CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES

2Sa. 6:1. Chosen Men. Keil understands this assembly to have been composed of representatives of the ntire nation, but the use of the word again seems to point to a military gathering. Thenius remarks that we learn from this that David already in a certain sense maintained a standing army.

2Sa. 6:2. All the people, etc. These are not the above-named thirty thousand warriors, but besides them, the representatives of the whole nation gathered to the festival as described in 1Ch. 13:1-14, where nothing is said of a military body; while here in our passage the preliminary conference with the heads of families is passed over, and only a summary statement made as to the accompaniment of the ark by the people. (Erdmann.) Baale of Judah. From 1Ch. 13:6, we know that this was Kirjath-jearim where the ark was carried before the death of Samuel. It still retained its ancient Canaanitish name (Jos. 15:9; Jos. 15:60) in conjunction with the one given by the Israelites. It lay on the border between Judah and Benjamin, westward on the border of the latter tribe and about eight miles west of Jerusalem. (Erdmann.) Whose name. etc. The rendering of this phrase is difficult; it is probably over which, or upon which, the Name is called (or invoked) the Name of Jehovah, etc. The name of God denotes all the operations of God through which He attests His personal presence in that relation into which he has entered to man, i.e., the whole of His divine self-manifestation, or of that side of the divine nature which is turned towards men.(Herzog.)

2Sa. 6:3. A new cart. This mode of conveyance was in direct opposition to the Divine requirement (Num. 7:9), and was probably borrowed from a custom of the Philistines and others, who are supposed to have had sacred carts on which to carry about their gods. Abinadab. The ark had been standing in the house of Abinadab from the time when the Philistines sent it back into the land of Israel, i.e., about seventy years, viz., twenty to the victory of Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7), forty years under Samuel and Saul, and about ten years under David. The further statement that Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, drove the cart may easily be reconciled with this. These two sons were either born about the time when the ark was taken to Abinadabs house, or at a subsequent period; or else the term sons is used, as is frequently the case, in the sense of grandsons. (Keil and others.) Gibeah, rather, the hill.

2Sa. 6:4. Accompanying the ark. Literally, with the ark. This sentence not fitting the sense, most critics suppose a copyists error, and omit either the whole of 2Sa. 6:4, or the first clause of it.

2Sa. 6:5. Played. Literally, were sporting, i.e., dancing to vocal and instrumental music All manner of instruments, etc. Literally, with all manner of cypress-woods, which makes no sense, hence many critics adopt the reading of the Septuagint, with might and with songs, as in 1Ch. 13:8. Harps (kinnor). A stringed instrument, which apparently more resembled the guitar than our modern harp, since it was played on in walking. Psalteries (nebel). (See 1Sa. 10:5) Timbrel (toph). A species of hand-drum or tambourine. Cornet (menana). An instrument which consisted of two rods fastened together at one end, upon which rings were hung which made a tinkling sound when shaken.

2Sa. 6:6. Nachons threshing floor. Nachon is not a proper name. Erdmann translates a fixed threshing floor, i.e., one which did not change its place like a summer floor (Dan. 2:35), and therefore probably had a roof. Keil and others read the threshing floor of smiting, or of the stroke, conjecturing that it was so called from the incident which took place there. Shook it. rather, stumbled, thereby making it likely that the cart would be overturned.

2Sa. 6:7. Error. None could so much as look at the ark, much less touch it (Num. 4:15-16; Num. 4:20), without peril of life.

2Sa. 6:8. Displeased. The word denotes angry excitement. (Erdmann.) On further reflection, David could not fail to discover where the cause of Uzzahs offence, which he had atoned for with his life, really had lain, and that it had actually arisen from the fact that he, (David) and those about him had decided to disregard the distinct instructions of the law with regard to the handling of the ark. (Keil.) Perez-uzzah, or the rent or breach of Uzzah. The situation of this place is unknown, but Josephus says that it retained its name in his day.

2Sa. 6:9. Afraid. Davids excitement at what had occurred was soon changed into fear of the Lord. (Keil.) Obededom the Gittite. A Levite of the family of the Korahites, who descended from Kohath (comp. Exo. 6:16; Exo. 6:18; Exo. 6:21, with 1Ch. 26:4); he was therefore one of the family whose special duty it was to bear the ark. He is generally supposed to have been called the Gittite from his birthplace, the Levitical city of Gathrimmon, in the tribe of Dan (Jos. 19:45). The name of this man is literally serving, or servant of, Edom. It may be surmised that he, or some ancestor of his, had once been in servitude to the Edomites. (Transr. of Langes Commentary.)

2Sa. 6:13. They that bare. This shows that the Divine requirements were now strictly complied with. (See 1Ch. 15:11-15.) Six paces, This is sometimes understood to mean that a fresh sacrifice was offered at every six paces, but there is nothing in the text to favour such an assumptionthe plain statement is that as soon as the bearers had advanced the first six paces, the offerings took place. (So Keil, Erdmann, and others.)

2Sa. 6:14. David danced. As emotions of joy or sorrow express themselves in movements or gestures of the body, efforts have been made among all nations, but especially among those of the south and east, in proportion as they seem more demonstrative, to reduce to measure and to strengthen by unison the more pleasurablethose of joy. The dance is spoken of in holy Scripture universally as symbolical of rejoicing and in the earlier period is found combined with some song or refrain (Exo. 15:20, etc.) more especially in those outbursts of popular feeling which cannot find vent in voice or gesture singly. Nor is there any more strongly popular element traceable in the religion of the ancient Jews than the opportunity so given to a prophet or prophetess to enkindle enthusiasm more especially among the women, themselves most easily stirred and most capable of exciting others. The dance was regarded even by the Romans as the worship of the body and Plato certainly reckons dancing as part of gymnastics. So far was the feeling of the purest period of antiquity from attaching the notion of effeminacy to dancing that the ideas of this and of warlike exercises are mutually interwoven. (Smiths Biblical Dictionary.) A linen ephod. The white ephod was, strictly speaking, a priestly costume, although in the law it is not prescribed as the dress to be worn by them when performing their official duties, but rather as the dress which denoted the priestly character of the wearer (see at 1Sa. 22:18); and for this reason it was worn by David in connection with these festivities as the head of the priestly nation of Israel. (Keil.)

2Sa. 6:16. Michal, etc. As has been remarked on 2Sa. 6:14, the women of the Jewish nation, and especially those nearly related to the heroes of the occasion, were accustomed to take the most prominent part in the demonstration (Exo. 15:20; Jdg. 11:34), hence Michal should herself have led the female choir and have come out to meet David and the ark, and her absence shows, in a very marked manner, her want of religious sympathy. Keil remarks that in David she only loved the brave hero and exalted king, not the servant of God.

2Sa. 6:17. In his place, etc. That is, in the space marked off according to the tabernacle which still stood in Gibeon, in the Holy of Holies. (Erdmann.) Why did not David remove the mosaic tabernacle to Mount Zion at the same time as the ark of the covenant, and so restore the divinely-established sanctuary in its integrity? This question can only be answered by conjectures. One of the principal motives for allowing the existing separation of the ark from the tabernacle to continue may have been that, during the time the two sanctuaries had been separated two high priests had arisen, one of whom officiated at the tabernacle of Gibeon, whilst the other (Abiathar) had been the channel of all Divine communications to David during his persecution, and had also officiated as high priest in his camp; so that he could no more think of deposing him from the office which he had hitherto filled, in consequence of the reorganisation of the legal worship, than he could of deposing Zadok, of the line of Eleazar, the officiating high priest at Gibeon. Moreover, David may from the very first have regarded the service which he instituted at Zion as merely a provisional arrangement. (Keil.) David offered. Of course not in his own person, but through the priests. (Erdmann.)

2Sa. 6:18. He blessed, etc. Not the Aaronic blessing (Num. 6:22), which pertained only to the high priest, but, like Solomons (1Ki. 8:55), a concluding benedictory address to the whole people. (Erdmann.)

2Sa. 6:19. A piece, etc. The words of flesh have no counterpart in the Hebrew; most translators read a measure or cup, and may signify anything (probably here a portion of the sacrifice) measured out. A flagon of wine is not in the original, which ought to have been rendered a grape or raisin cake, i.e., dried grapes pressed into a cake.

2Sa. 6:20. Uncovered himself in the eyes of the hand-maids. This means simply that David exchanged his royal robes for the simple and comparatively short priestly dress and led the female choir which Michal should have led herself. Some have suggested that in the word handmaids Michal refers to the other wives of David, of whom she was probably jealous. There is no equivalent in Hebrew to the word shamelessly, and the words naked and uncovered are often used by sacred and other ancient writers in a comparative and limited sense.

2Sa. 6:21. Before the Lord. This expression denotes the holiest and highest point of view whence Davids procedure in this festival is to be judged and estimated. (Erdmann.)

2Sa. 6:22. I will yet he more vile, etc. David, having opposed to Michals in the eyes of the maids his in the presence of the Lord, places himself before the Lord on the same level with the maids, expressing by the repeated with (translated of in Eng. vers.) his fellowship and equality with these humble folk and pointing to the honour which he with them would have before the Lord. (Erdmann.) So also in substance Keil, though some scholars contend that the Hebrew proposition may be rendered of or before, and explain that David refers to the honour which he received and valued from those whom Michal despised.

2Sa. 6:23. No child. As is well known, the greatest humiliation which could befal any oriental woman, and especially one who might have hoped to be the mother of the heir to the throne. Some have, however, supposed that she had children before this event.

NOTE.Psalms 14, 15, 23, 24. are referred by Hengstenberg to this occasion Dean Stanley says, No less than seven Psalms, either in their traditional titles, or in the irresistible evidence of their contents, bear traces of this festival. The 29th (by its title in the Sept.) is said to be on the going forth of the tabernacle. As the tabernacle was never moved from Gibeon in Davids time, the ark is probably meant. The others are the 15th, 24th, 30th, 68th, 132nd, 141st. (See also his remarks in the Suggestive Comments.) The manner in which Psalms 24 was probably sung is thns described by Dr. Kitto:The chief musician, who seems to have been the king himself, appears to have begun the sacred lay with a solemn and sonorous recital of these sentences. The earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. The chorus of vocal music appears then to have taken up the song, and sung the same words in a more tuneful and elaborate manner; and the instruments fell in with them, raising the mighty declaration to heaven. We may presume that the chorus then divided, each singing in their turns, and both joining at the close, For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. This part of the music may be supposed to have lasted until the procession reached the foot of Zion, or came in sight of it, which, from the nature of the inclosed site, cannot be till one comes quite near to it. Then the king must be supposed to have stepped forth and begun again, in a solemn and earnest tone, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall shall stand in His holy place? to which the first chorus responds, He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully. And then the second chorus gives its reply, He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This part of the song may, in like manner, be supposed to have lasted till they reached the gate of the city, when the king began again in this grand and exalted strain, Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in; which would be repeated then, in the same way as before, by the general chorus. The persons having charge of the gates ask, Who is this King of glory? to which the first chorus answers, It is Jehovah, strong and mighty: Jehovah, mighty in battle; which the second chorus then repeats in like manner as before, closing with the grand refrain, He is the king of glory: He is the King of glory. We must now suppose the instruments to take up the same notes, and continue sounding them to the entrance of the tabernacle (or tent) which David had prepared. There the king again begins: Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. This is followed and answered as beforeall closing by the instruments sounding, and the people shouting, He is the King of glory.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE CHAPTER

THE REMOVAL OF THE ARK TO ZION

In this chapter we have

I. Extraordinary religious emotions overflowing into extraordinary modes of expression. When a river has been long pent up and impeded in its flow, the removal of the dam at last is the signal for an extraordinary rush of the waterssuch a rush as will make it impossible to confine them within the ordinary and appointed channels, but must for a time cause them to overflow the river banks. Davids soul had long been filled with deep gratitude to God for the extraordinary blessings which had been bestowed upon him, and this gratitude had kindled within him lofty and holy aspirations and desires which until now he had been unable fully to express. But now that the obstacles are removed and he finds himself established over Israel, elected alike by God and man to shepherd the chosen people, his deep emotion breaks through all conventionalities, and his gratitude for the past and hope for the future are too deep and strong to keep within the limits of ordinary expression, and the overflow of feeling must for a time have a wider channel. There are ever and anon such souls as that of David rising above the dead level of ordinary religious experience, who are at times the subjects of such deep religious enthusiasm as to demand extraordinary and special modes of expressing it.

II. Extraordinary religions emotion expressing itself by a deed of permanent and beneficent influence. The gold in the molten state is gold, and has a certain value; but if it is to be useful to mankind the glowing liquid metal must pass into solid coin. So feeling is good, and its outward and personal manifestation is lawful and right. But if it begin and end there, it is like gold which is always in the crucible, and never makes the world the richer by its existence. Davids deep emotion did not expend itself in singing and dancing before the Lord. These were but the accompaniments to a deed by which he gave a permanent expression to his feelings, and brought down blessing upon all under his influence. The removal of the ark to Zion at the earliest opportunity after the settlement of the kingdom was not only a testimony to Davids own faith in Jehovah, but a call to all Israel to restore the God of their fathers to His rightful place in their midst, and so to build their national unity upon a secure foundation. If we had no other guarantee for the reality and purity of Davids religious fervour, this great national act would be sufficient to show its genuineness and worth. Thus far we have looked only at the bright points of the picture; we must also regard the shadows in it. The circumstances surrounding the death of Uzzah teach us

III. That under the influence of strong emotion we are in danger of being betrayed into irreverence. Though we allow the pent-up river some extension of its ordinary bounds, it must be prevented if possible from exceeding all limits and so becoming a means of destruction instead of blessing. But here is the difficulty and the danger. So is it with us all when our emotional nature has full sway over us in matters connected with the service and worship of God. When we are wholly occupied in contemplating His infinite love and condescension, we are apt to lose sight of His awful holiness and majesty, and our joy betrays us into irreverence and neglect of some plain command. It must have been such a transport of feeling which tended to make David at this time so strangely neglectful of Gods express command respecting the ark. We must not forget that the general confusion of the country, and the long banishment of the ark from the public service of God, had no doubt tended to render even the best men less conversant with the Divine requirements than they would have been in happier times, but it seems strange that such a man as David should not have been careful to observe all things written in the book of the law upon this matter. We can only account for it by remembering how prone even good men are to perform one holy duty at the expense of another, and either to approach God in worship with irreverent familiarity or to stand too far off in mere external observance of forms and ceremonies. From the closing incident in the chapter we learn

IV. How impossible it is for hearts untouched by love to God to enter into the feelings of one under its dominion. To Michal the transports of David seemed more like the excitement of a madman, and his expressions of deep feeling foolish and degrading performances. But this was because she lacked that sympathy with him which is the only key to the soul of another, and without which all its deepest and holiest experiences must remain a mystery. And sympathy is only possible where there is some similarity of feeling and experience, and there is none between a godly and a godless person upon the most vital and soul-stirring subjects. Michal could as little enter into Davids feelings as Judas could into those of Mary when she broke the box of perfume over the head of her Lord, or as Festus could into those of Paul when the prisoner in bonds discoursed with such glowing enthusiasm to those who sat in pomp upon the judgment seat. To those who have no spiritual life religious fervour is looked upon either as fanaticism or hypocrisy, and the purest actions attributed to the most unworthy motives. This is a trial to which all eminent servants of God are exposed, and sometimes, as in the case before us, it comes through those who are near and dear according to the flesh, though far off according to the spirit. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1Co. 2:14.)

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

2Sa. 6:1. What a contrast to the ordinary rule of public life, and of private life too! Where shall we find the public men, whose first concern is for the honour of God, and who really believe that the favour of the Highest is the true palladium of their countrys welfare? Or when, in private life, shall the rule be reversed, to give to temporal interests and worldly comforts the first share of attentionwhile the cause of Christ is either wholly neglected, or served with mere scraps and fragments? If I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?Blaikie.

2Sa. 6:6. It must be mens care that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God (Joh. 3:21). Two things make a good Christiangood actions and good aims. A good aim maketh not a bad action good, as here, and yet a bad aim maketh a good action bad, as we see in Jehu.Trapp.

A man would think this act deserved commendation rather than punishment, for, alas! what should he have done? The ark had long sojourned in his fathers house, and he and his brother had done (at least as he conceived) acceptable service about it. In this present removal, by the kings appointment (at least by his consent) as his brother went before to guide, so his place was behind to attend and help. He saw the oxen staggering, the cart shaking, the ark rolling and he (as it should seem) next at hand, and who would not have put forth his hand in such a case? Had the ark actually fallen through his neglect, would not the whole multitude have cried shame upon him and perchance done worse unto him? The Philistines would have blasphemed, that the ark of the God of Israel had now at length caught a fall, as well as their Dagon had formerly before the ark. Devotion in the people would have been abated, religion scandalized, Gods ordinances and holy mysteries less reverenced and esteemed. But infinite such pretensions weigh nothing, where the law of God, and obedience required of man are laid in the contrary scale.Bp. Prideaux.

2Sa. 6:7. The special moral of this warning is, that no one, on the plea of zeal for the ark of Gods Church, should resort to doubtful expedients and unlawful means for the attainment of his end. Let him not say, that for the advancement of the Church of God, all acts are pleasing to Him. No; if the vessel of the Church is tossed with storms, the disciples may not approach and touch Him with familiar irreverence in order to awake Him who sleeps as man, but who sees all things as God. Here is the trial of their faith. Let them tarry the Lords leisure, and He will rise and succour them, and bless them for their trust in Him.Wordsworth.

You must rather leave the ark of the Church to shake, if so it please God, than put unworthy hands to hold it up.Lord Bacon.

This interruption of a joyful festival was to everyone a new admonition, that the kindness and grace of God are never alone, but are always accompanied by his holiness. God never permits it that anyone should sin, and yet, sinning, should rejoice and be glad before him. If his benevolence tends to draw us aside to levity and presumption, we will soon see Him exchange gentleness for severity, though He thereby imbitter to us the fairest day of our lives. In educating us, God cares more that we should fear Him (with the more of a child-like spirit the better) as the Holy One, and as demanding holiness in us, than that we should always prosecute our pilgrimage-journey here below with unclouded joy. He therefore causes it frequently to happen that we are compelled, in the midst of the superabundance of our prosperity and of our joy, suddenly to join in the lamentation of Job, Thou art become cruel to me; with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.Krummacher.

Uzzah here was struck down at the inauguration of a new era in the Jewish worship; and Ananias and Sapphira were punished in the same way in the early infancy of the Christian Church.
Now the connection of this latter case with that of Uzzah here will show you how we in these days can be guilty of Uzzahs sin. The Corinthians were guilty of it when, forgetting the sacred character of the Lords Supper, they became intoxicated at the table of the Lord; and we shall be guilty of it if, with hearts estranged from God, and lives which are inconsistent with His Word, we presume to connect ourselves with His Church, and take part in the management of its affairs. David, therefore, rightly read the meaning of the breach of Uzzah when, in addition to rectifying his error by putting the ark on the shoulders of the priests, he sang these words: Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; and unless we who are members of the Church have this character, we shall be guilty of Uzzahs sin.Taylor.

2Sa. 6:8. A man displeased with God; thinking himself wiser, more kind, more just than God. Really, perhaps, vexed that his grand solemnity was interrupted, his rejoicing people disappointed, his prestige damaged, his enemies encouraged. Often when men complain of Providence on high moral grounds, they are in fact mainly influenced by some secret personal feeling. Now highly elated with spiritual pride, at once angry and self-complacent, and presently dejected, irritated and disposed to give up altogether. (2Sa. 6:9.) When any promising religious enterprise of which we have had the lead is disastrously interrupted, we are tempted to find fault with Providence.Tr. of Langes Commentary.

2Sa. 6:9. I do not hear David say, Surely this man is guilty of some secret sin that the world knows not; God hath met with him, there is no danger to us; why should I be discouraged to see God just? We may go on safely and prosper. But here his foot stays, and his hand falls from his instrument, and his tongue is ready to tax his own unworthiness: How shall the ark of the Lord come unto me? That heart is carnal and proud that thinks any man worse than himself. Davids fear stays his progress: perhaps he might have proceeded with good success, but he dares not venture where he sees such a deadly check. It is better to be too fearful than too forward in those affairs which do immediately concern God. As it is not good to refrain from holy businesses, so it is worse to do them ill: awfulness is a safe interpreter of Gods secret actions, and a wise guide of ours.Bp. Hall.

2Sa. 6:11. See here the courage and faith of Obed-edom; he knew that the presence of the ark had been disastrous to Dagon, and had brought plagues on the Philistines, and that the men of Bethshemesh had been struck dead for looking into it, and that Uzzah had been smitten for touching it; and yet he gladly welcomed it and harboured it for three months, and God blessed him for his faith. Obed-edom well knew that though God is a consuming fire to those who treat Him with irreverence, He is infinite in mercy to those who obey Him. The Gadarenes, smitten with fear, besought Jesus to depart out of their coasts, and we do not hear that He ever visited them again. But Zaccheus, animated by love, received him gladly, and Jesus said, This day is salvation come to this house. (Luk. 19:9.) All divine things are set, as Christ Himself was, for the fall and rising again of many in Israel (Luk. 2:34), they are a savour (or odour) of death unto death to those who reject or despise them, but an odour of life unto life to those who love them. (2Co. 2:16).Wordsworth.

While the ark brought the plague everyone was glad to be rid of it; but when it brought a blessing to Obededom, they looked upon it as worthy of entertainment. Many will own a blessing ark, a prospering truth; but he is an Obed-edom indeed that will own a persecuted, tossed, banished ark.Trapp.

2Sa. 6:12. When pious men who have been betrayed into unwarrantable conduct have had time for self-examination, searching the Scriptures and prayer, they will discover and confess their mistakes and be reduced to a better temper; they will justify God in His corrections; they will be convinced that safety and comfort consist, not in absenting themselves from His ordinances, or in declining dangerous services, but in attending to their duty in a proper spirit and manner. They will profit by their own errors.Scott.

