“They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house…David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might…But…the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the cart…So Uzzah died there in the presence of God. David was angry because the LORD’s anger had burst out against Uzza…David was now afraid of God and he asked, ‘How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?’”
1 Chronicles 13:7-12
King David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, so he and his officials decided to built a new cart on which to carry the Ark. As the oxen pulled the cart, the people celebrated with all their might. Perhaps it was the noise or confusion that caused the oxen to stumble that day, leaving Uzzah dead, and David with an angry, fearful heart.
Wanting to bring the Lord’s Presence near was a beautiful desire, but David failed to ask God HOW to carry the Ark. When he and his leaders tried to do it their own way, disaster followed, Building a cart was not GOD’s method for carrying HIS presence.
I wonder if we also build carts to carry Jesus’ presence to our world. We spend a lot of time, effort, and money designing programs that we think will attract people to our churches. We dance and celebrate, but are we doing everything with OUR own might? That kind of noise could cause confusion for those we’re trying to reach, bringing death instead of life to their searching hearts.
The cart King David built was costly—it stole one man’s life and another man’s peace. That’s the price of man-made carts—fear and doubt that threaten our very faith.
But our Father is always waiting to teach us HIS ways…
(To be continued…)
