1 Chronicles 13:3
Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.
My 5 year old boy is a dino-fanatic. Bring him to a toystore and he’ll surely go straight to that rack of miniatures. Bring him to a bookstore, like last weekend at MV Logos, and he’ll choose anything –saurus to take home. But if you don’t bring him out of the house, he still has his day full with dino-activities. From K’nex to clay to straws to crackers - - all are dino-shaped here. Those DVDS really stretched his imagination. His latest fave was the Jurassic trilogy. He knows each scene and line by heart. I watch with him every so often, and yes, I found a favorite too. It was that conversation in the third instalment when Dr. Grant discovered that Billy stole two raptor eggs. Billy said, ‘You have to believe me, this was a stupid decision but I did it with the best intentions’. And Dr. Grant answered, ‘With the best intentions? Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions.’ And in anger, those eggs nearly went into the river.
It was with the best intentions that David plotted out the Ark of the Covenant’s return to Jerusalem. It has long been in Abinadab’s house on the hill since the time of Samuel. The ark symbolizes the presence of God and in it, the tablets given to Moses. As newly appointed king over Israel, and with a heart after God’s own, he knew that Israel’s stability is dependent solely on God’s favour. He wanted to give God the centerstage. He wanted it to be the best celebration ever. He sent word far and wide to all Israel and everyone came with shouts of praise. As the cart carrying the ark came to the threshing floor in Kidon, the oxen stumbled and a man reached out his hand to steady the ark. God saw Uzzah as irreverent and His wrath struck him down dead. I can imagine the sudden silence of everyone there. David was initially angry, maybe from not understanding the rebuke of God amidst this worship time. It’s like how we become angry at God for our sufferings when we’ve been trying to serve Him all our lives. Next we see David shifting from anger to fear. He realized God was serious in keeping His holiness; that He is set apart from His creation. The ark was then set aside in the house of the Gittites for three months. David used that time to thoroughly check what really went wrong. He soon realized that his good intentions lacked God’s right instructions. Or in our words, the end nor the intent, doesn’t justify the means.
Again, the context of Chronicles was for the remnants to learn from their past and move on to a future of being God’s nation again. Given the go signal by the Persian king to rebuild the Temple, their eyes were hopeful and their hearts burning to see the worship of God restored in Israel. God chose this portion of history to remind them that although it is for His honor, it shouldn’t be unaccompanied by holy fear. It’s ironic how the verse above spoke of Saul not inquiring of God, but David missing the mark too. It’s us trying to reach the godless or doing pious projects, without soaking it first in prayer, or worse, with sins unconfessed. If His instruction was to circle the answer and you underlined it, will you call Him unfair for your failing grade? As a relational God, do you think He’s more impressed with your bright answers than you following His instructions? So, have you asked Him today for His latest direction? His words may be unchangeable, but the verses there are not meant to be templates for your choosing. He chooses His words for you. Imagine what you’re missing out when you’re still holding on to last year’s ‘wait’ because you failed to hear His GO this morning. What more the disaster every time we GO without first waiting on Him. Gandhi once said: ‘Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts’. Now we know God judges both.
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