Address—Doug Buchanan
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Open our meeting with him #184.
Love the simplicity of this hymn as to the person of the Lord Jesus.
184 and we're just going to sing the 1St 3 verses.
There is.
Praying all to stay in heaven.
And.
Like you say, how are you doing all afternoon? All afternoon?
Before we get into our subject.
The meeting place, God's meeting place. I've got a question.
Before coming over here, I was looking at the map of the state of Missouri.
The show me state.
There are over 1400.
Cities or towns in the state of Missouri.
Now I have traveled North and South and east and West in the state of Missouri and visited a good number of those.
But probably not much more than 100 or so.
But I wanna tell you tonight or this afternoon that.
I'm thinking of A1 particular city or town.
In Missouri, that's special to me.
And I'm going to ask someone here to tell me.
What the name of that city is?
I'm not going to describe to you what that city is like. I will tell you that.
I like it.
I would love to go there.
And umm, I have found.
Umm, precious things visiting that city.
Can someone from the state of Missouri tell me what the name of that city is?
Describe it a little bit more closely.
Fenton.
Out of 1400 and some cities, a brother told me the name of the city that was on my heart.
A computer ano analysis couldn't do that.
What are the odds of someone telling me the name of that city?
One in so many million, probably.
And yet a brother tells me.
What I have on my heart speak on.
A city.
There is a place.
God looks down to this world and he chose a place.
To gather his Saints together, He did it in the Old Testament.
And he's done it in our day, too.
Is it a difficult thing to figure out where that is?
What's the secret to finding that place?
Will careful analysis of doctrine.
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Of teaching a gift.
Or all these other things combined guide us to that place.
Is that how a brother could tell me that name?
You know the answer.
God has chosen a place.
It's a wonderful thing to discover that.
It's not our intellect, our gift.
Or careful reading of our Bible necessarily in itself.
That's going to reveal to us.
Where the Lord God would have us meet with Him.
It's snowing the heart of God.
That will give us to know where that place is.
Not even necessarily what goes on on that place.
How wonderful it is to learn to know the heart of God.
And then figure out that place.
Yes, He gathers sinners, and he takes them and puts them into the best place, and it's all his work.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. This wonderful verse that has been close to our hearts for many years and being gathered to the Lord's name is a dear subject. But what I'm going to bring before our souls today is not so much from the Newt, oh, the New Testament.
We're going to be almost exclusively in the Old Testament.
As an example.
Of these things that we're talking about, let's begin in reading a verse in Exodus chapter 25 where I believe for the first time in the Bible we have God speaking about.
A gathering place.
It doesn't come out in the book of Genesis, but it comes out after redemption in the book of Exodus.
In Exodus chapter 25 and verse 8.
Let them make me a sanctuary.
That I may dwell among them.
Jehovah God of Israel.
Is revealing himself to the people.
That he had redeemed out of Egypt.
And he wants to dwell with them.
This is our God too.
He wants to dwell with his creature, his people, and He's made provision for that.
Deuteronomy.
Chapter 12 To continue, it's my purpose to trace through some scriptures in the Old Testament on this subject.
Showing the exercises that God put different people through.
So they would realize that place where he wanted to dwell with them.
These are principles that show us God's way.
Deuteronomy chapter 12.
And verse 10.
But when ye go over Jordan and well in the land.
Which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit. And when he giveth rest, you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety. Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. Thither shall ye bring all that I command you, your burnt offerings and your sacrifices.
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Your ties, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows, which he vow unto the Lord.
Moses spoke these words near the close of his lifetime, before the children of Israel got into the land.
That he was going to give them the land of Canaan and he.
Told Moses that when they got into the land, he would choose a place.
To meet with them and when he did so, then they were to go to that place.
And offer their sacrifices.
Jehovah, the God of Israel, dwelling with them, wanting the company.
The sacrifices and all that they spoke of, which we know in reality speak about the work of the Lord Jesus, but it was a picture beforehand of that which was to follow and so.
This was the instructions given to the people of Israel.
I found a very interesting to trace this through.
How the people of Israel found that.
You know, there are two places in particular that come that we're going to notice as we follow this through.
We're going to notice something about Shiloh.
And then we're going to notice about Jerusalem.
The Ark of the Lord was particularly in those two places.
First of all, they went to Shiloh.
But that was not.
The in place that the Lord had chosen.
You know, this morning we had read to us those beautiful verses in Genesis about Abraham and Isaac and Abraham going up to that place.
