THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID

THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID

Things are going well for the new King of Israel. After two successful battles he has been able to rid the land of idols. With hopes of pleasing God, David decides to bring The Ark of The Covenant to Jerusalem.  This part of the nation is destined to become the religious center of a united nation. So, David pitched a tent for a place for the ark to reside inside The City of David. Then he formed an army to retrieve the ark and place it into The Tabernacle of David.

King David gathered 30,000 young men to help with this task.  They all went to Baalah in Judah, taking with them a brand new cart to carry The Ark of God.  Perhaps this was their first mistake. Guess how the Philistines transported the statues of their gods from place to place? Yep. They used a cart. The real God never wants to be treated in the same way that He knows people treat their fake gods. That is very insulting to Him.

Let me put this in another way. What if your wife or husband was unfaithful. If you viewed this act in progress, you would never desire to see things that reminded you of this scene again. It would always remind you of the spouses unfaithfulness. For instance, if your wife’s lover was wearing a blue coat when you spied their unfaithfulness, you would probably throw away all of the blue coats you owned. Blue coats would lose their appeal to you from that point forward. This cart was comparable to The Lord’s blue coat. He detested it. Wouldn’t you?

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SACRED ITEMS

The ark was very holy. God had given Moses and Aaron specific and detailed instructions for how the ark could be transported. It was only to be transported by the Kohathites, of the tribe of Levi. No one else was allowed to transport the ark.

These men were only allowed to carry it on foot by inserting a long stave through the clasps on the side of the ark. Therefore they never directly touch the ark itself. Once the staves are secured, the designated men carry the ark by heaving the staves upon their shoulders. These men transporting the ark traveled on foot. They would never use a cart as it was forbidden for transporting the ark. The ark was presently residing in a place nine miles away from where David wanted it transported to Jerusalem. The area was very hilly. It was going to be a long walk.

PLACE OF GOD’S PRESENCE

However, through David’s instructions, a new cart is built. It is pulled to the house of Abinadab where the ark had rested for the past twenty years. Perhaps those living in Abinadab’s house had grown too accustomed to being around the ark. Though it was sacred, to them it had become ordinary and familiar.

Have you ever been too accustomed to something? At some point you take that particular person, place or thing for granted. You assume that you understand everything about them.

SACRED AND PURE WORSHIP

Have you ever attended a church service where you thought everyone was too accustomed to God’s Presence? Maybe they are rude, irreverent, or disrespectful around the altar. Perhaps they become accustomed to rote worship instead of genuine praise. Maybe they are faithfully going through the motions, making all of the right moves, but without one ounce of emotion or heart involvement. These types often want to be seen as worshipers, but they are not truly worshiping. They just enjoy the status they receive from the others possibly doing the same thing. This is always a sad situation. When these types of situations happen, people seem to lose that element of “holy fear of The Lord.” It is never healthy. Did this happen to Uzzah? We will never know exactly why he felt comfortable to reach out and touch the ark.

This same situation seemed to be going on with David and the Israelites. They were going to transport the most sacred item of the earth, the place where God’s presence dwelled with mankind, and they were not the least bit afraid. They might have forgotten to fear the Lord’s wrath for mishandling sacred objects. Maybe no one had reviewed the instructions from God. Had anyone prayed first? Did anyone search the scriptures for the right or wrong way to transport God’s property? In this land of Philistine’s where the ark presently resided, there was no common knowledge of the holiness of God. Maybe these men did not know how holy the ark truly was.

WALKING INTO JUDGEMENT

At any rate, the men David instructed brought the ark out from the house of Abinadab, which was situated upon a hill.  Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab guided the cart with Ahio walking in the front. 

Along with the ark came David and all of the young men of Israel.  They were celebrating this great day with all of their hearts.  Many were playing the musical instruments they carried.  There were castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.  This loud and joyful crowd of people brought the ark up into the place of the threshing floor of Nakon. 

THE THRESHING FLOOR

On the threshing floor the grain is separated from the chaff. In more symbolic language, the holy removes itself from the unholy. This reminds us of The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. The parable Yeshua brought to us speaks of those who will be harvested into God’s Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life. It also speaks of those who will be thrown out like trash and burned in judgement. What happens all depends on whether you are a wheat or a tare.

Until you reach the threshing floor, all are allowed to grow together. Here at the threshing floor though, we see a great separation which only God can determine. The wind blows the grain from the chaff. Therefore, we can see how this threshing floor or “place of judgement” was a perfect location for what happened next with The Ark.

In judgement of mankind, God’s holiness and the importance of following His commandments are very important. These are always considered. The ark is the sacred throne of God on this earth. Sacred items require strict and sacred treatment. God is about to remind David how important it is to respect that sacredness. Any time the sacredness of God is at stake, reverence and obedience become strict requirements.

GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS

The handling of the ark was governed by unchangeable divine instructions. Numbers 4:15 explains: “After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.

God had clearly and specifically instructed Moses and Aaron. David had those scrolls with these very words at his disposal. As King, he should have been familiar with the Word of God contained in those Torah scrolls. Had he not read them? His negligence was putting others lives at risk. Did David know this?

