David and the Ark
Prayer for Understanding
God of Word and Wisdom, as we listen to the Scriptures today, enlighten our minds, nurture our souls, embolden our hearts, and stir our minds, so that we may live out your Word in the world you love. Amen
I don’t know how many of you watched the Indiana Jones movies. The first movie filmed in 1981, was about the Ark of the Covenant. “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
Indiana Jones, the Archeologist, was on the search for the lost biblical artifact, the Ark of God. Another group of people, the adversary, was hunting for the Ark as well because they believed it possessed an incomparable power - the power to transform their army into invincible.
In the end, Indiana miraculously found the Ark and the bad guys opened the lid. As they opened it, the spirits or the angels were unleashed and killed all those who looked upon them. Only Indiana and his friend who were smart enough not to look at the spirits survived.
When everyone was dead, all the mist and the beams of light that emanated from the box got sucked back up inside and sealed away, along with the bodies of all the dead. An eerie ending.
Today’s Scripture lesson is about the Ark of the Covenant, which is nothing less than God’s Glory and His Holy Presence. For the last 6 weeks, we studied Paul and his epistle, 2 Corinthians, and for the next few Sundays, we will study David in 2 Samuel.
The Ark of the Covenant, not Noah’s Ark, was first described in the book of Exodus. God instructed Moses on how to build the Ark along with the Tabernacle and the holy things in detail while they were still at the foot of Mount Sinai. During their 40-year wandering in the desert, the Ark was carried by the Levites in advance of the people.
Hebrews 9:4 describes: "The ark of the covenant was covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments."
This Ark was vital to worship in Israel and was central to their lives and their relationship with God. It was the physical manifestation of God's presence and supreme power.
Whenever it was with them, the Israelites felt like they were invincible. Led by the ark of the Lord, the people of Israel were able to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
After the Israelites conquered and moved into the Promised Land, there was not much reference to the Ark, but in 1 Samuel, it was mentioned that Samuel slept near the Ark as a child.
The Ark then took the spotlight in 1 Samuel 4-6, when it was captured by the Philistines at battle.
The Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, yet, the presence of it caused so much trouble and suffering such as tumors and plague among the Philistines.
After the Ark had been among them for seven months, in great fear of the God of Israel, they decided to return it to Israel.
So, they got a new cart and put the Ark along with guilt offerings and had it drawn by two cows toward the land of Israel. The cows led the cart directly to Beth Shemesh, the town near the border. The people in the town celebrated the return of the Ark.
However, the rejoicing turned suddenly to mourning. The Lord struck down seventy men because they looked inside of it.
They cried out “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?" Then they asked the people of Kiriath Jearim to take the Ark.
1 Samuel 7:1 says, “So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar, his son, to guard the ark of the Lord.”
So all along during King Saul’s reign, the Ark was kept in Abinadab’s house. Now King David has been anointed king of the United Kingdom of Israel.
He seized Jerusalem and made it the nation’s capital, calling it the City of David. He became more and more powerful and defeated the Philistines.
As he settled in the new capital as the king of Israel, the first thing David wanted to accomplish was to bring the Ark to its rightful place, Jerusalem, and to recover worship. So he set out with 30,000 of his best soldiers to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem. This is where today’s text starts.
David and his men went to Abinadab’s house and set the Ark of God upon a new cart, and Abinadab’s two sons, Uzzah and Ahio were escorting the cart. David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with songs and all kinds of instruments. Everything seemed to be going perfectly as David had planned.
It was at this point, the oxen stumbled. Instinctively, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. But God’s anger burned out against Uzzah’s irreverent act and He struck him down. Uzzah died on the spot.
Everyone was in shock and confusion. Uzzah was simply trying to stabilize the Ark, and God killed him. This incident angered David and created fear within David’s heart toward the Lord. So instead of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, he left it at the house of Obed-Edom.
Why do you think God killed Uzzah? While this punishment may seem extreme to us, the Israelites had been warned for centuries that the Ark of the Covenant was holy to the Lord.
Only priests were allowed to see and cover the Ark and only Levites of the family of Kohath were allowed to carry the covered Ark and the holy things.
Numbers Ch 4:16 says, “When the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die.” V 20, “The Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”
These were the strict instructions from God. He repeatedly told His people how to take care of the holy things. It’s like how a father teaches his child not to touch fire. He tries to keep his child safe but of course, the child doesn’t listen to his father.
Uzzah’s intention may not have been evil, but he may have become overly familiar with the Ark while it remained in his father’s house for all these years. He could’ve puffed up, thinking the Ark was somehow his family’s possession. He may even have forgotten how ‘HOLY’ it represents.
Many of us grew up in church, and sometimes we are so accustomed to worship service, that we forget whom we worship. We, too, fail to recognize the holiness of God, becoming too familiar with Him with an irreverent attitude.
