Last week we learned how David
enquired with God on what to do as the Philistines came against
him. He was just crowned king and the enemy was lining up. But
David didn't fear, he immediately went to God and asked Him what to
do. And then he was obedient to God's instructions. This resulted
in victory for David and all of Israel as a whole. And we learned
that we should always consult God in everything, especially when
all is well and we are living our dreams. We should never forget
about God but keep Him foremost in our minds.
Now after David defeated the
Philistines, he gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty
thousand in total. He took all of them to go and fetch the ark of
God from the house of Abinadab. Why did he need so many men to
gather the ark of the Lord? It is because David wanted to honor and
glorify God in the process. He wanted all the best men there to
rejoice with him in bringing the ark to the tabernacle that David
erected for it in Jerusalem. He wanted God magnified in the eyes of
the people and he wanted them to celebrate with him that God was
now coming to dwell with them:
"And David arose and went with
all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring from
there the ark of God, whose name is called the Name, the Lord of
Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim." 2 Samuel
6:2
David celebrated this return of the
ark to Israel. They played music with all kinds of instruments to
the glory of God. It was truly a festive atmosphere, a joyous
occasion. But then something terrible happened.
"And when they came to Nachon's
threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took
hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was
aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and
he died there by the ark of the God." 2 Samuel 6, 7
It came as a total shock to David.
Here they were celebrating in the presence of the Lord and the next
moment someone was struck dead because he tried to stabilize the
ark from falling. David felt that it was unfair and he became
afraid of the Lord (2 Samuel 6:9). David then refrained from
bringing the ark to Jerusalem and instead he took it to the house
of Obed-Edom. But three months later he heard how blessed the house
of Obed-Edom was and decided to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Again
they made music to the Lord and David danced with all his might.
But this time they sacrificed oxen and sheep after every sixth
step. So they bought the ark into Jerusalem and there David
sacrificed some more and blessed the people in the Name of the
Lord. He also gave a loaf of bread, a piece of meat and a cake of
raisins to each person to celebrate with.
David's heart was right; he wanted
the Lord close to him, close to Israel. But he went about it the
wrong way. He didn't know that the ark had to be carried with
specific poles and by purified priests etc. The reason was that God
was holy and couldn't come into contact with unholiness as Jesus
hadn't died yet. His holiness will burn up anything unholy that
touches it. This is what happened to Uzzah. Now today we needn't
worry about that, because Jesus has now clothed us with His robe of
righteousness and therefore we can come close to God,
hallelujah!
The lesson here for me today is the
following - David wanted to do something special for God. But he
went about doing it the wrong way. I think this is true of us today
as well. Many times we want to do something for God. And in our
hurried way we go about it the wrong way. We should rather spend
time with God and ask Him to help us to be clear about the way that
we should handle the situation. Our zeal can sometimes be a bit
misdirected at the cost of those closest to us. For example we can
become so involved at church that it influences our time spent with
our families. It is a good thing, but is it truly where God wants
you now? Make sure that you are where God wants you to be. And once
you are sure, celebrate it like David did. Don't hide it under a
basket. David could have stayed sad due to what had happened to
Uzzah, he could have brought back the ark under solemn
circumstances, but he didn't. He rejoiced and danced to the Lord in
delight. We should be the same. We should celebrate the presence of
God in our lives. We should dance and rejoice that He is part of
our everyday lives. All glory and honor to Him!
Father please guide us in what You
want us to do for You. Help us to see the bigger picture as You do.
You know best and we love You for it. Guide us onto Your ways
everlasting. Thank you Father. We love You and rejoice in all that
You are doing in our lives! Amen