“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Rom 15:4). There is an interesting story with reference to the Ark of the Covenant which teaches us several lessons about God as well as man. In 2 Sam. 6:1-19 and 1 Chronicles 15:1-15, we learn that for many years, the Ark of the Covenant was moved from place to place. But, when David became King, he decided to bring the ark to Jerusalem. So, David, along with some of the noblest men in Israel, came to the home of Abinadad in Gibeah to retrieve the ark. Now, in order to get the ark to Jerusalem, they placed it on a cart pulled by oxen. Yet, somewhere along the way, the oxen stumbled and one of the men, Uzzah the son of Abinadad, reached out his hand to steady the ark (which no man was allowed to touch) and was struck dead. Clearly, Uzzah though he was doing a good thing in trying to protect this falling ark which was being moved. Uzzah’s death angered David initially, but later he calmed down, thought about things, then came again and successfully brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem according to God’s mandated methods of moving the Ark.
Now, there are many lessons to be learned from this account. First, God demands complete obedience. Second, many think that God is not concerned with the details. Yet, 1 Sam. 15:22 tells us to obey is better than sacrifice. In Gen. 6:22 we read that “Noah found grace and did all he was commanded”. Matt. 7:21 teaches that the only ones to enter into the kingdom of heaven are those who do the will of the Father which is in heaven. Third, convenience or preference in a given situation does not trump the word of God. David could not put the ark on the cart. Instead, only the Levite priests were permitted to carry the heavy ark with the aid of poles resting on their shoulders for about 15 miles because that is how God commanded the moving of the Ark. Fourth, feelings do not determine truth. The men were rejoicing and having a great time moving the ark until God’s judgment. A conscience which is not offended in a matter does not mean the activity is authorized. In Acts 23:1 Paul said that he had lived in all good conscious before God even though he was persecuting the church. Fifth, notice the attitude of David. At first, he is angry at God because of the consequence of sin (Prov. 13:15), but later after thought reading about how the Ark was to be moved correctly, he becomes humble and acknowledges his sin (1 Chron. 15:13). From this lesson, we learn much about the character of God. While there is no ark to touch today, there are plenty of commands that we are either obeying or ignoring. How are you treating God’s word?