THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.

So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name.

They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.

When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.

1 Chronicles 13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Once David defeated Saul, was anointed king of Israel, and established his throne in Jerusalem, we read in 1 Chronicles, Chapter 13 where he turned his focus to the ark of the covenant, or as referred to in the passage – the ark of God, and returning it to Jerusalem.

As we go back to the days of the post-Egypt Israelites who were on their journey to the Promised Land, you’ll recall that God had given the following instructions regarding construction of the ark:

“Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.”

“Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you.”  Exodus 25:10-21

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 and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today. Deuteronomy 10:8

“This is the work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things. When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law. Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.

“After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.”  Numbers 4:4-6, 15

It’s important to understand these directives regarding the ark and its handling because otherwise, it may be very hard to understand why things happened the way they did in our passage from 1 Chronicles. Someone dies as a result of touching the ark and while it might seem harsh on the surface, the man violated the commandment of God and that will always carry with it consequences. It did then and it will today as well.

Let’s go back to our scripture from Chapter 13.

We know David didn’t go alone to retrieve the ark and the divine stone tablets inscribed with God’s commandments. God’s word tells us that all of Israel was assembled with David, with people coming “from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath” all to bring the ark to Jerusalem from Kiriath Jearim. The ark had been there for some time after being taken from the Israelites by the Philistines who after possessing it seven months, turned it back over to the people of Israel who resided in Kiriath Jearim because everywhere the ark had been in Philistine, God brought affliction to that city and its people. There were consequences for those who chose to worship other gods before God Almighty.

So David and the Israelite assembly traveled to Kiriath Jearim to retrieve the ark of the covenant (ark of God). We read where they chose to move the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. The assembly accompanied the transporting with worship, celebrating with all their might before God with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.

There were only two real problems with this transportation plan.

1. The ark was to be carried using the poles that were inserted through the rings at the side of the ark.

2. The Levites were to be the ones who manned up those poles and did the carrying.

Moving the ark by cart was not a very secure means of transport and as we can see, an issue did occur.

For the cart was being pulled by oxen and when they stumbled on the threshing floor of Kidon, the ark started to shift and when it shifted, scripture tells us that Uzzah reached out and touched the ark to steady it. And that was that. God struck him down dead for placing his hand on the ark.

This event shook David up, leaving him angry and afraid of God, so much so that David decided to not continue onto Jerusalem with the ark but rather take it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite where it remained for three months, a period which found Obed-Edom and his household blessed by the Lord.

So what are we to make of this? What takeaway is there for us from a story that contained tragedy?

I think the theme is simple: There are consequences.

First off, David and the Israelites should have had a better plan devised. They should have moved the ark in obedience to God’s word which gave clear direction as to how the ark was to be moved and it wasn’t on a cart. In my opinion, the loss of Uzzah was as much their fault as Uzzah’s.

We need to learn from this because our poor judgments and decisions can impact more people than just ourselves. Too often, other people end up getting hurt and yes, even dying, due to another’s bad choices. Maybe you can relate to this in your own life or you know of someone who this applies to.

If the ark had been carried properly, Uzzah probably lives. It’s pretty clear his death was a result of poor planning.

Secondly, Uzzah had to know the law and that no one was to touch the ark unless they wanted to die. And so when the oxen stumbled, Uzzah lost his bearing on the commandments of God, instead following his own impulse to steady the ark, an action that cost him his life.

Friends, the bottom line is that there is no compromise when it comes to God’s commands. No exceptions, no caveats, no do-overs.

God commands things and we are to be obedient. It’s as simple as that.

Be obedient to His word and way and will, and you will experience His blessings in the fullest sense.

Choose to not adhere to His commands and you will learn quickly, just as the Israelites and Uzzah did, that there are consequences for doing so.

I don’t know about you but I think I’ll choose obedience.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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