A Passion for God

David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he 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 him and his entire household. Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

David realized God should be at the center of life

--This is a good and godly realization

--He wants to make things tangible: a visual symbol

David thinks it doesn’t matter HOW he does it

This is an amateur operation. For some strange reason they try to move the ark the same way the Philistines did it back in 1 Samuel. Things didn’t go so well when they tried to keep the ark so they ended up sending it back on a new cart with some unmanned milch cows. It’s an interesting story back in 1 Sam 5-6. So anyway David and the people had very careful guidelines for handling the Ark listed over in Numbers 3 and Numbers 7. The Koathites were special priests who were to CARRY it on poles.

This little blunder costs Uzzah his life. Scholars debate exactly what went wrong here but safe to say EVERYTHING went wrong. This happened because they stopped paying attention to details. This can happen in our lives when we have been distracted or not in step with God for some time. When we are trying to get our lives back together, we may try to do the right things we know about without going about things carefully. So maybe we decide we want to love and obey God more. But if we never confess that we’ve been disobedient and ask God for forgiveness and guidance we may continue to wander in the dark even though we want to walk in the light.

They get as far as the threshing floor of Nakon, it says. They aren’t carrying it. Most likely the people aren’t Levites. It’s on a cart. The Ark begins to fall. Uzzah reaches for the Ark and boom, like the Nazi’s in Raiders of the Lost Ark he’s dead when he touches the ark. The place gets a new name: Perez Uzzah. Now there are two places associated with David with the name Perez. The first place Baal-perazim signified the Lord made him burst forth against his enemies in victory. Here the Lord burst forth showing power and calling for holiness.

David does a gut check

He takes a step back from following through on his plans. He may even be questioning whether his passion for God was misplaced. So he’s all talk and action but suddenly he’s afraid. It isn’t usually about life and death. But it’s always a bit inconvenient to do things God’s way.

Good old Obed-Edom

Obed-Edom gets to house the ark. It’s unlikely he had much choice. Maybe he was the closest resident to the events. Maybe he was a trusted friend. Uh, thanks? He’s the guinea pig for a freaked out king. Not David’s boldest moment. But he is learning and considering and gaining wisdom.

Obed-Edom ends up being blessed for housing the ark while David regains his nerve. He decides to try again.

2 Samuel 6:12–15 NIV

Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

This time he’s taking no chances. They carry the ark on poles and he makes a sacrifice after the first six steps. This time he’s fully invested and following God’s guidelines as best he understands them.

2 Samuel 6:16 NIV

As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

You can be sure of one thing. Not everyone is going to understand or respect your passion for God. Others may mock you openly for making holy changes in your life. Some may simply become indifferent toward you. But like King David you have an audience of One: God. Michal thinks David is making a fool out of himself. But see her example was never sold out spirituality. It was opportunistic spirituality in service to one’s own glory. She can’t understand the real thing when she sees it. Do you have friends like that? Don’t let it get it you, just like David didn’t..

2 Samuel 6:17–18 NIV

They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.

When God is back at the center of your life good things begin to happen. Be generous and share the blessings. Give back to God and share with others.

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