Failure to Plan

       Have you ever been so excited to do something that you didn’t put enough forethought into the plans and things went awry?  During this period of social distancing, many of us may find ourselves anticipating the return to freedom with so much anticipation, that we may fail to listen to sound instructions in our eagerness to reconnect with loved ones.  David made a similar mistake in his exuberance to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem once he established his throne in Zion.  As I studied this passage, it is relevant to see that David had all the information that he needed to do this correctly, yet in his excitement he rushed plans and paid the consequences. 

   The Biblical account of David's relationship with God is revealed through a statement made to King Saul when Samuel shared. "The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you," recorded in 1 Samuel 13:14 (ESV).  This statement did not imply an immediate takeover; we learn through Scriptures that this transfer of power took many years.   After Saul's death, David began his rule over the house of Judah in Hebron for seven and a half years.  Later the people of Israel would fall in line with God's plan and appoint him as ruler over all Israel.  One could almost suggest that in the history of Israel, they went from a Divided Kingdom to a United Kingdom and back to a Divided Kingdom following Solomon's rule.  David moved his throne to Jerusalem and drove out the Jebusites that occupied this land.  He reigned from Jerusalem for 33 years until his death at the age of seventy.  Even though David was considered a man after God's own heart, he still made many mistakes.    

     According to the Bible Timeline, there were approximately 500 years between the life of Moses and the reign of King David.  Moses' death is recorded around 1446 BC, and David's reign began around 1000 BC.  This fact is only stated to show how quickly one can repeat the same mistake when ignoring history.  In the passage found in 2 Samuel 6 (and 1 Chronicles 13), we read the story of the people of Israels' decision to move the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem.  In this account, we will see that David responded to the counsel of men rather than God and, in doing so, made a significant oversight while implementing the plan.

     First, David sought the counsel of his' commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader.' Using a democratic approach, King David stopped seeking God's favor once he engaged with the full assembly.  We read, "if it seems good to you and from the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brothers . . . that they may gather together to us." Once David gathered the full assembly, the people of Israel including the Levitical priests, he finds the approval of man, but does not appear to take counsel with God.  In 1 Chronicle 13:4 (ESV), the Bible tells us, "all the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people." I see a red flag whenever I read a Biblical account that reads, 'for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people?' This is the same infamous phrase that is used throughout the book of Judges when one can conclude with 'oh no, not again' and pretty much be spot on.  David was well aware of what the ark represented, and it's purpose, which is revealed in Exodus 25:22 (ESV).  The LORD tells Moses, "There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. "

     The last movement of the Ark of the Covenant took place twenty years prior, which we can read in 1 Samuel 7:1-2.  It remained at the house of Abinadab since it had been recovered from the hands of the Philistines.  The Biblical account of Abinadab indicates his place of residence is in Kiriath-jearim, a Judah territory, but historian Josephus is the one to tie this man to the Levitical tribe.  This makes sense as we discover that it was his son, Eleazar, who is consecrated to guard and protect the ark under his roof.  Consecration is an act of dedicating one's life to holy service, and the consecration rituals are revealed in the book of Leviticus, starting with Aaron, the brother of Moses, and Aaron's sons.

A History of the Ark of the Covenant

     God gave instructions to Moses on Mt. Sinai on the exact specifications to build the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-11).  From the very beginning of the design stage, Moses was given instructions that the ark must be consecrated as holy before it could serve the purpose God intended for it (Exodus 30:26-29).  God appointed and equipped two men with specialized skills to build the ark.  They were Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and his apprentice, Oholiab, from the tribe of Dan (Exodus 31:1-6).  These men built the ark to the precise plan God provided to Moses (Exodus 37:1-2).  Moses was then given specific instructions on anointing the Tabernacle and all its' furnishings (Exodus 40:9).  Later Moses followed God's instructions (Leviticus 8:10).  Aaron and his sons were consecrated to perform duties involving guarding the Tabernacle, all its' furnishings, and overseeing the guardianship of all the people of Israel as they ministered in the Tabernacle (Numbers 3:8).  Specific guidelines were given to Aaron, his sons, and the sons of Levi on assembly and disassembly of the Tabernacle whenever God bid them to move from one location to another in the wilderness (Numbers 4:5).  The sons of Kohath were given charge of transporting the ark.  They were not permitted to touch it or look upon it lest they die (Numbers 4:15,20).  Poles were used for carrying the ark, and they were never to be removed from the golden rings affixed to the Ark (Exodus 25:15).  God always intended that the ark would be hand-carried by assigned individuals from the tribe of Levi (from the clan of Kohath).  Deuteronomy 10:8 reveals, "At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD to stand before the LORD to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day." Although David didn't have the technology I have at my fingertips to pull up interesting facts regarding the Ark of the Covenant, as King he was required to know the Law.  Deuteronomy 31:9 dispels any notion that Israel was not aware of the special care that was required to handle the ark.  This passage says, "Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel."

Casual Treatment of Holy Things

     Uzzah was not the first man to pay the penalty for mishandling holy things.  Following the consecration of Aaron and the anointing of his sons, Nadab and Abihu were put to death for mishandling fire in the Tent of Meetings (Leviticus 10).  Just a little while before the ark found its' home with Abinadab in Kiriath-jearim, seventy men were killed in Beth-Shemesh by taking a glimpse of the ark (1 Samuel 6:19-20).  The Israelite's knew what holy meant and they had paid the price for disrespect on several occasions.  It is plain to see in Scripture that putting the ark on a cart for transportation was a bad idea, even a new cart.  The uniformed Philistines had returned the ark to the people of Israel on a cart, but the Law of Moses did not apply to them.  They just wanted to rid themselves of the terrible plagues that came to their people and their gods since taking possession seven months prior.  David made a big mistake in his haste to move the ark without properly adhering to God's plan.

The Application

     When pondering the application for this Biblical account, one might want to first determine what is holy from God's point of view.  I asked my family this question and this is what we came up with:

• The Word of God is holy,  
• The Spirit of God that resides inside believers is holy, 
• Jesus is holy, 
• God, the Father is holy,  
• Prayer is holy,  
• Communion is holy,  
• Bapitism is holy, and
• Marriage is holy.

I'm sure there are other things we have failed to consider, possibly a research project looms in my future.  In the story of David's decision to move the Ark, we see the consequence of mishandling the Ark was death.  In the New Testament we read that Jesus was adamant about the Pharisee's mishandling Scriptures, the consequence also death.  When we ignore the commands found in Scriptures or make the decision to do what is right in our own eyes without consulting Scripture, we resemble the story of Uzzah.  How easy is it to get caught up in our own thinking, knowing full well that Scriptures might reveal our actions are contrary to God's will?  Maybe a simple act of how I treat my neighbor, how I treat authority, or how I treat a enemy reveals the same sin found within this story.  

     As I gather other observations and applications from this weeks Scripture reading, I paused on a lesson that Jesus was teaching to his disciples recorded in the book of Matthew.  After Peter appropriately identified that Jesus was the Son of God in Matthew 16:16, Jesus rebuked him only seven verses later with this admonishment, "Peter, you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man," (See Matthew 16:23).  In between these two verses, we see that Jesus has just transferred authority (keys of the kingdom) to the apostles from the Pharisees.  Jesus said, "And I tell you Peter, on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," (Matthew 16:18-19a).  The rock, the foundational teaching of this verse, is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  How easy is it for any of us to take our eyes off God and place our minds on the things of man?  David did it, Peter did it, and we do it too.