The Ark of the Covenant was originally kept in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle. The Ark was the focal point of God's physical presence among his people. In 1 Samuel 3-7, the Israelites decided to take the Ark into battle, hoping that it would give them victory over their enemies, the Philistines. The Philistines captured the Ark and took it to one of their cities, but the people began breaking out in tumors, so the ark was returned to the Israelites. The return did not strengthen the Israelite army, which disbanded. The Ark was then placed in Kiriath-jearim, where it remained for 20 years. By David's time, the city had changed it's name to Baale-judah. Lesson: You cannot make God do what you want, not through prayer, not through objects. When we forget that God is God and He will make the correct choice no matter what, we force Him into a box. We try to force or appease him and end up dropping our relationship. No longer do we know and trust the Lord, instead we simply try to control Him. And that will never work in our favor. The Lord wants a relationship with us. It's the relationship of a parent and child. The child asks for what he wants, and the parent makes a choice based on what is best for that child. When that child tries to manipulate or force a parent to give them what they want, the child usually ends up with some pretty unfortunate consequences.
David decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, the new capital of Israel. This was done with much fan fair, as the very presence of the Lord was manifest in the ark. Music accompanied the procession, including instruments such as lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. During this processional, a man named Uzzah reaches out to stabilize the ark & is struck dead. The ark was to be treated with great respect. In Exodus, the Lord gave very important instructions regarding the ark & its transportation, it was to be placed on poles and carried by men. David and his people put the ark on a cart, which caused this unfortunate event to happen. David was terrified, so he left the ark in the house of Obed-edom. When it was shown that Obed-edom was blessed because of the ark, David went back for it. This time the ark was carried correctly, sacrifices were made and the people worshiped, rejoiced, and danced. Lesson - Once again, God knows what is best. In order for you to know what is best - His Will - you need to talk to Him and listen. You need to read His word and meditate on it. Had David consulted the Lord on his decision to move the ark, he would have been given the correct instructions on how to proceed, saving himself a lot of hardship, stress, fear, and grief. It's the same for us.
The return of the ark was once again a time of great joy - offerings, worship, dancing. However, David's wife, Michael, looked upon it with disdain. She lacked spiritual discernment. Instead, she was caught up in vanity. She missed the big picture because she was so focused on what her husband was wearing. This caused her to respond with bitterness and sarcasm. Because of this she had no children. Was this a punishment from the Lord? Or does this indicate that David no longer sought her out as a bed mate? The Bible doesn't tell us. However, either way, her lack of depth and relationship caused her to suffer for the rest of her days. Lesson - Do you sometimes get caught up in the small things and miss the big picture? Do you allow the little things to ruin your day? Do you allow the actions of others to define your attitude? I certainly hope not. We are called to work on relationships, called to focus on God, called to put others first. In these things we find joy and peace.
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