April 5 - 2 Sam 5:1-6:11; 1 Chron 11:1-9; 12:23-40; 13-14
It’s been seven and a half years since David became king
of Judah, and now, with Ish-bosheth’s death he is made king over all of Israel.
He is now 30 years old and has lived a pretty rough life. Now almost 340,000
armed men came from all tribes to turn over Saul’s kingdom to David and they
celebrated together for three days!
Jerusalem at that time was called the city of Jebus and
was inhabited by the Jebusites, who frequently attacked the Israelites. It was
located on the border between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, so it was a
perfect site for uniting those groups as David took over. The city was only
about 11 acres large and had a population of less than 3500, but it was a
natural fortress because it was on a large hill surrounded on three sides by
deep valleys. Both Judah and Benjamin had tried to evict the Jebusites but had
failed.
There is so much in today’s reading we could stay here
for a week! Let’s just focus on the relocation of the Ark of the Covenant. From
my limited perspective of the world it seems so unfair that Uzzah had to die –
after all, wasn’t he trying to save the Ark from destruction?
The author doesn’t mention that David consulted the Lord,
as it often does in other situations. In fact, the retelling of the story in 1
Chronicles 13:1 – 14 states that David “conferred with each of his commanders”
instead. He seemed to indicate it was the Lord’s will, however he incorporated
his own ideas about how to transport the Ark despite God’s instructions being
very clear. Kiriath-Jearim was about 14 miles west of Jerusalem – perhaps David
thought that was too far for the Levites (specifically the Kohathites) to carry
it on their shoulders. For whatever the reason, David ignored the very specific
advice about moving the Ark.
The situation is similar to Leviticus 10:1 – 3 when Abihu
and Nadab, sons of Aaron, burned incense improperly and were immediately
killed. God has set some things aside as holy, and anything that would
desecrate or even cause them not to be revered appropriately was swiftly
removed.
God’s consequences are swift and sure.
TOMORROW’S TEXT: 2 Samuel 22, Psalm 18 (yes, we really
are skipping ahead for a day)
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