No Casual Holiness
2 Samuel 6.1-19
(Parallel passage: 1 Chronicles 13.1-14; 15-1-15)
Finally, the World Cup 2010 in South Africa is over. I confess I am a football fan, but a seasonal one. The soccer blood in me boils over every four years when World Cup comes along. I was in Brazil in 2002 watching the finals when Brazil won the World Cup. I was in Hawaii in 2006 watching the finals when Italy won.
Early last Monday morning, I awoke at 2 am to watch Spain win the Cup. I started cheering for orange until it turned yellow, then red (if you do not know what I am talking about, ask a football fan next to you). At the centre of the World Cup is an object, not very large, but an object that every player, every coach, every manager, is going after. No, it is not the Jabulani football.
It is the FIFA World Cup trophy. By now you would be familiar with it—you see pictures of it everywhere. Thirty-two teams travelled to South Africa to play in the tournament, but only one team had the privilege to hold the Trophy in their hands—and lift it high in the air for the world to see. This time, it was the team from Spain.
The ecstasy of winning the Cup did not end in South Africa—it continued when the Spanish team brought the Trophy home and held it up for all the people of Spain to see. The people crowded the streets and cheered the team as they rode in an open top bus. The celebration continued through night into the next morning.
I want us to hold that scene in our minds as we look at our text in 2 Samuel 6 today. We can imagine a similar scene taking place thousands of years ago. This time, it is not the World Cup trophy, but what is known as the ark. It is basically a box, made of acacia wood but covered with fine gold, with two angels sitting on its top, wings hovering over it.
Inside the box are three items: the tablets of the Ten Commandments, a pot of manna, and an almond branch, also known as Aaron’s rod—each of these items had deep historical and theological significance.
THE ARK
The ark had a long history. It followed the people of Israel when they were wandering in the wilderness. It accompanied the people when they crossed the River Jordan into the Promised Land. The ark was entrusted to the priest Eli who served in the tabernacle (NIV tent of meeting).
In a battle with the Philistines, the Israelites lost, and the ark was captured by the Philistines. It was subsequently returned and left in the house and keeping of a priest and his son (Abinadab and Eleazar).
It was left there in relative obscurity for 20 years (I Sam 7.2). During the reign of King Saul which lasted 40 years, there was no attempt to give it a proper place. So the ark lay forgotten for a long time (perhaps, as long as 60 years)—until we read about it in today’s passage.
King David who succeeded King Saul became interested in the ark. He had captured the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Sam 5.6-10). He had defeated the Philistines who challenged his power (5.17-25).He had built for himself a palace in Jerusalem (5.11-12).
Politically, David had consolidated his power base. Geographically, he had taken a city and built a palace there. Strategically, he had united the people and given them a capital city.
Only one thing was missing.
That was the religious dimension. David wanted Jerusalem to be, not only a political capital, but also a religious capital—where all the people throughout the kingdom could come and worship the God of Israel. But what would bring people together? He needed a religious symbol. I believe that was when he thought of the ark.
He had to bring the ark, out of obscurity, to the new capital, Jerusalem. It appears that David’s motivation was mainly, if not purely, political. We know this from two observations:
One, we read that he consulted his military leadership: “captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader” (I Chron 13.1: NIV with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds”).
Two, nowhere do we read that he inquired of the Lord. This is strange because in the preceding events when David went to battle with the Philistines, it is recorded twice that he “inquired of the LORD” (2 Sam 5.19, 23). Here we read of him consulting or conferring with his top military brass. As we will see, this would turn out to be big mistake.
THE MISSION OF DAVID
So the mission was to bring the ark back to Jerusalem, a mission to consolidate the king’s rising power, a mission to unite the people under his rule.
Now, these motives are not wrong in themselves. The tribes of Israel looked to one leader in the time of the prophet Samuel. But when they asked for a king, and got King Saul, they were disappointed. The tribes needed a new leader, a new king, someone they could look up to. They also needed a place they could rally around as a capital—to give them identity and unity.
The motives of King David were good, but the way he went about the mission was not right. He did not inquire of the Lord. So he came up with his own way, his own method, of accomplishing that mission. If we look back many years to the time the Philistines had the ark, they returned the ark to the Israelites by transporting it on a new cart (1 Sam 6.7.10). That was the way pagans transported their idols—something we still see today.
