April 21, 2022 (Thursday)
Last time, we looked at the story of David moving the Ark of
the Covenant to Jerusalem. I made the suggestion that he acted in ignorance. There
is more to the story that suggests there may have been another motivation
behind his error.
We open this part of the story with news, “Then King David was
told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because
of the Ark of God.” [2 Samuel 6:12a
NLT] We left the story with David storing Israel’s most precious religious item
with a Gentile (most likely a Philistine). It’s here that we see David taking
corrective action.
We read, “After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone
six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.” [2 Samuel 6:13 NLT] Notice, David reverted back to
the prescribed method of carrying the Ark. On his first attempt, David put the
Ark on a cart. This suggests a second possibility for his error. It may have
been ignorance, but maybe it was also impatience.
The Ark was heavy, very heavy. Carrying it across mountains
would have been difficult. It makes sense, to expedite the journey, the best
means would be to load it on a cart. What we see now is the Ark traveled six
steps and was set down. This may have been the result of the sheer weight of
the Ark or David may have been exercising patience. This may have been the
intention of sacrificing after every six steps.
As David moved the Ark, he danced. “And David danced before the Lord with all his
might, wearing a priestly garment.” [2 Samuel 6:14 NLT] Priestly
garments were reserved for Levites and worn during their service. It seems odd
that David was wearing one for this journey. Later, we observe David fulfilling
another priestly duty, “When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the
people in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” [2 Samuel 6:18 NLT] Maybe we are witnessing a shadow
of one who would serve as priest and king to bring God to the people (Jesus).
Differing from the first attempt to being the Ark to
Jerusalem, “So
David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts
of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.” [2
Samuel 6:15 NLT] Rather than make this a military operation, David made it an
occasion for all the people.
In this story, we see that good intentions do not cancel out
ignorance and impatience. When God gives directions, obedience means we are not
to take short cuts. A blessing is not something reserved for the few.
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need
it most.” [Hebrews 4:16 NLT]
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