The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

A good goal. David wanted the Ark in Jerusalem, at the center of the nation. The Ark stood for God's throne among His people. That was a good thing to want. The wrong way. “They set the ark of God on a new cart” (6:3). The trouble began right there, before anyone stumbled. God's instructions. Long before, God told Moses to put gold rings on the Ark's corners and slide long poles through them. The poles were never to come out (Exodus 25:14–15). The Levites carried the Ark on their shoulders, so nobody ever had to touch it. A borrowed idea. Years earlier, the Philistines had sent the Ark home on a new cart pulled by cows (1 Samuel 6:7–8). They did not have God's Law. Israel did, but copied the Philistines anyway. Nobody asked. Later David said the trouble came because they did not ask God how it should be done (1 Chronicles 15:13). Thirty thousand men came, and nobody checked what God had said. What we learn. Loving God means caring about what He says, not just doing what seems good to us. Before you do something for God, find out what His Word says and ask Him to help you obey.

The real failure (6:3). “So they set the ark of God on a new cart.” The trouble began here, three verses before the oxen stumbled. God's design. Exodus 25:12–15 gave the Ark four gold rings and two poles of acacia wood, and the poles were to stay in the rings for good. Numbers 4:15 gave the carrying to the Kohathites, a family of Levites, and warned them not to touch the holy things, or they would die. A holy thing, qodesh (say: KOH-desh), is something set apart for God alone. God built the Ark so that no one ever had to touch it. No carts. Numbers 7:9 explains that the Kohathites were given no carts, because they carried the holy things on their shoulders. A Philistine idea. In 1 Samuel 6:7–8 the Philistine priests sent the Ark back on a new cart pulled by two milk cows. They had never been given the Law. Israel had it and copied them anyway. A new cart could not fix an old disobedience. David's own words. Before the second trip, David told the Levites that the Lord broke out against them because they did not seek Him about the proper order (1 Chronicles 15:13). The king named the cause himself. For us. Zeal for God is good, but zeal needs God's Word. Jesus said true worshipers must worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Our joy and our obedience belong together.

The trouble did not start when Uzzah touched the Ark. It started before the parade began. God had given rules for carrying the Ark. Special helpers called Levites carried it on their shoulders. Long poles slid through gold rings on its sides. The poles always stayed in the rings. So nobody ever had to touch the Ark. But David's men put the Ark on a cart. Years before, the Philistines had sent the Ark back on a cart. Israel copied them instead of asking God. Loving God means caring about what He says. We can read God's Word and ask Him first.

God said to carry the Ark on poles. But the men put it on a cart. They did not ask God first.

Uzzah meant to help. “Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God … for the oxen stumbled” (6:6). Almost anyone would reach out. The Ark was holy. Holy means set apart for God. The Ark stood for God's throne on earth, and God had warned that no one must touch it. God struck him there for his error, “and he died there by the ark of God” (6:7). God is holy. Isaiah heard angels cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). Sinful people cannot treat a holy God like something ordinary. David's feelings. “David became angry” (6:8), and then he “was afraid of the Lord that day” (6:9). The Bible tells us honestly how he felt. You can bring your hard questions to God too. Too familiar. The Ark had stayed in Uzzah's family home for many years (1 Samuel 7:1–2). He had grown up near it. Being close to holy things every day can make a person forget how holy they are. What we learn. God is kind, but He is not small. Come to Him with love and with deep respect.

A gentle verse (6:6). The oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out. There is no sign of hatred or pride in what he did. A serious verse (6:7). “Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah,” and God struck him there for his error. The Ark was the footstool of God's throne, the place where the Lord of Hosts “dwells between the cherubim” (6:2). Perez Uzzah (6:8). Perez (say: PEH-rets) means a breaking out. In 2 Samuel 5:20 David had named a battlefield Baal Perazim, because the Lord broke through his enemies there. Now the same God broke out against Israel's carelessness. God's power is good news to His people, but it is never something to handle lightly. Anger, then fear (6:8–9). “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” David did not pretend. God's Word shows us the king's struggle honestly. Near, but careless. The Ark had rested in Abinadab's house, Uzzah's own home, for many years (1 Samuel 7:1–2). The danger was nearness without reverence. Uzzah's hand acted as if God's throne needed a man to hold it up. Leviticus 10:3. When Aaron's sons offered fire God had not commanded, the Lord said, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy.” The same truth stands here. For us. Hebrews 12:28–29 calls believers to serve God “with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” Reverence is part of loving Him.

