Thoughts for the Day

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the Ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the Ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the Ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the Ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the Ark; and he died there beside the Ark of God.... David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, ‘How can the Ark of the Lord come into my care?’ So David was unwilling to take the Ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The Ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

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 paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet....

They brought in the Ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt-offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard version)

Thoughts

When David captures Jerusalem in c1004 BCE the city was much smaller than today, but it was a heavily fortified town. They had taken the defenders by surprise as they climbed up through the narrow vertical shaft that the fiercely independent Canaanite Jebusites had installed to enable them to haul up their water from the Gihon Spring. King David was to make this his capital city, for it was territory owned by neither the northern or southern tribes, renaming it the City of David. Then he seeks to bring back the Ark of the Covenant. To the twelve tribes, the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of their unity, representing their escape from slavery in Egypt, their wandering in the desert, their covenant with Yahweh made at mount Sinai, and their common worship of Him. The Ark was one thing that had held them together.

So the Ark is rescued from where it has been stored by Abinadab, but at one point on the steep hill it threatens to over turn and Uzzah is killed. Whether Uzzah is killed in an accident or God strikes him, what this does is allow King David to rethink his actions. He remembers that only the Levites are allowed to move the Ark (1 Chronicles 15.2). David has always turned to God in prayer, asking what he should do and how he should do it. But before moving the Ark he doesn't seem to have done so!

It's easy for us to blame God for things that happen to us in life, but frequently we need to blame our own ignorance. Proverbs 19.3 says: 'One’s own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the Lord.' When we abide by God's laws, and ask his help about what, when, and how we do something He will answer. We should never consider anything too little to take to God for His advice.

Lord Jesus,
may we remember to involve You
in all that we do,
and not try to "go it alone".
Forgive our ignorance
and our blindness,
and help us to turn to You
for advice in all that we do.
Amen.