2Sa. 6:14-15. Now the sweet singer of Israel revives his holy music, and adds both more spirit and more pomp to so devout a business. I did not before hear of trumpets, nor dancing, nor shouting, nor sacrifice, nor the linen ephod. The sense of Gods past displeasure doubles our care to please Him, and our joy in His recovered approbation; we never make so much of our health as after sickness, nor ever are so officious to our friend as after an unkindness.Bp. Hall.

Evidently this service was not looked on as a toilsome one, but as a happy occasion, admirably adapted to raise the spirits and cheer the heart. What was the nature of the service? In spirit it was bringing God into the very midst of the nation; and on the most prominent pedestal the country now supplied, setting up a constant memento of the presence of the Holy One. To those who knew Him as their reconciled Father, the service was inexpressibly attractive. Why should there not be more joy in the worship of this gracious God? Why should our praises not be, at times at least, more lively, fitted to express and deepen such feelings of exuberant delight in the presence of a covenant God?Blaikie.

2Sa. 6:13-19. This was the greatest day of Davids life. Its significance in his career is marked by his own pre-eminent position: Conqueror, Poet, Musician, Priest, in one. But the Psalms which directly and indirectly spring out of this event reveal a deeper meaning than the mere outward ritual. It was felt to be a turning point in the history of the nation. It recalled even the great epoch of the passage through the wilderness. It awoke again the inspiriting strains of the heroic career (Psa. 68:7-9, comp. Jdg. 5:4) of the Judges. That glory which fled when the ark was taken was now returning. From the lofty towers the warders cry, Who is this King of Glory? The old heathen gates will not at once recognise this new comer. The answer comes back, as if to prove by the victories of David the right of the name to Him who now comes to His own again, Jehovah, the Lord, the Mighty One. This is the solemn inauguration of that great name by which the Divine Nature was especially known under the monarchy. As, before, under the patriarchs, it had been known as Elohim, the strong onesas through Moses it had been Jehovahthe Eternal,so, now, in this new epoch of civilisation, of armies, of all the complicated machinery of second causes, of Church and State, there was to be a new name expressive of a wider range of vision opening on the minds of the people. Not merely the Eternal solitary existencebut the Maker and Sustainer of the host of heaven and earth were now attracting the attention and wonder of men. Not merely the Eternal Lord of the solitary human soul, but the Leader and Sustainer of the hosts of battle, of the hierarchy of war and peace that gathered round the court of the kings of Israel. This great change is briefly declared in corresponding phrase in the historical narrative which tells how David brought up the ark of God whose name is called by the name of the Lord of Hosts. This was indeed as the 68th Psalm describes it, a second Exodus. David, was, on that day, the founder not of freedom only, but of empirenot of religion only, but of a Church and commonwealth.Dean Stanley.

The ark had been the witness to the people that they were one people, because they had the one God dwelling in the midst of them while they were shifting their tents continually in the wilderness. It was to be the same truth to those who were dwelling in settled habitations. It spoke to them, as it had to the others, of a permanent Being, of a righteous Being, always above His creatures, always desiring fellowship with them, a fellowship which they could only realise when they were seeking to be like Him. Lord, who shall ascend to Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?so spake David as he brought the ark to its resting place. Even he that hath clean hands and a pure heart. The moral being of the nation, then, as of each individual in it, stood in the confession of a person absolutely good, the ground of all goodness in His creatures, accessible to them while they sought Him with fear and reverence as the King, Protector, Friend, of each and all.Maurice.

2Sa. 6:19. This was a most characteristic actan index of that delight in the comfort and welfare of his people that marked the character of David. It may be that the practice is liable to abuse, yet it was a pleasing feature of this memorable occasion. It has a lesson especially appropriate to wealthy Christians on occasions of lawful rejoicings. In the olden time the festival of Christmas used to be thus observed, and there were far worse things about the old feudal system than the flowing hospitality which used to make poor men feel that times of refreshing for the soul opened mens hearts to their bodily wants. It would be quite in the spirit of Davids example for wealthy Christians to make communion seasons and similar occasions times of ample distribution.Blaikie.

2Sa. 6:20. Let us learn from the conduct of David in retiring to bless his house, that public religious services should not be allowed by us to interfere with the discharge of the duties of family religion. After such a day as that which we have attempted to describe, David might have imagined that he had a good excuse for omitting all domestic worship; but it rather seemed that the devotions of the day gave him new zest for the exercises of the family altar. And this is what always ought to be. It is to be feared, however, that many among us content themselves with a mere go-to-meeting piety, and seem to believe that religion consists in a round of public religious services. They attend all manner of holy convocations. You see them at every important devotional meeting you take part in. But they rarely enter the closet; they never bless their houses; and their lives are just as selfish and unspiritual as are those of multitudes who make no profession of attachment to Jesus whatever. I do not make light of the ordinances of Gods worship; on the contrary, I believe them to be most serviceable in feeding the fire of piety within the heart. But what I mean to say is, that piety does not consist in attending on these means of grace, and that our engagement in public services must never be made an excuse by us for the neglect of household duties. Why did you not come to church last night, said one working-man to another, on a Monday morning; our minister was preaching a third sermon on the duty of family religion; why did you not come? Because, was the reply, I was at home doing it. I would like to see not less earnestness in attendance at the sanctuary but more of this at home doing it.Taylor.

A man may be as zealous as he pleases about what relates to this life only, and yet be had in admiration; but to be zealous in religion seems to be regarded a mark of imbecility. Devotion to God alone is regarded as something degradingsomething unworthy the dignity of manwhich renders him a fit subject for the finger of scorn to point atfor the ridicule or contempt of a world that lieth in wickedness.Lindsay.

2Sa. 6:21. It is hard for the best men to recriminate without some tincture of tartness, and to keep quick the fire of zeal without some smoke of sin.Trapp.

2Sa. 6:21-22. If David had not loved Michal dearly, he had never stood upon those points with Abner: he knew that if Abner came to him, the kingdom of Israel would accompany him; and yet he sends him the charge of not seeing his face, except he brought Michal, Sauls daughter, with him; as if he would not regard the crown of Israel while he wanted that wife of his: yet here he takes her up roundly, as if she had been an enemy. All relations are aloof off, in comparison of that betwixt God and the soul: He that loves father, or mother, or wife, or child, better than me (saith our Saviour), is not worthy of me.Bp. Hall.

1. We should be afraid of censuring the devotion of others, though it may not agree with our own sentiments, because, for aught that we know, the heart may be upright in it, and who are we, to despise those whom God has accepted?
2. If we can approve ourselves to God in what we do in religion, and do it as before the Lord, we need not value the censures and reproaches of men.
3. The more we are vilified for well-doing the more resolute we should be in it, and hold our religion the faster, and bind it the closer to us, for the endeavours of Satans agents to shake us and to shame us out of it.Henry.

2Sa. 6:14-22. In the portrait of David, as it here appears to our view, several essential marks of a true state of grace unveil themselves before us. There are these five. We may describe them thus, in the language of the NewTestament:

(1.) Joy in Christ;

(2.) separation from the world;

(3.) the open confession of the crucified one;

(4.) love to the people of God; and

(5.) bearing willingly the shame of the cross. But how frequently does one meet such ill-temper as that of Michal even at the present day! It displays itself when at any time one belonging to the higher ranks of life, who has been brought, through the grace of God, from the broad way, salutes in the time of his first love every companion in the faith as a brother, and is happiest among those who, whether they be distinguished in rank or lowly, rejoice like himself in the Lord; worships in the same fellowship, and joins with them in spiritual songs; meeting familiarly with the lowliest among them, as if birth, position, rank, and social etiquette were the most indifferent things in the world. How frequently does one also see relations and friends change their demeanour towards such as disregard the conventional boundaries, and convert it into hateful mockery! That king himself did not escape such scorn whom history has adorned with the name of the Confessor, and who once, when in the presence of an assembly of believing preachers, gave free expression in high excitement to the feelings of his heart, glowing with love to Christ, I know well, he said, it is not politic for me to say what I now utter in your presence; but he did not, on that account, for a moment check the flow of his thoughts and feelings. But this state of pious elevation of mind never continues long. It soon gives place to the accustomed calm and uniform course of thought. David is not alway so lofty in his experience as he was on that day of festal joy. But he is deserving of pity who understands not the flapping of the eagles wings, by which souls consecrated to God are in times of particular visitations of grace lifted up above all the boundaries of their common life, and placed in a condition where, in the emotions that fill them, they rise above all earthly things.Krummacher.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

II. THE PROSPEROUS PERIOD OF DAVIDS REIGN, 2Sa. 6:1 to 2Sa. 9:13.

1. David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem, 2Sa. 6:1-23.

Uzzah Smitten. 2Sa. 6:1-11

Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim,

3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.

5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

6 And when they came to Nachons threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

8 And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day.
9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?
10 So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
11 And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household.

1.

How many people went to fetch the ark? 2Sa. 6:1

David gathered the chosen men of Israel to accompany him down to the west border of the land of Judah to get the ark. Thirty thousand are mentioned as being the number of these. The passage of 1Ch. 13:1 says only that David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds. It goes on to declare that he consulted every leader and that he gathered all the people from throughout the land. If there was a full assembly of the people, there would be more than thirty thousand men. David evidently did invite all to be in attendance for this auspicious occasion, but he did his work largely through the thirty thousand chosen men. David had thirty captains over these; each would then be the captain of a thousand and were sometimes called a chiliarch (2Sa. 24:13).

2.

Where was Baal-Judah? 2Sa. 6:2

The title Baal-Judah signifies Lords of Judah. It was a city of Judah, from which David went out to bring the ark into Jerusalem. It is probably the same as Baalah; a city on the northern border of Judah (Jos. 15:10). One of the religious centers of the ancient Gibeonites was here, and the name is evidently given to the same spot that is elsewhere called Kirjath-jearim (1Ch. 13:6), This spot was out on the western border of Judah near the Philistine territory. The ark had been left here when it was brought back by the kine prepared by the Philistines (1Sa. 6:21).

3.

Why did David prepare a new cart? 2Sa. 6:3

David evidently wanted to give the best for Gods service. He prepared a new cart in similar fashion to the way in which the Philistines had made a new cart when they sent the Ark back to Israel (1Sa. 6:7). David was not careful enough. He should not have made a cart at all. He learned this later, much to his regret.

4.

What was the sin of Uzzah? 2Sa. 6:6

Uzzah was the son of Abinadab, the man in whose home the Ark had been kept. He became overly familiar with sacred things. God had ordained that the Ark should be cared for only by the Kohathites, out of the tribe of the Levi. God had said that they were not to touch any holy thing, lest they die (Num. 4:15). Directions were given to indicate that when the camp of Israel set forward, Aaron was to come with his sons, take down the covering vail, and cover the Ark of Testimony with it. They were to put over the Ark a covering of badgers skins and spread over that a cloth made only of blue. They were then to put the staves in the ark. Only the sons of Kohath were to carry these sacred articles of the tabernacle furniture. These directions were not followed by David at all. Had the Ark been carried by Levites, it would not have been sitting on the oxcart in the first place. There would have been no danger of its falling when the oxen stumbled if it had been moved in the correct fashion. As the Scripture says, God smote him there for his error (verse seven).

5.

Why was David afraid? 2Sa. 6:9

David was afraid of the Lord because of the ill-fated venture of moving the Ark. 1Ch. 13:11 says that David was displeased. He was naturally disappointed that his attempt to move the ark had resulted in tragedy. Later on David admitted his fault and carried the Ark in the correct fashion. He came to this conclusion as he said, None ought to carry the Ark of God but the Levites (1Ch. 15:2). For the time being, however, he was distressed and carried the Ark aside and left it there.

6.

Who was Obed-edom? 2Sa. 6:10

On the first attempt to bring the Ark of God up to Jerusalem, Uzzah put forth his hand and took hold of it; for the oxen stumbled. Gods anger was kindled against Uzzah; God smote him there that he died.
David was afraid of Jehovah that day and refused to continue his attempt to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. Therefore he turned aside and placed the Ark in the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite.

Obed-edom was a Philistine. The fact that he was called a Gittite signifies that he was formerly a resident of that city of Gath in Philistia. Many of the Gitties emigrated to Judah. Six hundred of them formed a bodyguard to David (2Sa. 15:18 ff.). The Gittites seem to have been remarkable for their great stature (2Sa. 21:19; 1Ch. 20:5 ff.).

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) Again, David gathered.The word again should be transposed: David gathered together againreferring to the former military musters. In 1Ch. 13:1-4, mention is made of the consultations with the leaders of Israel which preceded this gathering, and the gathering itself is there (2Sa. 6:5) said to be of all Israel. But all Israel was evidently represented by the thirty thousand (the LXX. reads seventy thousand) of its more prominent men.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

REMOVAL OF THE ARK TO ZION, 2Sa 6:1-19.

Having smitten his enemies and fortified Mount Zion, and having for a time, rest from war, David most judiciously took measures to make the capital of his kingdom the central place of worship for all the tribes. He doubtless knew Jehovah’s promise to choose out of all the tribes a place to put his name, (Deu 12:5; Deu 12:11,) and the signal providences that had given him possession of Zion convinced him that this was the chosen city. It was manifestly important, therefore, that the ark of the covenant, the most sacred of all the shrines of the sanctuary, be brought with appropriate ceremonies from its obscurity in Kirjath-jearim, and placed in the city of the king. The parallel account of this event in 1 Chronicles 13, 15, , 16, is more elaborately drawn. For this grand occasion David probably composed Psalms 24.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1. All the chosen men of Israel According to 1Ch 13:1-5, David took counsel in this matter with all the chief men, and then “gathered all Israel together from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath.” The expression all Israel often stands for the representatives or chosen men from all the tribes, who in the present instance numbered thirty thousand.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

David Seeks To Bring The Ark Of God Into Jerusalem And Is Eventually Successful But Is At First Thwarted By The Premature Death Of Uzzah, Which Emphasises The True Holiness Of The Living God ( 2Sa 6:1-19 ).

The bringing of the Ark into Jerusalem would almost certainly have occurred once he and his men were settled in Jerusalem. 1Ch 15:1 tells us that it was once he had ‘made for himself houses in the City of David’. But these houses would have had to be built in readiness for David’s initial settlement in the city and therefore could not be speaking of his palace of cedar which, as it was built by Hiram of Tyre, must have been built towards the end of his reign.

His action required careful thought. Israel had already learned from what had occurred in chapters 1 Samuel 5-7 that the Ark of God was not to be treated lightly. Thus when David planned to transfer it to Jerusalem he should possibly have been more aware of the dangers, and have recognised the unique holiness of the Ark. Not that the move was not carefully planned. We may assume that the Ark was properly covered up so that the people could not gaze on it, and that those who bore it to the new cart that had been made especially for it were suitably qualified. Abinadab was almost certainly of a priestly family, as, of course, must have been his sons, otherwise the Ark would never have functioned at his house or been watched over by his sons. And it was his sons (or grandsons) who were given responsibility for watching over the Ark on its journey. So all should have been satisfactory.

But the problem was that such a long time had passed since the Ark had been used in worship that many had forgotten just how holy it was, or what its significance was. And that comes out in the action of Uzzah. Uzzah himself should, in fact, have known better. He had had the care of the Ark for a long time. And he should have known (and did know) that he did not have to protect YHWH, and that the Ark was not to be touched under any circumstances. When moved it was always to be by means of the special carrying poles which slotted in without the need to touch the Ark, precisely so that no one would touch the Ark. And the Levites had been warned from the beginning that to touch it meant death. Thus his action in reaching out to touch it was both foolish and blasphemous. It suggested to all who saw it that YHWH was unable to care for it, while giving the impression that he, Uzzah, could. It suggested that as priest he was to be seen as having proprietary rights over the Ark as something that required his protection. But above all it took away from its sacredness. It cancelled out the ides of what it was, the very representative throne of the invisible God. It made it just another image, a tool of man. It misrepresented all that the Ark stood for.

The reinstatement of the Ark was a hugely important, almost incalculable, moment in Israel’s history. It represented the reinstatement of the very invisible presence of YHWH among His people. At last His kingdom was being set up in accordance with His promises. Anything that detracted from that had to be severely dealt with because it affected how Israel would see things far into their future. Had Uzzah been able to touch the Ark and escape unharmed it would no longer have been seen as what it was. It would have lost its most important element, the fact that it was seen as genuinely representing the untouchable ‘other’ world, the fact that God was really involved with His people. But when Uzzah was struck down it provided the lesson to all that the Ark was indeed wholly untouchable and did indeed represent the living presence of YHWH, the eternal God. It revealed that that was not just a symbolic presence, but that there was there among them, through the Ark, the very real if invisible presence of the living God.

(To those of us who see life on this earth as the one thing that matters what happened here may appear to have been unnecessary, even vindictive, but to the One Who sees the end from the beginning, and to Whom the spirit returns after death, and Who decides the fate of the spirits of all men, death is merely an interval, a nothing. It is what happens after death that matters. That especially comes out in Hebrews 11, where it is not the wicked, but God’s favourites who die prematurely. We have to remember that to God it is not death that is important but what follows it. And there is no suggestion that Uzzah was to be punished in any way in the afterlife for what he had done. His eternal future would not depend on this incident, but on whether his faith was truly in God. Indeed in the same way God may take anyone of us whenever He will, and it is therefore incumbent on us to be ready).

Analysis.

a And David again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand (2Sa 6:1).

b And David arose, and went with all the people who were with him, from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, even the name of YHWH of hosts who sits between the cherubim (2Sa 6:2).

c And they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was in the hill, and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart (2Sa 6:3).

d And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was in the hill, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark (2Sa 6:4).

e And David and all the house of Israel played before YHWH with all manner of instruments made of fir-wood, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with tambourines, and with castanets, and with cymbals (2Sa 6:5).

f And when they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of YHWH was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error, and there he died by the ark of God (2Sa 6:6-7).

g And David was deeply disturbed, because YHWH had broken forth on Uzzah, and he called that place Perez-uzzah, to this day (2Sa 6:8).

h And David was afraid of YHWH that day; and he said, “How shall the ark of YHWH come to me?” (2Sa 6:9).

g So David would not remove the ark of YHWH to him into the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite (2Sa 6:10).

f And the ark of YHWH remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and YHWH blessed Obed-edom, and all his house. And it was told king David, saying, “YHWH has blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all which pertains to him, because of the ark of God.” And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with joy (2Sa 6:11-12).

e And it was so, that, when those who bore the ark of YHWH had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling (2Sa 6:13).

d And David danced before YHWH with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of YHWH with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet (2Sa 6:14-15).

c And it was so, as the ark of YHWH came into the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before YHWH, and she despised him in her heart. And they brought in the ark of YHWH, and set it in its place, in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before YHWH (2Sa 6:16-17).

b And when David had made an end of offering the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of YHWH of hosts (2Sa 6:18).

a And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, both to men and women, to every one a cake of bread, and a portion of flesh, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed every one to his house (2Sa 6:19).

Note than in ‘a’ David brought together the representatives of all Israel, and in the parallel all Israel take part in the celebrations. In ‘b’ the Ark which represented ‘the Name of YHWH of Hosts’ was to be brought up, and in the parallel David blesses the people in ‘the Name of YHWH of Hosts’. In ‘c’ special preparations were made for the bringing up of the Ark., and in the parallel special offerings were made once it had reached its place. In ‘d’ the Ark was brought forth out of the house of Abinadab on a new cart, and Ahio went before it, and in the parallel the Ark was brought up to its place and David danced before it. In ‘e’ all kinds of instruments celebrated the movement of the Ark, and in the parallel special sacrifices celebrated the movement of the Ark In ‘f’ the one who touches the Ark is smitten down and in the parallel the one who gives it shelter is blessed. In ‘g’ David was deeply distressed at what had happened, and in the parallel he was so distressed that he would not allow it to continue on its journey. Centrally in ‘h’ David was filled with awe at YHWH and asked, ‘How shall the Ark of YHWH come to me?’ He was learning something of the awesomeness of YHWH and that He was not to be treated lightly, even by him (a lesson most of us need to learn).

2Sa 6:1

‘ And David again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.’

The bringing of the Ark up to Jerusalem was such a special event that David ‘again’ gathered together the ‘thirty thousand’ chosen men of Israel. The ‘again’ probably has in mind 5:3 when the ‘elders of Israel’ gathered to anoint David as king. If that be so then these were the chosen men of Israel responsible before YHWH for the oversight of the tribes, sub-tribes and wider families in Israel and Judah. In their persons they represented the whole of Israel. ‘Thirty thousand’ indicates a complete (multiple of three) and large number.

1Ch 13:1 speaks of his consulting ‘the captains/head persons/rulers of thousands and the captains/head persons/ rulers of hundreds and every leader’, which indicates very much the same thing. Compare Deu 1:15, ‘so I took the chief of your tribes, wise man and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands (the largest units), captains over hundreds (smaller units which together made up the larger units), captains over fifties (even smaller units) and captains over tens (the smallest size of unit)’.

In the end all Israel would be involved (1Ch 13:2), but clearly all Israel could not accompany the Ark on its initial journey, although they would be there to welcome it into Jerusalem

2Sa 6:2

‘ And David arose, and went with all the people who were with him, from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, even the name of YHWH of hosts who sits between the cherubim.’

Then David went with the chief men of Israel from Baale-judah (to which they had made their way) in order to bring the Ark up to Jerusalem. In doing so the absolute holiness of the Ark is described, because of the One Who was invisibly present on it, and in order to prepare for what follows. It was ‘the Ark of God which is called by ‘the Name’, that is, ‘by the Name of YHWH of hosts’. (For the use of ‘the Name’ by itself in this way compare Lev 24:16 c where there is mention of ‘blaspheming the Name’). To be called by ‘the Name’ was to have imputed to it the whole character and nature of the One Whose Name it bore. In other words it was to be seen as the place where the invisible God could be met with, because His Name was there, His invisible presence. And that Name was the Name of YHWH of hosts who sits between the cherubim, and thus on the Mercy Seat. YHWH ‘of Hosts’ is called that because He is Lord of all the host of Heaven and earth, and also Lord of the host of His people. In other words He is the Creator and Lord of Heaven, and the God Who causes His people to triumph in battle. He is regularly seen as accompanied by, and often borne up by (compare Samuel 22:11; Ezekiel 1), cherubim (‘living creatures’) who are seen as His servants and as the protectors of His holiness (compare Gen 3:24; Exo 25:18-22; Psa 80:1; Psa 99:1; Ezekiel 1; Ezekiel 10; Revelation 4-5).

