How many men should it have taken to move the ark a mere 8 miles? David calls in 30,000 choice men. Obviously so many are needed only to make the event more glorious. But David failed to review the Scripture to see how the ark should be transported. After all, the Philistines a few decades earlier had transported ark using a cart. Why would the Israelites have to do any differently? Uzzah instinctively reached out to steady the ark when the oxen stumbled. God killed him instantly. The Geneva Bible has this footnote for verse 7, “Here we see what danger it is to follow good intentions, or to do anything in God’s service without his express word.” It was this kind of reasoning that prompted the reformers (the producers of the Geneva Bible) to reject the celebration of Christmas (Christmas is not a holiday commanded by the Bible). In the moving the Ark, the “express word” would have been at a minimum for the Levites to carry the ark on their shoulders using the poles provided.(Ex. 25:13,14 & Num. 4:5,6) God was reminding David at this point that the unholy cannot come in contact with the Holy without penalty. The ark, more than any other physical thing, represents death for sin and mercy for those who are found in Jesus.
David was angry and left the ark with Obed-Edom, the Gittite. A Gittite is a resident of Gath, the Philistine city from which came Goliath and to which David had attached himself for the last 1.5 years when he was running from Saul. For whatever reason Obed was now living close to where Uzzah was killed. One can almost hear the thinking in David’s mind, “Well if God is going to kill people for just touching his ark, I’ll just leave it in the house of this Philistine. I let him be the one who gets killed or plagued.” Apparently Obed had some respect for the ark. God dramatically blessed the household of Obed-Edom. The blessing was great enough that everyone else recognized it. Hmm. . . .
When David learns of the blessing, he chooses to bring the ark into the City of David. This time he gets it right. And for good measure, he takes off his kingly robes and puts on priestly robes. He leads the people in joyful celebration and dancing in the procession. Michal, a king’s daughter, is incensed. Notice that she did not even bother to be part of the joyful procession. She observed it through a window. There she saw her husband, dressed in priest’s clothing whirling around and dancing for joy! How could he ever trade the glory of a king for a mere priest! She meets him at home with scathing sarcasm, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” According to the King James Bible Wordbook, “Base is an adjective, used in the archaic sense of low in rank or position, lowly, humble.” Like her father Saul, she had a greater concern for the glory of the role of King than for the glory of the Lord.
David is unabashed. “I will be much more undignified than this!” Michal lost the blessing of enjoying the glory of God. She also lost the blessing of having children. I wonder how many times I have lost out on the blessing of God because I/we was/were more concerned with my/our own glory than the glory of God. Hmmm. . . Lord, help me to always be unabashedly undignified in seeking Your glory. It really is the only thing of value! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Psalm 72
The rate of people in Stillwater living in what the government defines as poverty is around 32%. The state average is around 14%. Some years ago, a homeless man in our small city died in his sleep under a bridge in sub-freezing weather. For a little while there was a great uproar in our community concerning doing something to help solve the problem of poverty, and homelessness in particular, in our community. At the meetings which I attended, it seemed that there were as many proposed solutions as there were people present. Yesterday I was talking with a man who was a friend of the homeless man who died. He said, that the man had resources that could have prevented him from being homeless, but he would rather sleep under a bridge than use them. My own cousin had mental health issues that resulted in his living a lifestyle that is very unconventional and most would call ‘homeless.’ At one time he was receiving $1300 a month in SSI. In his community $1300/month was more than enough for a single male with no children to make ends meet. I felt heartless, but if that is the way he chose to live, why should I be compelled to give him more support?
I have done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that frequently their plight is often times mostly their own doing. They made bad decisions that spiraled into poor circumstances that resulted in more bad decisions. I also have done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that frequently the trigger that led to their plight was not of their own doing. Some sort of illness, accident or injury, often precipitates it. I have also done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that a few of them, if given the proper assistance, will rise up out of their extreme poverty and come to the point that they no longer need assistance. I have also done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that some of the issues that the poor must contend with are issues of justice which were meant to motivate the poor to better themselves, but they actually have the reverse effect. Right now it is difficult at best to have a government that ministers to the poor with justice. Most of governmental efforts in the USA over the last five decades have only resulted in an increase in the percentage of poor people living in our country. The Great Society has become an impoverished society, and the governmental coffers seem to be going broke. The war on poverty seems to have become a war on the poor.
Solomon prays that the Lord will give the king’s son wisdom to rule in justice. Eventually, the Psalm looks beyond the earthly king to the Messianic King, the Lord Jesus. When He comes in His power, He will bring justice to the poor. He will bring healing to their lives so that they can live their lives in honor of Him. The result of His giving justice to the poor is that more honor and wealth are given to His name. Somehow He will rule in such a way that the poor will have what they need in order to meet their needs. He will also rule in such a way that the poor will make the right decisions so that they will no longer spiral into deeper poverty. That is something that our governments and economic systems today cannot provide. That is what makes His glory so glorious! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Ezekiel 41
These chapters of Ezekiel on the temple are an enigma that has puzzled theologians since the day they were penned. Where is the Glory of God in this? Honestly, I don’t know what to say other than what was written on September 10. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
2 Corinthians 4
The glory of Jesus shines constantly and overwhelmingly. Sometime ago, I was sitting on my deck. The sun was shining. I closed my eyes and turned my face toward the sun to let its heat flood over my skin. Even with my eyes closed, the brilliance and glory of the sun seemed to penetrate right through my eyelids and almost hurt my eyes. I couldn't take if very long. I had to quit. I went inside. The sun shines constantly, whether I am outside or inside, whether cloudy or clear, whether day or night. Positioning myself to see its glory has no effect on its strength or glory, only on my ability to perceive it.
So also, the glory of the Lord Jesus shines constantly; whether, I am positioned to perceive it or not. His glory includes His death, resurrection and ascension. We like to speak of the glory of the ascension and sharing in that. But sharing in His death is not too exciting. We sometimes hide ourselves from the death aspect. Sometimes our flesh, the world or the enemy seeks to hide that aspect of His glory. Unbelievers cannot see it at all because they have chosen to let the god of this age veil their eyes.
Paul was constantly harassed. Look at the words that he uses: pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. But those things could not defeat him. Why? Because the light of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ was shining upon him, as it does upon us. As he looked at the glory of Jesus, he realized that he was sharing in His glory. If we share in His ascension, we must also share in His death. A focus on the glory of Jesus enabled Paul to not lose heart. So it is with us. A focus on the glory of Christ will not allow us to lose heart. But we shall bask in the light of His glory, even in the midst of suffering and death. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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