A way out of anger, fear, and, despair through Jesus, our new ark of the covenant

How can I bring the ark of God home to me?

(1 Chronicles 13, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 26, 2017)

[1] David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. [2] And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. [3] Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” [4] All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

[5] So David assembled all Israel from the Nile of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. [6] And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD who sits enthroned above the cherubim. [7] And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. [8] And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

[9] And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. [10] And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. [11] And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza to this day. [12] And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” [13] So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. [14] And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

A desire that was right in the eyes of the king and the people

The ark of the covenant was the holiest object in the worship system of Old Testament Israel. It was a precious golden box that was about four feet wide, and about two and a half feet in both height and depth. The arc was to be carried only by authorized people within the clan of the Kohathites in the tribe of Levi. In thinking about the holiness of the ark, we should especially remember that in the Old Testament era, the ark was the center of where God would dwell with humanity upon the earth in the midst of the worship of His people. According to that former system of devotion that God instituted, the ark was “called by the name of the Lord who sits enthroned above the cherubim.” Cherubim are angels, and the ark had a cover that was called a “mercy seat” which included two golden figures of angelic beings.

The ark had been taken out in battle against the Philistines and was lost to the enemy where it did them no good, and actually brought great harm upon them. They sought to get rid of it safely, and it ended up in a private home (“the house of Abinadab”) in a town about 11 miles northwest of Jerusalem (1 Samuel 7:1-2). There it stayed for about twenty years prior to the reign of Saul and then for all the years of Saul's reign, during which we are told here that the people of God “did not seek” the ark. How could this be? No doubt the people were afraid.

While David was the one who led the effort to bring the ark back to the worship of the Almighty, he was not alone in this desire. He consulted all the military leaders and the religious authorities and involved all the worshiping assembly of Israel. Furthermore, he spoke about his desire to do what seemed right to all the people and to make sure that the plan to move the ark was “from the Lord our God.” The idea seemed to have unanimous approval. “All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.”

A day of celebration...

Everything was going very well for about ten and a half miles. All of Israel came together for this great occasion of the journey of God back to the central place of authorized worship. We are told that “David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.” The only obvious problem would be the way that the ark was being moved: “They carried the ark of God on a new cart.” This was not the way that the ark was to be moved according to the Bible. God had commanded the Israelites in the days of Moses to make special poles that were inserted in rings on the ark so that the right people could carry it in the right way without danger to their lives and to the worship and safety of the entire congregation that would come from unauthorized contact with this holy center of Jehovah's presence on earth. (Exodus 25:13-15)

Why would the touching the ark be deadly? Since sin entered into the world, our proximity to God and His heaven has been dangerous. Israel needed to follow the Word of the Lord very carefully regarding these matters as He had warned them through Moses. David and the religious leaders did not give the Word of God sufficient consideration in their plan to move that ark.

Becomes a day of grief, anger, and blessing

Because of this serious omission, a life was lost. The oxen stumbled. No doubt good Uzzah was trying to do the right thing, but God's anger came against Uzzah, though what had taken place was really the responsibility of David and all of Israel. Now Uzzah had come too near the border between heaven and earth, and he was gone. David was angry and afraid of God. He knew that it was a good impulse to want the ark of God, but his question remained, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” We might ask today, “How can I have a close communion with God?”

The ark was taken aside temporarily to another private house for a short period. This story is picked up again more happily in chapters 15 and 16, but already we notice that the family that housed the ark was greatly blessed.

How can people be near a holy God?

It is never an easy thing for sinners to be in the presence of the true God. We will not grow in our assurance as children of God if we imagine that our peace with the Almighty is grounded in our own achievement. Our only secure standing with God has come to us through the gift of Jesus, who is Jehovah in the flesh. He is our ark of the covenant. We are right to desire Him.

Because of Jesus, we now have bold access to God in prayer. Even more than this, our King is in heaven already (Hebrews 10:19-22), and we are seated with Him there (Ephesians 2:6-7), united with the One who has atoned for our sins (Hebrews 12:24) and who makes continual intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). This gives us great confidence in life and mission, but our boldness can never be an excuse to ignore the Word of God (Hebrews 12:25, 29). We are not free to approach God in any way that might make sense to us, but only according to the revelation that the Lord has given us in the Scriptures. Even then, our assurance is based on Christ's perfect mediation.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 36 – Remembering God

Gospel Reading—Matthew 10:26-33

[26] “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [27] What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. [28] And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. [30] But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. [32] So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, [33] but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”