I find 2 Samuel 6 to contain quite a humorous, and yet poignant tale that teaches us something about the human condition.
David and the Israelites decide to move the Ark of God (God’s dwelling place among men) to a new location. During the move though, David got a little more than he bargained for.
David didn’t pay top dollar for the professional movers; no–he hired the kids from down the block for $20 bucks to move his stuff, the sons of Abinadab; there the kids that don’t really know how to use the bubble wrap and literally throw your box of fine china into the trailer.
Sometime during the move, the wagon slips and the Ark begins to slide off (apparently they didn’t know how to use a bungee cord). Instinctively, Uzzah reaches out to catch it; he finds out, like many other characters in the Old Testament, that encountering unmitigated divinity unprepared is often fatal to frail humans.
Then David, who has been leading the Ark around in parade-like fashion, stops and says “Wait a minute!” In fact, the Bible says that he became angry (2 Sam 6:8). A God who would strike someone dead for trying to protect the Ark? I don’t want nothing to do with that David says.
So he refuses to let the Ark enter into his city, and he sloughs it off on the poorest schmoe he can find nearby (Obed-edom). And there the Ark remained the rest of David’s days…
HAH! Just kidding.
In the immortal words of Lee Corso, “not so fast my friends!”
Shortly thereafter, King David gets word that the Lord is blessing that poor man’s household and possessions because of the Ark’s presence. All of the sudden, David exclaims “I got to get me some of that!” (rough translation) (2 Sam 6:12). David quickly goes back to Obed-edom’s house and has the Ark of the Covenant moved into the City.
It’s really interesting, isn’t it? When following God was difficult, confusing, or causing pain, David didn’t want to have anything to do with it, but when he thinks God will give him something, he can’t get that ark in there quick enough.
I wonder how often am I like this in my own life. How often do I “love” or pursue God simply because of what I think He can do for me? I should love God for who He is. A lot of people, including myself, tend not to give a rip about God until we are in a tight spot or we perceive He can give us something.
In a sense, we all come to faith initially because of what God can do for us–not the other way around. We put our faith in Jesus because He offers us the security of eternal life, or freedom from addictions that threaten to destroy us, contentment in life, etc. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing–its a great starting point–it just can’t be a stopping point.
We must learn to take the pleasant with the uncomfortable. Otherwise, we become like the disciples who wanted to sit at Jesus right hand but did not want to be involved with His call to suffering and hardship. We can not treat God like the Santa Clause we love only because He can give us something, and we must learn to love Him like we would any human being–because of His character, because of who He is.
Tags: 2 Samuel, Ark, David, Reflection