David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements. He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. 1 Chronicles 16:37-38
We first hear about Obed-Edom when David attempted to move the ark with a cart, and Uzzah died. We read that David, “did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had” (1 Chronicles 13:13-14).
Three months later, when the ark was successfully moved to Jerusalem, we find Obed-Edom has moved too. Obed-Edom desired to be wherever the ark was because for him this meant being in the presence of God. He had experienced the blessing of God and was determined to pursue it.
Obed-Edom was a Gittie—that is, he’s from Gath—a Philistine, yet he was included in the lists of Levites (1 Chronicles 15:24). He was born in the wrong country, to the wrong family but in God’s economy, he was in the right place, at the right time. Obed-Edom wouldn’t let go of the presence of God and raised his children to serve God. He gave his life to guarding the ark (presence) of God (1 Chronicles 26:1-19) and the blessings on his life continued through many generations (26:4-8).
Obed-Edom had a great desire to be in God’s Presence, honouring and serving him. Likewise, it doesn’t matter if we were born in the wrong place, or at the wrong time, God can turn our circumstances around if we’re determined to pursue him.
