2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We spent a long time studying the little books of Peter, and their messages were wonderful. However, I would like to switch gears for awhile and dip into a very special Psalm, significant to Israel’s history and faith, PS 68. Some Bibles describe it as “A Song of Thanksgiving;” others refer to it as “Israel’s National Processional.” Either way, it is about the journey of the Ark of the Covenant from Mt. Sinai to Mt. Zion. It symbolizes the march of God to ultimate victory. When the Ark was moved, Jews believed God was moving, because the Ark is thought of as where God resides. Many feel this wonderful psalm celebrates the return of the Ark to Israel after it had been captured by the Philistines and was kept at the house of Obed-Edom, as described in 2 SAM 6: 2-18. Let’s begin by looking at the historical and spiritual background in 2 SAM.
2 SAM 5: 20, “So David went to Baal Perazim and there he defeated the Philistines. He said, ‘The Lord has broken through my enemies like a flood.’ And so that place is called Baal Perazim.” Baal Perazim is thought to be just west of Bethlehem and southwest of Jerusalem. It’s name means “Lord of the Breakthrough.” 2 SAM 5: 25, “David did what the Lord had commanded, and was able to drive the Philistines back from Geba [just north of Jerusalem] all the way to Gezer [well west of Geba in the Philistine’s own territory]. “ The Ark of the Covenant, bearing the name God Almighty, was taken to Abinadab’s home in Baalah [also known as Kirjath Jearim] in Judah by David leading 30,000 soldiers. There it was placed on a new cart to be guided by Abinadab’s two sons, Ahio and Uzzah. David and the Israelites were celebrating with harps, lyres, drums, rattles, cymbals, dancing, and singing [2 SAM 6: 3-5]. 2 SAM 6: 6-8, “As they came to the threshing place of Nachon [called Chidon in 1 CH 13: 9], the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. At once, the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box, and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah [which in Hebrew means “Punishment of Uzzah”] ever since. David was furious because the Lord punished Uzzah in anger.”
Then, David was afraid of the Lord and decided to take the Covenant Box to the home of Obed-Edom, a native of the city of Gath, instead of going on to Jerusalem. It remained there for three months, and the Lord blessed the family of Obed-Edom [2 SAM 6: 10-11]. After three months, David got the Covenant Box and took it north to Jerusalem with great celebration. When thinking about this incident, I asked myself what can we learn from it? In NU 7:9, God instructed that the Ark be carried on poles supported on the shoulders of the Kohathites, one of the three clans of Levite priests, the one descended from Kohath. NU 4: 15 tells us the Kohathites charged with the responsibility of carrying sacred objects only after Aaron or his sons covered them, must not touch these sacred objects, or they will die. The incident of Uzzah’s death raised the question: why would God punish Uzzah with death when the Philistines had touched the Ark and didn’t die? The answer seems to be that the closer one is to God, the more seriously and faster he will be judged for any evil he commits. This same principle is demonstrated in Christ’s words in MT 11: 20-24, when He spoke about the greater judgment of unbelieving towns like Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum in His own time than that of Sodom long before it. It is clear that once a person has been close to the Lord, he has less excuse for straying into unbelief.
2 SAM 6: 15 brings us back to the story of the Ark’s journey. “And so he [David] and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.” The sight of David and the others entering Jerusalem dancing and shouting in joy disgusted Michal, Saul’s daughter [who was David’s wife]. She thought his behavior was unbecoming for a king. Sadly, this is a case where Michal misunderstood God’s ways, and she was to be punished by God for this attitude by never having any children. David and the others placed the Ark in the Tent that he had set up for it. Then, he offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to the Lord. 2 SAM 6: 18, “When he had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty [El Shaddai].”
For today, we will simply read the words of the introductory hymn of PS 68: 1-6. I will repeat them at the beginning of tomorrow’s devotion, so that we can take a closer look at them then. For now, just read and meditate on how God is revealed in them. “God rises up and scatters His enemies. Those who hate Him run away in defeat. As smoke is blown away, so He drives them off; as wax melts in front of the fire, so do the wicked perish in God’s presence. But the righteous are glad and rejoice in His presence; they are happy and shout for joy. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; prepare a way for Him Who rides on the clouds. His name is the Lord-be glad of His presence! God, Who loves in His sacred Temple, cares for orphans and protects widows. He gives the lonely a home to live in and leads prisoners out into happy freedom, but rebels will have to live in a desolate land.”
PRAYER: O Lord, the consistency of Your teachings provides such meaningful lessons for us. You are the one and only supreme God, superior over all mankind. When we accept this and know that You are always righteous, our lives are blessed by it. When we rebel against it, You are justified in punishing us. Until You moved away from the Temple in Ezekiel’s time [EZK 10: 4], You actually resided there. Now, You are in heaven with Your Son, awaiting the time when we will be ready to join You there. In spite of the seemingly long history of mankind’s sinfulness, You have not abandoned us, those who have abiding faith in You. You reveal Your remarkable attributes in the stories we read like that of the Ark’s journey from its Philistine captors to Jerusalem, Uzzah’s death, and the problems with Michal’s attitude toward Davidic worship. We dedicate ourselves to allowing You to wrap Your loving arms around us by spending time mediating over the wonderful lessons of the Scriptures and opening our hearts in prayer to You. We humbly offer You our thanks, adoration, worship, praise, trust, obedience, honor, and glory. In Christ’s holy name, amen.
As promised above, we will take a closer look at the introductory hymn of PS 68: 1-6 tomorrow. Our Lord shows us the love He has for us in a million different ways. That love, like the Scriptures themselves, is consistent, profound, and steady. Our Lord wants nothing more than to have us accept His invitation to join Him in His work and to eventually become perfected through living “in Christ” enough to enjoy eternal joy and fellowship with Him. That kind of love in unmatched by any other source. However, we can approximate it by the “koininea” relationship that He has asked us to have with each other and Him. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn