April 23 - 2 Samuel 6:12 | 1 Chronicles 15:1-28 | 2 Samuel 6:12-16 | 1 Chronicles 15:29 | 2 Samuel 6:17-19 | 1 Chronicles 16:1-43 | 2 Samuel 6:19-23

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday in our reading we learned that David wanted to bring the ark of the covenant to reside in the City of David, that is, Jerusalem. You will remember that about seventy years prior to that, the Philistines stole the ark from the Israelites, out of the tabernacle, but because it caused them so much illness with tumors and stomach problems, after seven months they placed it on a cart led by two oxen and sent it back to Israel.  The ark was then set in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite where, out of curiosity or perhaps checking to see if the tablets were still in place, some men opened the Ark to have a peek inside, this angered God and as a punishment, many were struck down dead by the God. 

So now David  had assembled  30,000 of his best guys and they head on over to pick up the ark. They are so totally proud of themselves, and they have made this a very festive occasion. There is live music and dancing planned for the parade route. They place the ark up on a brand new cart and off they go. They don’t get far before there is a bump in the road, literally, it jostles the cart holding the wagon and in an effort to stabilize it, Uzzah reaches his hand back and immediately dies when he touched the ark. That put kind of a damper on the party. David is angry, we’re told, but he is totally confused too and afraid of the Lord. You see,  he thought he was doing a good thing by bringing the ark back to the center of God’s people however, yet again David was acting on his own. He did not go to God for advise on this one and it ended in a disaster. David carries the ark himself to Obed-Edom’s house where it will stay while David re-thinks this.

Three months later, David had been working on establishing his city, constructing buildings for himself and preparing a tent for the ark of the covenant, but most importantly David got got back into God’s word and read what God’s will was for moving the ark. He was reminded, as I am sure you all will remember, it was only the Levites, the priests who were to move the ark and it was with poles on their shoulders. So once more David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark.

David and company would successfully get the ark placed inside the tent in Jerusalem, however, the distance between Obed-Edom’s house and the city of David was just over 6 miles so the process would prove to be a very slow and tedious one, stopping every six steps to sacrifice a bull and a fattened calf. The sacrifice alone is very labor intense, most bulls weighing upward of 600 pounds, not to mention bloody, and then the patience  and discipline involved in only going six steps would be most challenging. Seriously, stand up and take six steps, you did not travel far even if you have super long legs. Certainly they could still see, smell and maybe even touch the previous sacrifice. The temptation to go maybe nine steps just once or even eight had too be tugging at them, but David was determined to please God, to be in His will and so it was they stuck to the plan.

What a lesson we can take from this! Right?! The world is constantly pulling at us here, tugging at us there in instant gratification mode So we’ve got everything that we do on an ultra modern, super fast, state of the art, oxen cart moving through life in a such a hurry, seldom taking time during the course of the day to say, “Hey God, am I doing this right? What are your thoughts God? What are you your plans for me, God.” May I suggest that you, that we, that all of us slow down and every six steps check in with God, see how we’re doin’. Ask him to forgive how stinky we got when something didn’t go as we had planned. Ask Him to protect us from the enemy who is lurking right next to us. Thank Him … Thank Him … Thank Him for all that He does for us. Our God loves us, and desperately wants the best for us. I love that! You?

You all have a good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you …