Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart that carried the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. Then the LORD’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God. David was angry because the LORD’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today. [2 Samuel 6.1-8]
There are some things in this story I wish to discuss today that have much to do with modern worship of, and devotion to, God.
By this time, David was king over all Israel and things were going well. Their armies had defeated the Philistines a couple of times and had also recently driven the Jebusites out of Jerusalem and made it David's home. God was blessing Israel. In this 'upbeat' contemporary environment, the decision was made to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. It sounded like a great idea.
There was something critical that was missed in the decision to move the Ark of God. It was that even though things were going well and Israel had clearly moved into a fresh contemporary relationship with God, God had not changed. God's rules had not changed. God's holiness had not changed. The way to handle the "holy things of God" had not changed and still carried curses for deviation from that way.
In Israel's contemporary worship of God, all their songs and instruments - obviously all the latest and greatest - they inadvertently carried over their 'modern' thinking to how they would handle the Ark of God. Besides, carrying it on their shoulders when a modern, perfectly new cart could be used instead would have been old-fashioned and irrelevant! It just made sense to use the modern tools at their disposal. Right?
Wrong.
I want to point something out about David here that is critical. David got mad. David had reasoned along with the people that hauling the Ark of God on a "new cart" was the contemporary (and therefore right) way to do it. But their failure to follow God's specific rules on handling the Ark of God cost a man his life. Instead of understanding that the "curse for their disobedience" was justified, David became proud, got angry at God (as if God did something wrong), and decided not to take the Ark of God into Jerusalem (as if "that would show God??").
Does this sound familiar? It should. Modern worship of God is all "contemporary," but is it right? How would we know? Well for starters, if curses for disobedience continue among the people, something is being done wrong! But, just like David, people think they have the right to do things "their way" and God just has to bless it. How many times have we heard it said, "So and so got angry with God because ...[insert some tragedy here]?" We see it all the time, and many of us have even experienced it.
The fact is, God will not be coerced by our anger about the way we think things should be done. If we are experiencing curses instead of blessings, it is not the time to get proud and angry against God! It is time to get humble and REPENT - to turn from our wicked, wrong ways and DO IT RIGHT!
Father, help me to humbly evaluate my circumstances - especially when obvious curses have come - and repent. I want to have a lifestyle of repentance because it is the pathway upon which the obedience of faith walks. And help me, with Christ in me to do the works of Christ and not what "I think is right."
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