The stories of the Old Testament fascinate me. They are real. Raw. Human.
As the kids and I slowly read our way through 1st and 2nd Samuel, we learn so much about the character and nature of God, human nature, and how these two interact.
Here is one of the stories we recently studied – but first, the backstory:
During the time of judges, before Israel had a king, the Philistines warred with the Israelites and had captured the Ark of God. This is a devastating blow to the Israelites. The Ark signified the presence of God in their midst.
Grievous plagues of disease (particularly among the male gender) and a rat infestation came over the land of the Philistines because of this Ark of God. It became an offense to the Philistine people, who called a meeting of all their rulers to decide on a course of action.
They decide to put the Ark of God on a new cart, hitch 2 cows to this cart and send it back to Israel. These two cows both had newborn calves -which were promptly locked up- and they had never been attached to a cart of any kind.
“If the cows go toward the land of Israel,” they declared, “then we will know that it was of the Lord. But if not, then we will know that it was just a matter of chance.”
The mama cows plod north toward Israel, bellowing as they went.
The Ark of God arrives in the town of Beth-shemesh where it is received with great joy. However, the anger of the Lord was kindled against 70 of the men from this town who had the audacity to look inside the Ark. The Lord struck them dead.
The townsfolk immediately send a message to the next major town (Kiriath-jeriam), asking them to come collect the Ark of God. The Ark moved to Kiriath-jeriam and was stored in a tent on the property of a man named Abinadab. There it remained for the next 40 years.
Israel eventually crowns its first king, Saul, who reigns for 20 or more years. Saul is killed in a battle against the Philistines, plunging the nation into 7 years of civil war before Israel is once again united under a new king, King David.
This is where our story begins.
The first thing David does is make preparation to move the Ark of God into the capital city, Jerusalem.
A parade on a national scale is organized and the Ark is placed on a new cart with the two sons of Abinadab as drivers.
What a party. There is dancing, singing, and great rejoicing.
En route, the oxen stumble, the Ark lurches forward. Uzzah puts his hand out to steady the Ark and is immediately struck dead by the LORD.
“Ooooohh!” You can imagine the collective gasp of horror.
The parade halts, David is angry at God; “What in the world God? Why would you kill Uzzah when we are doing this FOR YOU?”
The party is over. Someone has died. Everyone is confused and upset.
The Ark is parked at the nearest willing residence and everyone goes home.
Lesson #1:
Zeal for God does not sanction disobedience.
Just because we do something good and with godly intentions does not mean that we can bypass God’s commands! Both our intentions and actions matter a great deal to God.
For three months, the Ark sits at Obed-edom’s house. David hears a rumor that Obed-edom is exponentially blessed because of it.
“I’ve got to bring that Ark of God to Jerusalem where it belongs!” declares David.
This time David did it right. He went back to the Law of God and figured out how the Ark was meant to be transported.
He followed the rules this time.
Priests carried the Ark.
And David went overboard on this one: every 6th step that the Priests took, there was a pause while he offered a bull and a calf as a burnt offering to the LORD.
David isn’t taking any chances. A bull and a calf, every 6th step! Think about that! That is a huge herd of bulls and calves.
Of course, it is the regular parade again with the singers, dancers, the warriors and thousands of common people who joined the procession.
They arrive at Jerusalem without any mishap, safely placing the Ark of God in a special tent. The party continues for the entirety of the day. At long last, the most important symbol of the Israelite nation is back where it belongs. The Ark indicates that the presence of Most High God dwells among his people.
There is a feeling of national pride and righteousness. David blesses the people and goes home to bless his family.
Lesson #2:
David doesn’t remain seated in his failure. He could have.
“Fine, God! You don’t want me to move that Ark? Fine, I’ll let it sit there.” Nope. David works through it, moves on. Yes, he sat for a while trying to figure out what went wrong. He was mad. He was scared of God. He was confused. And he was mad some more. But he worked through it. Processed the fatal fiasco. Repented of his wrong.
Then he got up and tried again.
A wrap:
Recognize that zeal for God does not sanction disobedience.
Don’t sit in your anger and confusion forever. Process it, repent where you are wrong, then get up and try again. This time, do it with God. Not just for Him.