Acts 15:12-17(NKJV) 12Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 13And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.’
(This week we are privileged to have Dr. Eldon Wilson with us for 3 days. Here are some thoughts about his messages.)
In these verses, there is dispute addressed by the leadership of the church concerning the need for gentile believers to be circumcised once they receive salvation. Both Peter and Paul address the issue by testifying that God accepted the gentiles as they were. Peter cites his experience at the home of Cornelius, a Roman, when God filled the gentiles there with the Holy Spirit. If God would fill people with the Holy Spirit who were uncircumcised, surly the Jewish believers should not require it either.
The conclusion put forth by James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church, was that God had opened the door of salvation to all people and he quoted an Old Testament prophecy from Amos chapter 9. We read that prophecy in verses 16 and 17 above. In it the Lord speaks of the rebuilding the Tabernacle of David. Just what is the Tabernacle of David?
In 2 Samuel 6 we find the story of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. We know that David tried to bring it to the city on a cart, but this was not the way God had commanded the Ark to be carried. After a man named Uzzah was killed trying to keep the Ark steady on the cart, David left with another man, Obed-Edom. When David heard that God blessed Obed-Edom’s house by the Ark’s presence, he went and this time carried to the city on the shoulders of the priests as God had said it should be carried.
We read in this chapter about David’s dancing before the Ark as they came to Jerusalem. We know that David was so exuberant in his praise that it offended his wife. We also know that David told her that he would be even more extreme in worship because God was so deserving of praise. He did not care what she thought or what any person thought. David praised God with all his might.
He put the Ark in a tent prepared for it. This was not the Tabernacle built by Moses. That was in another part of the country. This tent, which was open to all people, was what we call the Tabernacle of David. Today we tend to use this term to speak of Praise and Worship. It has become quite popular to say that the prophecy quoted above from the book of Amos is speaking of the establishment of true worship in the church of Jesus Christ. However, is that what the Tabernacle of David really represents?
Of course, we identify David with praise and worship. In David’s epitaph, God calls him the “sweet psalmist of Israel.” (2 Samuel 23:1) He is famous for singing, playing his instrument and writing words of praise and worship that we sing to this day. It is natural that we would gravitate toward this aspect of David’s life when we see the term “tabernacle of David.” However, that is not the significance of the tent David pitched for the Ark of the Covenant.
Because of the thought that the tabernacle of David represents a certain type or level of worship, the teachings on this tabernacle have done exactly the opposite of what David intended when he brought the ark there to begin with. I believe praise and worship have a pivotal role in the life of any believer. In our church, praise and worship is the element that keys everything else that happens in the service. There is really nothing else that the Lord could not take from us if he so desired. The one thing that must be given freely to God is our honest praise and worship. It is very valuable to him.
However, we are a society that has put music and musical forms in a place that they really should not occupy. We have a musical competition on television that we chose to call “American Idol.” We do not call it “American Musician” or “American Singer.” We know that the best, or at least the most popular, musicians and singers among us take on idol status in our society. This is not something to be proud of. It reflects a real problem in our attitude toward music.
This attitude has found its way into the church as well. We have Christian musicians who have gained the “idol” status. We exalt them for their talent, but sometimes we find that their lifestyle does not warrant our devotion. By elevating their talent, we endanger their personal growth and character. We do not want to hear that they are less than perfect. They are great musicians. That should be enough. When one of our “Christian idols” falls into sin, one of two things will happen.
We may be devastated that one of our heroes is not all we expected. Some will follow them into the same sin. More troubling is that they are often excused and not held accountable for their sin. Talent or ability becomes a substitute for character and holiness. God uses the former but demands the latter.
There was a time when praise and worship music was separate from Christian performance. Praise and worship was about participation and coming into the presence of God. Today, praise and worship music is big business. Unfortunately, the same attitude that surrounds other kinds of music has come into praise and worship as well. More and more we hear about how we should worship. There are seminars that tell us how to write songs, how to play them so they will be affective in stirring emotions. We have technical workshops about playing instruments and singing.
All of this is fine in its place, but some tend to think that this emphasis on the “how’s” of praise and worship is the establishment of the tabernacle of David. We quote the Prophet Amos and say that because our praise and worship is of such high quality it will produce the great end time harvest of souls as the “plowman overtakes the reaper.” (Amos 9:13) It is true that the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David in verses 11 and 12 will lead to a harvest of souls from all the earth. It is true that the plowman, or the one who prepares the earth for seed, will overtake the reaper because the seed will grow and be harvested so quickly. Jesus pointed to this in the promise for our city that we quoted last week.
John 4:35(NKJV) 35Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
However, what is the tabernacle of David. Is it a certain skill level of praise and worship? Is it a certain type of worship? To require either means some cannot enter in. That is the antithesis of what praise and worship should be. Praise and worship is an offering that anyone must be able to give. It is an offering that the worst singer or the one who cannot keep time must be free to bring to the Lord. Types and forms exclude, but true worship includes.
In today’s verse, we see no mention of the praise and worship. In Amos, we see no mention of praise and worship. We need the tabernacle of David to be functioning in our day if we will see the harvest. The question remains. If it is not a type of praise and worship, what is the tabernacle of David? Come back tomorrow.
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