Baale-judah is another name for Kiriath-jearim (‘city of the woods’) which was where the Ark had been kept (1Sa 7:1-2). In Jos 15:9-10 it is called Baalah, and being in Judah could thus be distinguished from other Baalah’s by being called Baale-judah. In Jos 15:60 it is called Kiriath-baal (‘city of the Lord’). The gradual tendency to get rid of or change names containing the name of Baal may help to explain the gradual change of name.

2Sa 6:3

‘ And they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was in the hill, and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.’

The Ark of God was then set on a new cart. The bearing of the Ark on a cart was an idea first conceived by the Philistines. They may well have borne their own gods on such carts. It was on such a ‘new cart’ that it had been returned to Israel (1Sa 6:7). So this was treating God in accordance with Philistine ideas. Note that any such cart had to be new so that it had not been soiled by any earthly activity. No cart that had been used for earthly purposes was acceptable. To use a second hand cart would have been an insult, even blasphemy, for such a cart would have been seen as defiled. But the way that YHWH had prescribed for the bearing of the Ark was not by such a cart but by Levites using long travelling poles which slotted through rings on the Ark. We should therefore remember that had the correct method been used in obedience to God, all that followed would have been avoided. It stresses the need to obey God in all things.

The cart was driven by Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab. Whether Uzzah was the Eliezer mentioned in 1Sa 7:1 we do not know (it could easily be an abbreviation of Eli-ezer by dropping the Eli-. Compare how Jehoshuah could also be called Hoshea). For Eliezer was the one who had primarily been the keeper of the Ark. Alternatively it may be that he had died and that Uzzah as the next in line, or as his son, had taken his place.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

2Sa 6:1-23 David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem – This same story of David bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem is given in more detail in 1 Chronicles 13-16.

2Sa 6:2  And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

2Sa 6:2 “Baale of Judah” – Comments – This is the same as Kirjathjearim (1Sa 7:1-2, 1Ch 13:5-6).

1Sa 7:1-2, “And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years : and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.”

1Ch 13:5-6, “So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim. And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim , which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.”

2Sa 6:3  And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.

2Sa 6:3 “they set the ark of God upon a new cart” – Comments – Note in Num 7:2-9 that all of the items of the Tabernacle were carried in carts, except the furniture of the Tabernacle, which was holy. The furniture was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests. King David made the mistake of carrying the Ark of the Covenant on a cart when he was bringing it to Jerusalem.

Num 7:2-9, “That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen ; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation ; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders .

David realized his mistake, and later corrected this error (1Ch 15:13).

1Ch 15:13, “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.”

The Law of Moses had given clear instructions on how to carry the Ark of the Covenant. The sons of Kohath were to bear the ark upon their shoulders (Num 4:15; Num 7:9; Num 10:21, Deu 10:8).

Num 4:15, “And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it : but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.”

Num 7:9, “But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders .”

Num 10:21, “ And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary : and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.”

Deu 10:8, “At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD , to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.”

We find examples of this in other Scriptures:

Jos 3:14, “And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;”

2Sa 15:24, “And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.”

2Sa 6:7  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

2Sa 6:7 “for his error” – Comments – Or, “because of his irreverence or rashness.” By stretching out his hand to steady the ark, Uzzah dishonoured the office of the priest, and therefore he dishonoured God. This irreverence was also committed by Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, in the wilderness (Lev 10:1-2).

Lev 10:1-2, “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”

2Sa 6:7 Comments – The Law of Moses had warned that death was the penalty for anyone who touched the holy articles of the tabernacle (Num 4:15). An intriguing and popular theory today suggests that the ark was designed in such a way that it was a capacitor for electricity. Therefore, it held voltage that would kill anyone who touched it apart from the two rods by which God designed it to be carried.

Num 4:15, “And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die . These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.”

2Sa 6:8  And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.

2Sa 6:8 Word Study on “Perezuzzah” PTW says the Hebrew name “Perezuzzah” means, “breach of Uzzah.”

2Sa 6:10  So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.

2Sa 6:10 “the Gittite” – Comments – The Gittites were Philistines who inhabited the city of Gath.

Jos 13:2-3, “This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines , and all Geshuri, From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites , and the Ekronites; also the Avites:”

It appears that a group of 600 Gittites joined themselves with the Cherethites and the Pelethities as David’s bodyguards:

2Sa 15:18-19, “And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath , passed on before the king. Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite , Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile .”

2Sa 18:2, “And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite . And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.”

Goliath, who David killed with a sling, was a Gittite:

2Sa 21:19, “And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite , the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.”

2Sa 6:11  And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.

2Sa 6:11 Comments – Although Obed-Edom was a Philistine of Gath, he was now living in the land of Judah as an exile. This same ark, which brought curses to the land of the Philistines, now brought blessings to this house.

2Sa 6:14  And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

2Sa 6:14 “And David danced before the LORD with all his might” Comments – In one of Kenneth Hagin’s heavenly visions, Jesus referred to this verse as He was discussing New Testament worship with him. [51] Because the believers under the Old Covenant were not filled with the Spirit, their worship was “in the flesh.” Therefore, in this verse, David danced “before the Lord” rather than “in the Spirit.” He danced “with all his might” rather than “under the anointing.”

[51] Kenneth Hagin, Plans Purposes and Pursuits (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1988, 1993), 86.

Under the New Covenant, we are to worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth.”

Joh 4:23-24, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

In true worship under the New Covenant, everything that we do must be done in the Spirit, inspired and led by the moving of the Holy Spirit in the service. Otherwise, the worship is done in the flesh and the moving of the Spirit will be quenched.

We do find other Old Testament Scriptures that tell us to dance before the Lord.

Psa 149:3, “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.”

Psa 150:4, “Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.”

The references in the Old Testament to dancing are a part of the pattern for Old Testament worship. Kenneth Hagin says that although the principles and examples in the Old Testament may be the same as in the New Testament, the practices are not the same.

2Sa 6:14 “and David was girded with a linen ephod” – Comments – This linen ephod was normally worn by those priests who ministered and served in the Temple (1Sa 2:18; 1Sa 22:18).

1Sa 2:18, “But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod .”

1Sa 22:18, “And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod .”

In addition to the linen ephod, David was also wearing a robe of fine linen (1Ch 15:17). So, he was wearing two garments.

1Ch 15:27, “And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen , and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen .”

2Sa 6:19 And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.

2Sa 6:19 Word Study on “a flagon of wine” – Strong says the Hebrew word “flagon of wine “ash-ee-shaw’” ( ) (H809) means, “a cake of raisins or other comfits, flagon.” Webster defines a flagon as “a vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquors. It is generally larger than a bottle, and of leather or stoneware rather than of glass.” The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 4 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “flagon 4.” Modern versions translate this word as “raisin-cakes.” Note the other uses in the Old Testament, which supports the translation of “raisin-cakes” within its context.

2Sa 6:19, “And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.”

1Ch 16:3, “And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.”

Son 2:5, “Stay me with flagons , comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.”

Hos 3:1, “Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.”

2Sa 6:20  Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

2Sa 6:20 “who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants” – Comments – This may have taken place if David was wearing only the linen ephod, with nothing under it (2Sa 6:14).

2Sa 6:20 “as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself” Comments – In every culture there are those who shamelessly uncover their body parts to ease themselves in public. This takes place particularly in underdeveloped cultures where people must walk distances rather than drive in cars.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The First Attempt ends Sadly

v. 1. Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, the captains and leaders of the army, together with the best soldiers of the nation, thirty thousand.

v. 2. And David arose and went with all the people that were with him, from Baale of Judah, to Kirjath-baal or Kirjath-jearim, to bring up from thence the ark of God, which had been in the house of Abinadab some seventy years, since the time that the Philistines had returned this trophy, 1 Samuel 7, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim; for at the ark, before the ark, the name of Jehovah Sabaoth, who appeared over the cover of the ark, between the cherubim on the mercy-seat, was invoked.

v. 3. And they set the ark of God, literally, “let it ride,” upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah, on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, here probably in the sense of grandsons of Abinadab, and sons of Eleazar, who had been the first guardian of the ark, drave the new cart. Strictly speaking, this mode of transporting the ark did not agree with the legal requirement, which demanded that the ark should always be carried by Levitical priests, Num 7:9.

v. 4. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, on the hill, accompanying the ark of God, the two men acting as guardians; and Ahio went before the ark, while Uzzah walked along at the side of the cart.

v. 5. And David and all the house of Israel, the entire assembled multitude, played before the Lord, in His honor, on all manner of instruments made of fir-wood, with all their might, and with songs, 1Ch 13:8, even on harps, the Jewish zithers, and on psalteries, small harps held in the hand, and on timbrels, tabrets or hand-drums, and on cornets, sistrums, instruments which gave forth a musical sound when shaken in time with the rest of the music, and on cymbals, the well-known metal plates used to this day.

v. 6. And when they came to Nachon’s threshing-floor, a permanent floor along the road leading to Jerusalem, probably covered with a roof, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it; in stepping to the side of the road or in slipping they jostled the ark, so that it seemed about to fall off.

v. 7. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, for the unauthorized touching of the ark, as of the throne of God’s glory in the midst of Israel, was a profanation of the Lord’s majesty; and God smote him there for his error, for his rash mistake in touching the ark; and there he died by the ark of God, he was struck down immediately.

v. 8. And David was displeased, becoming angry that his undertaking had resulted in such a misfortune, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah, by inflicting this stroke; and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah (the breach of Uzzah) to this day.

v. 9. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, the anger over his misfortune gradually turned to apprehension and then to fear, as he considered that his disregard of the Lord’s command about transporting the ark had evidently been the cause of the unfortunate happening, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me? David felt that he was guilty before the Lord and unworthy of His presence.

v. 10. So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him in to the city of David, fearing that misfortune might strike his entire family if he proceeded with his plan; but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, who hailed from Gath-Rimmon, the Levitical city in Dan, a musician and also a porter at the Sanctuary in Jerusalem.

v. 11. And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite, three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. To the believers of the New Testament the most holy thing is God’s Word and Sacrament, for where the means of grace are administered, there the Triune God dwells. To the believing Christians the Word of God is a savor of life unto life, but to those who despise His grace it is a savor of death unto death.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

2Sa 6:1

And David gathered together. The long subjection to the Philistines was at an end, and David’s first care is to bring the ark of Jehovah from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem. In this he had a twofold object. For, first, it was an act of piety, testifying David’s gratitude to God, who had so quickly raised him from the condition of a despairing fugitive hiding away in the cave of Adullam to that of a victorious king reigning over an independent and free people. But David had also a political purpose. The weakness of Israel in the past was the result of its divisions, he would heal this by giving it a capital, whither the tribes would come up for worship, and where they would feel that they formed one nation. David had seen the evils of a divided sovereignty, when he and Ishbosheth were wasting the strength of Israel in civil war. For more than half a century he remedied this, but before there had been time for the union of the tribes to be cemented by the gradual influence of religion. Solomon’s oppressive levies of unpaid workmen, forced to labour in his costly buildings, and the despotic stupidity of Rehoboam, broke up united Israel into two feeble states, which henceforward had to struggle hard for a mere existence. The condition of Israel was very similar to that of the United States of North America before their great civil war; except that their president, elected by all the people, and their Congress at Washington, were far stronger bonds of union than any that were possessed by the Israelites. But when there was danger of even these failing to keep them together as one people, the statesmen of the north put forth their utmost powers, and spared neither life nor treasure, because they saw clearly that the victory of the south meant the breaking up of their empire into a multitude of feeble governments, which, by their mutual jealousies, would paralyze and thwart one another. With equal discernment David endeavoured to counteract the jealousy and separate action of the tribes, which was bringing about the disintegration of Israel, by giving them a point of union. Had he gone further north for his capital, he might, perhaps, have overawed the stubborn tribe of Ephraim, which was always the most unmanageable of the sections of Israel. But the situation of Jerusalem upon the borders of Benjamin and Judah, on a hill-top which neither had really possessed, and which was marked out for noble use by its wonderful natural conformation, fully justified David’s choice; and it has had the assent of mankind ever since. David then made this unrivalled spot his capital, and placed there, first of all, his royal residence, whereby it became the centre of all public business and of the administration of law; and, secondly, as a matter of still higher importance, he made it the headquarters of their national religion and the abode oF their God. We see the weight of this religious influence in the anxiety of Jeroboam to counteract it, and in the strength given to Rehoboam by the migration into Judah of those who valued the temple services more than their worldly prosperity. Even Saul had valued the national religion, and had established its headquarters at Nob; but, giving way to the ungoverned anger of a despot, he had destroyed his own work. It was left to one who to the bravery of a soldier added the discernment of a statesman to consolidate the tribes into a nation by establishing their religion upon a sure and influential basis. For this reason also he made their services full of delight and enjoyment by the institution of choral chants and the use of instruments of music; while the psalms which his singers recited were so spiritual and ennobling that we to this day use them in our solemn worship. Granting that there are expressions in them harsher and more intolerant than a disciple of the loving Jesus would now apply to any earthly enemy, yet, as a whole, the Psalms, written in these rough far off times, still form our best book of devotion! In the parallel place in the First Book of Chronicles we have the narrative of this re-establishment of the Mosaic Law given as looked at on the Levitical side, and with many interesting additions. Here the narrator looks at it with the eye of a statesman. We must not, however, suppose that the history there given is arranged in chronological order, as, if so, the two victories in the Valley of Rephaim would have both taken place in the three months during which the ark was resting in the house of Obed-Edom. If this were so, then David would first have had more than three hundred and forty thousand warriors with him at Hebron to anoint him, and with their aid would have captured Jerusalem. lie would next have assembled thirty thousand picked men to bring the ark up to Zion; and yet would have had only his body guard of “mighty men” wherewith to fight Israel’s battles and win its independence. Most probably the order, both here and in Chronicles, is not chronological, and the course of events was as follows. With the help of the men gathered at Hebron David captures Jerusalem. As soon as it is made safe they withdraw, and leave him occupied with planning out and building his city. Alarmed at the vast concourse at Hebron, and made angry by David’s seizure of a strong fortress, the Philistines hastily pounce upon him in numbers too vast for him to resist. He escapes, leaving but a few men to defend Jerusalem, and hides in his old fastness. Encouraged there by finding three of his mighties more than a match for the garrison at Bethlehem, he gathers the mere valiant spirits, and makes a sudden attack upon the Philistines, who were engaged in ravaging the country as a punishment for its rebellion. They are defeated, but with no great loss; and so with uubroken strength they again invade the country, and march up once more to Jerusalem, prepared to fight a pitched battle, and seize that fortress as the prize of victory. Again, David, with far larger forces, surprises them, and, driving them from ridge to ridge, so utterly vanquishes them that the power of Philistia was destroyed forever. It was after this double victory that Hiram, King of Tyre, whose dominions bordered upon the Philistines, and who had found them disagreeable neighbours, made a close alliance with David; and so at length, free from all fear at home, and honoured abroad, he was able to turn his thoughts to the consolidation of his kingdom and the establishment of Jehovah’s worship. And in the Book of Chronicles we have the details of that spiritual service of psalmody which David added to the Levitical routine of sacrifice, and which bears the significant name of “prophecy,” as being the expression of the moral and spiritual side of the Mosaic Law (1Ch 25:1). Instead of “Again David gathered,” the words of the Hebrew are” And David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel.” The first gathering was at Hebron (2Sa 5:1), and before they came David must have given his consent to their wishes, and invited their presence at his anointing. They soon gather together a second time to endow their new kingdom with the safeguards necessary for their spiritual welfare, and the maintenance among them of morality and virtue and the fear of God. Chosen men. This usually means picked men fit for war. But doubtless on this occasion the eiders and all good men possessed of power and influence would be present to strengthen the king’s hand. Thirty thousand. A large number, but not too large. David probably chose one of the great feasts for the occasion, and by the presence of a large number of warriors, and the display of much military pomp, he would impress upon the minds of the people the value of religion. They would thus learn also to respect their new capital as being the place where was the presence of their Deity, and where they were to come to worship him.

2Sa 6:2

From Baale of Judah. We learn from Jos 15:9, Jos 15:60 that Baalah, or Kirjath-Baal, “the city of Baal,” was the old Canaanite name of Kirjath-jearim, the “city of woods.” It lay about eight miles westward from Jerusalem (see 1Sa 6:21; 1Sa 7:1, 1Sa 7:2). The preposition “from” is very startling, as really David went to Baale. Yet all the versions have it, but they put on Baale an incorrect meaning. Baal means “lord,” “master,” and they render, “David went with all the people that were with him from [or, of] the citizens of Judah,” understanding by “master” a householder, one who was master of a family. The real explanation probably is that the narrator wrote according to the sense, and not according to the grammar. The thought in his mind was the bringing up of the ark from its long resting place, and not the prior physical necessity of going down to the place where it was. With all the people. David had consulted with “the captains of thousands and hundreds, and every leader” (1Ch 13:1), and it was with their good will that he drew the ark of God out of its long concealment. A select body of these nobles, or sheiks, would accompany the king, while the rest, with their attendants, would be posted along the eight miles of road. Whose name is called by the name. In the Hebrew, the word “name” is twice repeated, the words literally being, the ark of Elohim, whereon is called the Name, the Name of Jehovah of Sabaoth. Most of the versions omit the second Name, and the translators of the Authorized Version also felt it to be a difficulty, which they have tried to escape by inserting words between the two. Really it is a most interesting sign of the existence at this early date of a special reverence for the name “with four consonants” which we call “Jehovah.” Subsequently it was never pronounced, but the word “Lord” was read instead, in the Revised Version, the importance of the passage is well brought out by the first Name being written with a capital, of the use of which the Revisers are very chary. With their usual inconsecutiveness, they retain Lord for Jehovah, though this is “the Name,” and though they have restored the word Jehovah in several less important places.

2Sa 6:3

And they set the ark of God (Hebrew, made it ride) upon a new cart. This was contrary to the Levitical Law, which required that only Levites should bear the ark, and that it should be veiled even from their eyes (Num 4:15). But this mistake is not surprising. It is easy enough for us to turn to our Bibles, and see what the exact letter of a command was. But such reference was no easy matter when the Law was contained in manuscripts which were rare and costly. We cannot imagine that David or even Abiathar carried a manuscript about with them in their wanderings. David very probably had a considerable knowledge of the Pentateuch, gained in Samuel’s schools, and stored up in his memory, as was the custom in old days when books were scarce. But this knowledge would be chiefly of its narratives and doctrines, and would comprise such portions as Samuel thought most fitting to influence the lives of his scholars. Abiathar probably added to this a knowledge of all such ritual as was in daily use in the sanctuary at Nob. He had fled thence in terror, escaping alone from the cruel destruction of the priests by Saul’s decree; but even there the restoration of the Levitical services had been too recent to have given time for much study of the old Law. We can quite believe that the murder of the priests at Nob, following upon the catastrophe at Shiloh, had reduced the knowledge of the priests to a very low ebb. Now, the exact way of bearing the ark was a matter that had long been dismissed from their memories, but they would call to mind that it had been brought to Abinadab’s house in a new cart drawn by oxen; and they would take this as a precedent, which would justify them in acting in the same manner a second time. But in so solemn a matter the priests ought to have made diligent search, and have gone for instruction to the copies which they possessed of the Divine Law. David did so subsequently (1Ch 15:2), but possibly there was no such copy at present in Jerusalem, and they would have to go to Ramah, where Samuel would deposit whatever records he had saved from the ruin of Shiloh, and where the great work of the prophets was to study the sacred books, and even copy them. But this want of inquiry and easy assumption, that as the ark was brought in a cart to Abinadab’s house, so in a cart it should be carried away, was an act of great irreverence, and all the guilty were punished. The heaviest blow fell on the house of Abinadab, which lost a dear son. Entrusted for seventy years with the care of so sacred a symbol of Jehovah’s presence, Abinadab and his family ought to have made a special study of the taws concerning it. Apparently they left it very much to itself; for it is never said that God blessed them for their care of it as he did Obed-Edom. And David also was in fault; for he ought to have commanded the priests to make diligent search. His punishment was the breaking out of the Divine wrath, terrifying the people, and turning the joy of the day to mourning. The house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah; really, that was upon the hill. Uzzah and Able, the sons of Abinadab. “Sons” in Hebrew is used in a large sense, and these two men were probably the grandsons of Eleazar, the son of Abinadab, who had been set apart to keep the ark. For seventy years, as it seems, lind passed since the ark was hurriedly put in Abinadab’s house, namely, twenty during the Philistine supremacy up to the battle of Ebenezer, forty during the reign of Saul, and about ten since. As Eleazar must have been thirty years of age for his consecration to be legal, he must have died long ago, and his sons would be old and decrepit men. His grandsons would be in the prime of life.

2Sa 6:4

Accompanying (Hebrew, with) the ark. The verse is evidently corrupt, and we have no aid from the parallel place in Chronicles, except the fact that it is omitted there. The most probable explanation is that the first half of the verse has been repeated from 2Sa 6:3 by the error of some copyist, and that the original words were “Uzzah and Ahio drove the new cart with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.” While Uzzah walked at the side, Ahio went before the oxen to guide and manage them, as the Basques may be seen at the present day doing in the south of France.

