In 1Chronicles chapter 13, we find the story of how King David decided the time had come to move the Ark of God from Kiriath-Jearim to Jerusalem. Verse 1 tells us that he consulted with all the officials and with the generals and the captains of his army. He felt strongly that the Ark had been neglected during the reign of King Saul, and that it belonged in the nation’s new capital.
Verse 4 says that the whole assembly agreed to David’s suggestion, because they could see it was the right thing to do. David decided to make it a national event – a day of great celebration. We can imagine the pomp and show as the Ark was placed on a new cart especially made for the occasion, and the sense of honour and privilege felt by Uzzah and Ahio, the two men chosen to guide the cart.
Yet suddenly the celebrating turned to mourning and the rejoicing became fear, when Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark as the oxen stumbled and the Lord instantly struck him dead. David became angry, and he asked: “How can I ever bring the ark of God back into my care?” (1Chronicles 13: 12.) I try and picture this scene in my mind’s eye – to imagine the contrast between the music and dancing and the deathly quiet that must have followed Uzzah’s death. I can imagine David’s anger and confusion, and I suspect if I had been in his place, I might have battled similar emotions.
Surely the death of a man for simply reaching out to steady the prized Ark was a senseless punishment on God’s part. Surely God should have approved of what David was doing, applauded him for it, and blessed the people as they rejoiced and celebrated. What had gone wrong?
I believe there are some lessons in this story from which we can all learn. WE know David did, because later, when he finally did have the Ark moved to Jerusalem, he did things very differently. Although he was initially angry, he went away and thought about it, and probably realised where he had gone wrong.
I believe David’s first mistake lay in his decision over who to consult. The Ark of god was the visual symbol of God’s presence in the midst of his people. It had been at the centre of their worship from the time instructions were given to Moses about how it should be made. It was situated in the most holy place in the tabernacle and could only be seen once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Whenever the tabernacle was moved in the wilderness, the Ark was carefully covered by Aaron and his sons before anyone had a chance to look at it. (Numbers 4: 5.) So why did David choose to consult with military leaders over what was essentially a spiritual matter?
It’s good to have people in our lives to whom we can go for advice, but I think it’s important we choose the right people for the right sort of advice. I have many friends – both Christian and non-Christian alike, but I know it is no good asking my non-believing friends to advise me in spiritual matters. Their opinions on many issues may be sound, but there are certain things that can only be discerned and understood by those who are one with us in spirit – who have the same belief systems and spiritual foundations as we do.
David’s military leaders were undoubtedly good at what they did. We know this because of all the battles they fought and won, but their expertise was in fighting, not in handling the most important item of furniture related to the worship of their nation’s God. They came up with what seemed to be a good idea, but it wasn’t a God idea, because God had already set down specific ways in which the Ark should be moved. If David had consulted the priests rather than the military leaders, they would have known that.
Right from its inception, whenever the Ark was moved, it was carried with the aid of carrying poles slotted through rings in its four corners. God had designed it this way so that no one needed to touch it when it was being transported. The poles were carried on the priests’ shoulders, and the Ark was perfectly balanced between them. However, thanks to the ill-informed advice of his generals, David chose to have it moved on a cart pulled by oxen rather than on the priest’s shoulders. This was how the oxen came to stumble, and how Uzzah was killed in the act of steadying something he had no business to touch.
I’m glad to say that by the time David prepared to move the ark for a second time, as recorded in 1Chronicles 15, he seems to have had a long hard think about how it needed to be done. Clearly by this point he had consulted with the right people and learned from his mistake. This time he chose the correct Levite leaders to move it, and he acknowledged: “Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. WE failed to ask God how to move it properly.” (1Chronicles 15: 13.)
I have known people during my lifetime who were as eager to do something for the Lord as David was when he chose to move the Ark to Jerusalem. Yet the end results have been disappointing, and those individuals have been left with questions over whether they truly heard from God in the first place because they failed to hear from Him properly. This can have a massive dent in their faith and be used as a discouraging tool by the enemy. Furthermore, looking back, I can think of many times that I’ve come up with seemingly great ideas about things I could have done for God. Yet as I’ve thought about them, prayed about them, and consulted wise Christian friends, I have felt a pulling back in my spirit – a sense that this possibly wasn’t God’s timing.
AS an example, last year, I thought God wanted me to call an online prayer meeting in the midst of the pandemic. I had all these brilliant ideas about how it could be done, and I was on the verge of putting the wheels into motion, but something stopped me. AT the time I feared it was just laziness, as such an event would have taken a lot of organising. I wondered if I’d let God down, until I found out that a fellow believer had called a day of prayer and fasting on the exact day I would have chosen, and that his event would not just involve one online prayer meeting, but a whole day during which a chat room would be left open for Christians to pray together. I’d had a good idea, but his was a God idea. Far from being disappointed that someone else was doing what I’d felt called to do, I participated in his event with great joy because I felt certain it was of god. Our Heavenly Father had put the brakes on me because He knew someone else was more equipped for the task. And praise God, it was done in the right way and with the right spirit and had an even bigger impact than what I might have planned.
I have learned that with our Saviour there will always be a specific way in which He wants things to be done, and a right time during which He places it in someone’s heart to do them. If I get to be that someone it’s a huge privilege, like it was when I knew I had to start this online ministry, but if it is another brother or sister, I can rejoice with them, get alongside them, and give them all the support I can. Of course I have made mistakes in my attempts to hear from God, just as David did in the first moving of the Ark, but God graciously gives me another chance.
The truth is that everything David needed to know before his attempts to move the Ark was available to him if he’d only searched for it. It was all written in the law of Moses, and it was common knowledge amongst the priests who had been trained in God’s ways. Likewise, the more we read our Bibles, the more familiar we will become with how we can hear and discern God’s voice. Discernment grows as our understanding and intimacy with God grows. It will not happen overnight. Sometimes His ways are difficult to understand. It may not seem important to us whether the Ark was moved on a cart or by priests carrying it on their shoulders, but clearly it was to God, and we need to make sure we understand the things that are important to Him by reading about them in His Word.
So many of us have a yearning to please our Saviour and to step out in faith, but before we do, let’s make sure those good ideas really are God ideas. Let’s take the time to pray, discern, read His word, and seek wise counsel. Then if the idea truly is of God, we can be sure that He will bless and equip us in it as we seek to fulfil His plans His way. The second moving of the Ark was even more joyful than the first, and David was right at the centre of it offering sacrifices of praise and thanks to his God, and I can assure you that when we see the end results of our good ideas that are truly God ideas, we will rejoice too.