David was probably told of that event, and thought, “Okay, we will do the same.” They got a new cart, tied it to a couple of oxen, went to the house of Abinadab on top of a hill, lifted the ark on to it, and made their way to the city.
Accompanying the cart were the two sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio—with Ahio walking in front, and Uzzah at the back or the side of the cart. A large contingent of people, led by King David, walked along, playing all kinds of musical instruments, all in the high spirit of celebration. (I can imagine a scene like the people of Spain welcoming the World Cup trophy and the champion team back to their country.)
Somewhere along the journey, the oxen stumbled, and the cart looked like it would fall over, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. At that moment, as his hand touched the ark—zapp! He was dead, beside the ark itself.
The procession stopped, the people crowded around the dead body, everyone asking, “What happened? What happened?”
Someone said, “He touched the ark. He is dead.” Soon, everyone is repeating, “He touched the ark. He is dead.” The music stopped, then an awkward silence.
Well, that effectively brought the mood of celebration to an end. King David called off the whole mission, and the ark was left in the house of a Levite by the name of Obed-Edom.
TRAGIC CASE OF UZZAH
Let us now pause and consider the tragic case of Uzzah, the man who touched the ark and was struck dead by the Lord. On the first reading, it seems a like a cruel thing had happened. Here was a man, acting with all sincerity and good intention to prevent the ark from falling off the cart—why was he penalised for that act, and punished so severely for it?
Could not God be more merciful? Could not God take into consideration Uzzah’s good intention and sincere desire to help?
The other place in the Bible where we read of someone being struck dead on the spot for wrong-doing was Ananias and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5.1-11). But in their case, there was deceit: lying and coveting—their sins were obvious. In Uzzah’s case, there appeared to be none of these. So why was he struck down?
Let me suggest that what happened to Uzzah was more for the sake of King David and the people of the newly emerging nation. God had to teach everyone a lesson about his holiness, and Uzzah became the object lesson.
This is not to say that Uzzah was completely blameless. Matthew Henry, the commentator has this to say, “Uzzah’s long familiarity with the ark, and the constant attendance he had given to it, might occasion his presumption, but would not excuse it.”
Here is a warning to us not to take for granted the holiness of the Lord. God may not be as severe in bringing us to task, but it does not exempt us from God’s displeasure. God is not pleased when we treat lightly what he considers sacred or holy.
Let me give a couple of examples.
At Haggai Institute—where I once served, and had the privilege of training Christian leader from the developing nations of the world—we once had a contingent of leaders from Pakistan. One of them was very upset when he saw how we treated our Bibles. He came from a Muslim country where deep respect is given their holy book, the Koran.
This pastor from Pakistan was shocked to find people putting their Bibles on the floor, and holding them under their armpits. When I spoke with him, I learned that Muslims always keep their Koran in a place higher than the head. They never put anything on top of the Koran. (That explained his shock when he saw someone putting a coffee cup on top of his Bible.) When they open it to read, they do so with the utmost reverence. I believe we can learn something from our Muslim friends.
I am not saying that we should worship the Bible, and make it an object of veneration, or treat it like a lucky charm—no, but we must treat the Bible which is the Word of God with reverence. The way we keep it, hold it, open it, read it, should show our respect for God’s Word. Now, with the Bible downloaded into mobile phones, PDAs and iPad, all the more, we need to caution ourselves against a casual and cavalier attitude. Technology must not take away theology from our life.
PUNCTUALITY INDEX
Another area where familiarity can breed contempt is our worship service. I have said it before and I need to say it again: habitual late-coming dishonours God. Now I want to say this gently—because I know there are those—such as parents with young children or people with disabilities—for whom making it to church on Sunday is a challenge, not to say, making it on time.
But I suspect there are many who come late for no good reason: lack of discipline, force of habit, plain inertia and laziness. When was the last time you heard the choir sing the introit at the beginning of the service, or listened to the call to worship, or sung with us the doxology in response? Yes, you were held up at the door, and came in, in time to join in the singing of the opening hymn.