2Sa 6:5

Played. The word does not mean “played on a musical instrument,” but “danced and rejoiced.” On all manner of fir wood. The Hebrew literally is, with all cypress woods. In 1Ch 13:8 we find “with all their might, even with songs,” etc. Gesenius, in his ‘History of the Hebrew Language,’ describes this as a mere guess at a misunderstood text, and Maurer ridicules it as a stupid emendation. More sensibly Thenius regards it as the right reading, and the words here as a corruption of it, caused by some scribe misspelling the words, which are nearly identical. In our version the ambiguous meaning of the word “played” makes the passage less startling. For “they danced with all cypress woods” is unintelligible. The musical instruments mentioned here are the harp, Hebrew chinnor, a guitar; the psaltery, Hebrew nebel, a kind of harp of a triangular shape, with the point downwards; the timbrel, Hebrew tof, a tambourine or small drum; the cornet, Hebrew mena’na’, a bar on which were a number of loose metal rings, which were shaken in time to the music, but others think that “castanets” are meant, which are pieces of wood beaten in time. The Revised Version adopts this rendering. And finally cymbals. For “cornets” we find in the parallel place “trumpets,” whence the translators of the Authorized Version took their rendering; but the Hebrew word means “things to shake.”

2Sa 6:6

Nachon’s threshing floor. In the parallel place (1Ch 13:9) we find “the threshing floor of Chidon,” and “Chidon” is proved to have been a proper name by the feebleness of the attempts made to find for it a meaning. We therefore gather that “Nachou” is also a proper name, but otherwise we should certainly have translated it “a fixed threshing floor.” The people did indeed thresh or trample out their corn often on summer threshing floors (Dan 2:35), that is, on fitting spots in the fields themselves. But as a large quantity of earth was sure in this cash to be mixed with the corn, they preferred to use places with solid floors or pavements, which lasted for many generations, and.often became well-known spots (Gen 50:10). Even if “Nachon” be a proper name, this would be a permanent floor, paved with stones, the approaches to which would be worn and made rough by the tracks of the carts bringing the corn. Here the oxen shook it; Hebrew, stumbled, and so the Revised Version. Nothing is said of the ark being in danger. Uzzah’s act was one of precaution. The ground was rough, the oxen stumbled, and he put forth his hand to hold the ark till the cart had reached level ground. If the threshing floor was formed in the natural rock, those who have been in Spain, and seen how the tracks in the Pyrenees are worn by the native carts into deep ruts in the solid stone, can well understand that the neighbourhood of this much-frequented spot would need very careful driving.

2Sa 6:7

Error. The word so translated is one quite unknown, and Ewald renders it “unexpectedly.” The Revised Version puts “rashness” in the margin. But all three alike are mere guesses, of which “error” is that approved by Keil and others. The Syriac has the same reading here as that found in 1Ch 13:10, namely, “because he put his hand to the ark.” This would require the insertion of four or five letters in the Hebrew. By the ark. The word translated “accompanying the ark” in 1Ch 13:4.

2Sa 6:8

David was displeased; Hebrew, David was angry. Neither David nor his people had intended any disrespect, and so severe a punishment for what was at most a thoughtless act seemed to him unjust. Uzzah’s death was probably caused by apoplexy, and the sudden effort of stretching forth his hand and seizing the ark had been its immediate cause. So tragic an event spoiled the happiness of the day, filled all present with disappointment, made them break off in haste from the grand ceremonial, and placed David before his subjects in the position of a malefactor. He had prepared a great religious festival, and Jehovah had broken in upon them as an enemy. In his first burst of displeasure he called the place Perez-Uzzah, the word “Perez,” or “Breach,” conveying to the Hebrews the idea of a great calamity (Jdg 21:15) or of a sudden attack upon a foe (2Sa 5:20). The historian adds that the place bore this name unto his day; but we cannot tell whether these are the words of the original compiler of the Book of Samuel, or, as is more probably the case, those of some subsequent editor or scribe. Many such remarks are supposed to have been inserted by Ezra and the men of the great synagogue.

2Sa 6:9

David was afraid. This was his next feeling. Neither he nor Uzzah had offended wilfully, and so severe a punishment for an “error” made him dread the presence of so dangerous a thing as the ark seemed to be. Instead, therefore, of taking it into “the city of David,” he turns aside and leaves it in the house of the nearest Levite. In both his anger and his dread David manifests himself to us as one whose ideas about God were somewhat childish. He regards Jehovah as a powerful and capricious Being, who must be appeased. He had attained to juster views in Psa 16:1-11. and other such trustful hymns.

2Sa 6:10

Obed-Edom. We find two Levites of this name among David’s officialsone belonging to the family of Merari, a singer and doorkeeper for the ark (1Ch 15:18, 1Ch 15:21, 1Ch 15:24); the other of the family of Korah (1Ch 26:4, 1Ch 26:5). And as it is there said that “God blessed him,” he probably it was into whose house the ark was taken. He is called a Gittite, because he belonged to Gath-Rimmon, a Levitical city in the tribe of Dan (Jos 19:45; Jos 21:24).

2Sa 6:11

Jehovah blessed Obed-Edom. So far from there being anything unlucky in the ark, its presence brings with it a manifest blessing, and thus David’s fears are allayed. But before he returns to his purpose, he commands that proper inquiry be made. The priests must examine the holy book, and, having learned from it where his former conduct was wrong, he assembles the people once again to carry the ark to its home (1Ch 15:2, 1Ch 15:12-15).

2Sa 6:12

With gladness. The words mean, “in a joyful procession with music and dancing.”

2Sa 6:13

When they that bare the ark of Jehovah had gone six, paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings; Hebrew, an ox and a fatling. Many suppose that David sacrificed an ox and a fatling every six paces along the whole way from the house of Obed-Edom, which was probably near or even in Jerusalem, unto the tent prepared for the ark in Zion. “Evidently the way to the holy city was a way of blood. The stained streets of Zion, the rivers of blood, the slaughtered heaps and the blaze of altar fires formed a strange contrast to the dancing, the singing, and the harping of the multitudes who crowded the city”. It is not necessary to suppose, with some objectors, that the ark waited till each sacrifice was completed, or that the road thus lined with victims was many miles in length. The ark did not remain at Perez-Uzzah, but was carried in silent awe to the house of a Levite; and such a house probably was not to be found until they were inside the city walls. There were no country houses in a region lately twice ravaged by the Philistines. But there is an objection to this view, namely, that it is not the sense of the Hebrew. What is there said is that at starting, after stepping six paces, David sacrificed an ox and a fatling (by the hands, of course, of the priests), to ask a blessing upon the removal of the ark, and avert all misfortune. In Chronicles we read nothing of this, but of a sacrifice of seven bullocks and seven rams, offered by the Levites. The one was David’s offering made at the beginning, to consecrate the removal; the other was made at the end, and was a thank offering of the Levites, because they had carried the ark safely (1Ch 15:26). The Vulgate has a remarkable addition to 2Sa 6:12, taken doubtless by Jerome from manuscripts which existed in his day. It is as follows: “There were with David seven choruses and a calf as victim.” The fact is not in itself improbable, and means that the musicians and dancers were divided into bands which mutually relieved one another. And as a sacrifice was also a feast, each band had a calf provided for it. The LXX. omits the thirteenth verse altogether, and substitutes for it, “And seven choruses accompanied him. bearing the ark, and a calf and Iambs as a sacrifice.”

2Sa 6:14

And David danced. The word used means the springing round in half circles to the sound of music. Conder has given a very interesting account of the dancing of the Malawiyeh, which consisted in turning round in whole circles, resting on the heel of the left foot. As David danced with all his might, he was evidently strongly excited with religious fervour. We have the expression of his feelings in the psalm composed for this occasion (1Ch 16:7-36); subsequently it seems to have been rearranged for the temple service, as it is broken up into Psa 96:1-13. and Psa 105:1-15. Dancing was usually the office of the women (Exo 15:20; Jdg 11:35; Jdg 21:21; 1Sa 18:6); but men may also have often taken part in it, as Michal’s objection was that it was unbefitting a king. David was girded with a linen ephod. David wore this as a tightly fitting garment, which left him free to exert himself in the dance. So far from the use of it being an assumption of the priestly office, it was regarded by Michal as an act of humiliation, as it was a dress worn even by a child when admitted to service in a priest’s family (1Sa 2:18). Probably David did mean to rank himself for the time among the inferior servitors of the ark. He might have claimed more. In the theocracy he was the representative of Jehovah, and his anointing was a solemn consecration to a religious office. To have burned incense or offered sacrifice would have been to invade the priestly office, an office parallel to “the administration of the Word and the sacraments,” denied, in the Thirty-Seventh Article of the Church of England, to princes. To wear the garb of a servitor was to do honour both to Jehovah and to his priests.

2Sa 6:16

Michal Saul’s daughter. Possibly these words are merely to identify Michal, but they suggest the thought that, as a king’s daughter, she valued her royal dignity. The procession evidently passed near David’s palace, and his wives and children would be eager spectators.

2Sa 6:17

In the midst of the tabernacle (i.e. tent). This tent would he arranged as nearly as possible like that erected by Moses in the wilderness. The ark would be placed in the holy of holies, a shrine probably of cedar-wood, and the burnt offerings and peace offerings would then be offered and would consecrate the whole. When it is said that David offered them, it means that the sacrifices were at his cost and by his command.

2Sa 6:18

David blessed the people in the name of Jehovah of hosts. Blessing the people was an important priestly function, for which a special formula was provided (Num 6:22-26). But this did not deprive the king, who was Jehovah’s anointed representative, of the right of also blessing them, and Solomon, at the consecration of the temple, followed his father’s example in a very solemn manner (2Ch 6:3).

2Sa 6:19

A cake of bread, and a good piece and a flagon. Of the first of the three gifts there is no doubt. It was the round dough cake baked for sacrificial meals (Le 8:26). So, too, there is no doubt of the third; it means “a cake of raisins” (see So 2Sa 2:5; Hos 3:1, in which latter place raisins, or dried grapes, are expressly mentioned, boldly rendered in the Authorized Version “wine”). The Revised Version has given the correct rendering of the passage. The second word occurs only here, but the rendering of the Authorized Version is that of the Jews; and as it is some common domestic term not likely to be found in literature, but well known in every kitchen, they are most probably right. On the same sort of local authority Jerome renders it in the Vulgate “a piece of beef for roasting.” As it is coupled with the bread and the raisin cake, we may feel sure that it was a portion of the flesh of the animals which had been killed in Sacrifice, and which the people were now permitted to take to their homes.

2Sa 6:20

To bless his household. David, in the midst of his public duties, was not forgetful of the nearer claims of his own family. Doubtless there also a joyful feast would be prepared, and all be gathered together to praise God and rejoice with one con sent. Who uncovered himself as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! David’s offence in the eyes of Michal was, not his dancing, but his divesting himself of his royal robes, and appearing before his subjects clad in the dress of an inferior class. The Levites were to occupy a humble social position (see Deu 14:29; Deu 26:12), and Michal’s words are a proof that such was in David’s time the case. The language of Michal is that of a woman vexed and irritated. After reminding David of his high office as “King of Israel,” she reproaches him for appearing on a grand public occasion without the upper and becoming robe in which an Oriental enwraps himself. And this he had done before the female slaves of his own servants, with no more self-respect than that shown by the “vain fellows.” “Vain” is the “raca” of Mat 5:22, and means “empty,” void of virtue, void of reputation, and void of worldly means. The Hebrews, when expressing the greatest possible contempt for a man, called him an “empty,” and no word could be found better conveying the meaning of thorough worthlessness.

2Sa 6:21

It was before the Lord. The Hebrew is much more forcible than the confused rendering of our version. “Before Jehovah, who chose me above thy father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over Jehovah’s people, over Israel, yea, before Jehovah I have rejoiced” (Authorized Version, “played;” but see notes on 2Sa 6:5). The preference of David over Saul was proof that that king’s affectation of royal state, and his self-importance, were not pleasing in God’s eyes.

2Sa 6:22

And of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. These words have been variously interpreted, but their simplest meaning is also the best; that even the most uneducated women, though surprised at first at David’s want of stateliness, would, on reflection, be led to a right understanding of the greatness of God; and would then feel that even a king was right in owning himself to be nothing in God’s presence.

2Sa 6:23

Therefore Michal. The Hebrew is, and Michal had no child, Michal’s barrenness was long antecedent to this outburst of pride, and was not a punishment for it. It is noticed as a proof that the blessing of God did not rest upon her; and as such it was regarded by the people, and doubtless it lessened David’s affection for her. We must not, however, suppose that he imposed upon her any punishment further than this verbal reproof. Nor does the interest lie in Michal’s conduct, but in the glimpse which the narrative gives us of David’s tender piety towards God, so exactly in agreement with the feelings which animate very many of the psalms. To unite with this a harsh bitterness to the woman who was his first love, who had so protected him in old time, and whom he had summoned back at the first opportunity because of his affection for her, is a thing abhorrent in itself, and contrary to David’s character. His fault in domestic matters rather was that he was over fond, not that he was unfeeling. A little more sternness towards Amnon and Absalom would have saved him much sorrow. As for Michal, the story sets her before us as earing a great deal for David, and not much for Jehovah. She could not have approved of such a number of rivals in David’s household, but she had not lost her love for him. And the narrative represents her as not having Jehovah’s blessing in a matter so greatly thought of by Hebrew women, and as valuing too highly royal state, and forgetting that above the king was God. But she did David no great wrong, and received from him nothing worse than a scolding. In the parallel place (1Ch 15:29) the matter is very lightly passed over; and the reason why it holds an important place in this book is that we have here a history of David’s piety, of his sin and his punishment. In itself a slight matter, it yet makes us clearly understand the nature of David’s feelings towards Jehovah. It is also most interesting in itself. For David is the type of a noble character under the influence of grace. Michal, too, is a noble character, but she lacked one thing, and that was “the one thing needful.”

The removal of the ark is a matter so important as to call for careful consideration. For the time it established two centres of worshipone with the ark at Zion, the other at Gibeon. The ark in Saul’s days had been forgotten (1Ch 13:3). It had long lain in the house of a simple Levite in the city of woods, and Saul’s religious ideas were too feeble for him to be capable of undemanding the importance of establishing a national religion. Still, such as they were, they made him summon Ahiah, the grandson of Eli, to be his domestic priest (1Sa 14:3); and subsequently he even set up at Nob the tabernacle with its table of shewbread, and other holy furniture, saved somehow from the ruin of Shiloh, with Ahimelech as high priest (1Sa 21:1). But when in a fit of senseless jealousy he destroyed his own work, the nation was left for a time without an established religion. Gradually, however, this primary necessity for good government and national morality was suppliedhow we know not; but we find a tabernacle at Gibeon, with the altar of burnt offerings, and the morning and evening sacrifice, and apparently the same service as that erewhile set up at Nob; only Zadok of the line of Eleazar is high priest (1Ch 16:39, 1Ch 16:40). He thus belonged to the senior line, while the last survivor of the race of Ithamar, Abiathar, Eli’s great-grandson, was with David. Gibeon was in the centre of the tribe of Benjamin, some few miles from Jerusalem, with Nob lying halfway between; and probably Saul had permitted this restoration of Jehovah’s worship at Gibeon, both because he half repented of his deed, and because the worship there was ministered by priests not allied to Ahimelech and Abiathar. But now the ark, which was Jehovah’s throne, had been brought out of its obscurity, and solemnly placed in a tabernacle in Zion, with Abiathar, David’s friend, the representative of the junior line, as high priest; and probably the only difference in the service was that David’s psalms were sung to music at Zion, while the Mosaic ritual, with no additions, was closely followed at Gibeon. There was thus the spectacle of two high priests (2Sa 8:17), and two rival services, and yet no thought of schism. Zadok had been one of those foremost in making David king of all Israel (1Ch 12:28); he and Abiathar were the two who moved Judah to bring David back after Absalom’s revolt (2Sa 19:11). The whole matter had grown out of historical facts, and probably David always intended that Zion should absorb Gibeon, and be the one centre required by the Levitical Law. But he was content to wait. Had he acted otherwise a conflict would necessarily have arisen between the rival lines of the priesthood, and between Abiathar and Zadok, the two men who represented them, and who were both his true friends. We find even Solomon doing great honour to the tabernacle at Gibeon (2Ch 1:3, etc.), but after the temple was built it passed away; and the race of Ithamar, weakened by the calamity at Shiloh, and still more by the cutting off of so many of its leading members at Nob, never recovered itself after Abiathar was set aside by Solomon for taking part with Adonijah. The line continued to exist, for members of it returned from Babylon (Ezr 8:2); but though it produced a prophet, Jeremiah, it never again produced a high priest, and therefore only the line of Eleazar, to which Ezra himself belonged, is given in 1Ch 6:1-81.

Thus Abiathar’s misconduct and the growing fame of Jerusalem put an end to all fear of schism. We easily trace in the Psalms the increase of the nation’s regard for Zion. In Psa 24:1-10; written probably by David to celebrate the entry of the ark thither, it is simply “the hill of Jehovah his holy place.” In Psa 9:1-20. it is “his dwelling,” but in Psa 20:1-9. a higher note is struck. Zion is “the sanctuary” whence Jehovah sends “help” and “strength;” and in Psa 48:1-14; written at a later date, Zion is found installed in the very heart of the people’s love. Thus the Divine blessing rested fully upon David’s work. To Jehovah’s worship he gave a grand and noble centre, which from his day has had no rival, unless it be in some respects Rome. The city of David’s choice has been, and continues to this hour to be, the most holy spot upon earth alike to the Jew and to the Christian, though to the latter it is so because of David’s Son. At Zion, moreover, David’s spiritual addition to the Mosaic ritual has given the Church its best book of devotion and the brightest part of its services; forevery hymn sung to God’s glory, and every instrument of music played in God’s house, is but the continuance of the prophesying with harp, psaltery, and cymbal (1Ch 25:1), first instituted by David, though, like all that was best in David personally and in his institutions, it grew out of Samuel’s influence and the practices of his schools (1Sa 19:20). Finally, the temple services were doing much to weld the discordant tribes into one nation, and would have succeeded in so doing but for the unhappy degeneracy of Solomon’s latter years, and the obstinacy of his son. Yet even so, Jerusalem remains forever a memorial of the genius and piety of this extraordinary man, and the symbol of “Jerusalem the golden, the home of God’s elect.”

HOMILETICS

2Sa 6:1-11

The facts are:

1. David, deeming the time to be come for reorganizing the religious services, raises a select force wherewith to bring the ark from its obscurity at Kirjath-jearim.

2. Providing a new cart, the ark is set thereon, and brought out of the house of Abinadab under charge of his two sons.

3. David and the people move in joyous procession before the ark to music from all manner of instruments.

4. Arriving at a certain place, Uzzab, putting forth his hand to steady the ark, is smitten for his rashness, and dies before the ark.

5. Thereupon David’s spirit is much troubled, and is filled with dread at the thought of taking charge of so sacred and terrible a treasure.

6. David is restrained by this apprehension from his purpose, and meanwhile leaves the ark in the house of Obed-Edom.

7. The sojourn of the ark in the house of Obed-Edom for three months proves an occasion of great blessing to him and his family. The remarkable events of this section naturally arrange themselves in a threefold orderthe bringing up of the ark; the judgment on Uzzah; and the suspension of the undertaking. We here find three topics, which we will take in succession.

Religious restorations.

I. RELIGION IS THE FOUNDATION OF NATIONAL PROSPERITY. This is the interpretation of David’s action in seeking to bring the ark out of its obscurity to the central seat of government. From the time when the ark was captured by the Philistines (1Sa 4:1-22.) and its deposit at Kirjath-jearim (1Sa 6:21), all through the reign of Saul, with the exception of the brief revival at Ebenezer, the religion of the nation had been at a low ebb. That so sacred a treasure should have been left in obscurity, without the forms and order of worship enjoined in the Law of Moses, was an indication of spiritual decadence, and goes far to account for the political weakness of the nation during the life of Saul. David saw clearly that the elevation of his people depended chiefly on two thingsvigorous, enlightened statesmanship, and fidelity in all things to their covenanted God. The establishment of a strong centre of government at Jerusalem was one step; but he saw that, if the nation was to fulfil its highest destiny, the prosperity he desired must also rest on a strictly religious foundation. Hence the effort to restore religious life by bringing up the ark of the covenant. Leaving out of view the particular form of religion, and the symbolism appropriate to that stage in the development of God’s revelation, we can see how profoundly wise David’s judgment was. The human activities developed in national civilized life can only be counted on to run into right and safe channels, and to avoid mutual destruction, when they are pervaded by the spirit of true godliness. Wealth, art, science, commerce, military display, free and easy interchange of thought,these are not self-preservative, these do not give rest to the heart, these do not check the tendencies that carry in themselves the germs of decay and death. Only when the national mind is purified, rendered calm, self-restrained, and God-like in feeling by knowledge and worship of the Holy One is there a guarantee that all will go well and endure. This is taught in the history of Greece, Rome, and other lands where God was not honoured by proper worship, and his Spirit not cherished in daily life; and it is the strenuous teaching of prophets and apostles, and especially of the Saviour, who makes clear what is the light of the world and the healing of the nations.

II. THE RESTORATION OF RELIGION IS AN EVENT OF GREAT JOY. The very idea of a restoration of the piety of former days was to David an inspiration. His calling the chief men from all quarters of the land, his expounding to them his sense of what was due to the symbol of God’s presence, his grand processional march, and the exuberant delight with which he sang and danced,reveal the high appreciation he had of the great turn now coming in the religious, life of the nation. The awakening of a new enthusiasm by his influence certainly was a remarkable incident in the national life regarded in contrast with the stolid indifference of the age of Saul. The power of a new and healthy religious emotion over all the faculties, and consequently over all departments of activity, is very great, giving elevation, spring, and purpose to all that is done or attempted. In this case there were special elements entering into the joy. The ark was the symbol of God’s presence; it contained the overshadowed mercy seat, which told of forgiveness and communion; it was the exponent of covenant relationship, and the prophetic indicator to the devout mind of a glory yet to he revealed, and of a covenant on wider basis and embracing vaster blessings. Ezra knew something of this joy of restoration of religion to its proper position. There was joy also when, after centuries of error and wrong, the attention of men was directed once more by Luther and his coadjutors to the mercy seat where men could find a new and living way of access to the Father. No greater occasion for joy could arise for our own land than a full national enthusiasm for those sacred deposits of truth and holy influence which God has given us in his revelation and in the institutions of his Church. What is thus true of restorations on a large scale holds of our own lives, when, after seasons of dreary separation from our God and cold miserable observance of occasional acts of worship, we go forth with all our soul after the living God, and welcome him afresh to our love and trust as the God of our salvation.

