Worship before the Ark
37 So he left Asaph and his [m]relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required; 38 and Obed-edom with [n]his 68 relatives; Obed-edom, also the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah as gatekeepers. 39 He left Zadok the priest and his [o]relatives the priests before the [p]tabernacle of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His lovingkindness is everlasting. 42 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate.
43 Then all the people departed each to his house, and David returned to bless his household.
The key to this whole thing, returning the ark, and restoring proper service of the priests and Levites, is found is verse 40. They were doing all of this according to what God had told them to do. While David wanted the ark returned, it was because he wanted to serve God and live up to the call that God put on his life in the first place.
Davi had already tried things his own way, with disastrous results, so now they were paying close attention to what God had told Israel through His law. While we are to “pray without ceasing” and so hear from God every hour of every day. More properly, literally anytime he wants to speak, we should be ready to listen. But we need to know what God’s word tells us also, and everything we think is from God, whether it be something place in our mind or heart, or a word of direction from another believer, it all needs to be weighed and measured according to the word of God.
His word is the ultimate authority in our lives, and if something doesn’t measure up, then stay far away. Without knowing what is IN the Bible though, that’s a hard rule to follow. So we need to be diligent to study and learn God’s messages to us that have been recorded for all time. You will never regret spending more time reading and studying the Word of God.