Uzzah was trying to help. The Ark was falling, so he grabbed it. Most of us would have done the same thing. But the Ark was holy. Holy means it belonged to God alone. God had said that no one must touch it. Uzzah touched it, and he died. That was a very sad day. David was angry, and then he was afraid. The Bible tells us honestly how David felt. You can talk to God when you do not understand something. The Ark had stayed in Uzzah's family home for many years. Being near holy things every day can make people forget. God wants us to remember how great He is.

Uzzah grabbed the Ark to keep it from falling. But God said no one must touch it. Uzzah died. It was a very sad day.

A question. Does this story mean God is waiting for you to slip? No, it does not. An old rule. The rule about the Ark had been written down for hundreds of years. Israel had quietly stopped following it. On this day the whole nation's carelessness came to light. The same Ark. “The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household” (6:11). A Gittite. A Gittite was a man from Gath. God poured out blessing on a household that welcomed His presence. God's heart. God described Himself to Moses as “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). Longsuffering means patient for a long time. Not what we deserve. “He has not dealt with us according to our sins” (Psalm 103:10). David wrote that. What we learn. God is not looking for a reason to hurt you. He loves to bless people who come to Him His way.

Is God unpredictable? Does 2 Samuel 6:7 show a God who is quick-tempered? No. A national moment. Israel was moving the throne of God by a method borrowed from the Philistines, and no one had asked Him. The failure belonged to everyone, and David later says so (1 Chronicles 15:13). Judgment and blessing (6:10–11). The same Ark stays three months with Obed-Edom, and “the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.” The Ark was not simply dangerous. What mattered was how people came near. The news (6:12). “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” God's presence, honored, brings blessing. God's character. God named Himself “merciful and gracious, longsuffering” (Exodus 34:6). Psalm 103:8 agrees: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” David's psalm. David, who was angry in verse 8, also wrote that God “has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). He wrote that God remembers we are dust (Psalm 103:14). For us. God's holiness and God's kindness are both true. In Jesus we meet both at once.

Does this story mean God zaps people for small mistakes? No, it does not. God's rule about the Ark was hundreds of years old. Israel had stopped paying attention to God's Word. Then something good happened. The same Ark went to Obed-Edom's house. It stayed there for three months. And God blessed Obed-Edom and his whole family! It was the same Ark and the same God. God is patient and kind. He loves to bless people who honor Him. You never have to be afraid to come to God His way. He is happy when you come.

God is not waiting to catch you. The Ark stayed at Obed-Edom's house. God blessed that whole family!

Doing it right. Three months later David went back, and this time he did it God's way. David called the Levites and told them that only they could carry the Ark (1 Chronicles 15:2). Six steps. “When those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, … he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep” (6:13). They stopped to worship almost at once. A linen ephod. “David was wearing a linen ephod” (6:14). An ephod was a simple linen garment, the kind priests wore. David put aside his royal robes and stood among the worshipers. All his might. He danced with everything he had, in front of everybody. Michal. Michal “looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart” (6:16). She cared what people thought. David cared what God thought. Gifts for all. David “blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts” (6:18) and gave bread to everyone, women and men. What we learn. Fear in verse 9 became joy in verse 14. God did not change. David stopped guessing and listened. When we come to God His way, through Jesus, we find joy.

The method corrected. 1 Chronicles 15 tells us that David set apart the Levites, gave the carrying to them, and named the reason for the first disaster (15:2, 12–15). The method was fixed before the second attempt. Careful worship (6:13). After six paces they sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. The procession that once rolled along carelessly now stopped almost at once to worship. The ephod (6:14). An ephod (say: EE-fod) was a linen garment worn by priests. The boy Samuel wore one when he served at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:18). David laid aside the dress of a king to stand among the worshipers. Leaping and whirling (6:16). Verse 16 adds two more words for David's dancing. He gladly gave up the dignity of a king to honor the true King. Michal's contempt (6:16). Saul's daughter watched from a window and despised him. She measured David by the standards of her father's court. Verses 20–23, just after our reading, tell what happened next. A shared feast (6:17–19). David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, blessed the people, and gave every man and woman bread, meat and a cake of raisins. Peace offerings ended in a meal, a picture of fellowship with God. Fear to joy. Compare 6:9 with 6:14. God's character did not change in those three months. David's approach did. David later wrote that in God's presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).

Three months later, David went back for the Ark. This time he did it God's way. Levites carried the Ark on their shoulders. After six steps, David stopped to give God an offering. Then David danced with all his might. He put aside his fancy king clothes. He wore a holy linen vest instead. He did not care if he looked silly. He was dancing for God, not for people. Michal thought he looked foolish. But David's heart was full of joy. David gave bread to every person there. Coming to God His way leads to real joy.

The second time, they did it God's way. Men carried the Ark on poles. David danced with joy! Everyone got a treat.