III. INDIRECT PERSONAL INFLUENCE CONDUCES TO A RESTORATION OF RELIGION. It is instructive to see how, in the providence of God, great movements have sprung out of individual consecrations. The soul of David, purified, elevated, and aroused to grasp spiritual realities, was the human spring of this great change. Of course his official position would secure attention to his requests and commands; but it depended on the bent of his mind as to the form and scope of his commands. This reformation proceeded from him, but not entirely by direct personal influence. His tone and manner, his habits of devotion and strict regard for God’s will, would tell on those in direct contact with him; but that was not enough. Hence in his sagacity he summoned select men from all parts of the land, and through them sought to act on the thousands who could not leave their homes. This call from all towns and villages would awaken thought there, would lead to explanations, would quicken conscience, would disseminate his ideas and the enthusiasm of his spirit, would create the feeling that a holier and wiser time was at hand; and when, subsequently, the thirty thousand returned home, they would further diffuse the influence caught by contact with the godly king, and contribute elements of good to their respective localities. The great reformations of the world have all been effected thus. Few come into direct personal contact with the originators. The multitude get the secondary influences. Nor can we tell how far our influence may thus be diffused. The wave moves on in proportion to the susceptibility of those who first receive its impact. The question of indirect influence deserves much consideration on the part of Churches and individuals.

IV. A TIME OF REFORMATION IN RELIGION DEVELOPS MUCH FEELING NOT PURELY SPIRITUAL. Although a great interest was awakened by David’s zeal in the restoration of the more regular worship of God, yet we must discriminate between such devout feelings and clear views of spiritual things as were true of him, and the vague sentiments of the multitude. If Psa 68:1-35, and Psa 132:1-18, may be taken as indicative of his real state of mind, we are not to suppose that all the rest who joined in the procession or were stirred to excitement in their homes rose to the same height in the religious life. Men cannot help being roused when powerful religious minds put forth their energies; and in some instances they are awakened to a really new spiritual life; but contagion of thought and sentiment and fervid interest in a great public movement are not the same as vital godliness. They may be better than dull indifference, and may even serve as a step to a higher and more permanent elevation, yet if they be all the reformation is very superficial. Forming an estimate on the general rules that govern human action, we may be sure that many who sang and danced before the ark were only nominal worshippers, and had but slight sympathy with the deep meaning of the words of the psalmist. The same was true of the Protestant Reformation. Multitudes took an interest in doctrinal discussions and in the freedom from priestly domination who knew little of that inner spiritual life which, in the case of Luther and the leaders, found its core in personal union with Christ. Our modern revivals are to be estimated in the same way. We may be thankful that crowds flock to sing and hear and welcome ostensibly the true Ark of the covenant, and many, no doubt, sing with the understanding and rejoice in spirit, but the mass have still to be regarded as relatively strangers to the new and deeper life.

Human judgments on Divine acts of judgment.

The part of the narrative referring to the conduct of Uzzah and the consequences to himself always awaken in the reader a feeling of surprise at the apparent disproportion of the punishment to the offence. Sympathy is felt with the feeling of David, who was “displeased,” and could no further carry out his project of conveying the ark to Jerusalem. Evil minded men have not been alone in pointing to this record as an evidence of what they would call the unworthy representations of the Divine Being contained in the Old Testament. It is well to look this difficulty fully in the face, and see, if possible, how far man is warranted to express a judgment at all upon an event so terrible and seemingly inexplicable, on such principles at least as govern human acts of justice. Note here

I. THE REASONS FOR DIVINE JUDGMENTS ARE NOT ALWAYS APPARENT TO MAN, AND YET MAY BE MOST VALID. It is a first principle that the “Judge of all the earth” cannot but do right. That is the solid rock on which to rest when events occur in providence that do not admit of explanation. It is, further, a sound position that God locks at the inner life of men, and knows exactly the tone and spirit concealed from human view; and it is this condition of the inner man, and not the bare outward act, which constitutes the real character and determines the moral value of the action in the sight of God. Also, incidental actions are incidental in their form because of passing circumstances; but the state of mind out of which they spring is permanent; for given two minds of different spiritual tone and bias, they will, when placed under pressure of the same external circumstances, produce totally different actions. Now, we have a right to assume, prima facie, that, if there are no adequate reasons for the sudden terrible punishment discoverable in the bare and apparently well-disposed act of Uzzah, there must have been, in his habitual state of feeling towards the symbol of God’s presence and the whole events of the day, something determinately evil, and of which that which seemed to others to be an innocent act was known by God to be the natural outcome. That was the case in the destruction of Dathan and Abiram. The falsehood of Ananias Was outwardly only like other falsehoods, but we are told that God saw something more than the ordinary antecedent of a lie in common life. There have been judgments on nations and families and individuals, and are still, which do come in the providence of God, but the hidden reasons of which only eternity will reveal. As our Saviour during his earthly life often spoke to the unuttered thoughts of men, and not to meet definite words, so here and in other cases the Divine act was doubtless to meet an unuttered, a permanent, not fully expressed state of mind, of which Uzzah was conscious, but of which men knew little. The same will be true of future judgments of God; they will be based, not on the ostensible act merely, hut on the tenor of the whole life (Mat 7:22, Mat 7:23; Mat 25:40-46).

II. THE GUILT OF ACTIONS IS DEPENDENT VERY MUCH ON PRIVILEGES ENJOYED. The Philistines had handled the ark (1Sa 5:1, 1Sa 5:2), and no immediate evil came to them for so doing. Their subsequent affliction seems to have been owing to their detention and mockery of the ark (1Sa 5:3-7), not to the fact of touching it. But it was a positive injunction that the Levites should not touch the sacred thing (Num 4:15); and the particular injunction was illustrated and rendered more significant by the regulation that the ark should always be carried on staves, thus not needing the touch of any hand. The Philistines were men “without law;” Uzzah was a man “under law.” The whole history of his people in relation to ceremonial had been full of instruction of the same kind. The guilt of a deed depends on previous knowledge or means of obtaining knowledge. Capernaum is not judged by the same rule as the people of Sodom. The Jew is pronounced inexcusable because of his superior light (Rom 2:1-29.). Severer punishment comes on those who, possessing gospel light, do deeds worthy of darkness (Joh 3:19; Heb 10:29). Judgment may fall on the “house of God” which would not come on those not in the house (1Pe 4:17).

III. INDIFFERENCE TO DIVINE LAWS IS PROGRESSIVE. The disregard of the well-known injunction in this case was probably the culmination of an indifference which had been growing for a long time. An evil tendency or mental habit may be in process of formation, and may constitute a state of actual spiritual degeneracy, a long time before an occasion occurs for its manifestation in any overt act that is distinctly in violation of positive law. The degeneracy which was far too common during the reign of Saul doubtless had penetrated to the home of Uzzah, and the neglect of honour paid to the ark during those long years of its stay in his father’s abode, together with the kind of familiarity with it bred of its presence as a relic of a former elaborate ritual, could not but have resulted in a rather decided insensibility to the sacredness of minute regulations. The act of touching the ark may have been a consequence of this condition, and the “error,” or “rashness,” spoken of (Psa 132:8) may indicate that there was not in him that quickness of spiritual sensibility which would at once have seen that no casual circumstance can set aside a command based on a great and Divine order of things. There is not a more subtle evil of our life than this gradual deepening of indifference arising from neglect of spiritual culture and encouraged by unthoughtful familiarity with sacred things. The conscience passes through stages of degeneration till we come to do things without compunction which once would have caused us anguish of spirit. How far our children are in danger from constant familiarity with religious phrases and usages is a serious question. The same applies also to ordinary worshippers in our sanctuaries.

IV. THERE IS POSITIVE IMPIETY IN DISTRUSTING GOD‘S PROVISION FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS OWN GLORY. The ark was the visible symbol of God’s presence. His glory was there, so far as it could be manifested in visible form to man at that stage of his religious education. The command that no Levite should ever touch it was among the arrangements made for its stay among the people. All such arrangements of God are made on full prevision of every possibility. To say that circumstances might arise when the command would he inadequate to the maintenance of the ark in its integrity among men, would be an impeachment of the Divine wisdom and power. The command had reference solely to human action, and did not reveal what reserve of power and appliance there might be for securing the safety of the ark at all times. Common sense, to say nothing of religious faith, ought to have taught that the Eternal would take care of his own if he declined the aid of man, or at least that it was his will that his own should suffer temporary injury now and then. It was irrational and impious, therefore, to distrust his provision for securing his own ends. The putting forth of the hand in contravention of the command may have been the expression of this. The same applies equally to the New Testament manifestation of the glory of God in Christ. For times of danger and of seeming safety he has enjoined on us certain conduct in relation to the kingdom of Christ, which proceeds on the presupposition that he has means of securing the integrity of that kingdom on the basis of our restricting our conduct to that prescribed order. By prayer, by truthfulness, by spirituality of mind, by love, by persuasive words, by blameless, meek lives, by quiet faith in the invisible power of the Spirit, we are to do our part in relation to the preservation of the integrity of the kingdom, and to its processional march to final triumph. If, when supposing it liable to suffer, or when observing a great shock arising from the circumstances of its position in our time, we depart from the order laid down, and trim to the world and become unspiritual and untruthful, or depend less on faith in the invisible power of the Holy Spirit than on mere human science and social influences, then we virtually fall into this view of the sin of Uzzah, we distrust God’s provision for securing in the world those interests that are bound up with the work and Person of Christ. Man is responsible for the observance of what is enjoined, not for imaginary temporary consequences that will ensue from an observance of what is enjoined. Here is the clue to hosts of failures of duty and wretched expediencies.

V. PROFOUND REVERENCE AS AN ELEMENT OF CHARACTER IS OF PRIME IMPORTANCE IN PERSONAL AND NATIONAL LIFE. No great character is formed without profound reverence as a chief feature. Men are mean, weak, morally low, in so far as they are trifling and destitute of awe. The spirit of levity, which treats all things as common and fit subjects for free and thoughtless handling, never reads the great lessons of existence, and never wins respect. A reverent man alone forms a true estimate of himself in relation to the vast order of things of which he is but a part. An irreverent nation lacks the strong, sober qualities which alone grow out of reverence as their root, and which alone can produce noble, strenuous actions. Now, the whole drift of the Mosaic ritual and commands was to develop and foster reverence in the people. The solemnities and details in reference to the ark, the sanctuary, the altars, the sacrifices, the cleansings, and assemblies were rational in their specific relations. The great gathering at the foot of Sinai, and the solemn restrictions there laid down (Exo 19:1-25.), were evidently designed to develop a becoming “fear of the Lord” and profound regard for sacred things. The judgment on Dathan and Abiram was a check on a tendency to irreverence. The very hope of the people depended on the due maintenance of this reverent spirit. All had understood the command not to touch the ark in that light, and the judgment on Uzzah for the violation of that command was only another solemn way of impressing the people with the prime importance of this feeling. Hence, also, our care to encourage such forms of worship as best foster reverence of spirit, and such styles of teaching as exhibit the facts and principles from the recognition of which reverence will naturally arise. Hence, again, our appreciation of those providential events, such as sickness, bereavement, and stupendous manifestations of untraceable wisdom and power, which awaken or strengthen the feeling, “Great and holy is the Lord: who shall stand in his presence?”

VI. THERE IS AN EDUCATIONAL CHARACTER IN JUDGMENTS. The dull heart of man often needs something more than the still small voice and quiet order of events to arouse it to a sense of what is due to God and what is wisest and best for man. In every judgmentsay of Sodom, of Pharaoh, of Dathan, of Ananiasthere is pure justice; no wrong is done to the individuals concerned; but the acts have a reference beyond the persons affected thereby. The contemporaries of Abraham, the Egyptians, Israel in the desert, and the primitive Church, were instructed by what occurred in their midst. Many judgments are connected with the explicit statement that “the nations may know.” The judgment on Uzzah formed part of the educational process by which God was bringing the people out of their low spiritual condition to the elevation in tone which would render them more effective in carrying out Divine purposes in the world. We cannot fully estimate how much we owe to the influence over us of the record of God’s judgments contained in his Word. Nor is it enough to say that they are repressive in their influence, and not conducive to the developing of love and filial trust and the free joy of a superior life; for the repression and restraint of evil tendencies is requisite in creatures strongly under their influence, and, while checking from what would soon be utter, hopeless ruin, they open the way for the action of other gentle, tender influences which do develop the free joyous spirit of the obedient child.

VII. THE SEVERITY AND GOODNESS OF GOD ARE PERFECTLY CONSISTENT AND OFTEN COEXIST. It is had theology based on defective knowledge of Scripture to represent God in an exclusive aspect of mildness. Though we need not become material in our conceptions, and think of contrary attributes in him as so many quasi-physical forces contending one against the other or finding an outlet at the expense of one another, yet the very conception of love, when just, implies a rigid, severe guardianship of the order of things on which the welfare of the holy depends. This combination shines forth in the death of Uzzah. In case he was a really devout man, and simply in an unguarded moment of unwatchfulness put forth his hand, then his sudden deaththough necessary to the maintenance of the ritual which we have seen was based on the principle of inculcating reverence, and useful, as an educational act, for the Peoplewould not include, necessarily, loss and ruin in the next life. He might be saved, though as by fire. This combination of severity and goodness shines forth most conspicuously in the work of our Saviour, in whose life and death the reprobation of sin and the outflow of mercy to sinners form the two elements which render the cross a mystery of justice and mercy.

Distrust a foil to faith and love.

it is said that David was displeased, and in his displeasure there arose a fear hitherto unknown to him, and, as a consequence of these, the enterprise on which he had entered with so much joy and confidence was abandoned till, as we shall see further on, the reward which came to Obed-Edom’s faith and love, standing in contrast with David’s gloomy imaginings, brought him round to a better mind.

I. DISCONTENT WITH THE ORDER OF PROVIDENCE PROCEEDS FROM A COMBINATION OF SELF–WILL AND IGNORANCE. David was dissatisfied and vexed in spirit with what had occurred to interrupt the joyous carrying out of his programme. It was not so much dissatisfaction with what Uzzah had done, or pare that he was dead, but annoyance that for such a deed the great terror of death should have come on them all. Had he spoken out all his feelings and thoughts, he would have said that such an event was undesirable, out of proportion to the deed, and an intrusive disturbance of a great and important ceremonial. Had he been at the head of authority, no such calamity as that should have interfered with a grand national undertaking. Possibly, apart from frustration of his own immediate plans for festivity, he may have been apprehensive of the effect of such a dreadful doom upon the mass of the People whom he was anxious to interest in the restoration of religion. But we can now see how all this was the outcome of self-will and ignorance. He wanted things to go on in his own way; he did not know, as he might have known on more profound reflection, that to maintain the authority of law and inculcate reverence and check national tendencies to levity were for the highest good of the People, and that these could be most assuredly promoted by this sad event. We have here an instance, in conspicuous form, of the very common circumstance of men secretly complaining of the order of events which Providence chooses. A rainy season, a sweeping earthquake, a transmission of evil consequences from parent to child, the destiny of the wicked, and many other things which do come in consequence of the constitution of the physical and moral worlds, often raise within the heart the feeling that some other arrangement would surely have been better, and that had we our way such things would not be possible. This is really self-assertion, love of our own way, ignorance of the innumerable ramifications of single events and acts, and inability to penetrate into the conditions on which alone a permanent and generally beneficial order of things can be secured. The psalmist rose to wiser thoughts and holier feelings (Psa 73:13-22; Psa 92:4-6; cf. Mat 11:25, Mat 11:26; Rom 11:33, Rom 11:34).

II. STRONG UNHOLY FEELING IMPAIRS THE CONCEPTION OF TRUTH AND DUTY. That David’s annoyance with the order of Providence was a decidedly unholy feeling is obviousit was the opposite of that meek, loving acquiescence in the ways and acts of God, even when they are most painful, which characterizes the truly filial spirit; and that it was strong is seen in the fact that from that moment he failed, under its action, to see the glorious truth enshrined in the symbol before him, and was moved to abandon the work to which he had committed himself and the people. Psychologically it can be proved that all emotion affects more or less the steadiness of intellectual perception. Morally it is a matter of experience that an emotion of anger, distrust, or annoyance always interferes with a clear perception of spiritual truth. Plato was right in affirming that the unaffected by the storms or’ passion and sense alone can see reality. The god of this world, by engaging and exciting feelings, blinds the minds of men, so that they see not the glory which shines in the face of Christ. David’s fear of the ark, his dread lest something should happen (Psa 132:9), was contrary to all he had felt before. Hitherto the ark had been to him the symbol of that blessed presence which had brought joy and comfort to his hearta reminder of the mercy which endureth forever. It was not possible to see this precious truth through the mists of unholy feeling that had been permitted to rise in his soul. And this shrinking from what had once been reverently regarded as the spring of purest joy and satisfaction at once weakened the resolve be had formed to bring the blessed symbol to his seat of government and give it there the honour due. Duty gave way to the disgust and disappointment and foolish apprehensions generated by his own proud will. The correlative truths are clear, namely, in so far as we are lowly and absolutely acquiescent in the Divine wilt is our spirit calm and clear and strong in its recognition of highest spiritual truth, and in so far as this truth is perceived the path of duty is steadily followed. None knew the truth and pursued the path of duty as Christ, because none were so pure and calm and one in will with the Father. Herein is a lesson to teachers and taught; to those who meet with trouble and those who move on in joyful procession.

III. FAITH AND LOVE EXERCISED IN A TIME OF RELIGIOUS BACKSLIDING ARE ABUNDANTLY REWARDED. David’s piety was now at fault; he had slipped backwards in the path of godliness; his conduct was an unjust reflection on Providence and on the holy symbol that shadowed forth the presence of the people’s real Protector and Friend. Had men followed his example or caught his temper, they would have shrunk from the ark as from the source of death; and it would have been left in an obscurity and neglect equal to that of Kirjath-jearim. But all this serves as a foil to set forths in striking beauty, the conduct of Obed-Edom, who, not dreading with slavish fear the Holy One of Israel, but, doubtless, in a quiet way, proud of the privilege, welcomed the ark to his house. Whether he first sought the honour, or whether this was the nearest Levite’s house, we know not. In any case we can imagine, from the tenor of the narrative, how with careful haste the house was cleansed and prepared for its holy guest; the best and fairest chamber made, if it might be, yet more meet for such high honour; the Levite and his sons purified, that they might fitly bear in the ark to its destined place, venturing, perhaps, as they bore it along, to utter or think of the’ ancient words, “Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel!” Honoured, happy Obed-Edom] What faith in God! what love for the blessed presence! Did sleep fall upon him that first night? Was there not a joy that would make “songs in the night”? The bliss, later on, of Zacchaeus was in a sense forestalled by Obed-Edom. The reality of the faith and love, and its continued manifestation in various forms of reverential interest, is proved by the rich blessing that came upon him and all belonging to him. The house became the abode of the higher forms of religious sentiment which in themselves are choicest treasures. Honour fell upon parents, and children felt the blessed charm. Servants began to feel, as never before, that their services were more than attentions paid to man. Providence smiled on field and vineyard. Men saw that somehow this home was now blessed above all homes. What lessons here for all! Who would dread with slavish fear the Christ, the Manifestation of the glory of the Father? Who would not welcome him as chief, most cherished Guest? Who would not subordinate all the arrangements of home life that he may be duly honoured there? Who would ‘not rejoice that the Holy One does condescend to dwell thus with man, and brighten the fairest scenes of home life? Blessings abound where he is welcome Guest. No fear of flashing fire to destroy. To faith and love there is only mercy and peace.

“O happy house, O home supremely blest,

Where thou, Lord Jesus Christ, art entertained

As the most welcome and beloved Guest,

With true devotion and with love unfeigned;

Where all hearts beat in unison with thine;

Where eyes grow brighter as they look on thee;

Where all are ready, at the slightest sign,

To do thy will, and do it heartily!”

GENERAL LESSONS.

1. Times of religious excitement may arise in the natural progress of religion, but they obviously are not to be regarded as a normal condition of thought and feeling, and they may, by their absorption of one class of feelings, lay us open to peculiar temptations.
2. In every season of apparent and real prosperity in religion we ought to exercise self-control, in prospect of the possibility of events arising through the imperfection of men which, from their nature, mar our joy.
3. Secret murmuring against what Providence ordains is a sin to which all are very prone, and therefore it is important to watch against it very closely, especially as it does more damage to our inner life than is often supposed.
4. We ought to ponder carefully the enormous injury done, both by our loss of personal influence and the force of example, when we, out of a feeling of sudden disappointment, throw aside solemn duties.
5. Those who render service to the cause of God in times of urgency may be sure that a rich blessing will come that will cause them to forget any temporary inconvenience experienced.

2Sa 6:12-23

The facts are:

1. David, learning the blessing that had come upon the house of Obed-Edom, resolves to bring up the ark to Jerusalem.

2. Having made arrangements in accordance with the Law for the proper bearing of the ark, he inaugurates the procession by a sacrifice.

3. Girded with a linen ephod, he dances before the ark, and with music and shouting it enters Jerusalem.

4. Placing the ark in the tabernacle he had provided for it, he offers burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord, pronounces a blessing on the people, and distributes to them meat and drink.

5. Returning to his house, he is met by his wife Michal, who, having witnessed his dancing before the ark, now reproaches him with having demeaned himself in the eyes of the people.

6. With mildness of temper, but great firmness, he not only admits the fact, but glories in it as due unto God, and affirms his readiness to again debase himself in the same manner, being sure of winning the esteem of others less prejudiced.

7. Michal his wife remains childless. We have here a great change in David’s religious condition; an event of supreme national interest; and the domestic sorrows of a devout man. The topics suggested may be taken in succession.

Joy restored.

There is a marked change in the David mentioned in 2Sa 6:13-15 as compared with the David of 2Sa 6:8-10, and in general terms it may be expressed as a restoration to the joy of his life. But it is well to notice the process implied.

