2 Samuel 6 -- David Learns About Doing Things God's Way

"For over 75 years, the ark of the covenant had been absent from the divine sanctuary at Shiloh.  The Philistines had captured the ark when Eli was judge, and then returned it to the Jews because the Lord sent judgment on the Philistines.  First the ark was sent to Beth-Shemesh and then was taken to Kiriath-Jearim and guarded in the house of Abinadab," my commentary began.

"Why did David want the ark in Jerusalem?  For one thing, he wanted to honor the Lord and give Him His rightful place as King of the nation.  But David also had a secret desire in his heart to build a sanctuary for the Lord and the first step would be to place the ark in the capital city... It was David's hope that past divisions and tribal differences would be forgotten as the people focused on the Lord.  The presence of the ark meant the presence of the Lord, and the presence of the Lord meant security and victory.  But one thing was missing:  there is no record that David sought the mind of the Lord in this matter.  Relocating the ark to Jerusalem seemed a wise idea and everybody was enthusiastic about doing it, but the king didn't follow his usual pattern of asking the Lord for His direction.  After all, what pleases the king and the people may not please God, and what doesn't please God will not have His blessing.  David's first attempt failed miserably because the Levites didn't carry the ark on their shoulders.  God had given specific directions through Moses ... when they used a new cart drawn by oxen, they were following the pattern of the pagan Philistines," my commentary added.  "The lesson here is obvious:  God's work must be done in God's way if it is to have God's blessing."

"At the beginning of new eras in biblical history, God sometimes manifested His power in judgment to remind the people that one thing had not changed:  God's people must obey God's Word ... The church today needs to heed this reminder and return to the Word of God for an understanding of the will of God.  No amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience.  When God's work is done in man's way and we imitate the world instead of obeying the Word, we can never expect the blessing of God."

The second attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem was successful, with the Levites carrying the ark on their shoulders as Moses had directed.  "David was now determined to do God's work in God's way."

Father, I pray that You will direct me to do Your work in Your way and not my own.  I pray for our church as well.  As I read today, "no amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience," and I pray that we as a congregation will obey Your directions for our church.  Show us Your directions, Father, and help us to follow them.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford