Getting the Ark Home- 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13, 15

Background

Have you ever thought you had an amazing idea but it turned out to be the worst idea ever made? In 1985, Coca-Cola decided to take a marketing leap that turned into a nightmare by creating what they called “New Coke.” New Coke was supposed to be a reformulated version of the original because people’s tastes were changing and were preferring a sweeter soda like Pepsi. Now it started off good with sales being up 8% after the launch, but what followed was a PR nightmare. Bottlers started suing Coke, Southerners had a straight up identity crisis in the news, people were pouring out thousands of bottles in the street, and international bottlers outright refused to bottle it, effectively loosing the entire international market. 79 days after it’s introduction New Coke was replaced with the original formula called Coca-Cola Classic. Why were so many people upset at this? Because people were more upset the the original was completely done away with than the fact a new formula was introduced.

In 1 Chronicles 13 and 2 Samuel 6 we read about a very similar PR nightmare with much more drastic consequences. The ark of the covenant was one of the most important pieces of the Jewish religion. The ark contained several things on the inside such as the two tablets of the law, some manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. On top of the ark was the mercy seat. This is where the presence of God sat when placed in the most holy place of the tabernacle. This is also where the high priest would sprinkle blood on the day of atonement when he would enter the most holy place. It was such a massive part of their practices that they lost it. In 1 Samuel 4 we read that Israel was preparing to fight a battle against the Philistines near Ebenezer. They get out there and 4000 Israelites die. Then the army gets the bright idea to bring the ark of the covenant to their camp so that God can be in their presence. The Philistines catch wind of this, get terrified and say, “We can’t become slaves to these Hebrews.” So 34,000 Israelites fall that day. All the men scatter, running home in fear. The two sons of Eli are killed and the ark of the covenant is captured and carted back to Ashdod.

What happens next is interesting. The Philistines take the ark and set it up by the statue of their god Dagon. Twice does the statue break and the entire city is hit with a plague. They cart it off to another city called Gath and they were afflicted with the same plague. Once again the ark is carted to another city called Ekron where they were afflicted and the people said nope, we don’t want to die, we’re sending it back to Israel. So they cart it up and send it back to Israel where it eventually lands in the house of Abinadab in the town of Kiriath-jearim where it sat for 20 years.

The First Attempt and Uzzah’s Death.

Now that we have the background leading up to 1 Chronicles 13, let’s see what happens. David has been anointed king and one of the first things he does is attempt bringing back the Ark of the covenant. He gathers 30,000 men and discusses what they are going to do. 1 Chronicles 13:1-4

1 Chronicles 13:1–4 ESV

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.

Notice what they do. They get together for this big ol’ powwow, say lets go get the ark and off they go. No real planning, no discussion, no research, just load the thing up and get it back here. Verse two, David tells them, if it seems good to you and God then lets go get the ark. Verse 4 says the thing was right in the eyes of the people. But it doesn’t say it was right to God, why? God knew what was about to happen. David, the commanders, the priests he all gathered together didn’t do some things that could have helped in this debacle. They didn’t pray. They never took the time to ask for the wisdom to handle this situation. They had the ability to talk to God and never thought that maybe he would have a solution. If a prophet was there maybe he would have said something, but even we know prophets work their own wills sometimes. Nathan told David to build the temple and God had to tell him to tell David no. Not only did they not take the time to pray and talk to God, they didn’t take the time to look at the scriptures.

There was a certain group of people that tended to the things of God and that was the Levites. The Levites were the only ones allowed to tend to the tabernacle, the priests were consecrated Levites to serve in the Holy Place of the tabernacle, and the high priest, which is a descendant of Aaron, was the only one who could enter the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle. Had David just searched the scriptures he would have seen that only Levites could touch the ark. Deuteronomy 10:8

Deuteronomy 10:8 ESV

8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.

The ark was designed to not be touched with bare hands. Exodus 25:14–15 “14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.” It was to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites and transported by hand. David had a different idea. His idea was to load the ark onto a fresh cart and put two oxen on the front. This is honestly a pretty good idea. Bring a virgin cart and two virgin oxen to emphasize that the Lord deserves the best and His holiness. They lead a parade of people singing, dancing, praising God for this great thing happening. 1 Chronicles 13:5-8

1 Chronicles 13:5–8 ESV

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.