I. THE SINS AND ERRORS OF A REALLY GOOD MAN CAUSE HIM GREAT SUFFERING. In general terms, all sin entails suffering; but facts prove that the degree of personal suffering consequent on particular sins depends on the actual goodness of the man who sins. David was truly a “man after God’s own heart,” a man of pure sensitive nature, of enlightened conscience and intense sincerity. In some respect his very sin (2Sa 6:8) was consequent on his noble ambition to see God glorified in a great national demonstration. We may be sure, although the historian says nothing of it, that the days immediately after his return to Jerusalem were full of bitterness. The fact that a great project, in which the nation was concerned, had come to a sudden collapse, that elders and common people throughout the land would be talking of his chagrin, that strange impressions would be conveyed as to the stability of his purposes, and the consciousness that his God was not to him now as he had been in days past, must have robbed him of former peace and embittered all the relationships of life. Peter’s life was anguish after his fall, because he was so good a man. Dark days and painful sense of solitariness are the lot of many of the faithful after having turned their heart in distrust from their God.

II. REFLECTION ARISES AND GRADUALLY TONES DOWN THE TUMULT OF FEELING. For a time the passion of discontent and distrust, like a storm, would rage, and, while making David wretched by virtue of their own nature, would throw the reflective powers into confusion. No sinner is perfectly sane when under the stormy influence of his sin. In the case of a really bad man the confusion becomes worse by deliberate indulgence in fresh sins in order to get rid of what slight uneasiness is experienced; but with David the disturbing force of sin would gradually expend itself, and the reflective powers would begin to review the situation and gradually allow the influence of truth and fact to reveal the folly and shame of what had been done. The monarch retired from the cares and toils of the day, and, though fretted and vexed by the bad impression his people might entertain as to his persistency of purpose, he could not but ponder the recent path of his feet, and the great truths on which he had formerly been wont to “meditate day and night” (Psa 1:2). In good men, though fallen and wretched, the intellectual faculties, as under the action of a magnet, will be sure to concentrate on the truths that help to recovery.

III. THE MIND COMES IN DUE COURSE INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH ACTUAL FACTS AND THE WORD OF GOD. Reflection would clear away the mists of passion, and David would see in the light of the written Word the error of setting out with the ark on a cart; the exposure, therefore, by his own arrangement or connivance, of the man to the temptation to violate the Law, and the justice of the blow which fell, as also its use in checking a spirit of indifference and inculcating reverence for sacred things. The piety of his nature, thus brought into direct contact with truth, would at once recognize its force, the shamefulness and folly of the discontent and distrust, and the desirability of placing the life once more in its proper relation to the general interests of religion. Penitents and backsliders are not far from restoration when once they gaze with calm and steadfast eye on the actual facts as illumined by the light of God’s Word. The revealed truth of God is the material on which the reflective powers act, and so the truly sorrowful spirit does not become the victim of false imaginings.

IV. THERE IS BROUGHT ABOUT A VIVID RECOGNITION OF THE MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST. AS long as the passions engendered by indulgence in sin darken the soul, there is a loss of that clear and restful view of God which is the peculiar privilege of the pure in heart. David’s sin (2Sa 6:8) had transformed the all-merciful, covenanted God into an object of dread (2Sa 6:9). But now that passion was subsiding, and the Word was allowed once more to shed its light on the facts of the case, the true character of God, as set forth in the sacred symbol, reappeared; and love, and mercy, and faithfulness, and care were seen to be concentrated in the glory over the mercy seat. The memory of all that the ark had been to Israel, in the passage of the Jordan and elsewhere, also confirmed the returning conviction of the most precious of all truths. Once more the ark of the covenant of the Lord was, as of old, the revelation of Divine love and mercy. The same spiritual change occurs in men now when, on the subsidence of the passions, the full light of Scripture falls on the soul. God ceases to be full of terrorsan object of dread and avoidance. Christ is seen to be the express Image of the Father’s Person, full of grace and truth. The old relation to him as God manifest in the flesh is restored; and the vastness and freeness of the mercy in him outshine all other truth, and shed a radiance on every thought and feeling. There is another transfiguration (Mat 17:2).

V. THE FACTS OF HISTORY ARE SEEN TO ILLUSTRATE THE TRUTH RECOGNIZED. It was told David how the Lord was blessing the house of Obed-Edom. The experience of the godly who loved and trusted the ark as a symbol of the true character of God was thus in accord with the conviction arising from the exercise of reflection and the subsidence of sinful passion. History was in accord with the best thought concerning God, and furnished striking instances of the reality of a love and mercy by no means to be dreaded. Thus wonderfully does God interweave the experiences of his people for the common good of the Church and for the special help and cheer of those who have fallen into the snare of the evil one. Many a lowly Obed-Edom, by means of a love and trust simple and strong, and the blessedness resulting therefrom, has been the instrument of restoring to right views and feelings others whose position and powers were far more distinguished. Nothing is lost in the kingdom of God; small and obscure persons and things are employed for great ends. The bearing of the actual experiences of sincere and humble Christians in the common walks of life upon the formation, by the more gifted and influential, of just conceptions of the revelation of God in Christ, is a subject worthy of much consideration.

VI. THE TRUTH BEING FULLY RECOGNIZED, THE OLD JOY RETURNS. The narrative sets forth the strong abounding joy of David exhibiting itself in forms which, judged by the cool feelings and conventional standards of Western life, seem almost fanatical. The question of form and degree is here really one of naturalness, and of this there can be no doubt. The king gave himself up to the full dominion of the present joy. The spring of that joy lay in his restored perception of what the ark of the covenant really was to himself and his people. It was not now the seat of flaming fire and source of destruction, but was the visible sign of the presence and favour of the God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in redemption. It told of protection, and guidance, and pardon, and holy communion. It was the reconciling meeting place, where the trembling sinner became the loving, trustful child once more. The Jordan, the walls of Jericho, the restfulness of pious souls on the great Day of Atonement, all told of what a blessed heritage is theirs whose God is the Lord; and could he as a man and a king feel other than boundless joy now that the Refuge and Dwelling place of all generations was coming to make a permanent abode in the very midst of his people? So it is with us all when, having known the oppression and darkness of sin, we come to see in Christ the Manifestation of the reconciling God, who forgiveth our iniquities, shelters us from condemnation, comes into close sympathetic fellowship with our spirits, and abides with us as Guardian and Friend. There are seasons when this restored joy is so pure and strong that all song and music seem too meagre for its due expressionwhen the spirit exults inexpressibly in the God of salvation. If dancing, when natural, is the gesticulated expression of what cannot be put into word or tone, then it might be an outlet for a joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Wise religious leadership.

The narrative from 2Sa 6:13-19 describes David’s conduct throughout the great processional march to Jerusalem. He was here acting the part of leader of a great religious movement, and in his spirit and deeds we see the conditions of a wise religious leadership.

I. ABSOLUTE DEFERENCE TO THE AUTHORITY OF GOD. By comparing this account with the fuller record in 1Ch 15:1-29; it will be seen that David was most anxious that every step taken should be in accordance with the will of God. On the former occasion he seems to have left the people to follow the precedent set by the Philistines (1Sa 6:7-9; cf. 1Sa 6:3), and we have seen with what sad consequences. The bitter experience of the past few months had, at all events, issued in the desire to pay deference to the revealed will of God in everything, and no longer adopt the questionable methods of men. This feeling is the first prerequisite to all spiritual success. Leaders whose minds are charged with the feeling that God is supreme, and that his will enters into all things and is first of all to be considered, carry with their own actions and words a force of the highest character. Their work is Divine, and God should fill the whole area of their vision. In so far as the thought of God as supreme dominates our mental life do we ensure action on sound principles, and put force and determination into our words and deeds.

II. MANIFESTATION OF A SPIRIT SUITABLE TO THE OCCASION. Whether the wearing of the linen ephod meant the assumption, by inspiration of God, of priestly functions in combination with the kingly and prophetictypical of him who is our Prophet, Priest, and Kingor whether it was but a garment of royalty used on special sacred occasions, this is clear: that by it David manifested a spirit appropriate to a very holy and blessed occasion. He would have people see that this was a time of consecration to the Lord, a time for purity to be the clothing of all, a time of exceptional sacredness. The impression on the people could not but be serious and elevating. Men who lead others have much in their power by virtue of the general spirit they manifest. It should always be in harmony with the occasion, indicating its special character, and bringing other minds into holy sympathy with the end in view.

III. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF GRATITUDE AND DEPENDENCE. There must have been among the people some trepidation on the first movement of the ark, and it was a wise arrangement that, on clearing the house of Obed-Edom, sacrifice should be offered expressing gratitude for mercies vouchsafed, and a sense of dependence on God for pardon and all needful good. The same is true of the offerings at the end of the journey. It was characteristic of the leadership of Moses that he sought to cultivate these sentiments in the minds of Israel all through the desert. We do wrong to ourselves and to God when we fail to recognize our obligations to him on every stage of our life’s course. Thankfulness of heart for the past, and trustful submission for all things needed, are the two elements of a cheery, earnest, and lowly service. The preacher, the missionary leader, the teacher, and parent, who knows how to foster these sentiments in others, is in a fair way of carrying through any spiritual work that may be in hand (Php 4:6, Php 4:7).

IV. PREVISION FOR COMPLETENESS OF WORK. David not only sought to bring up the ark in a manner agreeable to the will of God, and by such personal bearing and special arrangements as should impress and elevate the people, but he looked on, and, by preparing a tabernacle beforehand, secured a completion of the work befitting its nature. Many a good undertaking is left incomplete for want of this prevision. It is true each man should be intent on the work of the hour, but the work of each hour is to be regarded as having relations to all future time; and so far as lies in our power we may anticipate the success of the succeeding hours and prepare the crowning work. The architect provides for the cupola while careful of the foundations. The statesman arranges for participation in wider privileges while educating the people up to them. The religious reformer looks on to the need of positive instruction and formation of new institutions on newly recognized principles even before releasing the people from the supposed errors of the past. The evangelist who seeks to arouse the people and bring them up to a better life, if wise, will anticipate the result of his efforts by providing solid instruction. Church leaders who seek to conduct the Church through phases of faith and practice, will forecast what is necessary when the present discipline has done its work.

V. HELPFUL WORDS AND BROAD SYMPATHIES. The people must have felt, when David stood up and blessed them in the name of the Lord, and then sent them home with substantial tokens of his sympathy, that he was indeed a leader of whom they might well be proud. The right choice of words, and the deeds which express a personal interest, are things which give a just and beneficial power over men. Human life is very dependent for its highest welfare on words fitly spoken and on deeds which symbolize affection and interest. A master of words that really convey blessing to human hearts is indeed a great man, a worthy leader. It is not by mere assertion of official authority, or performance of deeds strictly in accord with propriety and law, that hearts are won and characters moulded to a nobler type. The leader who can send his people home thankful for his existence and satisfied with the largeness of his heart, is wise -in that he not only blesses men, but also renders them accessible in future to his influence.

Domestic hindrances to piety.

A day of high festivities and holy gladness was closed by an event which must have made David feel how imperfect is the best estate at which man can arrive in this world. The reviling of his wife Michal was indeed a bitter element in the cup, and suggests to us a sad subject, too frequently illustrated in the lives of good men, namely, the hindrances to piety in domestic life.

I. THE MOST PERFECT HUMAN CONDITION IS MARRED BY SOME BLEMISH. To an ordinary observer David would seem to have been on that day the happiest and most honoured of menmonarch of the chosen race, in the flush of health and fulness of power and intellect, beloved by his people, and filled with joy in having brought to pass an event of great religious significance. But even for him there was a bitterness most bitter. In his home, where love and joy and full sympathy with all his noble aspirations ought to abound, there awaited him scorn, distrust, and the venom of spite. Truly, royal personages are not free from common woes. The fairest, most beautiful life is shaded by some sorrow. Every heart knoweth its own bitterness. In this we have, doubtless, an illustration of what has been true in all ages of all men. Behind all grandeur there is some destroying moth. The most charming prosperity is attended with some defect. There is “a crook in every lot.” Even the great apostle knew the “thorn in the flesh.”

II. DOMESTIC OPPOSITION TO PERSONAL PIETY IS AMONG THE MOST BITTER OF TRIALS. Though, as king amongst men of stubborn will and perverse disposition, David carried on his heart many a care, there was, doubtless, no trouble of his life comparable to that of the opposition of his favourite wife to the conduct which he, as a pious man, felt bound to adopt. Such sorrow presses heavily in the home where only joy ought to be found, and attends, as a dark, unwelcome shadow, the pathway of daily duty out of the home. In so far as we believe godliness to be the best of all things, and the particular expression of it we may adopt as the tribute due to God, so must the antagonism of those we love most of all embitter the spirit. This wearies and worries when, after the toil of day, the domestic circle is sought for repose and refreshment of heart. Apart from the pain of being opposed in what is most sacred and binding and precious, there is the oppressive feeling that two human beings abiding under the same roof, and pledged to mutual love and confidence, are pressing towards eternity with no assurance of being one there. This is a tender subject, the very mention of which may open the floodgates of weeping.

III. THE FORMS OF ANTAGONISM MAY VARY, BUT THE AIM IS ONETO WIN OR DRIVE FROM HIGH–TONED SERVICE. The sharp tongue of Michal was employed to reproach David for a form of service in which he rejoiced, and which he believed to be due to God and for the good of the people; and the ulterior aim was to hinder his adopting such courses in future. Others may meet with smiles and persuasions and all the engaging arts of the charmer, which in themselves do not assume the form of antagonism; but are designed for the same end. The manifestation of earnest piety is too earnest, too spiritual, too elevated, for the carnal mind; and hence must be brought down to a lower level. There are unspiritual wives who thus strive to despiritualize their husbands, and sometimes, but not so often, husbands strive to despiritualize their wives. Through unfortunate alliances many a godly soul has to experience this dreadful evil.

IV. THE TRUE WAY OF MEETING THIS TRIAL IS BY COMBINED MEEKNESS AND FIRMNESS. The rasping tongue of Michal and her base insinuations only provoked a gentle reply in a firm spirit. David would not increase the trouble by bitter, cutting words. Referring to God’s choice of him and the consequent obligations to do all he could to raise the tone of religion, he calmly informed his wife that his purpose was unchangeable, and expressed the belief that some at least would see honour and not disgrace in his conduct. It is a hard fight to hold one’s own in such a contest, and many, it is to be feared, gradually yield for the sake of what is called “peace,” only to sink down to a formality in religion congenial to the unspiritual companion of the domestic hearth. Those thus tried have need to lift up their hearts to God for the wisdom and grace by which they shall know how to be true to their God and disarm the opposition or else neutralize its power. They have this encouragement, that, while the favour of the world can only tend to spiritual death, fidelity to God is sure to win the respect of all the good, command the silent reverence of even the hostile mind, and gather up daily strength wherewith to bear the burden of sorrow, and at last end. one’s course as a “good and faithful servant.”

HOMILIES BY B. DALE

2Sa 6:1, 2Sa 6:2

(1Ch 13:1-6). (JERUSALEM.)

The ark sought after long neglect.

1. The ark was the central point of the religion of Israel. In this sacred chest were deposited the two tables of the Law (the testimony, the great document of the covenant); on it rested the covering (kapporeth) propitiatory (LXX.), expiatory (Vulgate), or mercy seat (Authorized Version), “above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat,” whereon the invisible King of Israel, the Lord of hosts, was enthroned; and there atonement was made, by the sprinkling of blood, for the sins of the people (Exo 25:10-22). It was a symbol of Jehovah’s presence and fellowship, his righteousness and mercy, his protection and blessing; a type of heavenly things.

2. Of the ark nothing is recorded since it was placed, about seventy years previously, on its return from the land of the Philistines, in the house of Abinadab, on the hill, at Kirjath jearim; and Eleazar, his son, was consecrated to keep it (1Sa 6:21, 22). During this long period it continued there, separated from the tabernacle (in Nob, 1Sa 21:6; 1Sa 22:13, 1Sa 22:19; and afterwards in Gibeon, 1Ch 21:29), unsought and neglected (1Ch 13:3), “buried in darkness and solitude.” The worship and service of God were necessarily incompletean effect and evidence of the imperfect relations subsisting between the nation and its Divine King, and of its divided and distracted condition.

3. The time had now come for the restoration of the ark to its proper place as the centre of national worship. The union of all the tribes under “the man of God’s choice,” the conquest of Jerusalem, the defeat of the Philistines, prepared the way for the great enterprise; and to it David was impelled by a truly theocratic spirit. “This act had its root in David’s truly pious feeling, was the living expression of his gratitude to the Lord for his favour, and aimed at the elevation and concentration of the religious life of Israel” (Erdmann).

4. The truths and principles symbolized by the ark are fully embodied in Christ and Christianity (Heb 9:11). It may, therefore, be regarded, generally, as representing the true religion; and its restoration from “captivity” a religious reformation (see 1Sa 7:2-6). In the going forth of the king at the head of “all Israel” from Jerusalem “to Baale, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which belonged to Judah (twelve miles distant), to bring up thence the ark of God,” we observe

I. AN EXALTED AIM.

1. The rendering to God of the honour which is his due, by open acknowledgment of his supremacy, proper reverence for his great Name, cheerful obedience to his requirements. The religious life of a people is not only expressed in a proper regard for the ordinances of public worship (1Sa 1:3), but also greatly promoted thereby. When these are neglected, corrupted, or negligently performed, there can hardly be a higher aim than to make them attractive and pure, and induce a worthy performance of them. “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” (Psa 96:9).

2. The realization of closer communion with God, and the reception of the blessings that flow from such communionmercy and grace, righteousness and strength, safety and peace. “True religion can never be the affair of the individual alone. A right religious relation to God must include a relation to our fellow men in God, and solitary acts of devotion can never satisfy the wants of healthy spiritual life, which calls for a visible expression of the fact that we worship God together in the common faith which binds us into a religious community. The necessity for acts of public and united worship is instinctively felt, wherever religion has a social influence, and in Israel it was felt the more strongly because Jehovah was primarily the God and King of the nation, who had to do with the individual Israelite only in virtue of his place in the commonwealth” (J. Robertson Smith, ‘The Prophets of Israel’).

3. The fulfilment of the purpose of God concerning his peoplethat they may be holy, united, prosperous, mighty, and “show forth his praise” (Isa 43:21). “O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity” (Psa 118:25). “The next great step of David (after the conquest of Jerusalem) was the re-establishment of the national religion, the worship of Jehovah, with suitable dignity and magnificence. Had David acted solely from political motives, this measure had been the wisest he could adopt. The solemn assembling of the tribes would not only cement the political union of the monarchy, but also increase the opulence of his capital and promote the internal commerce of the country.; while it brought the heads of the tribes, and indeed the whole people, under the cognizance and personal knowledge of the sovereign, it fixed the residence of the more eminent of the priesthood in the metropolis” (Milman).

II. AN ENEGETIC LEADER. The enterprise was initiated, inspired, accomplished, by David, whose anxious thought on the matter is alluded to in Psa 132:1-18. (written subsequently), ‘Jehovah’s resting-place.’

“Remember, O Jehovah, to David
All his harassing cares,
Who sware to Jehovah,
Vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
‘I will not come into.the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the couch of my bed,
I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Nor slumber to mine eyelids,
Until I find a place for Jehovah,
A dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.’
Lo! we heard of it at Ephratah,
We found it in the fields of the wood.
Let us go into his dwelling,
Let us bow ourselves before his footstool.
Arise, O Jehovah, to thy rest,
Thou and the ark of thy strength.”

(Psa 132:1-8.)

“At Ephratah, at Bethlehem, the idea of making this great transference” (Act 7:46) may have first “occurred to David’s mind” (Stanley; but see Commentaries on this psalm). “And David consulted with the captains of thousands,” etc. (1Ch 13:1-4); “gathered together all the chosen men [warriors] of Israel;” and “arose and went.”

1. Eminent piety in the individual manifests itself in deep and tender concern with respect to a common neglect of Divine worship, and in wise and diligent effort to repair it. “David’s ruling passion was zeal for the house and worship of God” (Psa 26:8).

2. Men in authority should make use of their position for that purpose; not, indeed, in the way of compulsion, but of example and persuasion. “Where shall we find today men whose first concern is for the honour of God; who really believe that the favour of the Highest is the true palladium of their country’s welfare?” (Blaikie).

3. Thus one man sometimes effects a general and lasting reformation. It was so with Samuel and David, and it has been so with others. How much may be accomplished by one man who is thoroughly in earnest!

4. In this manner such a man fulfils the will of God concerning him, and proves his Divine calling (see 1Sa 13:14). “These things show David to be ‘a man after God’s own heart,’ every way fitted for the purpose for which he was exalted, a prince of the largest capacities and noblest views; and the extensiveness and national utility of the scheme he formed, in which the honour of God and the welfare and advantage of his people were equally consulted, demonstrate the piety and goodness of his heart, and clothe him with a glory in which no prince could ever rival or equal him”.

III. A SYMPATHETIC PEOPLE. In response to David’s appeal, “all the congregation that were with him,” etc.

1. A leader of men, however great, stands in need of their sympathy and support, and can do nothing without them.

2. It is by their means that he achieves success. The age contributes as much to him as he to it.

3. The union and cooperation of the people with him are a sign of the favour and blessing of God, and a condition of further prosperity. “The new enthusiasm and elevation of the community was not the creation of David. It met him as his noblest incentive; but it is the completeness with which he suffered it to take possession of him that constitutes the secret of his peculiar greatness, and the charm which never failed to attach to his struggles and triumphs all the strongest and purest spirits of his age” (Ewald).

IV. A UNITED AND ZEALOUS ENDEAVOUR. Captains of thousands, every leader, brethren everywhere, all Israel from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hamath, priests and Levites, chosen warriors, numbering thirty thousand (seventy thousand, LXX.), went “to find the lost relic of the ancient religion.” They felt the value of the object of their search; were intent on its possession; “of one heart and one soul;” rested not in wishes and prayers merely, but exhibited their concord in practical, appropriate, persevering activity. It was a fresh starting point for the nation, the commencement of a new religious era. Be it ours now to seek and strive after a still more glorious time!

