II Samuel 6:1-15 – The Ark is Returned
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
II Samuel 6:1-15 – The Ark is Returned
>>Welcome to the Living Word with Chuck Davis. >>Second Samuel 6, 1-15. The ark is returned. David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, 30,000. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Ballet Juda to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of Host, who sits and thrown on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uza and Io, the sons of Abadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God and Io went before the ark. David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord was songs and liars and harps and tambourines and castanets and symbols. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nakhan, Uza put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen stumbled. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uza and God struck him down there because of his error. And he died there beside the ark of God. David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uza. And that place is called Perez Uza to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day. And he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. David took it aside to the house of Obed Edom, the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed Edom, the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and all his household. And it was told King David, "The Lord has blessed the household of Obed Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed Edom to the city of David with rejoicing. And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed in ox and a fattened animal. And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen effed. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn. This is one of the more stunning Old Testament passages. It feels like the form of arbitrary judgment comes from the hand of God. Remember, the ark of the covenant was the symbol of God's presence. And here it says, "The Lord of hosts sits enthroned on the cherubim." This was a declaration that God was with them. David desires to bring it to Jerusalem. But the cart tips when the oxen stumbles and Uza's reflex is to keep the ark from falling. And the anger of the Lord broke out against him. The presence of God cannot be taken for granted or taken familiarly. In the presence of God is holiness that would cause us to evaporate on the spot, if not for the fact that he sees us through Jesus. David is angry. He becomes unsure in his relationship with the Lord. He's trying to make sense of this in the same way that we try to make sense of it. So the ark is left at the house of Obed Edom, but we see that his household is blessed for three months. So David goes and gets the ark. This time it says they take steps. There's no card involved. I think that's a significant aspect of what we're seeing here. David dances not in frivolity, but in spiritual worship. You see, the spiritual role of the king is just as significant as his political and military role. As long as he'll be subordinate to the king of kings, it's going to go well with him. And that's why it's important that worship is centered to everything that David does. There's a constant temptation in life to assimilate God into our cultural ways. See, the ox cart may have been efficient, not having people carry it, but it was not necessarily God's way. You know, the text says here, it was a new cart. I like what Eugene Peterson says of this. God arrives, but in his own way. His action is not always congenial to our expectations or desires. God is on David's side, but not in his pocket. Wow, pretty strong stuff. And a reminder that we are to worship and hollow God's name as the center of everything in our life. The now one is remember that we're not to come in a sense of fear that causes us to create distance. Jesus has broken that barrier down by offering us approach to Abba Father. It's not a servile fear, but his hollowed name means I take my sandals off when I come into the presence of God. And so Lord today, we acknowledge your holiness. We pray that you would transcribe and transport that holiness into us so that we are not offense to you in any way. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.