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June 6, 2017 |
| 2 Samuel 6 | ||
While Israel wandered in the wilderness, wherever they stopped they setup the tent of meeting, the objects of worship, and the enclosure around all of that. When Israel entered the Promised Land they setup everything one last time at a place called Shiloh. For many years that is where they went to worship.
But Israel fell into sin and especially sin in the worship practices at Shiloh. They carried the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines without seeking God's direction and God allowed them to be defeated and the Ark to be captured. The Philistines even came so far into Israel that they reached Shiloh and destroyed it.
This came upon Israel because they had lost respect for God and were trying to use the Ark of the Covenant as a weapon against their enemies. They wanted the Ark to serve the purposes they thought were right and thus they were trying to use God. They failed to respect him.
God brought plagues on the Philistines until they sent the Ark back to Israel. When it arrived there, some Israelites opened it up to see what was inside and 70 or more people died. Once again they had showed their disrespect for God, God's law, and the things that God had declared holy.
The Ark was placed in the house of a man called Abinadab and stayed there for 20 years. The Bible mentions three sons of Abinadab, Eleazar, Uzzah and Ahio. Eleazar was consecrated to take care of the Ark1. Uzzah and Ahio grew up with the Ark of the Covenant in their house.
1 Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim. 3 They placed the ark of God on a new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. 4 So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. 5 Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.
6 But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 David became angry because of the Lord's outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
The Bible often tells us things by the information it chooses to include. Often this information is already known to the reader. Therefore we need to be watchful and ask ourselves "why has this been included?" or "why is it repeated?". This chapter contains a few of these.
Question 1: Why is there so much detail about the ark? Verse 2 says "the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord [Yahweh] of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim."
Answer 1: The reason for the detail is to emphasize the importance of the Ark. It is not just a pretty box. It belongs to God, is part of his name, and his throne is between the cherubim who sit on top of it. They didn't know it then but it was a description of the coming Messiah, bread of life, great high priest, with the law as his foundation and atonement his purpose. This box is very important to God and that's what leads to death here. The people are disrespecting it and God. We'll talk about how they are doing that a little later.
Question 2: Why is there so much detail about the celebration and the instruments when it will turn into a disaster? Verse 5 says "David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals."
Answer 2: The reason for the detail is to show how far we can be from God's ways when we think we are doing right. Everyone is whooping it up and praising and worshipping God but they are doing evil and God puts an end to it.
Many people think of God as a mean God because of this incident, because of the earlier incident where the Ark was opened and people died, and because of others like it. Without understanding, many people see these as trivial offences being punished by the maximum penalty - death - thus God seems unjust.
These verses are not just the description of the event they are actually an indictment against the people there, a list of violations and a punishment acted out. Israel, under King David, was actually doing a bunch of things wrong:
Every person there knew these rules or should have, especially the priests and Levites. They are written in Leviticus and there are stories about mishandling the holy things of God.
Despite this it doesn't seem that anyone said anything. Did some people know but they were afraid to correct the king? Did some people know but they didn't want to stick out? Maybe everyone was caught up in the celebration and never stopped to think about it. We don't know. We do know that we can make the same mistake. Doing right often requires taking a stand.
We don't see any evidence that David had consulted God on this. If not that may also be part of the reason the Ark is being moved in David's way instead of God's way.
More than anything else God struck out because their hearts were wrong. They didn't respect the things of God and they didn't respect God's word enough to obey it and therefore they didn't respect God enough to obey him. This is rebellion, disobedience, and arrogance, which is idolatry. It isn't just about a well intentioned boy who touched the Ark.
Uzzah had especially lost respect for the Ark. Probably the years of having it in is home had made it seem like just another box to him. As the saying goes "familiarity breeds contempt". The charge against him comes in verse 7, irreverence, which means lack of due respect. It had been a part of their home for 20 years and he may have become too familiar with it. He may have seen it as a thing and not as something holy. He must have felt he was protecting this box his family had cared for from harm. I'm certain his intent was pure - in his own mind - but it was absolutely wrong. He had forgotten that God needs nothing from man, especially protection.
It was the combination of all these things that caused God to lash out. God could see that they had lost respect for him and his holy things. They were doing a great wrong while believing they were doing a great good. They had people playing instruments, everyone was celebrating before the Lord … but they were all doing evil.
