or seventies, with all the wise things you have learned, you can live a life that is productive. 

Remember: Aaron’s staff produced almonds overnight. This means that when one comes to know the Lord, the God of the power without a limit, regardless of environments or human conditions, such as age, you can live a life that is productive, working to benefit many, just like the Jewish young man Saul who after meeting the Risen Lord, came to live a life that is truly fulfilling. And the works he fulfilled, such as the four prison epistles, especially the book of Ephesians, are all "marvelous." Just one reading of the first chapter of the book of Ephesians is sufficient to bring you to the heavens of exhilaration!

[The ark also contains the golden jar holding manna. Manna stands for the word of God. Study of the Bible helps fallen men to meet the God of creation and redemption.]

Second, daily we must incorporate into our lives the vision of the Lord. by making in our hearts joyful music to the Lord.

After offering sacrifices on the altar before the Lord, David gave food to the people gathered there and blessed them. He then appointed servants serving at the Lord's temple (before the ark and at the Tabernacle which was at Gibeon). Listed in 1 Chronicles 16 are the two classes of people: priests, and some of the Levites dedicated to praising the Lord with musical instruments (lyres, cymbals, trumpets, etc.). For that purpose, David provided for them this psalm of thanksgiving. Both the priests and Levites worked together to lead the congregation through the worship of the God of Israel, offering prayers, singing songs of praising his name as well as his good deeds, all of his wonderful works in heavens and on earth, in the generations past and in the generations to come. 

The point we can learn for thanksgiving is the wisdom of constancy in giving thanks to the Lord. King David instituted into the lives of the Israelites giving thanks "every day," "regularly," and "morning and evening." By institutionalizing the way of worship, prayer and supplications, thanks and praise, David systematically got the way of God incorporated into the reality here on earth among his children. 

Knowing who God is, is one thing, and living it out daily is another. One can go to a church Sundays, listen to beautiful sermons, and yet when Monday comes, he can live like pagans, arguing or complaining. In fact, we see this happening all the time and this is among religious people. What David did however teaches us the way to overcome this nonsense. The key to David's wisdom is to remember who God is, and sing it out loudly with all our hearts, our souls, and our minds. And we must do it collectively. We need to do it together, so that the whole society would continue to sing the greatness of God as members of a grand orchestra. Imagine Obama, in Washington DC, starting out his day singing songs of praise. Then he does the same thing as he leaves his office. Imagine that this happens not just at the oval office, but throughout the nation: at the church, at every city hall, in public squares, at schools, and at home. 

See what David called the Israelites to do: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts." He got all the priests organized into twenty-four orders. He appointed 288 music directors serving music at the Lord's temple. Imagine this happening in this great nation the United States of America all the time. Wouldn’t the Lord bless this nation and her people? But sadly enough, we do not see this happening. But we can start out small from where we are: at home, at each fellowship, at each college campus. And in so doing, we keep one thing in mind: our God is a holy God. The God who sent Jesus Christ is the God of infinite perfection. When we always think about the God of all excellence, his ideals (what his name represents) will be reflected first in our spirit, then in our mind, then in our words and actions. In this way we can incorporate God into the reality of our day to day lives. So during the Thanksgiving season, by all means, let us consider what David set as the national direction for the United Kingdom of Israel.

 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. We give thanks to the Lord for what he has done in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lamb of God. We used to live as sinners, and in many ways we still remain rebellious, complaining about this or that. When things go well, we sing and praise. But when things do not go so well, we stop thanking the Lord and start complaining. We doubt his love, and become unthankful. But David was different. In good times and bad times, especially bad times, in firm belief in God's unfailing love, he sang songs of praise. During the Thanksgiving season, may the Lord bless us to learn from David's example and grow as children of God giving thanks to the Lord in all circumstances.

One word: his love endures forever

     Consider how many different names the God of Israel is given in the Bible. 

 

 

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