The God-Honoring Way
Man-made efforts will yield man-sized results; however, when things are done in God-honoring ways, we see God-sized results. Despite our best intentions, we can’t do things our way if we want the Lord to break out. Read how we can learn from David’s mistake of doing things his way.
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1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,[a] the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God,[b] and Ahio went before the ark.
5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs[c] and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah[d] to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
Scripture Backstory
David is now serving as king. Israel has been a divided kingdom for many years, but the 12 Tribes of Israel have united. David has been victorious in many battles, and God has given him great grace, favor, and anointing of the Holy Spirit for endeavors to unite the nation and bring Glory to God.
However, one thing remains unaccomplished, and it’s a God-honoring thing of great importance. The Ark of the Covenant, the very dwelling place of God on Earth, sits outside the capital of Jerusalem.
As king, David knows that for God to be supremely honored, the very source of their strength and success as a nation should be honored. Therefore, they need to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the nation's center, Jerusalem itself.
What is the Ark of the Covenant?
For some, your only reference to the Ark is from the classic movie Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The Ark of the Covenant was gold plated and would sit in the Holy of the Holies, sometimes referred to as the most holy place in the Tabernacle. When the temple was built, a six-to-seven-inch thick veil hung in the temple that separated the Ark from the remainder of the Tabernacle.
Inside the Ark, there was the golden jar of mana, Aaron’s rod, and it also contained the tablets that the Ten Commandments had been supernaturally etched by God when He gave them to Moses.
Once a year, the high priests would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle goats' and bulls' blood over the mercy seat. This sacrifice would atone for the sins of the Israelites. The mercy seat was the dwelling place of God’s Earth. Thus, the Ark of the Covenant was a very sacred place.
A Parade that Goes Wrong
So, to rectify the Ark’s dwelling place, David organized a parade to bring it into the city. This was no small parade. To put this in some perspective, Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade hosts about 8,000 participants each year, with 100s of thousands of spectators along the parade route and millions watching at home via television and streaming.
“David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.” 2 Samuel 6:1
To bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, David arranged for 30,000 participants, which doesn’t even include those along the parade route. It should also be noted that these were the finest musicians and warriors in this parade because David was a great musician, songwriter, and warrior. In addition, we learn from Scripture that he was a phenomenal leader, administrator, and someone committed to excellence.
“And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the Ark of God.” 2 Samuel 6:5-7
There are several things you probably want to process here.
Was God in a bad mood and suddenly struck down some random person? No, not at all. Because the Ark was the dwelling place of God, sinful, fallen flesh cannot casually come into the presence of the Most Holy. That’s what we repeatedly see in the blood sacrifice in the Old Testament, to atone for sins.
So, Uzzah is lying dead on the pavement, and when David becomes aware of what’s happened, he stops the parade. Process the leadership challenge that David was navigating at that moment. Contagious enthusiasm is suddenly forced to a grinding halt. David canceled the parade and sent everyone home.
As David and his counsels determined their next steps, the Ark of the Covenant remained on the oxen cart. David called one gentleman, Obed-edom, to inform him that the Ark would be stored at his house until further notice.
The Lord Broke Out
“And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-Uzzah to this day.” 2 Samuel 6:8
Perez-Uzzah means the Lord broke out. We don’t want God breaking out in a way where people die, but we need Him to break out.
As God did in the First Great Awakening with the Wesley brothers.
As God did in the Second Great Awakening with Charles Finney and Peter Cartwright, and so many others.
As God did in the Third Great Awakening with D.L. Moody and William & Catherine Booth and so many others.
If He decided to break out in an 8:30 AM service at your local church, within 90 minutes, the sanctuary would be full, and many beyond the nation would know shortly after that. Regardless of how you may characterize that, we can glean that there is a hunger for the reality of God on our watch. We need a Perez-Uzzah; only God can change the depth of the brokenness of the human heart.
A Grieving Heart
Verse 8 tells us that David was angry because the Lord had broken out against them. Let’s be careful not to overlook that because what happened signifies something beautiful in David’s humanity. He is grieving what happened.
David is grieving the loss of life. Uzzah may have had a wife and kids. People in his life cared for him and valued his companionship. So David is grieving the loved ones who lost someone. But also, as a leader, he’s grieving because he knows something’s wrong and feels that responsibility.
