May the mumbling commence!
The Hebrew Bible, like the New Testament gospels, has different witnesses to the same events. Today’s reading gives us the 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles recording of the return of the Ark of the Covenant. Once David became established in Jerusalem, he began to build a palace. The Lord was granting the house of David stability that it didn’t have before, and David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem to be nearby. 1 Chronicles 13:3 gives the reason that David wanted the Ark nearby: “Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul."
Now there was more time to reflect on the Lord and to inquire of the Lord. When David and the people sought to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Abinadab’s house, it became readily apparent that some of the teachings of the Lord were forgotten. Read from 1 Chronicles 13:7-10 –
They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.
When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.
David experienced anger and fear of the Lord with Uzzah’s death – both 1 Chronicles and 2 Samuel agree on this account. David did not understand the wrath of the Lord in this case. David either was not aware or ignored the command of the Lord to have only Levites carry the Ark of the Covenant.
The Lord’s wrath was bubbling up long before the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark. Indeed the 2 Samuel witness tells us that the act of Uzzah was irreverent, but his act stemmed from the irreverent way David had chosen to move the Ark. We also learn from the Samuel witness that Uzzah and Ahio are the sons of Abinadab.
In this context, David and all Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all their might. They were celebrating the Lord with reckless abandon. Usually this kind of celebration is good. However, when they celebrated the Lord, they did not make sure that they did so with full regard to the Lord’s wishes.
We need to be careful when we celebrate in worship that that celebration is centered on God and no one or nothing else. We must be sure that the Lord is being revered in all that we do. So, let’s be careful not to celebrate our preachers or our song leaders or our worship leaders. Let’s be careful not to celebrate the technology or the worship space. All these things are great when they serve the purpose of celebrating and revering the Lord.
May all that we do bring glory and honor and praise to the Lord above. It is the greatest goal of worship. It is the greatest goal of life. Think about that when you go to work and when you come home. Think about that when you shop for groceries and when you fill up the car at the pump. Think about it always.
Just as prayer should be unceasing, so should our worship be. May I show my love for the Lord as I interact with God’s people, as I interact with my students on the bus, as I interact with my co-workers, and as I interact with all those who come across my path.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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