We see there God revealing to Abraham who walked by faith.
Faith which was obedient.
And God gave him.
A beautiful expression of fellowship to.
Share together with God.
And what God was going to do one day in a future day when he was going to give his son.
To be the sacrifice.
I don't believe in glory. There's gonna be anybody.
Quite like Abraham in fellowship with God.
In what Abraham went through.
The soul searching of his heart.
The yielding Ness.
And having something to share in common.
With God.
The Father and the Son.
This is what God wants to bring his people into.
It isn't just finding a place.
It's relationship fellowship.
God wants our fellowship.
Yours and mine.
You know, sometimes it's hard for us to get to that place.
He needs to work with us. It took a long time in the history of Israel.
For them to find that place.
Which, by the way, ends up being the same place.
Where Abraham offered up Isaac, Mount Moriah.
Close to Jerusalem.
The Temple Mount.
Where Solomon built the temple.
Let's, umm, let's go on.
And we're going to read a number of scriptures.
Let's go on to the book of uh.
Joshua.
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Chapter 15.
Joshua chapter 15 and verse 63.
As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out. But the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.
Why did God write this verse right here?
Well, I believe in part.
It was because he had this place in view.
Any comments that?
The children of Israel had not yet taken possession of this particular place. It was still in the hands of the enemy.
There is an enemy.
There is an opposition to God's desire to fellowship with his people.
For us, it's not a natural physical enemy, it's a spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places.
There's nothing more than Satan and his hosts would seek to do.
Than to keep the Lord's people from enjoying.
Fellowship with Jesus Christ and God.
And so that's why there's warfare.
That's why this truth has to be held to firmly.
Our convictions need to be sure and firm. We need to remember that you just can't go with the flow.
And expect to end up.
In close proximity to God.
It won't take you there. There's opposition, there's battles to be fought.
And so go on passing on over to the book of judges, you know, there's the same thing.
In chapter one and verse 21, they could not drive out the Jebusites. They were the children of the curse that had been cursed. And uh, like similar to what was read this morning concerning the times of Noah when God repented and judgment must fall. It was the only remedy for the wickedness that was there. And so it was with the lands of the inhabitants of Palestine.
Abraham had to live his whole life and Isaac and Jacob too as pilgrims and strangers because iniquity of the amorite wasn't full.
But in Joshua's time.
It was that time was ripe for judgment and it was to be given to God's chosen people.
And it was an act of obedience on Joshua's part to go out and take the land.
There's an enemy.
There's an interesting little story in the Book of Judges.
Uh, we'll briefly notice it just for a comment. Chapter 19. This is a very sad chapter, and we're not gonna get into the details of the chapter, but I wanna call attention to one thing.
About Jerusalem.
This chosen city that God had in mind to put his name there.
And Uh Ju and the Book of Judges, chapter 19 and verse 11.
We have a man traveling with his wife going back to his home.
And it got dark and he had to find a place to stay into lodge.
And they passed by Jerusalem. Notice what it says.
And then and when they were by Jebus, now that's.
The That's the Canaanite name for Jerusalem. The day was far spent, And the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in unto this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside. Hit her into the city of a stranger that is not of the children of Israel. We were Passover to.
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Gippya.
This is rather sad.
The very city that God had chosen to place his name still in the hands of the Jebusites.
You know, as the as the people gathered to the Lord's name.
Because of our failure.
Because of our not laying hold as we should to our possession as being gathered to the Lord's name, there's many a people of God.
They cannot find lodging.
Can't be fed or they aren't fed.
Because we haven't taken possession.
We haven't held up the Assembly of God as it ought to be held up.
And the many of a.
Passer by a neighbor, A Christian friend.
Come to the meeting and they don't see.
The right representation that they ought to see. They can't lodge there. There's been many a St. that's been wounded and driven away, as it were. Perhaps not rightly so, but still because of sensitivities.
Find it very difficult to come to God's meeting place.
That's sad.
I believe it's true though, today as it was then.
If we ever start focusing brethren on our side of the meeting place, we always have to hang our heads with shame.
But there's another side to look at it from, and that's God's side.
God is faithful.
God worked over the years to make this place Jerusalem.
Very clearly known as God sent her.
And it didn't really happen until the end of David, King David's time.
That it was so.
How many 100 years was that?
Close to 500.
4500 I believe.
Hasn't been different in the church history either, I don't believe.
