Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends on this Wednesday,
I open today with an important question for all of us, no matter where you live in our big, busy world: When you need to make an important decision, a decision which may affect the rest of your life, and maybe the people most important to you, WHAT do you do? What is your process for making right, wise, significant decisions?
Yesterday we left king David in his new home and leadership headquarters, the “City of David”, a small portion of the city of Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 6 tells us David was convinced the thing he most needed was the Presence of God with him in Jerusalem as he sought to unite the 12 tribes of Israel into being ‘one nation, under God, indivisible.’ In fact, 1 Chronicles 13:1-6 explains David’s motivation for bringing the Ark to Jerusalem: “Let us bring the Ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” Do you see David’s priority on seeking God’s guidance in decision making? So, David sent word out and rallied a huge crowd, more than 30,000 men. His purpose? “To bring up the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the Ark.” (2 Samuel 6:1,2)
Now wait a minute…30,000 men? Was the Ark being held captive by a mighty army in some remote castle protected by a shark infested moat? No, but I think two things were motivating David to develop this outrageous transportation strategy. First David had an immeasurable, overwhelming RESPECT for the awesome majesty and holiness of God! Relocating the golden Ark of God’s Covenant, which contained the Tablets of the 10 Commandments Moses had brought down from Mount Sinai 400 years before, was an inspiring project and David wanted everyone to stand in awe of a 30,000-man escort for this holy Ark!
Secondly, David knew the Ark had been captured once by the Philistines and David was going to make sure this Ark of the Covenant was safe from anyone or even any army who might have any ideas of capturing it or damaging it ever again!
But David had a problem. The old, revered prophet Samuel had been dead several years and I see no evidence any other prophet had arisen yet to replace Samuel as a spokesman of God for Israel. Also, from the time Eli the High Priest had died, many years before on that fateful day of the capture of the Ark, (1 Samuel 4:18) I see no mention of another High Priest who had been serving as Israel’s spiritual leader. So, David had no one to confer with regarding HOW the Ark of God’s Covenant should be transported from the house of Abinadab where it had been for the past 20 years. (1 Samuel 7:1,2)
Pause. Do you have wise, spiritually mature people you can confer with when you have important decisions to make? People who will pray with you? People who will help you seek and discern God’s guidance?
The record says: “They set the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the Ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of the cart. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.” (2 Samuel 6:3-5) Oh my! We’ve all seen parades and crowds of people celebrating, so it should not be difficult for us to imagine this remarkable scene! No celebration like this had happened for many, many years in Israel.
But suddenly tragedy struck. The oxen pulling the cart stumbled and the Ark shifted on the cart, and Uzzah, who was walking beside the Ark, reached out his hand, taking hold of the Ark to steady it, protecting it from falling off the cart. In that moment Uzzah evidently had a heart attack and died, collapsing next to the cart! (2 Samuel 6:7) Shock swept through the celebrating crowd. But David knew it was no accident. Somehow David knew God had struck Uzzah down and David concluded it was because Uzzah had grabbed the Ark. David, angry and overwhelmed with fear, said: “How can the Ark of God come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9)
In his fear, David made an executive decision, on the spot, and directed those leading the cart to take the holy Ark to the home of a man named Obed-Edom while David sought answers from God. (2 Sam. 6:10)
Pause again for reflection my friends. When something shocking suddenly happens, how do you seek God’s guidance for what it means and what to do next?
3 months of time passed while David tried to figure out WHY God had responded in such a tragic way despite David and more than 30,000 people doing the best they knew how to bring the Ark to Jerusalem in a great celebration? David still needed the Ark of God’s Presence in Jerusalem, but he also needed to devise a safer, more God honoring way to bring the Ark there. Do you know sometimes we have more than one passage in Scripture that describes an event? 1 Chronicles 15 & 16 give us a more detailed explanation of this great parade.
Word came to king David that God’s great blessing had come upon the family of Obed-Edom whose house was caring for the Ark of God’s Covenant until David could make a new plan. (2 Sam. 6:12) So David evidently consulted with the Levites and Priests and discovered two important things. FIRST, the Ark deserved a special, designated, holy place! So, David pitched a special tent in Jerusalem to be designated exclusively for the Ark, until the “Tent of Meeting” Tabernacle could someday, hopefully, be moved to Jerusalem.
Second, David learned that centuries before, when the Ark was first fabricated, God had given very clear instructions to Moses about any attempt to transport the Ark of God’s Covenant, and so David made this proclamation: “No one but the Levites may carry the Ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the Ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.“ (1 Chronicles 15:2)
In fact, as David assembled the Levites, he both challenged them to engage this holy transport with dignity and David admitted: “It was because you, the Levites, did not bring the Ark up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of the LORD about how to do it in the prescribed way.” (1 Chronicles 15:13)
Pause again. How often do you and I seek God’s guidance about doing things the right way, His way, the way that honors God the best?
And so, with those two major adjustments accomplished, David led a second, massive, well organized, God honoring parade to bring the sacred Ark of God’s Covenant from Obed-Edom’s house to David’s special tent in Jerusalem. That parade is described for us both in 2 Samuel 6:13-17 & 1 Chronicles 15:14-29. As the Ark was brought into its new special tent home in Jerusalem a great worship service took place including a new song David had written which was sung for the first time and we find it recorded both in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 and Psalms 105 & 96!!
David then assigned Asaph and others to worship and minister at the Ark tent daily, in Jerusalem; while he also made sure Zadok and other priests were appropriately worshiping at the Tabernacle in Gibeon. (1 Chron. 16:39-42)
Let’s pause right now for worship ourselves, and I’ve found a great song based the words king David wrote for the Ark’s arrival in Jerusalem! The link is below. As always there’s additional notes to study at the Grand Narrative link and tomorrow will be an exciting day as we dig into God’s remarkable promise to David and David’s response! I think it’s time to pray and worship my friends.
Today’s Scripture: 2 Samuel 6 & 1 Chronicles 15-16.
Choose below to read or listen.
2 Samuel 6
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1 Chronicles 15-16
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1 Chronicles 16
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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