“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 …” (Acts 15:16, NKJV)
We are currently still examining the manifestation of the spirit of perversity in the contemporary church, and are focusing on the seventh myth – the myth that organised praise and worship in the ecclesia is of central importance when praising God.
In the previous teaching we pointed out the prevalent misunderstanding regarding the concept of the Tabernacle of David within this perspective. The Charismatic view, which Michael Moriarity writes about in his book The New Charismatics, is quite disturbing: “Believers will approach God in new ways such as singing in tongues to activate revelations, prophesying in song, dancing rhythmically in the Spirit and all the traditional charismatic methods (hand clapping, raising of hands etc.). Those who resist this restoration of worship will fall short of God’s standard and will continue to operate in a faulty form of worship and will be in danger of the glory of God departing from their churches.”
The inaccurate understanding of what is actually meant by the restoration of the tabernacle of David, the fact that it does not only point to singing, praise and music, but stretches much wider, can be clearly seen from the New Testament context of Acts 15:16. The proponents of the 24/7 praise and worship concept base their argument on 1 Chr. 25, where the Levites passionately played their instruments, “with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God” (verse 6). The music-aspect of the first tabernacle of David, IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, is then uncritically carried over to the last tabernacle of David, or these 24/7 praise and worship centres, without accounting for the changing nature of the tabernacle. In the new covenant the tabernacle/house of God is NO LONGER a building of God, but a believer (Acts 7:48; 17:24; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
Also – the use of the word ‘tabernacle’ in this context clearly refers to the “house of David” (see Isa. 22:22; Luke 1:69), which is used to symbolically portray the throne of David, and this is very clearly seen in Isa. 16:5 – “In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.” Here there is no mention of praise and worship in any way.
To understand why James quotes from Amos 9:11 during the apostolic gathering in Jerusalem, the historical context is of utmost importance. The matter at hand was that the Jewish converts demanded that heathens who converted to the faith had to be circumcised as they themselves had been, according to the law of Moses (verse 1). Paul and Barnabas attended this discussion and tried to gather the support of the other apostles in proposing that circumcision was now a matter of the heart, and no longer a physical, external act (verses 4 and 6; Rom. 2:29). Peter then explains to the audience that salvation occurs through grace, and through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul and Barnabas testify of the amazing wonders of God on their first missionary travel. James then agrees with his brothers and concludes that heathens should be welcomed as part of the ecclesia, even though they are not circumcised, as their hearts have been purified by their faith in Jesus (Acts 15:9-12; 19).
To lend more legitimacy to their argument, James then quotes from Amos 9;11. This deadly argument dealt with the contentious matter once and for all. Clearly James does not argue for an establishing of restoration of the type of praise and worship found in the time of David. No – the issue at stake here is the integration of Jewish and non-Jewish believers, as Gal. 3:28 explains. James uses the reference to the tabernacle of David to point to the prophetic promise of the Bride who derives from all tribes, nations and peoples (Rev. 5:9). It is clear that James’ reference to the tabernacle of David was historically understood, that the heathens were brought into a relationship with God though grace. It is Yahweh’s desire for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). That this is also an Old Testament expectation is clear form Scriptures like Isa. 45:22 and 49:6, amongst others.
But this ‘enlarging’ of God’s agenda to not only focus on the Jews as chosen nation came into being with God’s promise to David, specifically when He makes a promise to establish an eternal throne and kingdom for the “house of David”: “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you; your throne shall be established forever … Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? Then as if this were a little thing in Your eyes, O Lord God, You have spoken also of Your servant’s house in the far distant future. And this is the law for man, O Lord God!” (2 Sam. 16, 18-19, AB).
In his excellent article The Great Commission in the Old Testament, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. makes the following very important remarks: “It is at this point where one of the most sensational texts of Scripture appears, but unfortunately it also happens to be one of the places where most translations go just plain haywire. Literally translated, David exclaims: ‘And this (which God had just declared about David’s house and future) is (or will be) the charter for humanity, O LORD God!’ David instinctively knew what many modern readers of the text have a great deal of difficulty seeing: the son born to David would be one that God personally would be a Father to (II Sam. 7:14) and that this son would be the means of blessing all the nations and families of the earth. This son of David would have a dynasty, a throne and a kingdom that would last forever (II Sam. 7:16). It is this kingdom that would embrace all peoples, including all the Gentiles, if they would only call upon the name of that Man of Promise who was to come.”
David’s house and future will be the charter for all humanity! Clearly this is the context in which James makes the reference to the “tabernacle of David” in Acts 15:16, with no subtext of continual praise and worship. James’ quote from Amos demonstrate to the Jews the spiritual inoculation of the heathens into the ecclesia. He is merely providing a correlation of a historical concept of the “tabernacle of David” with what Paul in Gal. 6:16 calls “the Israel of God”, which includes both Jew and non-Jew. (Also see Rom. 9:6-8.)
The Charismatic claim to the restoration of the tabernacle of David as lasting, organised praise and worship is a misinterpretation and alas not Biblically-founded.
- Selah: Explain to someone the concept ‘the tabernacle of David’.
- Read: 2 Sam. 1-4; Ps. 6; 8-10; 14; 16; 19; 21
- Memorise: 19:1-5
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read Walter C Kaiser Jr’s article: The Great Commission in the Old Testament (available on the internet).
