Obedience

Message:  In 2 Samuel 6 King David was building and establishing his kingdom when he remembered the ark of the covenant and decided to bring it home to the City of David. David, with good intentions decided to bring it home so he brought the house of Israel and made it a celebratory event. They put the ark on a new cart and began the journey to transport it. David and the people were celebrating with songs and instruments but when the cart reached the threshing floor the oxen stumbled and a man named Uzziah reached out and took hold of it to steady it. God struck him dead right in that spot for his irreverence and David became both angry and fearful. He didn’t finish moving the ark for another 3 months. This story is always a difficult one to understand. Even David himself struggled with this so it’s not just a lack of understanding of the times. When I break this down the first thing I see is that the irreverent disobedience happened long before the oxen stumbled. Uzziah was in that position because of disobedience. When the ark was originally built and the ancestors transported it there were very specific instructions. The ark was transported by the Levites who were appointed priests and they carried it on poles. They moved it by God’s instructions and only at the sign God had appointed. If the cloud moved, they moved. If it stayed put they stayed in place and camped there as long as it took before God gave the sign to move again. The dishonor began with Saul after he became king. He became impatient when Samuel the prophet was delayed in coming to make the sacrifices and Saul went in his place because he wanted God’s favor in battle. It was further dishonored when it was later stolen by the Philistines because they saw the favor it brought to Israel and thought it would give them the same favor. What was intended to be a blessing and provide favor became a curse to them because it was not intended for them and they didn’t have the proper honor for what it represented. After suffering the destruction everywhere they moved it to they had enough fear and wisdom to send it back to Israel with offerings and sacrifices. It had been sitting there untouched since that day untouched. Although the intentions by David to move the ark were good, and he understood the power of the favor it represented, he didn’t respect the obedience required for that favor. This is what caught my attention the most. We want the favor and promises of God but are often unfaithful and irreverent about our obedience. We excuse our disobedience by saying that we are only human or “God knows my heart”. This does not replace obedience and this is what God requires above our good intentions.

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