Yesterday we started talking about 2nd Samuel 6:1-9 which is a shocking passage of Scripture. We specifically looked yesterday at the first two verse and saw that David assumed that he should bring the Ark of God back but never sought God on it. We talked about how we always need to seek out what God wants.
Today we move on to verses 3-5 and see what other problems are here in this shocking passage. Let us read these verses: 3 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the hillside home of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart 4 with the Ark of God on it, with Ahio walking in front. 5 David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
We read this and say, where is the problem here, other than maybe it sounds like a Holy Rock Concert? We have the Israelites who have built a new cart to carry the Ark, that cannot be wrong. If it was an old cart that could be a problem but this is a new one specifically made to carry the Ark. We have the people worshiping and celebrating before the Lord? Where is the problem in that?
We need to figure out what the problem is here. The problem has to do with the idea of the cart because it is the thing that is going against God’s way. Look at what David does, he has a brand new cart made to carry the Ark. This Holy Ark we would say deserves a new cart, but some very important detail has been over looked by David and the others. God in Numbers 4 and Exodus 25 give some specifics as too how the Ark is to be moved and a cart is not it. Where does the idea of a cart come from? They are patterning the moving of the Ark after how the Philistines did it and not how God told them to move it. God does not care that they built a new cart because a new cart is not how he told them to move it. Look at Exodus 25:12-15 and how God said to move the Ark – 12 Cast four rings of gold for it, and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 13 Make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 Fit the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. 15 These carrying poles must never be taken from the rings; they are to be left there permanently.
The detail that David and the others forgot was that they were not to be moving the Ark by cart but that it was to be carried by the priest on poles. Now this just might seem like a small detail, but it shows a lack of not paying attention to God and not paying attention to His word. It shows a lack of obedience. Just think, they were patterning what they were doing after the ungodly rather than God.
How often is this us? How often do we get in trouble because we do not do things the way God says we should them? How often to do we get in trouble because we lack obedience to what God tells us to do? How often do we pattern our lives and what we do off how the world says to do it and try to fit God into it? We are not called to fit God into anything – He is God creator of all – we need to fit ourselves into Him.
Something else here is there is no such thing as selective obedience. Sometimes we harp on God ways to do things and the when God’s way does not fit our preference we do things after a worldly pattern. He is God and we are to be in full obedience to him and not selective obedience.
Have you ever found yourself in a position where you were lacking obedience to God and His ways or you had selective obedience? Care to share?