The distance between Kiriath-jearim and Jerusalem is about 15 miles. Thats roughly like driving from Exit 57 to Exit 44. It’s not an extravagant distance, but far enough that I wouldn’t want to carry a whole bunch of wait on my shoulders. Every year for Memorial day, many people participate in a workout called the Murph Challenge. It’s a 1 mile run followed by 100 pullups followed by 200 push ups followed by 300 squats and finished with another 1 mile run all while wearing a 20lb weighted vest. That is just about the physical exertion that the Levites would have suffered carrying the ark all through this mountainous region. No wonder they put it on a cart and have two oxen pull it. That’s what would have been used to transport any other cargo in the region, so why not the ark? We know what happens next. Because of David’s mistake a man is killed. 1 Chronicles 13:9-13

1 Chronicles 13:9–13 ESV

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.

Uzzah gets killed. Uzzah is one of the sons of Abinadab who was housing the ark. It doesn’t tell us how old he was but the fact of the matter is the ark stayed in that house for 20 years and he would have grown up with it. His older brother was consecrated to tend to the ark while it was there. David is upset that he can’t get the ark to Jerusalem and parks it at another house. Something we have to notice is that just because we have a good idea and motives doesn’t mean it will work. January 28, 1986 at Cape Canaveral, FL, 11:39am, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight. They found that the O-rings that sealed the rocket boosters failed to properly seal and caused the first fatal accident with NASA. They had record low temperatures that morning and instead of aborting the flight they continued on schedule in the name of science. 7 people were on board that flight. Had the flight coordinators done their due diligence maybe those 7 people would still be alive. Maybe if David had done his due diligence, we’d be reading a very different story. Had David taken the time to check and make sure everything was being done how it should then maybe Uzzah would still be there. Christa McAuliffe was a teacher and one of the passengers on the Challenger. She was part of a government program to increase interest in the space program by doing experiments and teaching lessons from space. How many of her students were watching that day? Uzzah was not the only person on that cart. His brother was there beside him. Ahio would have watched his brother die and then he would have to go home and explain to his father where his brother was, all because David did not search for the Lord’s way.

Getting the ark home

After the death of Uzzah, David was angry. He was angry at God, angry at the situation, so he parks the ark at Obed-edom’s house for three months. 1 Chronicles 13:14 “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.” The Lord blessed Obed. So much so that word gets back to David and he says no more delay. He starts searching the scriptures and finds that only the Levites can carry the ark. 1 Chronicles 15:11-15

1 Chronicles 15:11–15 ESV

11 Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

David had a whole procession going to celebrate the return of the ark, but notice something in 2 Samuel 6:13 “13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.” David knew he had the right answer and so he celebrated the fact with a sacrifice. Forget the procession, forget the singing, forget the thousands of people lined up, we’ve got to sacrifice right now. They would then sacrifice 7 bulls and 7 rams when the ark got home. Then David did something. He danced. 2 Samuel 6:14 “14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.” He put his heart, soul, and body to worship the Lord because it was by the knowledge of God that the ark came home.

Sometimes the wisdom of God is confusing to those who do not understand it. When David was worshipping, he was wearing a linen robe and ephod. In a sense, we would call them street clothes. He wasn’t wearing his royal garments, or his best clothes. Michal was one of David’s wives and Saul’s daughter. She sees David dancing before the Lord wearing his linen clothes and becomes angry with him. 1 Chronicles 15:29 “29 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.” Why? Because he wasn’t dressing the part of a king. 2 Samuel 6:20 “20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”” He was acting like one of the regular people on the streets. But David didn’t care. He was worshipping the Lord and gave this response 2 Samuel 6:21-22

2 Samuel 6:21–22 ESV

21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”

Summed up, he says, “By the time I’m done you will hate me more but everyone else will hold me in high esteem.” Why? Because David humbled himself before almighty God. That’s a pretty good summation of 1 Peter 5:6 “6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” David needed to humble himself before the Lord and look to His wisdom over something that seemed like a good idea.

David's first attempt failed not because he had bad intentions, but because he followed his own wisdom instead of God's. How often do we do the same? Do we assume our good ideas are God's will instead of actually searching His Word? We all have moments when we think, ‘This plan makes sense!’ only to later realize we never asked God if it was right. Whether it’s relationships, career moves, or ministry decisions, we need to seek God's way first—not after things go wrong.