The first time David went to get the Ark of the Covenant, he
did it with great fanfare and pomp. He had 30,000 men with him and followed the
same method that the Philistines had used the last time the Ark had been
transported. He used a cart. And, the cart was guided by 2 men who had lived in
the same house where the Ark had been housed before David came to get it.
You know the old saying, familiarity breeds contempt.
Evidently the familiarity that one of those men (Uzzah) had, caused him to
consider the practicality of things to be a higher priority than the
commandments of God. By divine decree, nobody was ever supposed to touch the
Ark; under penalty of death. But, when it became unsteady on its cart, Uzzah
disregarded God's demands and grabbed hold of the holy box. Immediately, he
fell dead.
This incident displeased, frightened and frustrated David.
He stopped the transport there right away and left the Ark in the house of
Obededom. However, over the next 3 months, God blessed Obededom and his house
so much so that it convinced David to try again to fetch the Ark. Somewhere
along the line in that intermission, he must have taken the time to obey
Deuteronomy 17:18-19; that is to read the Law of Moses. And, in reading it he
surely must have encountered Exodus 25:14 and discovered just exactly what the
proper method for carrying the Ark was. Isn't
it amazing how much a little Bible reading can make a difference?!
Now, when David came into Jerusalem with the Ark in his
caravan, he was so thrilled about it that he removed is royal robes and danced
in celebratory worship in plain garments. Now this was a good and wholesome
thing... but David's first wife Michal wasn't impressed at all. In fact, she
was evidently embarrassed by David's display of humility and his unabashed
public exhibition of genuine love for God. So, when he came home from
worshipping... intending to bless his family, she met him with criticism and
ridicule; even accused him of showing off physically and carnally in front of
the women who were watching the parade that day. Her willingness to debase his
pure and simple way of demonstrating his faith angered David deeply... so much
so that he essentially relegated her to the status of a divorced wife. Since
she rejected his God, he rejected her.
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