Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
David again brought together all the able young men of Israel-thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of 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 the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”
He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.
– 2 Samuel 6:1-13
Devotion
David captured Jerusalem, moved there and made it his capital city. He then wanted to bring the Ark of God into Jerusalem. During the process of moving the Ark, Uzzah took hold of it to steady it, apparently concerned that it was in danger of falling off of the ox cart. Uzzah, a Levite, was immediately struck dead by God for his irreverence. God’s judgment against Uzzah frightened David and made him angry.
David and the men with him had disobeyed God’s instructions about how to handle the Ark. Instead of following God’s instruction given in Exodus 25:12-15 and Numbers 4:5-6, 15, David and his men handled the Ark of God much like Israel’s arch-enemy the Philistines had done in 1 Samuel 6:1-12. Similarly, after the Philistines returned it to the Israelites, some of the men of Beth Shemesh died when they treated the Ark casually and irreverently.
After this incident, it seems David and his men had learned the hard lesson of obedience to God’s instruction and reverence of God’s Holiness, since they next chose to carry the Ark instead of transporting it on an ox cart.
The Big Question
In what situations in your life are you susceptible to disobeying God’s clear instruction? Are there areas in your life where you are in danger of becoming casual in your awe of God and your reverence for His holiness?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.