Restoring the Presence of Yahweh
Chapters 13 and 15 give us the 2-part account of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the City of David. Chapter 14 covers the same material from 2nd Samuel 5; about the 2 battles with the Philistines after David becomes king. So I won’t touch on that other than to note something that I did not mention in my post on 2nd Samuel 5.
That is – after the 1st battle with the Philistines, (the head-on attack), the Philistines “abandoned their gods there. And David commanded, and they were burnt with fire. 1 Chronicles 14:12.”
The parallel passage in 2nd Samuel has that David and his men “carried the idols away.”
Israel wasn’t the only people that took their national deity into battle. When 2 armies went to war in the ancient world it was seen by both sides as a match of “whose god is bigger?” The Philistines carried images of their gods into battle; probably for protection as well as favor. If you are being defeated then your god obviously isn’t helping. The Philistines retreat tossing their idols to the ground. Maybe they thought, “Hey if it’s such a powerful being, it can look after itself. I’m getting outa here!”
TRANSPORTING THE ARK – TAKE 1
The golden Ark of the Covenant has been sitting in a house for about 30 years; from the time the Philistines sent it back on an ox-cart and all through the reign of King Saul and the 7 years of David’s reign over Judah.
Now David is king of all Israel and he wants to restore “one nation under God.” His newly-captured stronghold of the City of David is a safe place for it until he can get something more permanent set up.
Recall that David has for many years now “enquired of the LORD” by asking Yahweh’s prophets and by the priestly use of the Urim and Thummim in the pocket of the High Priest’s ephod. He wants the presence of Yahweh to be near. So like any good leader, he makes a plan and executes. Only, because it’s not a battle, David does not “enquire of the LORD” about moving the Ark. And it’s not like he can open a Bible app with a couple taps or flip open a copy of the scripture and read the passages about how the Ark was moved in the time of Moses.
Think about that. You have better access to scripture and have likely read the Torah WAY more thoroughly than David or even the priests and prophets themselves. We truly live in a period of incredible favor in that regard.
Were there wise old Levites somewhere in Israel that could’ve told David how the Ark was to be moved? I think so. But did he bother to ask? No.
“And David summoned all Israel from Shihor of Egypt up to Lebo-Hamath to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-Jearim.”
1 Chronicles 13:5 LEB
Forget “Dan to Beersheba.” This is bigger.
It must’ve taken weeks or months to get the word out and get everyone gathered for this event. This was a BIG deal.
Thousands of people showed up. They were excited. They were celebrating. And a tragedy shuts the whole thing down. God is angry. David is angry. And everyone goes home disappointed. What happened?
🤓 Uzzah touched the Ark and got zapped. Awkward way to shut down a party.
😒 Yeah. But why would God do that? Wasn’t Uzzah just trying to help?
Well let me ask you a question. Did God need rescuing? Or do you think that the One Who hung the stars in place could’ve come up with a way to keep His throne from falling off a cart?
There is an important application for God’s people today in this event. To draw wisdom from it, we need to think in terms of concepts – because I doubt any of us are going to need to move the actual Ark of the Covenant anytime soon. Let’s think through this together.
Q: What were they moving really?
A: The presence of the LORD. His earthly throne.
Q: Where did they get the idea to move it on a cart pulled by oxen?
A: That was how it was moved the last time it moved.
Q: And who decided to move it that way?
A: The Philistines
Q: And were they God’s people doing things God’s way?
A: No
Q: Where does the presence of the LORD dwell now on earth?
A: In the Church.
Q: We would never look back in history at the last time the Presence of God moved and copy what they did, would we? Surely we wouldn’t say, “That’s the way it was done before.”
Q: Would we look at the world, at pagans, and copy something they did because it was “effective?” It worked for them!
Listen, Saints…
WE. DO. NOT. COPY. THE. WORLD.
I don’t care how “effective” some strategy borrowed from the corporate-world is.
DO
NOT
CARE
The Church is not now, nor never has been, and never will be a corporation.
It is the living Body and Bride of Christ.
Not even close to being the same thing.
Don’t care if the Philistines did it and nobody got hurt. Don’t care if it worked for them and they packed 10,000 people into a stadium.
