Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 11, 2019): 1
Chronicles 13
Some Democratic Presidential hopefuls in the United States want to
repeal the Electoral College. And the arguments on both sides of the situation
are beginning to heat up. But the truth is that most Democracies - supporters
of the Electoral College in the United States are quick to point out that the
United States is not a Democracy, but rather a Republic – have some kind of system that behaves in a similar way to
the Electoral College in the United States. The idea behind these mechanisms is
to give different regions of a nation a say in the public dialogue, rather than
having every decision decided by the population centers of the country.
In the United States, some experts are admitting
that the call for the abolition of the Electoral College is a great appeal in a
rally situation to gain the applause of the crowds. But that it is equally true
that few of those applauding have any idea the purpose that the nation's
founders had in mind when they introduced the Electoral College, or what it
would take to abolish it. The reality is that the call for the repeal of the College is
only an applause line. And it is unlikely that it will ever be anything more.
David calls for the people of Israel to bring the Ark of the
Covenant back into the heartland of the nation.
The word “Ark” means merely a box or
chest. In this case, the ark or chest of God was a wood box that was just under
four feet long and just over two feet
high and wide. The call to bring the Ark back into the tabernacle and the heart
of the worship in Israel was a popular idea and gained the applause of the
people. But the plan also came with a
problem.
The Ark of God had been created four hundred years earlier and had
existed in the tabernacle, for more than three hundred years after its
creation. But seventy years earlier, the Ark had been lost to the Philistines.
It had come back to Israel shortly afterward
but was no longer placed in the Holy of
Holies of the Tabernacle. So as David proposes to bring the Ark back to the
Tabernacle, but the problem is that no one, including David, had any real idea
how to do it. The priests who had been responsible for the care of the Ark
seventy years earlier were gone. Bringing the Ark back to Jerusalem was not
impossible, but it was also not going to be easy. At this moment in time, the
proposal to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem and the center of religious life in
Israel was an applause line and, for a while, that is all that it could be.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 14
Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my Sister, Cheri.
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