Introduction

After King David had taken Jerusalem, he wished to add to its prestige by making it a religious, as well as a political and military, center. So it was appropriate for him to bring there the ark, the sacred object of the northern tribes, and now the symbol of the national God. He knew that this would help people to acknowledge that Jerusalem was the "dwelling-place" of God.

The sacred symbol had remained under shelter at Kiriath-jearim in the house of Abinadab since the disastrous battles of Samuel’s time. So David and his men went to retrieve it and to make its journey to Jerusalem a national affair, as the large numbers of people present indicates (verse 1).

With this large company of chosen men, David carried the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the hous…