Biblical Commentary

INVESTIGATION
The nation of Israel was on the cusp of experiencing prosperity and peace like it never had before. But against the wishes of Samuel, one of God’s most faithful prophets, the people clamored for a king. They selected Saul as the first king of Israel, but he turned from the Lord and eventually led Israel away from God during his reign. In His sovereignty, God raised up David as the next leader of the Israelites. While not perfect, David was a worthy leader, a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:13–14). This lesson’s passage finds David in the early stages of his kingship.

David experienced many successes, but this passage tells of one of his failures. Following a successful campaign against the Philistines, David had established himself as a successful warrior and king. Because he had established Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel, David wanted to bring the ark of the covenant into the city. The problem with that plan was that the ark—the essence of God's presence with His people—had been neglected for decades. It had been forsaken for so long that the people had forgotten God’s specific requirements for transporting the Ark. This was where the failure of David occurred—and it cost an Israelite named Uzzah his life.

IMPORTANCE
This passage is important for students because it teaches that God Is. God’s rules governing the handling of the ark are recorded in Numbers 4, where He called for certain people to carry the ark and warned against touching it. The penalty for mishandling the ark was death. In verse 10, we see that “the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah” because he came into contact with the ark. Uzzah’s death serves as an eternal reminder to all people of His standard of supreme holiness in all things.

We often take sin lightly by categorizing it. Whether we confess it aloud or not, in our minds there are “big” sins and “small” ones. However, because of God’s absolute holiness and total righteousness, all sin grieves Him equally. As someone who is faultless, God expects us to obey His perfect principles. Thankfully, He is merciful and gracious to us when we fail. Through His Son, He has provided the forgiveness of our sins. Yet we are still called to live out holiness and obedience to God’s laws as evidence of our new lives in Jesus Christ.

INTERPRETATION
1 Chronicles 13:1–3 Following his military campaigns against the Philistines, David consulted with the military leaders and tribal heads of Israel. These were the same men with whom he had consulted in Israel’s most recent battles. But when it came to issues related to something as sacred as the ark of the covenant, David should have consulted the priests and the Levites—the ones commissioned with the task of transporting the holy items of the tabernacle—instead of his army buddies.

David then called a national assembly and laid out two conditions for retrieving the ark: “If it seems good to you [the people of Israel] and if it is the will of the Lord our God.” However, there is no indication that David followed through with his pledge and consulted the Lord about bringing the ark back.

1 Chronicles 13:4–7 The people heard David's conditions, but they only responded to the first one—“because it seemed right.” It appears they never stopped to seek God's will on the matter. If they had, they would have saved themselves a great deal of pain.

For almost 80 years, the ark had been forgotten as a representative of God’s presence, and the nation had suffered as a result. David wanted the ark brought to Jerusalem, his home and the new center of the nation. What he wanted was good and right, but the way he went about bringing the ark to Jerusalem was wrong. God had given very explicit instructions about how the ark was to be handled (see Num. 4). For instance, it was not to be carried on a cart. Nevertheless, the ark was moved from the house of Abinadab onto on a “new cart” for the nine-mile trip to Jerusalem. Uzzah and Ahio—Abinadab's sons—stood alongside the cart, behind the oxen, gently prodding the animals to keep moving.

1 Chronicles 13:8 As the procession set out, those with musical instruments began to play; the people formed a parade. But because it was built on a foundation other than obedience to God’s instructions, the noisy and colorful procession amounted to nothing more than a wild religious show. Activity does not always equal genuine service and obedience to God. Noise and color do not always equal God-honoring worship. The people may have been genuinely excited about what was happening, but they were offering praise to the God whose will they had failed to stop and seek.

1 Chronicles 13:9–10 Threshing floors were situated on the crest of a hill where the wind would blow without disruption. The path from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem thus went over a hill and through the place where a man named Kidon threshed his grain. As the oxen ascended or descended the hill, they stumbled. Uzzah, who was on one side of the cart, saw the cart shift and the ark start to slide. He reached out his hand and touched the ark to steady it. Immediately the Lord “struck him down.” Uzzah was dead.

Uzzah's intention to help was right; but he disobeyed the instructions God had given for handling the ark. Even the Levites who were supposed to carry the ark were never to touch it; they could only lift it by the poles inserted through rings on the sides. His fate may seem extreme to us, but this was a critical moment at the beginning of a new era for Israel. The ark had been long neglected; the decay of religion in Saul's reign was widespread. It was vitally important for the good of the Israelites for God to impress His holiness on their minds and hearts. His holiness does not allow for cutting corners on His standard for right living.

1 Chronicles 13:11–14 Perez means "break," and Perez Uzzah means "outbreak on Uzzah." The Hebrew word to describe David's reaction to Uzzah’s death means that he was furious. It is the same word used to describe Jonah's anger at God when God did not wipe out all the Ninevites (see Jonah 4:4). Anger at God is not what one would expect from David, this “man after God's heart,” at first. But David was angry with God because he thought he was doing something grand for Him. It did not seem right that God would respond to David’s actions by striking down Uzzah.

Though David's initial reaction was anger at God, it quickly turned into fear. David knew God was holy. David realized that in all the preparation for moving the ark, he had never consulted God. With Uzzah’s lifeless body lying beside the ark, David trembled at the thought of God’s righteous anger further poured out against him or the people of Israel. So David asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” This was a sincere desire to discover how to bring the ark to Jerusalem; finally, David had realized he needed to learn how to do God's work God's way. Three months later, David indeed transported the ark in the way that God commanded (see 1 Chron. 15). But for now, because of fear and ignorance it would have to stay put somewhere along the route to Jerusalem.

David took the ark to the house of Obed-Edom, a Levite and member of the tribe that had been charged by God with the care of the ark of the covenant originally. Just as mistreatment of the ark brought pain and death, respect for God’s commands brought great blessings. While the ark stayed with Obed-Edom, his household was richly blessed for their proper handling of the sacred symbol of God’s presence.

IMPLICATIONS
Some read the Old Testament and, out of fear, view the God they encounter as someone who does not exist anymore. This happens when all too often they envision God as the loving grandfather who is never really too upset with His children, the God who exists to just bless us, and the God who stays out of the way when we think we do not need Him. If we are ever going to live in the way God has called us, we must learn to see Him as different from all these views. God is totally righteous and holy. His will is perfect. His ways are pure. His laws are not meant to be broken. He is the one who abhors sin, who hates unrighteousness. He can be upset with His children for forsaking His loving ways. He blesses, yes, but He also curses His enemies and disciplines those He loves. And He most certainly never removes Himself from the scene. Which version of God do you think about most? Are you conveying to your students His holiness or just His helpfulness?

Following God’s plan is always better than following our plans, for even our very best plans are empty if the Lord is not in them. David had a good plan to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. But he went awry in not consulting God first. How willing are you to drop your own plans for the Lord’s plans? How do you respond when God redirects your plans? How can you help your students follow Him and recognize the enemy of His perfect plan for them could be their own plans, however good they may seem?

 

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