Now I want to go back to the book of Joshua again. In chapter 18 we spoke about Shiloh.
That's where the arc.
Of the Lord first ended up.
Joshua, chapter 18.
Verse one.
They have. They have entered into the land. They have taken possession of a good part of it under the leadership of Joshua. Now they're getting ready to describe the land, to divide it up between the 10 tribes. They're 9 1/2 tribes.
Says in verse one, and the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle of the congregation there, and the land was subdued before them.
And there remained among the children of Israel 7 tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.
And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go?
To possess the land which the Lord God of your Father's hath given you, give out from among you three men for each tribe. And I will send them. And they shall rise and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them. And they shall come again to me, and they shall divide it into seven parts.
Judah in their coast and so on, and then dropped down to verse eight and the men arose and went away. Joshua charged them that they.
That went to describe the land, saying go and walk through the land and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the Lord at Shiloh.
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This is a wonderful part in their history.
God was fulfilling what he had promised to give them the land.
We can certainly say that in Christian, in Christianity even more so. God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings.
In heavenly places, He's given us a good land. There are many wonderful truths to enjoy.
But I suggest to you that this is not in itself the basis.
Of finding that place that the Lord has chosen.
It wasn't Shiloh that God had chosen to place his name.
This was a provisional place along the way. This was the place where they divided up the land.
If I could just make an application of it in this way.
There is such a thing as using the truth of God.
To describe where you mean.
Without the realization of where the Lord Jesus is.
There are many groups gathered together on wonderful, good biblical principles.
But when we get to heaven, we're not just going to be talking about doctrine and biblical truths.
When a couple gets married, they don't just enjoy this the code of conduct that the husband and the wife are going to share through the rest of their life and use that as a standard of their relationship.
No.
There's a higher level of dealing together with things in a human relationship.
And there is with God too. These are wonderful things. And without this land.
Yes, they couldn't find the meeting place, but this doesn't in itself.
Lead.
Or if we stop at this point.
We've come short.
Of God's meeting place.
How was it that our brother?
New the name of the town I was thinking of.
He knew something about me.
The way I gather, he knew something about my interests.
And he was able to come up with the name of that city.
If I had to ask anybody else in the town of Saint Louis.
I didn't know me. I don't think they could have come up with the right answer.
It's so wonderful, brethren, to get to know our God.
What he's like.
What he desires, what he loves.
What do you have, ******? And the more we get to know him.
The easier it is to see his instruction and guiding hand.
You cannot, I do not believe, rightly fine.
The place of the Lord's choice of meeting together with his own, without knowing the God.
The Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's a wonderful way to learn something.
And so they described the land here.
And if I did it?
I'll just pass on my my comment about why Shiloh was, uh, where the arc remained for a long time.
I kind of have looked at it this way.
The Ark ended up there by default.
You know, there are many, there are many Christians that end up where they are meeting by default.
Circumstances just.
Happened that way and they take it. I've heard Christians say, oh, I was converted, converted with brothers, so and so. That's where I'm going to stay. All my life I've heard others say my mother was a devout so and so, and I'm not gonna give up that religion.
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Default.
You can end up at the right place even by default.
Thank God that if you do.
It's a wonderful thing, but it's even it's better.
Individually, every one of us.
Get to know him.
And I I believe your convictions will be.
Firm.
On what you personally have found through the knowledge.
Of the Lord Jesus and of the Father, as it says, as the truth is in Jesus. You see, truth is not independent of a person.
The truth of God is best known and developed in relationship with the person who brings us where we are, Jesus.
Let's, umm, notice, uh, let's go over to the Book of Psalms.
And Psalm 78.
Interesting 2 verses here written many years later about Shiloh.
Psalm 78 and verse.
We'll begin with.
Verse 59.
When God heard this, he was wroth and greatly abhorred Israel, so that He forsook the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men, and delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand. He gave his people over also unto the sword, and was wroth with his inheritance.
The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not given to marriage.
Their priest fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
He smote his enemies in the hinder parts. He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover, he refused the Tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion.
Which he loved.
And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he had hath established forever. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the she caught sheepfolds, and so on.
Here we have a commentary on the history that had happened.
We're going to go back and notice a detail or two about this in the book of Samuel.
When they had lost the sense of the Lord's presence.
And the Ark was taken captive.
God was teaching the people of Israel.
They still had not found that place, that permanent place.
In Jerusalem, where?
He would have a permanent dwelling place on Earth for his people.
