Rev. Don Campbell
2 Samuel 5:1-10; 1 Chronicles 11-12
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, May 4, 2019
“HE DID IT HIS WAY”
I see arrogance and rebellion in the words of Frank Sinatra’s song “I Did It My Way”: “For what is man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught;
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels; The record shows I took the blows and did it my way.” David had good intentions when he decided to recover the Ark of the Covenant, but he did not do it God’s way, resulting in the death of Uzzah, who also had good intentions. We pick up the story in 2 Samuel 5.
David has been anointed king over both Israel and Judah and peace civil war has ended, resulting in David’s saying, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” War would again break out between David and the Philistines, but for now, they had been defeated, because, as we learned in “Hotline to Heaven (May 1), David had wisely consulted God before going into battle.
With peace in the kingdom, David decided that the ark of God should be returned to its place in Jerusalem: Let’s let the author himself tell the story:
“David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.
“And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of 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 the Lord that day, and he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’”
For whatever reason, David had not consulted God as to whether he should bring the ark back and if so, how it was to be done. David now decided to do it God’s way. He had learned something that he should have been known, and if it were not known, he should have inquired of the Lord: The Levites were to carry the ark on their shoulders: “Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord” (1 Chronicles 15:13-15).
CONNECTIONS
1. We are instructed, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:16-17). To do it in the name of the Lord is to do it his way. If we are uncertain about God’s way what should we do that David didn’t do?
2. Studying God’s word is one way of learning God’s will (2 Timothy 3:16-10), but so are prayer and meditation (Philippians 4:4-9). Consultation is another (Matthew 18:15-20). If we only study the Scriptures without doing the other three things, what might be the outcome?