Also, the Bible doesn’t say that the cart was about to overturn or the Ark was about to fall. The Bible simply says that the oxen stumbled.
And yet, Uzzah, for a moment, may have felt it was his responsibility to save the Ark, and that our Almighty God somehow needed Uzzah’s assistance. He presumed that, without his intervention, God’s presence would be dealt a blow.
Most importantly, the ark was not supposed to be transported by a cart. According to Exodus 25, the Ark had four gold rings, through which poles were inserted. Using these poles the Kohathites carried the Ark.
Then how did David get the idea of using a cart? Never before Israel used a cart to transport the Ark. He most likely imitated the Philistines. When the Philistines sent off the Ark, they used a new cart drawn by two cows.
When David organized to bring the Ark, he was perhaps satisfied and proud with his plans, having 30,000 best soldiers, all sorts of musical instruments, and a new cart.
Maybe he thought it was sensational and feasible to use the new equipment. Yet, Jehovah God was certainly not pleased with it.
So the problem was not with God but with David and the Israelites who either forgot or neglected God’s command and mimicked the Philistines. They made good plans with good intentions, but it wasn’t what God commanded.
As with our worship service, we may have lots of good plans and make perfect preparations, but if God is not the center of our worship; if we try to perform to please people, following secular ways; if we disregard His holiness and His Word, God may not be pleased with our worship.
V 12, David was told that God blessed Obed-Edom and his household while the Ark remained at his house for the past 3 months. We can infer from this that Obed-Edom was a God-fearing man who showed proper reverence for the Ark, unlike Uzzah.
Despite knowing what happened to Uzzah and the deadly power of the Ark, Obed-Edom welcomed and took care of it according to God’s instruction. And God blessed his household and everything he had.
So, David tried to retrieve the Ark again. If we look at 1 Chronicles ch 15, David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and the heads of the Levitical families, and said, “Consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.
It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.”
So, they sanctified themselves and the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
- 13 says, “When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.” In great joy, David gave offerings abundantly.
This was elaborate, excessive, over-the-top sacrifices, showing his longing for God. When the worship was in the proper order it was filled with gladness and joy.
David didn’t hold back anything in his own expression of worship. It wasn’t out of obligation but was a heartfelt worship, delighting in God. He danced with all his might, wearing a robe of fine linen as were all the Levites, the musicians, and the choirs. He laid aside his royal robes and humbled himself, dancing before the Lord with great joy leading the Ark of the Covenant into the City of God.
As the Ark was entering Jerusalem, Michal, Saul’s daughter, watched her husband, dancing and leaping before the Lord from a window. When she saw him dancing, wearing a linen ephod, she despised David in her heart.
Michal saw a warrior king, a man of position and power, acting like a fool and embarrassing her. She didn’t understand why all those people, especially David, were so fanatical and passionate about the Ark. She was just a spectator, watching the worshippers from the window.
Have you ever wondered why some people clap when singing or raise their hands? Why do some people pray loudly? “How can she dance like that at church?” After all, we are Presbyterians, right? Presbyterians are not supposed to lift hands, clap, dance, or pray loudly, right?
What is worship to you? Worship should be a reverent response to God’s Amazing Grace and His Holy Presence. Worship must be reverent, but also it should be a joyous celebration.
If we focus on what He has done for us - His goodness and faithfulness, our worship should be a lot more joyous. I’m not saying that we should all dance but I’d like to encourage you, when you come to worship God, to express your love for God more freely. The Lord deserves your all - Our all.
Maybe we are sometimes like the Israelites from before David’s time, hoping that the holy things will be a good luck charm, that if we go to church, maybe God would bless our plans for our life.
Maybe like Uzzah, we are too familiar with Sunday worship service or even with God that we might have, through over-familiarity, lost a sense of awe toward God and His word.
Maybe like Michal, we are more concerned with our dignity and become spectators who don’t believe in getting too passionate about worshipping God.
Friends, let us ask the Spirit of God to refresh our faith and restore our passion for worship.
So, like Obed-edom, we sincerely welcome the presence of the living God into our home and life.
And like David, we can even undignify ourselves in worshiping God, dancing before the presence of Him with all our might, not worrying about what other people might say about us.
Friends, our Lord is present here now with us. Let us worship our awesome God with humility, with hearts filled with jubilant and gratitude, with enthusiasm, and with reverence. Let us offer Him Right worship, good worship, and pleasing worship.
Let us pray.
Holy God. You are Holy and deserve our reverence. You are awesome and deserve our shouts of acclamation. You love us greatly and deserve our adoration and passionate expression of our love. Free us and teach us to dance with You, Jesus — metaphorically and literally. So very Amen we pray, in Your grace-full and gladsome name.