April 23

We may not always understand why God tells us to do the things He does (Isaiah 55:8&9 ), but the God who knows all and sees all can be trusted in all things He has commanded us to do. God had given very specific instructions for moving the Ark of the Covenant (Numbers 4: 8,15). The Levite priests were to insert the poles made for the Ark (Exodus 37:1-5) and carry it from one place to the next without ever touching the Ark itself. Whether David was unaware of those instructions, or he knew them and carelessly ignored them, the first time he attempted to move the Ark of the Covenant, resulted in disaster. Instead of carrying the Ark by the poles made for that purpose, and instead of the Levite priests carrying the Ark, David and all the people of Israel participated in moving the Ark. Furthermore, they placed it on a cart and when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, a man named Uzzah reached up to keep the Ark from falling to the ground and the Lord struck him dead for touching the Ark (I Chronicles 13:1-11; II Sam. 6:1-11). Maybe that seems harsh to us. It certainly did to David. But, God has His reasons in all He does and we must trust Him even when we don’t understand (Isaiah 55:8-11).
When David eventually chose again to move the Ark to Jerusalem, he did so this time in the way that God had prescribed (I Chron.15:11-28; II Sam.6:12b-15), and all Israel rejoiced. There was music. There was celebration the likes of which had not been seen in a long time. Even the great King David joined in the festivities. But, there are always those rigid, stuffy, and unhappy people who think that misery is a spiritual gift. Because it is hard for them to be happy, they don’t think others should be happy either. One of David’s wives, Michal, who was the daughter of Saul, found it disgustful that David should be dancing, celebrating, and rejoicing with the people in the way that he was. Perhaps, it was because David was so transparent and he acted like one of the people that they loved him so much. It was more important to David that he please God than it was for him to please his wife and in the end she was punished for her failure to worship God ((II Sam.6:23).
As Jesus entered into Jerusalem for the last time, the people celebrated and worshipped him. But, the religious leaders were indignant and disgusted with the whole thing. In fact, they told Jesus that he should rebuke his followers for behaving in the manner they were. Instead, Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for remaining silent. “If they kept quiet, the stones along the roads would burst into cheers” (Luke 19:40). When it comes to worship of the Lord, are you more like David or more like the Pharisees?