This is a very dangerous situation to be in, where we believe we are doing good but we are really doing evil because we don't think about what we are doing. Often we have a story we use to justify it. Here it is "the new cart will please God." With Saul it was "we'll bring them as sacrifices to God." When things get like this God needs to act. This is the situation Israel got into when Judaism collapsed into legalism and required the arrival of the Messiah and a new covenant. It is the situation Christianity will get into at the end of time.
We fight against these failings by inspecting everything we do and comparing it against the Bible. Does this really please God or is it just something I made up that seems right to me?
King David understood what had happened to Uzzah. We can see that by how he named that location - Perez Uzzah - which means "the breakthrough of Uzzah."4 God's attack on Uzzah, when translated literally from Hebrew means "the Lord broke through a breakthrough"5 which means that Uzzah broke through to God's presence and God broke out against him.
9 So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" 10 And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 Thus 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.
Why was he afraid to move the Ark "into the city of David with him"?
Now we understand this isn't a story about a young man with good intentions who did something he shouldn't have. It's a story about a people who knew better but disrespected God. Given that, the real question is why didn't God send a deadly plague on all of them as he frequently needed to do. What might have seemed like harsh treatment of a young man turns out to be merciful treatment of a nation.
This brings up a question about the time, early in 1st Samuel, when the Philistines captured the Ark and took it with them back to their cities. They certainly didn't have Levites to carry it. They likely touched it. They did transport it on a new ox cart. Why weren't they killed?
The answer is that the Ark of the Covenant isn't inherently dangerous. There isn't a quality about it that kills people that touch it or open it … as some people and movies have suggested. It is God who lashes out and he does it with justice, mercy, and instruction. From the people who had the Torah and knew better, he expected better. For the people who had no understanding, he only brought enough trouble to get them to return the Ark to Israel.
12 Now it was told King David, saying, "The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God." David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. 13 And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
David wants the blessings of the Ark and this spurs him to deal with that situation.
Look at how they move the Ark this time. There are bearers of the Ark and they are walking. There are also sacrifices. David is dressed in linen, the sign of purity. That almost certainly means he has washed himself ceremonially. The Ark is led by trumpets and the musicians and celebrants follow behind. A trumpet is the proper way to announce the coming and arrival of a king.
This event is also discussed in 1 Chronicles 15
Now David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, "No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever." […] 11 Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites […] 12 and said to them, "[…] consecrate yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it at the first, the Lord our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance." (1 Chronicles 15:2-13)
It appears then that David had not even planned a site for the Ark when he first tried to bring it up to Jerusalem.
16 Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
Here is another one of those questions about excessive detail. Why are we told that Michal is "the daughter of Saul"? There is only one Michal mentioned in the entire Old Testament and the reader already knows she is the daughter of Saul. In fact, that is mentioned here in verse 16 and again in verse 20, so it must be important. She is David's wife now though and it would be proper to refer to her that way. So why is "the daughter of Saul" reference used here?
The answer is that, as the daughter of Saul, she was raised in the palace. She knows the life of luxury, of respect, of putting on airs, of looking a certain way, acting a certain way. We are being told why she reacted the way she did to David's unseemly manner. By "palace" standards it was simply not acceptable. But David was not like other kings.
17 So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.
We saw this earlier when David plundered the plunderers. He sent gifts to influential people. Here again we see him giving gifts to everyone. In doing this he earns their respect instead of demanding it.
20 But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!" 21 So David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished." 23 Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
Michal speaks about the maids of the servants of the masters, showing that she views society as a heirarchy. She scolds David because his performance is not at all how she thinks a king should behave. David's words to Michal are important to understand:
So, who cut-off whom? In verse 23 we see the third instance of "daughter of Saul" which sounds like she was going to continue in her ways. David was going to continue in his ways. Therefore they just weren't compatible.
1. What were all the things Israel was doing wrong with the Ark of the Covenant?
2. Why did Uzzah die?
3. Do we sometimes become too familiar with God and forget that he is God?
4. How is WWJD similar to this?
1 1 Samuel 7
2 Numbers 4:15
3 Exodus 25:12-14; Numbers 7:9
4 Bible Gateway - NASB, 2 Samuel 6 comment g
5 Bible Gateway - NASB, 2 Samuel 6 comment f