We ask the LORD the way HE wants to move and we do it HIS WAY.
And what about poor Uzzah?
How many times have well-meaning but unqualified people reached out their human hands to “help God out?”
Online Etymology of “Manipulate”:
The word “manipulate” originated in 1827, meaning “to handle skillfully by hand,” derived from the French word “manipulation,” which comes from the Latin “manipulus,” meaning “handful.” Over time, its meaning expanded to include managing or influencing someone or something for personal advantage, especially in a subtle or deceptive manner.
Uzzah assumed that the Ark would fall because the “oxen stumbled.”
Did God – Who knows all things – know that the oxen were about to stumble?
Could He have kept them from stumbling?
Is it possible He wanted the people to experience the consequences of their choices?
Could God have levitated the Ark?
Can the LORD take care of Himself?
The Ark is estimated to have weighed 180-220lbs and was of a stable proportion. That cart had to have tipped wildly for Uzzah to think it was going to fall out.
If a ministry is stumbling, maybe it’s not using the right method to carry the Presence of the LORD. Maybe it’s copying some “good idea” used by someone in the past or some worldly group that seemed to work. Don’t try to rescue it. Let it fall. God can take care of Himself. This is serious business. Uzzah ended up dead.
The LORD is not to be transported at the whims of man. He is GOD. He will do the deciding how He wants to move, thank you very much.
We dare not try to work up, drum up, or hype up some “move of God.” We dare not attempt to manipulate the presence of the LORD.
TRANSPORTING THE ARK – TAKE 2
So how does one have a “move of God?” If I were to take 1 Chronicles 15 as a template of “How to participate in a God-move,” here are the principles I would draw from it:
- Prepare to receive.
- David prepared a place for the Ark in advance of its arrival. If we would receive the presence of the LORD we need to create a special space for Him and prepare. Clean house. Set things in order.
- Return to the scripture and do things the way the LORD wants them done.
- We’re not going to invent some new way to have the LORD among His saints. He has already revealed all that. Our part is to read and obey.
- The priests have to be sanctified.
- The Church is called the “Royal Priesthood.” We can’t show up for work unwashed in our souls and smelling like the world.
- Prioritize worship
- This was no afterthought. It was organized. It was well-done. The musicians and singers were trained and ready. Logistics were thought out. Positions assigned.
- Offer sacrifice
- This wasn’t cheap. It cost them a lot of work and trouble and time and money. But they were excited and glad to give.
- Everyone wore “fine linen”
- In Revelation “fine linen” in heaven is identified as “the righteousness of the saints.” You can’t have a move of God if everyone is excusing sin in their lives. Righteousness is the proper attire for a move of God.
- Be ready to be despised
- Even those of your own household will think you’ve gone overboard or you’re being emotional or “church should be a place of somber dignity” instead of exuberant celebration. Be prepared. People you know will not approve. They will think you’re ridiculous and undignified. You have to be willing to be ok with that.
I deeply appreciate this narrative of David’s attempts to move the Ark. We get a clear illustration of both what NOT to do and what TO DO in carrying the presence of the LORD.
Let’s be prayerful and watch out for the use of man-made mechanisms. We don’t pull the LORD on a cart around with us. That puts God behind us and us out in front. Don’t ever get out in front, friends.
We’re meant to covered by Him; to feel the weight of His throne on our shoulders.
We’re meant to be the guys carrying the King. These guys:
They aren’t deciding where he goes. They are listening for instructions and obeying. It’s not a conference either. It DOESN’T go like this:
🤴🏽 King: Forward!
👳🏽♂️ Servant 2: Hold on. I think we should go over here to the right.
👳🏽 Servant 3: But I never get to pick! I want to take the path by the river. It’s cooler!
But how many saints today are usurping the king’s role and calling the shots?
The good news is – even if, like David, we have messed up and done it wrong, we can do a reset. We can step away for a season. Get prepared. Get into the Scripture. Get ourselves and the whole team sanctified and dressed in the fine righteousness of Christ. And come back together with hearts ready to worship and sacrifice and even be despised.
And when we do and God is in our midst – THAT is something to celebrate with abandon.
To The Reader 