'Ark' in the Bible
Now these are those whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord after the ark [of the covenant] rested there.
and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it during the days of Saul.”
So David gathered all Israel together, from the Shihor [watercourse] of Egypt, to the entrance of Hamath [in the north], to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord who sits enthroned above the cherubim, the ark which is called by His name.
They carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio [his brother] drove the cart.
When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold and steady the ark, for the oxen [that were drawing the cart] nearly overturned it.
The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, and He struck him down because he touched the ark; and there he died before God.
David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home with me?”
So David did not bring the ark with him to the City of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
So the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he had.
David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.”
And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place which he had prepared for it.
and he said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.
So the priests and the Levites consecrated (dedicated) themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.
The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.
Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was in charge of the singing; he gave instruction in singing because he was skilled.
Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah (Jeiel) were also gatekeepers for the ark.
So David, with the elders of Israel and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with joy.
Because God was helping the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord [to do it carefully and safely], they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah, director of the music of the singers. David also wore an ephod (a priestly upper garment) of linen.
Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets, with loud-sounding cymbals, with harps and lyres.
It happened that as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, Michal [David’s wife] the daughter of Saul, looking down through a window, saw King David leaping and dancing [in celebration]; and she despised him in her heart.
So they brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and to profess [God’s name] and to thank and praise the Lord, the God of Israel:
and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as each day’s work required;
As David sat in his house (palace), he said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedars, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.”
Now set your heart and your soul to seek (inquire of, require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles and utensils of God into the house built for the Name (Presence) of the Lord.”
All these were sons of Obed-edom [in whose house the ark was kept], they and their sons and relatives, strong and able men for the service—sixty-two from Obed-edom.
Then David the king rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers [in arms] and my people. I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for our God, and I prepared materials for the building.
Then David gave to his son Solomon the plan for the porch of the temple, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner rooms, and for the place for the [ark and its] mercy seat;
and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the Lord’s covenant.