Focus
Be still and rest in the Lord.
Read
6 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. 3 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart 4 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. 5 David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. 7 The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. 9 David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?” 10 So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
Reflect
“If you knew this was the outcome,” a Sunday School teacher asked her students, “What would you have done to avoid it?” “I would have read the instructions first,” a young man responded. Another young man spoke up and said, “My daddy works for the electric company, and he always says that if you don’t follow the instructions out there, it will cost someone their life. One guy did not follow the instructions one day, and it did not go well at all. My daddy said that after that, everyone paid better attention to instructions. He said they had a better respect for the power running through those lines.” Hoping they had read their lesson, the teacher asked, “And what were God’s instructions?” A young lady spoke out, “They were not supposed to touch the ark. It was a holy object. And people were supposed to carry it, not put it on a cart.” “And so, what did Uzzah really need on that day,” the teacher asked. Everyone responded, “Someone to teach him the instructions.” At that point, the Sunday School teacher held up the Bible and said, “And here is our instruction book. And I am teaching you today. The question is, could all of you handle carrying the ark?” The students responded, “We wouldn’t touch it, and we would team up to carry it.”
Pray
God, help us to realize this day the importance of learning and teaching your word. Help us to realize our responsibility to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. Amen
Go with God!
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