“Oh, may the hour
Soon come when all false gods, false creeds, false prophets,
Allowed in thy good purpose for a time,
Demolished,the great world shall be at last
The mercy seat of God, the heritage
Of Christ, and the possession of the Spirit,
The Comforter, the Wisdom! shall all be
One land, one home, one friend, one faith, one law,
Its ruler God, its practice righteousness, Its life peace!”

(Bailey, ‘Festus’.

D.

2Sa 6:3-5

(1Ch 13:7, 1Ch 13:8). (KIRJATH–JEARIM.)

The ark brought out of deep obscurity.

The enterprise was marked by

I. A GREAT DISCOVERY. “We found it in the fields of the wood” (Psa 132:6).

1. An invaluable treasure, long hidden, from view; like the “treasure hid in a field,” and the “pearl of great price” (Mat 13:44-46).

2. A significant memorial of God’s mercies in times past. What manifold and mighty events would be brought to remembrance by the sight of the sacred, venerable, and mysterious coffer, when it came forth, as from its grave, into the light of day!

3. A sure pledge of the continued favour of God in time to come. “The ark was, as it were, the palladium of Israel, the moving sacrament of that rude people; not itself Divine any more than our sacramental bread is Christ’s body, or our symbolic water God’s grace, but the visible symbol of a presence supposed to be local, or of a power manifested in answer to prayer” (Rowland Williams). Yet it was “not a mere dead, idle shadow to look upon, but what certainly declared God’s nearness to his Church” (Calvin).

II. A JOYFUL PROCESSION. “And they set [carried] the ark. of God upon a new cart [waggon]; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons [grandsons] of Abinadab, drave the cart; and Ahio went before [Uzzah going alongside.] the ark. And David and all Israel played [sported] before Jehovah with all their might, with songs, and with harps,” etc. (1Sa 10:10; 1Sa 19:20). Already commenced the higher order of Divine service, to be afterwards more fully organized and established. For this occasion (as some have supposed) David wrote Psa 68:1-35. ‘The ark setting forward in victorious might.’

“Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered,
And let them that hate him flee before his face.”

Such language was historically appropriate (Num 10:35). The sacred procession served:

1. To express their gratitude, gladness, and triumph.

2. To deepen their devotion, union, and joy.

3. To produce a beneficial and lasting impression on the nation.

4. To exalt the Name of Jehovah among surrounding peoples.

“No less than eleven psalms, either in their traditional titles, or in the irresistible evidence of their contents, bear traces of this great festival. The twenty-ninth psalm (by its title in the LXX.), is said to be on the ‘going forth of the tabernacle.’ The thirtieth (by its title), the fifteenth, and the hundred and first (by their contents), express the feelings of David on his occupation of his new home. The sixty-eighth, at least in part, and the twenty-fourth, seem to have been actually composed for the entrance of the ark into the ancient gates of the heathen fortress (Psa 96:1-13; Psa 105:1-45; Psa 106:1-48; Psa 6:1-10; Psa 46:1-11; Psa 132:1-18.)” (Smith’s ‘Dictionary’). “The hymns of David excel no less in sublimity and tenderness of expression than in loftiness and purity of religious sentiment. In comparison with them, the sacred poetry of all other nations sinks into mediocrity. They have embodied so exquisitely the universal language of religious emotion, that (a few fierce and vindictive passages excepted, natural in the warrior poet of a sterner age) they have entered, with unquestioned propriety, into the ritual of the holier and more perfect religion of Christ How many human hearts have they softened, purified, and exalted! Of how many wretched beings have they been the secret of consolation! On how many communities have they drawn down the blessings of Divine providence, by bringing the affections into unison with their deep devotional fervour!” (Milman).

III. AN INEXCUSABLE TRANSGRESSION. “The act of David and of Israel was evidently intended as a return to the Lord and submission to his revealed ordinances; but, if so, obedience must be complete in every particular” (Edersheim). It was ordained that the ark should be borne with staves on the shoulders of men, the elect men of the nation (Num 7:9), and, in placing it on a new cart drawn by oxen, after the manner of the heathen (1Sa 6:10, 1Sa 6:12), they acted contrary to the Divine ordinance, as David subsequently recognized (1Ch 15:13). Were they fully aware of the nature and importance of that ordinance? Perhaps not; especially after it had been so long in abeyance. Were they altogether ignorant of its existence? This could hardly have been the case with the priests and Levites. Such ignorance, moreover, would have been highly culpable: They were doubtless acquainted with it; but they were forgetful, careless, negligent, and adopted the method which seemed most expedient and to have been previously sanctioned.

1. “All religious reformations which are wrought by men, are blemished by human infirmities” (Wordsworth).

2. Long neglect of Divine ordinances commonly renders, the renewed performance of them exceedingly defective.

3. Fresh and fervid zeal is often inconsiderate, self-confident, and rash.

4. Example is apt to mislead; and should be imitated only in so far as it accords with the Word of God.

5. The end sought may be in accordance with the Divine will, whilst the means employed for the attainment thereof are contrary to it.

6. Good intentions do not justify forbidden actions. “Two things make a good Christiangood actions and good aims. A good aim maketh not a bad action good, as here; and yet a bad aim maketh a good action bad, as we see in Jehu” (Trapp).

7. The conduct which is blameless in some may be sinful in others who have received higher privileges.

8. Although the transgression of God’s Law may be borne with for a time, it is sure to be followed by deserved chastisement.

9. If negligence and disobedience in relation to the material symbol were displeasing to God, much more must they be so in relation to the spiritual truth of which it was a shadow (Heb 10:29).

10. The noblest agents should be chosen for the performance of the noblest services.D.

2Sa 6:6-8

(1Ch 13:9-11). (GOREN NACHON.)

The ark upheld with irreverent hands.

Read who the Church would cleanse, and mark

How stern the warning runs:

There are two ways to guard her ark

As patrons and as sons.”
(‘Lyra Apostolica.’)

The fair prospects of a great enterprise are sometimes darkened, as by a thunderstorm, in consequence of the improper manner in which it is conducted. The forbearance of God toward those who transgress his ordinances is often unheeded, and becomes an occasion of further transgression, until the occurrence of a signal disaster fills them with fear and trembling. The act of one man, it may be, gives definite expression to the spirit which influences many, and on him falls the lightning stroke of Heaven, as a punishment for his sin and a chastisement of all who are associated with him; a solemn call to consideration and amendment.

“Give unto Jehovah, O ye sons of God,
Give unto Jehovah glory and strength;
Give unto Jehovah the glory of his Name;
Worship Jehovah in holy attire.
The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters.
The God of glory thundereth.”

(Psa 29:1-3.)

I. A SEEMING EXIGENCY. The ark in danger! “For [at the threshing floor of Nachon, or Chidon] the oxen shook it [kicked, broke loose, or stumbled],” so that the support of Uzzah was apparently needful to arrest its fall. In like manner religionthe Church, its worship, sacraments, doctrinessometimes appears in perilous need of human help. But the apparent exigency:

1. Is commonly the result of previous neglience and disobedience on the part of those to whom its interests are entrusted, and the false position in which it is placed. If the “due order” (1Ch 15:13) had been observed, the danger would never have arisen.

2. Serves the purpose of testing and manifesting the character of men. Will it lead them to consider, Perceive their error, and amend; or occasion further aberrations?

3. Can never warrant an interference which is expressly prohibited, however great the danger or sincere the desire to avert it. “You must rather leave the ark to shake, if it so please God, than put unworthy hands to hold it up” (Bacon).

4. Is not so great as it appears; for God is able to prevent its fall or overrule it for good. “The special moral of this warning is that no one, on the plea of zeal for the ark of God’s Church, should resort to doubtful expedients and unlawful means for the attainment of his end” (Wordsworth).

II. A SERIOUS ERROR. “Uzzah reached forth to the ark of God, and took hold of it.” The Levites (of whom Uzzah was one) were to carry it on staves; but “not touch any holy thing, lest they die” (Num 4:15). His error was practical; though in itself trivial, a direct breach of the legal requirement; and (as is often the case with an apparently insignificant act) indicated an unsanctified mind. He was “a type of all who, with good intentions, humanly speaking, yet with unsanctified minds, interfere in the affairs of the kingdom of God from the notion that they are in danger and with the hope of saving them” (O. von Gerlach).

1. He acted “unnecessarily, and from the precipitate impulse of human nature” (Ewald), unregulated and unrestrained by proper thought and a higher will.

2. With rashness, irreverence, and profanity; begotten of long familiarity with the venerable relic (see 1Sa 6:19). He looked upon it as little other than a piece of sacred furniture.

3. In a spirit of official pride and presumption, as its hereditary guardian and immediate conductor. “Perhaps he affected to show before this great assembly how bold he could make with the ark, having been so long acquainted with it” (Matthew Henry). Men of high position, great possessions, and eminent gifts in the Church, sometimes display a similar spirit, and even affect to patronize the worship of God!

4. With improper anxiety about the means of progress and success, and want of faith in the Divine presence and might. “In our own days there are not awanting men like Uzzah, who act as if it were all over with Christianity if they did not maintain it against the power of modern negations.” Their zeal is shown in various ways. But “this zeal, notwithstanding its good intention, is yet unholy, because it is as faint-hearted as it is presumptuous. The Lord needs not such helpers” (Krummacher).

III. A STARTLING JUDGMENT. “And the anger of Jehovah was kindled . and he died there by the ark of God.” A flash of lightning, an apoplectic stroke, or other secondary cause, was the instrument thereof; in the presence of all Israel, and even before the mercy seat, he suffered the penalty of his error (“rashness,” 2Sa 6:7); and the spot where he fell became a monument of the wrath of God and his power to protect his “holy things” (Eze 22:8).

1. On those who continue to break the Divine Law “the fiery indignation,” though long delayed, breaks forth suddenly and “without remedy” (Heb 10:31).

2. Punishment is most severe on those who are most honoured, and who ought to be a pattern to others of reverence and obedience (Num 3:4; 1Sa 5:6; 1Sa 6:19; 2Ch 26:21; Act 5:5; Act 12:23).

3. The consequences of sin reveal the measure of its sinfulness.

4. The judgment inflicted on one affects many, and represents their desert, The procession was stopped, the enterprise hindered, rejoicing turned into mourning, “and great fear came upon all” (Act 5:11). “When many have sinned God commonly punishes one or two of the leaders, in order that others may remember their sin and beg forgiveness” (Osiander). Judgment is mingled with mercy. The punishment of one is for the good of many.

IV. A SALUTARY ADMONITION.

1. To consider the awful holiness and majesty of the great King (Mal 1:11, Mal 1:14); “for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29).

2. To learn the spiritual meaning and sanctity of his ordinances.

3. To cherish a spirit of profound humility and reverence in his service.

4. To exercise repentance and trust, and new and faithful obedience to his will in all things. Then

“Jehovah will give strength to his people;
Jehovah will bless his people with peace.”

(Psa 29:11.)

D.

2Sa 6:9, 2Sa 6:10

(1Ch 13:12, 1Ch 13:13). (PEREZ–UZZAH.)

The ark regarded with a fearful heart.

“And David was afraid of the Lord that day” (2Sa 6:9). By none was “the disaster of Uzzah” more keenly felt than by the king. He was disappointed, grieved, and displeased at the interruption of the enterprise on which he had set his heart; and, clearly perceiving the primary offence that had been committed, he was angry with all who were responsible for it, not least with himself (2Co 7:11). “The burning of David’s auger was not directed against God, but referred to the calamity which had befallen Uzzah, or, speaking more correctly, to the cause of the calamity which David attributed to himself or to his undertaking” (Keil). His attitude of soul toward Jehovah “that day” was not, indeed, altogether what it should have been. Conscious of sinfulness and liability to err, he was full of apprehension of a similar judgment on himself, if he should receive the ark; and his fear (though springing up in a devout heart) was an oppressive, paralyzing, superstitious terror, like that of the men of Bethshemesh (1Sa 6:20), rather than an enlightened, submissive, and becoming reverence. “This was his infirmity; though some will have it to be his humility” (Trapp). We thus see wherein fear is

I. NEEDFUL. It is as natural and proper a motive as gratitude, hope, or love; is often enjoined; and, in the sense of unbounded reverence, it constitutes “the religious feeling in its fundamental form” (Martensen). To men in their present condition it is specially needful in order to:

1. Arrest heedless footsteps and constrain to serious reflection and self-examination. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Psa 2:11; Psa 4:4).

2. Convince of sin, restrain pride and presumption, and lead to godly sorrow.

3. Deter from disobedience, and induce circumspection and diligence (Psa 89:7; Pro 16:6; 1Co 10:12; 2Co 7:1; Php 2:12; 1Pe 1:17). “Fear is a great bridle of intemperance, the modesty of the spirit, and the restraint of gaieties and dissolutions; it is the girdle to the soul and the handmaid to repentance; the mother of consideration and the nurse of sober counsels. But this so excellent grace is soon abused in the best and most tender spirits. When it is inordinate, it is never a good counsellor, nor makes a good friend; and he that fears God as his enemy is the most completely miserable person in the world” (Jeremy Taylor, ‘Of Godly Fear’).

II. SINFUL. It is so when associated with:

1. Misinterpretation and false judgments of God’s dealings; such false judgments being themselves due to personal disappointment or other self-blinding influence. “In his first excitement and dismay David may not have perceived the real and deeper ground of this Divine judgment;” and thought that God had dealt hardly with him.

2. Suspicion, distrust, and “the evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God;” from which even the best of men are not exempt, especially when impressed with his severity and forgetful of his goodness (Rom 11:22).

3. Servile thoughts of the service of God, as a restraint upon freedom and a source of trouble and danger. “How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?”

4. Immoderate and morbid indulgence of the feeling, instead of immediate return to God at “the throne of grace,” in penitence, hope, and renewed devotion (1Sa 16:2; 1Sa 28:1).

III. HURTFUL. By:

1. Producing inward distraction and despondency.

2. Estranging from the fellowship and service of God, and preventing the accomplishment of holy purposes. How many excellent enterprises are abandoned through unworthy fears!

3. Depriving of invaluable blessings. The loss of David appears by the gain of Obed-Edom (2Sa 6:11), into whose dwelling the ark brought sunshine and prosperity. But with time and reflection his misjudgments were corrected, his faith revived, his fear was sanctified (Psa 101:2) and associated with holy and ardent aspiration after the presence of God in his tabernacle, and he wrote Psa 15:1-5; ‘The character of the true worshipper and friend of God.’

“Jehovah, who may sojourn in thy tabernacle?
Who may dwelt in thy holy mountain?
He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness,
And speaketh truth in his heart .
He that doeth these things shall never be moved.”

(Psa 15:1-5.)

D.

2Sa 6:10, 2Sa 6:11

(1Ch 13:13, 1Ch 13:14). (THE HOUSE OF OBED–EDOM.)

The ark received with a right spirit.

By means of the ark “the thoughts of many hearts” were “revealed.” Whilst Uzzah treated it with irreverence, and David regarded it with dread, Obed-Edom the Gittite (of Gath-rimmon) received it” with reverence and godly fear.” He was a Levite, and (like Samuel) of the sons of Korah, a branch of the Kohathites, whose office it was to “bear upon their shoulders” (Num 7:9); and is subsequently mentioned as porter (musician), and doorkeeper of the ark (1Ch 15:18, 1Ch 15:21, 1Ch 15:24; 1Ch 16:5, 1Ch 16:38; perhaps “the son of Jeduthun”). He did not seek to have the ark placed under his care; but, when requested by the king, he was not afraid to receive it, well knowing “that, although God is a consuming fire to those who treat him with irreverence, he is infinite in mercy to those who obey him.” “Oh, the courage of an honest and faithful heart!” (Hall). The ark in the house of Obed-Edom may be considered as representing religion in the home; and wherever it truly dwells there is:

1. A consciousness of the presence of God; of which the ark was the divinely ordained symbol As often as he and his household looked upon the sacred vessel, mysteriously veiled with its blue covering, they would be the more deeply impressed with the conviction of that presence. We have no longer the symbol; but we have the spiritual reality which it signified; the one is taken away that the other may be more fully recognized, and its recognition cannot but produce in the home thoughtfulness, reverence, and self-restraint.

2. Obedience to his commandments; which were deposited in the ark (2Ch 2:10). The Law must be written on the fleshy tablets of the heart; made the rule of life; and diligently taught to the children (Deu 6:4-9). The sins which it forbids will thus be avoided, the virtues which it enjoins practised; “righteousness, goodness, and truth,” the foundation on which the home is built; and the will of God being recognized as supreme, order and harmony will prevail.

3. Confidence in his mercy; according to the appointed method of reconciliation set forth by the mercy seat, and fulfilled in Christ (Rom 3:25; 2Co 5:19; 1Jn 2:1). The fatherly love of God, being “known and believed,” becomes a perpetual incentive to love God and one another (Eph 4:32; Rom 13:10). The pervading element of the home should be love. “Jesus ChristLove; the same.”

4. The enjoyment of his fellowship; which was assured at the mercy seat. “There will I commune with thee” (Exo 25:22). “Communion with God is the very innermost essence of all true Christian life;” and it is maintained and perfected in the home by family prayer (2Sa 6:20).

5. Repose under his protection; represented by the overshadowing cherubim. While Obed-Edom guarded the ark of God, he was himself guarded by the God of the ark. “The Lord is thy Keeper” (Psa 121:5). “He shall give his angels charge over thee,” etc. (Psa 91:1, Psa 91:11).

6. The reception of his blessing. “And Jehovah blessed Obed-Edom, and all his household” (2Sa 6:11), “all that he had” (1Ch 13:14)blessed him with spiritual, providential, enduring benefits (1Ch 26:4-8). “It paid well for its entertainment. The same hand that punished Uzzah’s proud presumption rewarded Obed-Edom’s humble boldness, and made the ark to him ‘a savour of life unto life'” (Matthew Henry). “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children” (Pro 13:22; Psa 102:28).

7. The promotion of his honour and glory. “And it was told King David,” etc. Religion in the home “cannot be hid;” the fame thereof goes abroad and incites manyperchance a whole nationto render to God the honour which is his due, “so that glory may dwell in our land.”D.

2Sa 6:12-15

(1Ch 15:1-29.). (JERUSALEM)

The ark led forth with devout enthusiasm.

A man’s ruling passion, although repressed for a season, surely reappears. It was thus with David’s affection for the ark of God, and his desire to bring it up to Zion, where he had prepared a new tent, tabernacle, or pavilion (Psa 27:5), for its reception (2Sa 6:17), in or adjoining his own palace (1Ch 14:1; 1Ch 15:1). His zeal, which had been checked by fear, now revived

“As florets, by the frosty air of night
Bent down and closed, when day has blanched their leaves,
Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems.”

(Dante.)

I. A RENEWED PURPOSE IS ofttimes:

1. Incited by the example of another, and the manifest success attending his conduct. “And it was told King David,” etc. (2Sa 6:12); “And David said, I will go and bring back the ark with blessing to my house” (Vulgate). To this also his study of the Law, meditation and prayer, during the preceding three months contributed.

2. Accompanied with the conviction and confession of the cause of previous failure (2Sa 6:13; 1Ch 15:2, 1Ch 15:13, 1Ch 15:15). “Pious men will profit by their own errors, stand the stronger for their falls, and not abate in their zeal and affections, but learn to connect them with humility, and to regulate them according to the precepts of the sacred Scripture” (Scott).

3. Carried out with more careful and diligent preparation than before. “David gathered all Israel together”the priests (Abiathar, 1Sa 30:7; Zadok, 1Ch 12:28) and the Levites (mentioned only once in 2 Samuel, viz. 2Sa 15:24); charged them to sanctify themselves to bring up the ark, and directed the chiefs of the latter to appoint singers with musical instruments for the procession (1Ch 15:12-16), among whom he seems to have “found a faculty of song and music already in existence” (Hengstenberg).

II. AN AUSPICIOUS COMMENCEMENT. “When they had. gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings” (“seven bullocks and seven rams,” 1Ch 15:26)”a thank offering for the happy beginning, and a petition for the prosperous continuation of the undertaking” (Bottcher).

1. The first steps of an enterprise are of high importance, and, until they are actually taken, even the best prepared are seldom without misgiving.

2. When taken with the manifest approval of Heaven, they afford strong confidence and hope of a successful issue.

3. The gladness (2Sa 6:12) of successful effort is all the greater because of previous anxiety and grief (Psa 126:6). The procession was led by eight hundred and sixty-two Levites clad in white, in three choirs, playing respectively on cymbals, psalteries, and harps; over the first of which were Heman (grandson of Samuel), Asaph, and Ethan, or Jeduthun. Then followed Chenaiah, “chief” or marshal “of the Levites for bearing;” two doorkeepers; the ark, attended by seven priests blowing silver trumpets (Num 10:1-10); and two other doorkeepers (of whom Obed-Edom was one). Last of all came the king, with the elders and captains of thousands, and the whole body of the people.

“Before went the singers, behind the players on stringed instruments;
In the midst of damsels striking timbrels.
There is Benjamin the youngest, their ruler;
The princes of Judahtheir motley band,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.”

(Psa 68:26, Psa 68:28.)

III. A FESTAL AND TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. “With shouting and sound of trumpet” (2Sa 6:15). Again arose the well-known shout, “Let God arise,” etc.! (Psa 68:1-35.; Psa 132:8). The king may have composed the hymns sung by the Levites, and himself carried a harp in his hand. His clothing “had a priestly character, and not only the ephod of white, but also the meil of white byssos, distinguished him as the head of a priestly people” (Keil, on 1Ch 15:27). And David, having laid aside his royal garment, which would impede his movements, “danced before Jehovah with all his might” (2Sa 6:14).

“The same who sang
The Holy Spirit’s song, and bare about
The ark from town to town; now doth he know
The merit of his soul-impassioned strains
By their well-fitted guerdon.”

(Dante, ‘Par.,’ 20.)

