David bringing back the Ark of the Covenant Or Doing the Wrong Thing for the Right Reason (1Chronicles 13, 15) by Greg, SFCC Elder
David, newly crowned King of Israel determines that it is time to bring the Arc of the Covenant to the capital, Jerusalem.
1Ch. 13:1-4 He is a mighty military man and he confers first with his fellow soldiers, and then with the people of Jerusalem, as to what he should do about a religious matter. He wants to gather representative of the tribes of Israel including the priests to join him in transporting the Arc from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. No one had even asked about where the Arc was during the previous king's reign. For 20 years the arc had been in Abinadab's house on the hill at Kiriath Jearim. Prior to that it had been captured by the Philistines and had been kept in some of their cities (1 Samuel 6 & 7). When David people if they should load it up and bring it home, it sounded like a good idea to them. So….
1Ch. 13:5-8 They build a brand new cart just to haul it home and folks from all over Israel join it in a parade like hasn't been seen in years. The people are singing and marching, they've got a band with trumpets, stringed instruments, and huge percussion section. The Arc sitting on a wagon like a beauty queen on prize winning float is in the middle of the parade rocking back and forth as the oxen pull it down the rutted old country road.
Now the Arc is a massive, rectangular thing about 2-1/4' wide by 3-3/4' long made out of wood, but completely encased in pure gold. There are 4 large pure gold rings attached to the legs of the Arc and threaded through the rings are a pair of massive wooden poles covered in pure gold. The Arc has a wooden lid that is also encased in pure gold and mounted to the top of the lid are a pair for cherubim; one at either end. The cherubim face each other as they look down toward the space above the lid and they have their wings (they each have 6) spread out above them as if to protect that area. Inside the arc was the second set of tablets of the 10 commandments, Aarons walking staff (the one that had budded new leaves), and a pot of manna (the bread of the angels). The Arc with its contents represented God's presence with Israel, his provision and protection for them, and his requirements for them to live lives set apart from those around them. (Exodus 25: 10-22)
1Ch. 13:9-end What went wrong? It was a good thing to bring this national treasure representing the works of God out of the sticks and into the city to a place of honor. And surely God enjoyed the songs and praises of the people as they marched it home. And how can you blame Uzzah for briefly touching the Arc to keep it from falling off the wagon?
Ah, the wagon…. You see, if David had inquired of God or even of the priests about moving the Arc, he would have found that the Arc was to be carried by hand using the long gold covered poles that were never to be removed from the rings attached to its legs (Ex. 25:14-15) He would have also found out that it was only to be carried by the Levites (De. 10:8) and that anyone other than the priests who touched it or the other holy things of the tabernacle would die (Nu. 4:15) . This massive, top heavy treasure of God would never have been loaded onto a common ox cart to be jostled down the road.
David had good intentions, but his ignorance placed the Arc in a position to be disgraced. His ignorance placed Uzzah in a position to make a fatal error in judgment. David asked his military experts a question of religious importance. He accepted the concurrence of the crowd as assurance that he was going about things in an acceptable way.
You see, with God, the ends don't justify the means. You can believe with all you're heart that if you live a good life in accordance with the ideals of Mohammed, or Buda, or the Dalai Lama, or your neighbor, or your best friend that God will be pleased with you. But maybe since it is something that concerns God, you should ask Him what He thinks. Maybe you should check His Word to see what He's already said on the matter. If a Santa Fe police office pulls me over for doing 45 in 35 zone, he's not going to be impressed by my saying I didn't know it was only 35. The highway departments mark the roads with signs to let me know how I should drive. God has marked His Word with signs that tell us how he expects us to live our lives. He won't be impressed with the argument that we didn't know.
David first blamed God for his own ignorance and got angry at him. Then he became afraid of God, perhaps wondering of what else he had been ignorant. But let's continue with the text. David spends sometime building himself a palace, battling the Philistines, and generally taking care of the kingdom (1CH 14). But he must have also spent some time personal time with God in prayer and in study of the Book of Moses, what we now call the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
1Ch. 15:1-2 Check De. 10:8 and you'll notice that David is quoting from it when he gives new directions for how the Arc is to be transported.
1Ch. 15:3-10 Once again David assembles marchers and singers, and musicians; but this time he makes sure that he also has a large contingent of Levites to carry the heavy golden Arc. There is no cart.
1Ch. 15:11-14 Notice that despite the previous tragedy, David is confident of this plan. Moving the Arc is a God issue and this time he's done his homework. He's consulted God to confirm the direction of the plan. Notice also that he is no longer angry with God or afraid of His reaction to the plan. He now knows what he did wrong, has corrected his error, and admits that the previous tragedy happened because they failed to consult God before acting.
1Ch. 15:15 & 28 Having made use of the instructions God had provided for how He wanted things done, and being no longer ignorant of what was required; David and the priests and Levites, and the people once again crank up the parade and the celebration. This time God blesses the event with a success and the Arc reaches it's destination in Jerusalem.
You see with God, the end never justifies the means. The means must reflect the end and the end must reflect God. If the means to reach our goals don't reflect God, we labor in vain and bring disaster upon ourselves and those around us. God has provided us with the means to understand what things he wants us to do and how he wants us to accomplish those things. And having given us the means to understand; He cannot, as a righteous judge, accept ignorance as an excuse.
Sometimes we say we have trouble understanding His Word, the bible. But if we're honest with ourselves, we often don't try very hard or don't try persistently with prayer. But even if we grant that as true, there are churches town and village in America and they offer bible studies that often have little or no regular attenders. We have dictionaries, concordances, indexes, commentaries, and many, many easy to read translations of the bible. And most of all, if we are Christians, we have the Holy Spirit to guide our understanding and to open our eyes to the scriptures.
Excerpts from 2nd half of chapter I'll point out one final conclusion from the second half of chapter 15; in 1Ch. 15:16 notice that the Levite leadership appointed talented people to places of service. In 1Ch. 15:17-18 they appointed vocalists, in 1Ch. 15:19 they appointed percussionists, in 1Ch. 15:20-21 there were stringed instrument musicians, in 1Ch. 15:22 they appointed a choir director (because of his skill), in 1Ch. 15:24 they enlisted horn players, also in 1Ch. 15:24 they appointed door-keepers (we'd call them ushers today). But what I especially want to point out is that all the people carried out their duties with rejoicing 1Ch. 15:25. They did not consider their service to God a burden. Notice that in 1Ch. 15:27 that those in these service positions also felt a need to dress immaculately. I believe that was to show their reverence to God, to show respect for the positions they held, and to remind them that they had been set apart for service.
Conclusion Are we using our talents serving God? Do we revere the God who gave us our talents? If we've already been appointed and set apart for service, are we serving joyfully? Are we giving our best, our first fruits, our finest?
Have we dedicated the time and energy to cure our ignorance and so find out what God wants for and from us?
You see, God has provided us with talents and strengths that he wants to use in Hs kingdom. He has laid out a plan for how he wants us to operate so he can use and bless our lives. He has already provided a place for each one of us to serve in his kingdom. His Spirit, His Book, His people; all remain waiting to help us understand his will. We need only to drop our self imposed ignorance and reach out for him. |