And so I believe we can take learn principles in the in in, in this regard, the Lord has to put us through lots of trials sometimes.
Whether it's to unlearn or to to learn.
It's his faithfulness that did that with Israel.
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He was so patient.
He, uh, put up with a lot.
Going back then to First Samuel.
I want to notice something there in chapter 3.
Let me just find the verses here.
And verse chapter 3 and verse 21 and then we'll turn on over to the, uh, the.
The umm.
The 4th chapter.
Verse three, Chapter 3, Verse 21. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
Now down in Chapter 4.
And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before?
The Philistines let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh.
Unto us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims, and so on. You know the story, I'm not going to read more of it. But they were battling the children of Israel, battling with the Philistines.
And.
They had lost the sense of the presence of the Lord and looked at the ark.
Could I say as like a charm or like a protective hand over them, that if they brought that art into the army of Israel?
Then their enemies would be defeated.
And the Lord let the ark be taken captive.
And fall into the hands of the Philistines.
It's a sad thing.
When we use.
Statements about the presence of the Lord.
To justify.
Or give us strength.
Or give deliverance.
This was a very wrong thing to do.
I wanna mention a contrast to this. It it which should come out at the close of the meeting, but I'm going to go ahead and mention it now, something that I believe I see that stands in contrast with this.
Using the Ark of the Lord.
Has an emblem or a position among us of the people of God to give them deliverance.
Without the proper respect to what the art stood for.
The art.
That is, God was not that physical wood and gold, that was the ark was composed of.
The gold and the wood represented his presence, and, uh, he could dwell there when it was properly.
Maintained in due order, but they had lost the sense of proper respect for the Lord's presence.
They went on with the form. They still had the object, the ark there.
But they had lost the sense of the Lord's presence.
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And it tells itself out by their behavior.
Can God condone this?
No.
Well.
David in contrast to this when he had failed.
Late in his life and this really happened.
Not too long before.
He discovered where the ark was supposed to dwell forever.
His son rose up in a rebellion against David. Absalom rose up and David had to flee.
And when he was fleeing?
The high priest came with the ark and said I want to go with you and take the ark along.
And David said no.
Put it back in its place.
If the Lord delight in me, he'll bring me back to it.
You know, brethren, we can make ourselves the focal point.
And when we do so.
The Lord, as it were, hast accommodate to us, and David would have nothing of that.
No.
If God was going to allow judgment to come in, it wasn't the ark of the Lord's fault, and he wouldn't cling to the ark of the Lord as his salvation.
He would let the Lord be where the Lord chose his place to be, and he would not make the ark revolve around himself.
Just to be practical, brethren, on Lord's Day morning.
Is it just a matter of convenience not to go sometimes with us to meet the Lord?
When we do that.
If it's not convenient to go today.
We're really giving the Lord second place.
David would not do that.
And so he sends the ark back.
And the priest stays there with it, and God works.
And it was true. David had failed, and that's the reason this had happened to him.
When one of his sons and David lost four sons because of his failure, and this was one of them.
But he submits to it.
And the Lord brings him back.
Back in the book of early book, early part of Samuel, where we're reading when Eli's sons were so wicked.
The ark was taken, and the glory of the Lord departed.
And so that introduces another phase of the history of the ark. It went down among the children of the Philistines. And is God able to stand up for his rights and to make his holy presence known? Yes, he is, and he did if Israel failed. God makes His Holiness known.
And so it finally came to the Philistines. They they couldn't have the ark anymore there, and they want to send it back, and they're made to send it back with an offering. And so the art begins this course back again.
Still took a number of years before it got to the place where the Lord wanted it.
And David was instrumental in the in the, in that.
First Samuel, chapter 6.
Umm.
Verse 20.
The Ark comes back.
Well, let's let's begin in verse 19.
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First Samuel 619 And he smote that his God Jehovah smote them in the best shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. Even he smote of the people. 50,000 and three score and 10 men.
And the people amended because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
And the men of Bashima said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?
And to whom shall?
He go up before us.
And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Jerome, saying the Philistines had brought again the ark of the Lord.
Come ye down and fetch it up to you.
Who is able to stand before the ark of the Lord?
God is teaching them.
Of His Holiness.
You see, this is what they had forgotten, and when the ark just became an IT, it may save us.
Now they're learning something about the holiness of God.
They realize it.
God is teaching them. He is bringing them to know who he is. Oh, it's a wonderful thing to have a God that teaches like this.