Perhaps, the thought is: as long as I make it in time for the opening hymn, I am okay. Well, it may be okay with you, but you will need to ask if it is okay with the Lord. I believe he would be pleased if you were here before the service and spend time with him before the service begins. We do that for board meetings when we know the CEO or President will be present—should God deserve less?
There is a sister Bible-Presbyterian church where I served for a time as supervisory pastor, now as advisory pastor. In their bulletin every week, they record their Sunday attendance (like we do) but they have an additional piece of information which I believe no other church in Singapore has: something called “punctuality index”.
Mount Hermon BP Church counts the number of people in the sanctuary at 11 am when the service promptly begins. After that they count the latecomers. From there they work out the percentage of worshippers who are on time. Let me read to you the figures in their bulletin of 4 July: 20 June Adult 235; Children 48; Punctuality Index 82%; 27 June Adult 234; Children 63; Punctuality Index 83%. About 20% of the worshippers come in after the service has started. I wonder what our punctuality index is like in Zion Bishan.
Apart from the way we treat the Bible and the way we treat the worship service, there are other areas where familiarity can lead contempt: a casual attitude towards the holiness of God. God may not strike us down the way he did Uzzah, but let us not presume upon God’s patience and mercy—and persist in our sins.
BLESSING ON OBED-EDOM
When the mission of King David was abruptly aborted by the death of Uzzah, we read that the king was displeased (KJV) or angry (NIV, ESV) (6.8). What was he angry about and who was he angry against? We are not told—perhaps, he was angry at the Lord, or angry at himself, or angry at Uzzah. But when the celebration to bring the ark to Jerusalem was interrupted, disrupted and halted, the king was upset.
In the next verse, we find David’s mood changed from anger to fear: “How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?” (6.9). The ark was now viewed with fear, an object of dread, an instrument of death. So the king gave instructions for it to be kept at the nearest house belonging to a Levite, Obed-edom. It was there for 3 months (I Chron 13.14).
We then read that the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household (6.11). How, we are not told. But we can imagine that Obed prospered in whatever he was doing: his crops brought in bumper harvest, his cattle brought in new offspring, his family enjoyed peace and prosperity.
It is clear that the death that came upon Uzzah was not because of the ark—it was not a curse; instead, it was a blessing. What happened to Obed-edom is the opposite of what happened to Uzzah. One was judged by death, the other blessed by life, and life more abundantly. The problem was not the ark but how it was treated.
Soon the report came back to King David about Obed-edom and the ark in his house. During the three months when the ark was held in limbo, David must have thought about what went wrong. He decided on a second attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem. This time, he did it differently:
First, he followed the instructions given in the Law of Moses as to how the ark is to be transported—not upon a cart (like the way pagans would transport their gods) but upon the shoulders of Levites (I Chron 15.26). This is as spelled out in Numbers 4.15 and 7.9: only the Levites may handle the ark, they cannot touch it, but insert long poles into rings attached to the ark, and carry the ark upon their shoulders).
Second, David prepared animal sacrifices to be offered after the first six paces (6.13). At the start of the journey, King David made sure it started right—with sacrifices made to the Lord to ensure his blessing upon the rest of the journey.
As the procession progressed without a hitch, “David danced before the LORD with all his might” (6.14) as trumpets blasted (6.15) and the people shouted and cheered. It was a celebration like the earlier one, except that this time, no one was struck dead. The ark arrived in Jerusalem amidst much festivity, complete with gifts and food for everyone.
Everyone joined in the celebration—except for one person, Michal, the daughter of King Saul.
THE TRAGIC CASE OF MICHAL
Michal was the first wife of David. She was offered by her father King Saul as a prize to David when he was a young soldier in the king’s army. It was a reward for killing the Philistines. In fact, it was a ploy by King Saul to have David killed by the Philistines—but David fulfilled the challenge and won the king’s daughter in marriage.
When Saul sent men to assassinate David, he had to flee for his life, and left Michal behind. Over the years, there was enmity between Saul and David. Eventually, Saul was killed in battle, and David rose as king. By this time, David had taken on other wives. We can imagine how Michal felt. He never bore David any children. Of what we know of her, she was never a believer, but an idol-worshipper (I Sam 19.13). She could not relate with David, with his other wives or children, or with his faith in God.
