July 8, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Surprise Derailment

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Opening Prayer

Mighty God, You are ever-faithful and true to Your promises. I worship and praise You.

Read 1 Chronicles 13:1-14

For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

[1] David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. [2] He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. [3] Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” [4] The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people. [5] So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. [6] David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim-the ark that is called by the Name. [7] They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. [8] David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets. [9] When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. [10] The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. [11] Then David was angry because the LORD’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. [12] David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” [13] He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. [14] The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his household and everything he had.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all” (Prov. 3:6, The Message).

When new political leadership assumes power in our country, the first promise is usually to consult more, so that they might govern with better wisdom and understanding. Sometimes time tells a different story. David too began with consultation. He had now settled in his Jerusalem headquarters and recruited his leadership team and support staff. He soon was able to turn his thoughts beyond survival mechanisms against the Philistines and toward the spiritual life of the nation. He had identified that it was necessary not only to discover the will of the people but also to discern the will of the Lord.

A poll of the gathered people indicated that it would be right to bring the “ark of our God” (3) to Jerusalem. While this would consolidate the political and religious aspects of the nation’s life, it also indicated that David had surely learned priorities from the failings of Saul (1 Chron. 10:13-14). The presence of the Ark would help resume a neglected practice of seeking the will of God. The Ark of the Covenant, a gilded wooden box containing the Ten Commandment tablets and signifying the presence of the Lord, had a complex history. It was crafted for the original tabernacle to accompany the wilderness wanderings, was captured by the Philistines, and resided since Samuel’s time near the border of Judah and Benjamin.

The procedure went badly awry. The motivation was good but the outcome was disastrous. David reacted first with anger at God’s severe action against Uzzah, then with fear that it might never be safe to relocate the Ark. What went wrong? Was the task misguided, presumptuous or ill-timed? Eventually David discerned the reason for the derailment of his good intentions (1 Chron. 15:13). In the meantime an out-of-town Levite gatekeeper (1 Chron. 26:4-5,15) temporarily experienced the blessing of the presence of God that David himself was seeking.

Apply

Are you prone to anger or bewilderment when your best intentions and sincere discernment result in failure? How can you deal with this in a more productive way?

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, You teach me through the giving of Your Spirit to me. I pray that the Spirit will give me right judgment in all things so that I may live faithfully and obediently for You.

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