1 Chronicle 13:1-14
March 4, 2023
The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim
David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
Uzzah and the Ark
So David assembled all Israel from the Nile of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who sits enthroned above the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.
And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” So David did not take the ark home into the city of David but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.
As you read this account first you see the heart of a great leader, wanting to make sure he did not make the mistakes of his predecessor. Before taking any action David did what a great leader will do, get the buy-in from the leaders, and then the people he is over.
Now David made one mistake, he did not research the way God had told Moses to transport the Ark. David did not ask the priest to look into how Moses was instructed to move the Ark of the Covenant, and it cost the life of one of his men. Exodus 25:10-15.
“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.
Now to David and the leaders, it made perfect sense to use a nice new cart to move the ark. It always seems best to use the new cart, why use those old poles, when we have this new technology, but God. Yes, we come back to that Scripture many try to bypass, found in Isaiah 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I find myself guilty of trying my way, it seems right till I examine God's handbook on living life on planet Earth and go back to agree with Isaiah 55:8-9, I have a strong feeling I’m not alone in that boat. But my way comes often with a price higher than I would have paid, much like David found to be true.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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