No wonder, when David returned home after the grand celebration, she spoke to him with biting sarcasm: “How wonderfully the king has distinguished himself today—exposing himself to the eyes of the servants’ maids like some burlesque [vulgar] street dancer” (6.20, Message).
Just because the king changed his kingly robes for the dress of a priest and danced in the street with the common people—does it make him less a king? David defended himself by saying he did it “before the LORD” as the chosen, anointed king. He made reference to Michal’s father Saul who was rejected by God, who had his kingdom taken away.
The chapter ends with these ominous words: “Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until the day of death” (6.23). She died a woman, full of resentment, and empty of life.
REVERENCE AND PASSION
Let me try to tie up the loose threads in this account of the ark. There is King David the main player. On one side of him is Uzzah, a man who was struck dead. On the other side of him is Michal, a woman who was made barren. Both Uzzah and Michal are punished for their attitude towards events associated with the ark.
As we have seen, there is nothing wrong with the ark—it is a symbol of God’s presence, and a channel of God’s blessing. But the attitude towards the ark, and towards God, determines if it brings blessing or curse, life or death.
Uzzah’s casual attitude towards transportation of the ark brought sudden death. Michal’s cynical attitude towards the celebration surrounding the ark brought a lifelong curse of barrenness. Uzzah represents the people who are used to handling the things of God and have become over-familiar with them. We may call them the insiders.
Michal, on the other hand, represents the people who watch from the outside. Interestingly, on two occasions as we read about Michal, she is watching things happening from a window (see I Sam 19.13). She did not appreciate what her husband, David, was doing—not only that, she despised him for it. She could not enter into the festivity and joy because she stood on the outside looking in. She is an outsider.
Whether we are an insider or an outsider, we need to watch our attitude towards God and the things of God. In contrast to the casual attitude of Uzzah and the cynical attitude of Michal, we have the attitude of King David.
True, in his first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem, he was guilty of a casual attitude towards the ark. He did not inquire of the Lord; instead he consulted his military leaders. He did not check with the priests who would otherwise have advised him from the Law of Moses how the ark was to be transported.
But God was gracious to give him a second chance. God did this by blessing the household of Obed-edom in whose house the ark rested for 3 months. Through this, David knew that the ark was a blessing not a curse. In his second attempt to bring the ark, we see the change in his attitude: he was reverent towards God—following instructions in the Law of Moses to have the ark carried on the shoulders of Levites, and in offering sacrifices after the first few steps.
He was also passionate, in the way he danced before the Lord, and celebrated with the people to loud trumpet blasts (“vuvuzelas” at World Cup, South Africa). David therefore sets an example for us today as we come to worship our God.
We have seen how David embarked on a mission to bring the ark to Jerusalem. His intention was to unify the people around the worship of God. In the subsequent chapter (2 Sam 7), we will see how David had in his heart a desire to build a house for the Lord.
He wanted build a temple in which to place the ark. His thought was: how can I be living in a palace when the ark is housed in a tent? This is a commendable attitude, but God had other ideas.
For now, David had to learn, and we have to learn, that the most important thing about the house of the Lord is not the brick and mortar, not the buildings or the facilities—the most important is the holiness of God, and how we respect God’s holiness.
Our worship cannot be casual but reverent and passionate. We cannot worship God as spectators (like Michal, watching from a distance), neither should we approach worship in careless and cavalier manner (like Uzzah).
Let me close as I began—with the recent World Cup in South Africa. There are two things in every match that excite me, pull at my hearts’ strings, get my adrenaline rushing and emotions bursting. One, when the national anthem of each country is played and the players stand to attention, and sing along. I watched the faces of the players, and I see loyalty, pride, allegiance, reverence.
Two, when a goal is scored—that’s when the players rush towards each other, pile on top of one another, their faces exuberant with joy, their bodies pulsating with passion.
Each time I see these two things: reverence when the national anthem is played, passion when a goal is scored—I wish for all God’s people that we will have as much, and more, towards our God. The players stand in reverence to an earthly country; we have a heavenly city. They compete for an earthly prize; we look to an eternal inheritance. Surely, we should show more reverence, and more passion.
David W. F. Wong
www.owlnook.com
July 2010