He does that in the Christian age too. He teaches us. He brings us along.
Makes his holy presence known.
The first reaction may be to flee, not to want that presence. But.
It's kind of like Peter when he came into the presence of the Lord the first time, or one of the first times, and he realized who the Lord was. What did he say? He said department from me.
Oh, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
Did Peter really want the Lord to leave?
Don't blame SO.
But he realized something of his own, being who he was.
And the Lord didn't leave, He bore with Peter.
This is our God teaching us about His Holiness.
But there is beauty in holiness.
There is wonderful fellowship in holiness with God.
They're learning that.
Now we'll pass on over to Second Samuel.
Chapter 6.
And uh.
Verse.
Verse one.
Again David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel.
30,000.
And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Bailey of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts.
That dwelleth between the cherubim. And they set the ark of God upon a new card, and brought it out of the House of Abinadab. That was in Gibeah, and Oza and a hijo, the sons of Abinadab drove the cart.
And they brought it out of the House of Abinadab, which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God, and Ohio went before the ark.
And then then, uh, dropping down.
And, umm.
Verse 6 and when they came to.
Nakon's threshing floor as a put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxygen shook it.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against us, and God smote him there for his air, and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon us, and he called the name of the place Perazzo to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?
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The wrong reference point. The Ark of God come to me.
What's wrong with that?
The wrong reference point.
The arc, the presence of the Lord, is the focal point.
God brings us there and we go there.
I believe Joshua learned a little bit of that principle when the Lord spoke to him the first time, when he he met him as an armed soldier. And Joshua said, art thou for us or for our adversaries?
An Angel of the Lord says nay, that is captain of the host of the Lord.
Am I come now? Come take off thy shoes.
From thy feet, for the place thou standard is holy ground.
This is holy ground, brother, the presence of the Lord.
It's not to be played with lightly. We're not to make our position the reference point. How shall the ark of God come unto me?
David is learning this too, but I believe he did learn it.
And he didn't stop and we, we're not going to read the whole history, but you know, the history of how later on he, he saw it again and he, he realized, he said we sought it not after the due order. You see, he consulted with the captains when he should have consulted with the priests and the Lord.
It's not a matter of man's warfare. It's not a matter here of battle.
There are wars to be fought.
There are battles to be fought.
Let's go back and.
In chapter 4.
I want to read it something. This just came before me just a few minutes ago before we started this meeting and just pass it on.
Second Samuel 5 and verse 6.
And the king and his men went up to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, Except I'll take away the blind and the lame, Thou shalt not come in. Hit her, thinking David cannot come in, hit her. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, the same as the city of David. Now turn over to the book of Chronicles. I want to notice a little detail there.
Umm, First Chronicles Chapter 11.
Notice what David says this occasion, verse 6.
And David said, Whosoever smiteeth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.
So Joab, the son of Zeruaya, went up first and was chief.
Interesting little detail here. We all know what Joab was like.
Some have said Joab knew he couldn't be first, so he wanted to be second.
And he did.
He got to be second, first under David, that is, you know, there's there's such a thing among the God's people, recognizing the Lord is first.
But a desire to want to be second to him.
And this LED Joab to be most valiant of the mall and he got the position.
Sometimes God uses warrior men like that to get his purposes done.
But I don't believe Johab properly laid hold of the presence of the Lord in Israel.
It's not a lone warrior strength that will guide us to the Lord's place. The Lord sometimes does need to use valiant men, men of faith, and so there's more to it than that. David was a man after the Lord's heart.
00:55:05
And he's the one who found out that place. And so at the end of his life, umm, when he had offered up the sacrifice, David could say, well, let's in closing, read in the, uh, in, uh, I can find it the end of SEC Second Samuel. Uh, our time is.
Up here, but uh.
Chapter. The last chapter of Two Samuel.
And.
The Angel of the Lord had smitten many in Israel, and David offered a sacrifice and that the destroying angels stopped.
And now you have here still in possession of the land verse umm.
Verse 18.
And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up rear, and altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Aruna the Jebusite.
And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
Then then dropping down into verse.
24 And the king said unto Aruna, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price neither will Ioffer burnt offering.
Unto the Lord my God, of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor.
And the auction for 50 shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
This was God's dwelling place, and David found it.
And so it is God taught His people the place that He had to meet together. Well, may the Lord help us in our day to see the principles of these things and to seek the Lord's guidance and find that place.