QUALIFICATIONS MATTER

Uzzah was a Levite, but it is thought by many that he was a Merarite, not a Kohathite. Only the Kohathites were to handle the transporting of the ark. Even they could not touch it. Long staves were inserted into rings on the sides of the ark. The Kohathites then picked up the ends of the staves and transported them upon their shoulders with no direct contact to the ark itself. As a matter of fact they were even forbidden to look upon the ark, therefore it always remained covered during the transports.

DANGERS OF CARELESS RELIGION

Here on this threshing floor, God was about to remind David of these important facts and instructions. It would have gone so much better if David had simply consulted God first. Again, the threshing floor was considered to be a place of divine encounters and revelation. (Solomon’s Temple which came much later in this story was actually built on top of another threshing floor.)

This threshing floor of Nacon becomes a serious reminder of holy reverence in worship and strict adherence to God’s commandments when doing so. His thinking is higher than our thinking. It is wise to be humble enough to consult with God on everything that we do concerning worship.

David had remembered to do this when going to battle, but totally forgot to consult God on how to bring the ark into The City of David. Is worship of God at the ark not more important than winning wars? David was always very careful with these physical problems (like wars.) He wasn’t so careful with the other more spiritual decisions (like transporting the ark.)

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

How strange that the one who wrote so many of the Psalms didn’t grasp this. He should have realized God is the source of ALL victories, spiritual or physical. What was David’s logic? This new King definitely wasn’t giving this important move enough thought, preparation or planning. God was about to teach him though.

It was on the threshing floor of Nacon where the unthinkable happened.  Suddenly the ox stumbled.  Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark to steady it.  This was forbidden by God as an irreverent act.  Uzzah was struck down.  Seconds after touching the Ark he died. 

WHEN THE OX STUMBLES

Have you ever been present when “the ox stumbled”? I’m speaking of times in life when unspeakable things happen which you don’t understand. You always want to ask God why. Why does He allow things like this to happen?

Sometimes it is the death of an innocent child. Other times we see someone evil becoming very prosperous while someone righteous is not able to buy groceries. Often it is the punishment a parent puts themselves through, even though they did all within their power to raise a righteous and godly child. Then their adult child turns away from all the teachings they taught them and rebels. There are so many unexplainable facts of life. Only God knows and often He remains silent. He wants us to trust Him unconditionally. Just like when Yeshua died on the cross. He did that unconditionally.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TOUCH

When the unexpected happens, some get mad. Others are hopelessly depressed. People question God and lose their faith. Very few accept the truth, that God knows more than we do, that what happens has some divine reason in the face of eternity. We may never know, but God does. This was one of those times for David. He did not understand.

Wasn’t Uzzah a godly man? Didn’t he do the right thing when he reached out to protect the ark? What if it had fallen off the cart? But the ark didn’t fall. Only the ox stumbled. The Ark was fine, but innocent Uzzah lay dead because he had done what most would have considered a heroic deed. Why had he been killed in the process? How could God be angry with Uzzah for doing a good thing such as protecting His throne from falling?

GOD DOESN’T NEED MAN’S POWER OR PROTECTION

Uzzah knew he should not touch the ark. He was very presumptuous to assume his strength and power could even begin to protect or support God’s throne. As a mere human being, it was impossible for him to be able to support a heavenly throne. From God’s perspective, this was seen as irreverent and disrespectful to His holiness. The instructions were laid out long ago. Anyone who touched, or even looked upon the ark would be struck dead. Uzzah had not obeyed God’s rules for keeping sacred objects. Uzzah died. He was operating under human logic instead of godly obedience.

I have to ask the obvious question. Who was most responsible for this transgression, Uzzah or King David? Who failed to consult with God or even read the Torah scrolls? I think David was considering this question too.

OUR OWN WORST ENEMEY

The time of joy must have turned to a time of shock.  David became angry. He wasn’t mad with God, but with himself. David did not understand why the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah.  As King, he should have understood. After this event that place was named Perez Uzzah which means “outbreak against Uzzah.” 

After this tragic incident David was afraid to take the Ark any further.  He said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”   Instead of continuing, David parked the ark at the house of Obed-Edom the Gettite.  It stayed at Obed-Edom’s house for three months.  While the ark was with Obed-Edom his whole household was blessed.

PRAYER: Father, teach us to always consult you. When we fail to see reason, show us how to be obedient. Your ways are higher than ours. You see so much more than we will ever know. Like David in this story, we often jump ahead of your plan. Maybe in our subconscious minds we want things to progress in our way instead of waiting on Yours.

Maybe like Uzzah, we secretly long to be the hero. We know it is You, God, who is always the real hero. Our place is simply to follow You. Show us how to be humble and obedient. Help us to see Your holiness and respect and help us to always worship properly. I pray we never embarrass you in front of the world by doing the things that others use in worshipping idols. Help us to see what is right in every situation. Give us holy discernment when it comes to holy and sacred matters. Thank you Father for being Our Great God. May we worship you forever and ever. Amen