Check out all the previous David readings here.

David Reading | Week 4 | Day 4

Prayer

Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to give you His wisdom today.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 6:1-23

Read these verses three times slowly.

David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.

Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal, daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal, daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

And Michal, daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Reflection & Questions

In our readings this week David has been installed as King and Jerusalem established as his city to rule from. In today’s reading, David takes it one more step, and makes Jerusalem the city of God by moving the Ark of Lord to Jerusalem.

The Ark dates back to when God rescued Israel from slavery to the Egyptians. As the people traveled through the desert, God had Moses construct the Tabernacle (a tent) where God’s presence would dwell among the people. The Ark represented the presence of God. It was a golden box-like structure, with hoops on the corners so that it could be carried by poles. It was not ever to be touched. Read about the ark and see a drawing of what it may have looked like here.

The Ark moved with the people of Israel up until the time of Samuel, when it was captured by the Philistines. It’s quite a comical story you can read about in 1 Samuel 4-6. The Philistines finally sent the Ark back to the Israelites (because God sent all sorts of calamity on them for having it). It stayed at the house of Abinadab for 20 years. Then Saul brought it into battle with him. It ends up at Obed-Edom’s house (which brough much blessing on him from God). Then finally David moves the Ark to the center of the nation in Jerusalem.

In David’s desire to honor the Lord by moving the Ark, the people (including David) had become presumptuous. They didn’t move the Ark via poles, but instead used a cart. As they move it, at one point it starts to fall and Uzzah jumps in to stop it. He touches the Ark and is struck dead. God doesn’t play games. David is angry with the Lord, but the reality is that in their desire to efficiently move the Ark they disobeyed the Lord. God wasn’t to blame. They were. They had assumed that God’s instructions didn’t really apply to them or there were any consequences for not following what He had said.

When the Ark is finally brought into Jerusalem, David worships the Lord. Michal, his wife, ridicules him for being overly expressive in his worship. David is having none of it. He will worship even in undignified ways for he loves the Lord.

Jesus said in John 3, that we are to worship “in spirit and in truth.” These verses today are reflections of that. It is good to be expressive in our worship and following of God. To bring our whole heart and to be overjoyed in the presence of the Lord is a delight to the Lord. But we are not to be presumptuous and cut corners. We are to obey the Lord.

1. Do you feel free to be expressive in your worship of the Lord? Why or why not?
2. How do you think we could be presumptuous in our following of the Lord today?

Prayer

Talk to God in response to today’s reading.

Worship Song

You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:

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Questions?