David is also grieving the dream adjustment he’s facing. All the fanfare that had been developed, and he’s having to adjust to the fact that it’s not happening.
“And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, ‘How can the ark of the LORD come to me?’ So David was not willing to take the Ark of the LORD into the city of David.” 2 Samuel 6:9-10
Don’t fear what you just read. That verse is actually a good thing. How often do we hear people speak about God in casual terms? I tremble whenever someone says, “Pastor, I need to talk to the man upstairs.”
The enemy’s strategy regarding our perspective of God has been to trivialize what is supreme, vital, and important. It’s not a bad thing that David was afraid of God. When we read in Scripture that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear is to discover God's reverence and orient your heart and life around God.
A God-Honoring Way
“And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.” 2 Samuel 6:11
Months after the parade, David learned that not only is the home of Obed-edom safe, his household is blessed. In his reverence for God, David goes off to ponder how this could’ve happened; then it hits him: God's presence brings God's blessing.
The God-honoring thing done in a man-made way will yield man-sized results, but the God-honoring thing done in a God-honoring way will yield God-sized results.
David wanted to bring the Ark into the city because he wanted the presence of God to live at the heart of the city, but he realized his method was of his own device, not God’s. Not only this but when we do things in a man-made way, people get hurt.
David discovers, perhaps by revisiting the Torah or consulting with Levites, that there were specific parameters for how the Ark and the presence of God could be transported.
Poles: specific poles positioned on the Ark to be carried on shoulders. The poles helped create safe proximity.
Levites: those poles were only to be carried on the shoulders of the Levitical tribe. This group alone was responsible for worship and orchestrating worship in the Tabernacle and temple. They were also responsible for the transportation of the Ark.
Six Steps and Sacrifice: Scriptures taught they were to take six steps, pause and sacrifice an ox, then repeat. It was time-consuming and messy, but it was a reminder that sinful flesh could not be within the presence of a Holy god unless there’s atonement, which only happens when something of equal or greater value covers our sin.
David fell into a trap that’s all too common of a mistake. He had gone about doing God’s work in a man-made way, and people got hurt.
What happens when we borrow worldly methods to fulfill God’s mission in the church? The same thing as David. Your family rushes to worship on Sunday morning, but someone is running late, so you blow up in a rage. Yet God will be faithful.
Blood Shed Upon the Mercy Seat
“…whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because, in his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins.” Romans 3:25
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement by shedding His blood. God presented Christ as our mercy seat. Think about that.
High priests would go in on the Day of Atonement and sprinkle blood atop the mercy seat signifying the mercy of God through the shed blood of bulls and goats. Christ, as the Hebrews writer said, is our High Priest. It was His blood that was poured over the mercy seat for us to behold the glory of God to be received by faith.
Be mindful that the presence of God no longer requires the shed blood of oxen or carrying God’s presence with poles by a special group. Now, we are the temple of His presence with access to God because of Christ's sacrifice. You have been lifted from darkness, cleansed of your sins, and made brand new.
TL;DR
The Ark of the Covenant was God’s dwelling place on Earth. It lived behind a veil in the Tabernacle. Once a year, a priest would offer blood sacrifices for the people’s sins on the Day of Atonement.
After uniting the 12 Tribes of Israel, David recognized that their source of success and power was not in a God-honoring place. The Ark of the Covenant was outside of the city center.
David organized a massive parade to bring the Ark into a place of honor. However, a man died due to fallen sin nearing the Ark.
The Lord broke out of the Ark (Perez-Uzzah). And we live in a time when we need a Perez-Uzzah; only God can change the depth of the brokenness of the human heart.
The God-honoring thing done in a man-made way will yield man-sized results, but the God-honoring thing done in a God-honoring way will yield God-sized results.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we no longer have to make sacrifices. His bloodshed has given us access to God. We have been lifted from darkness, cleansed of our sins, and made brand new.
Related Reading
What Did Jesus Say About Spiritual Blindness by Rev. Jacky Gatliff
How to Hear God’s Voice & Follow His Will by Rev. Paul Lawler
How Do We Approach God by Bro. Chris Carter