“Simonides used to say of dancing that it was silent poetry, and of poetry that it was eloquent dancing” (Delany, from Plutarch). There is “a time to dance” (Ecc 3:4). David’s dancing was a religious act (2Sa 6:21); customary among a people of simple and demonstrative habits, on a return from victory and in public worship (Exo 15:20; Jdg 11:34; 1Sa 18:6); rendered familiar to him in the school of the prophets (1Sa 19:24); practised only on an extraordinary occasion; a natural expression of personal gratitude and joy (Psa 30:11) in a man of ardent temperament; a sign of humble, avowed, and unreserved devotion to Jehovah (Psa 150:4); a means of identifying himself with the people, and of infusing his own spirit into them. Those persons who condemn him as deficient in modesty and dignity should remember these things: those who commend dancing as a social amusement or recreation by his example must find other grounds for their commendation; and these who justify the unseasonable, vain, and indelicate manner in which it is ordinarily performed, by his conduct, either misunderstand or shamelessly pervert it (Job 21:7-15).

Of religious excitement it may be said that:

1. It does not prevail to such an extent as might have been expected from the glorious truths set forth in the Word of God.

2. It is of great value in inducing the performance of duty, overcoming obstacles, and leading to a decisive course of action. Reason and conscience are often insufficient of themselves to influence the will effectually.

3. It is fraught with serious dangerof not being properly regulated by intelligence, of running into imprudence and excess, of being superficial and transient, and perverted to an unworthy and sinful end.

4. It requires to be controlled by an enlightened conscience, transformed into fixed principles, and translated into holy and useful deeds. Unless it be immediately acted upon it is injurious rather than beneficial.D.

2Sa 6:17-19

(1Ch 16:1-43.). (ZION.)

The ark established in its chosen restingplace.

The ascent of the ark into “the city of David” may be regarded as:

1. A termination of a state of things that had long prevailed, in which the relation of the people of Israel to their Divine King was interrupted, his service neglected, their power impaired. Even the early military successes of Saul were followed by disaster, dissension, and civil strife, which had been only recently healed. Once more there was rest (1Ch 23:25).

2. An inauguration of a new era: the more manifest and abiding presence of Jehovah among his people, the more general recognition of his sovereignty, the organization of a worthier and more attractive form of worship, the more complete union of the tribes under the Lord’s Anointed (Messiah), and the victorious expansion of his kingdom. “It was the greatest day of David’s life . It was felt to be the turning point in the history of the nation. It recalled the great epoch of the passage through the wilderness. David was on that day the founder, not of freedom only, not of religion only, but of a Church, a commonwealth” (Stanley).

3. A representation (a type, or at least an emblem) of the coming of “Messiah the Prince” in his kingdom; either, more generally, in his whole mediatorial course from his first advent to his final triumph, or, more specially, at his ascension “far above all, the heavens, that he might fill all things” (Eph 4:8-10).

“Thou hast ascended up on high,
Thou hast led captives captive,” etc.

(Psa 68:18.)

I. A GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION. “And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place,” etc. “This is my rest forever,” etc. (Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14). To this occasion may be referred Psa 24:1-10; ‘The King of glory entering his sanctuary.’

“The earth is Jehovah’s, and the fulness thereof;
The world, and they that dwell therein .
Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah?
And who shall stand in his holy place?”

(Psa 24:1-6.)

It is here declared that the proper preparation for communion with God is moral purity, not merely external pomp (Psa 24:9, 11; Psa 15:1-5.; Isa 33:15, Isa 33:16). The former part of this grand choral hymn was probably sung on the way to Zion; the latter on entering the gates of the venerable fortress and city of Melchizedek.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors,
That the King of glory may come in.

Who is, then, the King of glory

Jehovah strong and mighty,
Jehovah mighty in battle.
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates

Who is, then, that King of glory?

Jehovah of hosts;
He is the King of glory.”

(Psa 24:7-10.)

“Amidst the glorious wave of song and praise, the ark was placed in the tabernacle.” So Christ (in whom the Divine and human king are one) has entered the heavenly Zion, dwells with men, and prepares those who receive him, in faith and love, to dwelt with him forever (Heb 10:12, Heb 10:22).

II. AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE. “And David” (as head and representative of priestly nation, Exo 19:6) “offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Jehovah;” the former expressive of self-dedication, the latter of thanksgiving, praise, and joyous fellowship with God and one another. At the close of the service of dedication he instituted a regular “service of song in the house of the Lord” (see Hengstenberg, ‘On the History of the Psalmodic Poetry’), due in part to the influence of Samuel and his prophet associates (1Sa 19:20), but having him for its real author, and, receiving its mightiest impulse from his sublime compositions. He was a prophet as truly as Samuel or Moses (Act 2:30). “David, as well as Moses, was made like to Christ the Son of David in this respect, that by him God gave a new ecclesiastical establishment and new ordinances of worship” (Jon. Edwards). “On that day then David ordered for the first time to thank the Lord by Asaph and his brethren” (1Ch 16:7).

“Thank ye the Lord, call on his Name,
Make known his deeds among the people,” etc.

(1Ch 16:8-22; Psa 105:1-15.)

“Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth,
Proclaim from day today his salvation,” etc.

(1Ch 16:23-36; Psa 96:2-13; Psa 106:1, Psa 106:47, Psa 106:48.)

“A day to be remembered for all time! Then ‘the sweet singer of Israel’ first gave the suggestions of his inspiration, and the product of his pen, to embody and guide the praises of the Church. What effects have followed that first hymn! What streams of praise what clouds of incense have gushed and risen and are ever rising and gushing the world over at this moment, from the immortal impulse of that Divine act!” (Binney). Yet it is Christ himself “in the midst of the Church” (Heb 2:12) who inspires its noblest praises, and by whom the sacrifice is rendered acceptable to God (Heb 13:15).

III. A GRACIOUS BENEDICTION. “And he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts;” recognizing him as “the God of omnipotent power in heaven, who victoriously accomplishes his work of salvation” (1Sa 1:3), and solemnly invoking a blessing on his people in accordance with his Name and covenant. His act, although not strictly an assumption of the office of the Levitical priesthood, was of a priestly character (even more so than the patriarchal blessing); “and thus, though but in a passing and temporary manner, he prefigured in his own person the union of the kingly and priestly offices (Perowne), alluded to in Psa 110:1-7. (written after this event), ‘The victorious king and priest.’

“Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent:
Thou art a priest forever
After the order of Melchizedek.”

(Psa 110:4)

It was while the Lord Jesus “lifted up his hands and blessed them” that “he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven” (Luk 24:51)a sign of his continual intercession and benediction. “Wherefore also he is able to save,” etc. (Heb 7:25).

IV. A GENEROUS BENEFACTION. “And he distributed to all the people, even to the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as to the men, to every one a cake of Dread, and a measure [of wine], and a raisin cake,” that they might feast together before the Lord (according to custom in the case of peace offerings, 1Sa 1:4; 1Sa 9:13) as a nation, with thankfulness, gladness, and charity. “It is a good thing when benedicere and benefacere go together, and when in a prince is seen, not only piety toward God, but love and liberality toward his people” (Guild). How much greater are the benefits bestowed by the exalted Redeemer than those conferred by any earthly monarch (Mar 16:20; Act 2:33) I “Christ has risen bodily into heaven that he may be spiritually present in the earthly heaven of the Church; the bodily ascension and the spiritual indwelling are two aspects of the same act The mystical David, from his own high home, dispenses his own flesh for the life of the world, and that spiritual bread which he that hungers after righteousness shall eat of and be satisfied, and that ‘fruit of the vine’ which is even now to be drunk in the earthly ‘kingdom of the Father'” (W. Archer Butler).D.

2Sa 6:17

The ark and the Bible.

The ark of the covenant has been taken as representative of religion, of Christ, of the Church, or of the sacraments and means of grace. It may also be compared with the Bible (or Scriptures of the old and new covenants), which is of even greater value to us than the ark was to Israel. The resemblance appears in their:

1. Supernatural origin. The ark was made according to the pattern shown (in vision) by God to Moses in the mount (Exo 25:9), by Bezaleel, who was “filled with the Spirit of God” (Exo 31:3), and other wise-hearted men; and the tables of stone which, it contained were “written with the finger of God” (Exo 34:1). The Bible is the product of Divine inspiration (2Ti 3:16), though, like the ark, in connection with the (literary) skill of man. “It is a Divine-human book.”

2. External characteristics, such as choice and precious materials (acacia wood and pure gold), durability, painstaking workmanship (“beaten work”), simplicity, compactness, beauty (“a crown of gold round about”), practical utility (rings and staves), which are all apparent in the Scriptures.

3. Spiritual significancethe presence of God, the Law (as a testimony against sin and a rule of life), atoning mercy, Divine fellowship and favour. “In the words of God we have the heart of God.” The ark was a sign of these sublime realities, “not the very things themselves.” With the Bible, wherein they are so much more clearly and fully set forth, it is the same.

4. Wondrous achievements; not, indeed, by their inherent virtue, but by the Divine might of which they were appointed instruments; in blessing or bane according to the diverse moral relationships of men. By the ark the Israelites were led through the wilderness, their enemies scattered, the waves of the Jordan arrested, the walls of Jericho demolished, the land subdued, Dagon destroyed, the rebellious punished, the irreverent smitten, the obedient blessed. Who shall describe the achievements of the Word of God? What enemies it has overcome! what reformations effected! what blessings conferred!

5. Varied fortunes: after long wanderings finding rest; misunderstood and superstitiously perverted, lost for a season to its appointed guardians, persistently striven against, treated with irreverent curiosity, buried in obscurity and neglect, eagerly sought after and found, cherished in private dwellings, exalted to the highest honour.

6. Transcendent claims on human regardattention, reverence, faith, love, and obedience.

7. Preparatory purpose and temporary duration. At the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians the ark perished or was lost beyond recovery; in the new dispensation there is no place for it (Jer 3:16); but the mercy and judgment which it symbolized cannot fail (Rev 11:19). The Bible is necessary only in a state where” we see by means of a mirror obscurely” (1Co 13:12, 1Co 13:13), not where we see “face to face.” But, though in its outward form it vanish away, yet in the spiritual realities of which it testifies, the efforts which it produces, the fulfilment of its promises and threatenings, “the Word of the Lord endureth forever.”D.

2Sa 6:20

(1Ch 16:43). (ZION.)

Family worship.

“And David returned to bless his household.” A benediction or blessing is essentially a prayer to God that his blessing may be bestowed upon others; and, being uttered in their presence by one who (like the head of a household) holds a position of authority in relation to them, it is also, to some extent, an assurance of the blessing. Of family worship notice

I. ITS OBLIGATION; which (although it is not expressly enjoined) is evident from:

1. The relation of the family to God: its Founder, Preserver, Ruler, Benefactor, “the God of all the families of the earth” (Psa 68:6; Jer 31:1; Eph 3:15). Out of this relation arises the duty of honouring him (Mal 1:6); acknowledging the dependence of the family, confessing its sins, seeking his mercy, and praising him for his benefits; nor, without family worship, can its spiritual end be fulfilled (Mal 2:15).

2. The responsibility of the head of the household to order it in the fear of God (Gen 18:18; Pro 22:6; Eph 6:4; 1Ti 3:4), which involves this obligation.

3. Precepts, promises, etc; with reference to prayer, which have a manifest application to social worship in the family (1Ch 16:11; Jer 10:25; Mat 6:9; Rom 16:5; 1Ti 2:8; 1Ti 4:5).

4. The conduct of good men, approved of God, and therefore indicative of his will and recorded for imitation. Abraham (Gen 12:7, Gen 12:8), Jacob (Gen 35:2, Gen 35:3), Job (`:5), Joshua (Jos 24:15), David, Daniel (Dan 6:10), Cornelius (Act 10:1), and others. “Wherever I have a tent, there God shall have an altar” (John Howard).

II. ITS MANNER. It should be performed:

1. With regularity and constancy; other family duties being arranged with reference to it, and public worship made, not a substitute, but a preparation for it or an adjunct to it.

2. In such a way as is suitable and profitable to those who take part in it.

3. Always with thoughtfulness, reverence, and cheerfulness.

4. Accompanied by the reading of the Scriptures, by instruction, discipline, and consistent practice, and by holy purposes, such as are expressed in Psa 101:1-8. (written shortly before this time),’David’s mirror of a monarch’ (Luther).

“Of mercy and judgment will I sing,

Unto thee, O Jehovah, will I harp.

I will give heed to a perfect way

When wilt thou come unto me?

I will walk with a perfect heart within my house,” etc.

III. ITS BENEFITS.

1. The sure approbation and rich blessing of God (Pro 10:22), temporal and spiritual. By its means, perchance, a parent effects “the saving of his house” (Heb 11:7; Luk 19:9).

2. The ‘worthy performance of all the duties of life.

3. Abounding affection, harmony, peace, happiness, and hope that

“When soon or late they reach that coast

O’er life’s rough ocean driven,

They may rejoice, no wand’rer lost,

A family in heaven!”

4. Holy influences, not only on all the householdparents, children, domesticsbut also on the neighbourhood and society. What a mighty reformation would be implied in the general adoption of family worship! And to what a moral and spiritual height would it exalt our land!D.

2Sa 6:20-23

(ZION)

Unholy scorn.

The greatest day of David’s life did not end without a cloud. His wife Michal, “Saul’s daughter” (2Sa 6:16; 2Sa 3:13; 1Sa 19:11-17), had not, from whatever cause, gone forth to meet him with the other women (2Sa 6:19)on his return to Jerusalem with the sacred ark; on beholding from a window of the palace, as the procession swept past, the enthusiasm which he displayed, “she despised him in her heart;” and when, after he had blessed the people, he returned to bless his household, she met him with sarcastic reproaches. “When at a distance she scorned him, when he came home she scolded him” (Matthew Henry). “Whereas David came to bless his house, she, through her foolishness, turneth his blessing into a curse” (Willet). Her scorn (like that of others) was

I. INDULGED IMPROPERLY.

1. Without adequate cause; and even on account of what should have had an opposite effect. Fervent piety is not understood by those who do not possess it, and is therefore wrongly and uncharitably judged of by them (1Sa 1:13-18). “In Saul’s time public worship was neglected, and the soul for vital religion had died out of the family of the king” (Keil).

2. From want of spiritual sympathy; in love to God and joy in his service. Her religion (like her father’s) was marked by superstition, formality, and cold conventional propriety. She “knew nothing of the impulse of Divine love” (Theodoret). “The life from and in God remains a mystery to every one until, through the Spirit of God himself, it is unsealed to his experience” (Krummacher).

3. With a sinful mindvain, proud, discontented, unwifely, irreverent (Eph 5:33), and resentful. “Probably she bitterly resented her violent separation from the household joys that had grown up around him in her second home. Probably the woman who had teraphim among her furniture cared nothing for the ark of God. Probably, as she grew older, her character had hardened in its lines, and become like her father’s in its measureless pride, and in its half-dread, half-hatred, of David. And all these motives together pour their venom into her “sarcasm” (Maclaren). She had not “a meek and quiet spirit” (1Pe 3:4).

II. EXPRESSED OFFENSIVELY. “How glorious the King of Israel made himself today,” etc.!

1. At an unseasonable time; when, full of devotional feeling, he was returning from public worship “to bless his household,” and when such language was calculated to be a cause of pain and of stumbling. But scoffers are inconsiderate, and reckless of the mischief their words may occasion.

2. With exaggerated statements and misrepresentation of motives. David had neither committed any impropriety, nor been desirous of vain display in the eyes of others, nor careless of affording occasion for their contempt. Mockers often ridicule in others what is really the creation of their own imagination or suspicion, and the reflection of the evil that is in their own hearts.

3. With bitter irony and derision. How keenly it was felt by the sensitive spirit of David may be learnt from what he says of an evil tongue (Psa 52:2; Psa 57:4; Psa 120:3). “Scoffing at religion is irrational; rude and uncivil; a most cruel and unhuman sin; a most hardening vice; its impiety in the sight of God surpasses all description; it is a contagious and injurious vice” (J. A. James).

III. ANSWERED CONCLUSIVELY. By:

1. A sufficient explanation and defence. “It was before Jehovah” that he had “played;” conscious of his presence and desirous of giving him honour. He was not insensible to his own royal dignity; but recognized the surpassing greatness and goodness of Jehovah, from whom it was derived, and acted only in accordance therewith by giving free expression to his humble gratitude and abounding joy. His language was restrained (Psa 39:1; Psa 141:3); though not without rebuke of the proud daughter of the king in preference to whom, and all his house, himself had been chosen.

2. An expression of his resolve to proceed still further in his course of self-humiliation (Psa 131:1).

3. And of his expectation of finding honour instead of reproach among others. In the affectionate regard of those who sympathize with fervent piety, there is abundant compensation for the contempt of those who despise it. “In this incident we have the clue to that spiritual conception of his duties and position which distinguished David from Saul. It was, in fact, his spiritual conception of the true Israel, of the high privileges and duties of worshippers in the holy place, and above all of the privileges and duties of a king, as one who should carry out Jehovah’s counsels upon earth, which distinguished David’s reign, not only from that of Saul, but from that of any subsequent Jewish monarch” (‘The Psalms chronologically arranged,’ by Four Friends).

IV. PUNISHED DESERVEDLY. “Michal’s childlessness is specially mentioned as a punishment of her pride. This was the deepest humiliation for an Oriental woman” (Erdmann). The scorner:

1. Inflicts a self-injury, by hardening the heart and rendering it less capable of faith, love, hope, sympathy, and joy; more solitary, discontented, useless, and unhappy.

2. Becomes unamiable and odious in the sight of others.

3. Incurs the displeasure of God; for “surely he scorneth the scorners” (Pro 3:34). “Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong” (Isa 28:22).

EXHORTATION.

1. Expect to meet with opposition and contempt in your zeal for God. Even Christ himself was despised and mocked.
2. Count it no strange thing, if in your household, which you desire to bless, there should be those who deprive themselves of the blessing and dislike your devotion.
3. Suffer not their scorn to quench your zeal for God and your love for their souls.
4. Seek in Divine fellowship consolation amidst human reproach.D.

HOMILIES BY G. WOOD

2Sa 6:6, 2Sa 6:7

The death of Uzzah.

A startling event. Startling to us to read of. How much more to witness, in the midst of all the pomp and joy with which David was bringing the ark to consecrate his newly founded capital, to inaugurate a revival of religion amongst the people, and thus make some fitting return to God for all his goodness to monarch and subjects, and promote in the best and surest way the welfare of all! It is by sudden, startling, and terrible events that God very commonly calls attention to his laws, and avenges the breach of them. By such means the laws of nature come to be known, reverenced, and obeyed; and are thus brought into subjection to man, and made to promote his well being. And by similar means men are made to reflect upon the laws of God with respect to religion and morals, and so the spiritual good of men is promoted. With reference to the sudden death of Uzzah, we remark

I. IT WAS THE PUNISHMENT OF HIS SIN. “The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah.” Every sudden death is not a judgment, even when the result of disobedience of some law. Instances: a child killed while playing with fire or deadly weapons; a man struck dead by the electric fluid while experimenting with it. But the phrase we have quoted compels us to regard Uzzah’s death as a punishment of sin. At first it seems difficult to discover in what the sin consisted. His conduct, in reaching out his hand to the ark and laying hold of it, seems to have been at least well-meaning: he desired to preserve it from falling to the ground. But well-meaning acts may be wrong and severely punished. In this case there were:

1. Disobedience to a plain law, with the penalty of death attached. (See Num 4:15.) Indeed, the method of bearing the ark on this occasion was altogether contrary to the Law (Exo 25:14; Num 7:9), as David learned by this event (see 1Ch 15:13-15). There appears to have been at this period a general neglect of the Law of Moses, and ignorance of its requirements. How, otherwise, can we account for the ark itself lying so long neglected (1Ch 13:3)? But, surely,.those who had the care of the ark ought to have known the law of God respecting it, or searched it out diligently when a new departure was contemplated, that they might both act rightly themselves and prevent the king from copying the Philistines (1Sa 6:7) instead of obeying the Divine Law. In the swift punishment that followed Uzzah’s act, the memorable maxim was again, and most impressively, proclaimed, “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1Sa 15:22)better than the most splendid pageant in honour of religion from which obedience is absent.

2. Irreverence. The ark was one of the most sacred things in the religion of Israel. It was a symbol of God’s presence, his local dwelling place, “called by the Name, even the Name of the LORD of hosts, that sitteth upon the cherubim” (2Sa 6:2, Revised Version); a witness, therefore, for him: an assurance that he was with them while they were loyal and obedient; the central point of worship and national life. It was, therefore, to be treated with utmost reverence. In the services of religion it was, as a witness for the invisible God, to be itself invisible, concealed by the second veil; it was to be approached only by the high priest, and by him only once a year, and with incense, the smoke of which should prevent his beholding it (Le 2Sa 16:13). But it had long been separated from its proper place in the tabernacle, and kept in a private house, the inmates of which had probably become so familiar with it that they ceased to cherish due reverence for it. Hence the rash act of Uzzah. True, the temptation was sudden and strong. But so are many temptations. All the more need to cherish such habitual piety, self-control, and watchfulness, as shall preserve us in the hour of peril. The recollection of the circumstances under which the ark had been brought into the house of Abinadab should have been sufficient to arrest the impulse to lay hold of it (1Sa 6:19-21).

3. Presumption. In pushing himself forward without warrant, and against the law, to preserve the ark from injury. Better to have left it to the care of him to whom it belonged, and who had shown in former days his care for it and his power to protect it (1Sa 5:1-12.). It was an instance of zeal without knowledge and faith, and in which self was prominent rather than God.

II. THE DEATH OF UZZAH WAS FOR THE INSTRUCTION AND WARNING OF DAVID AND HIS PEOPLE. David was seeking to revive and re-establish religion, and this act of God appeared to be a hindrance to his good design; but in fact it tended to promote it more effectually than all the measures of the king.

1. It was an impressive demonstration that Jehovah their God was still among them, the living God, the Almighty, the Holy One, observing and punishing sin. It showed that his laws were still living laws, not obsolete, though forgotten; that the sacred things which he had appointed were still sacred in his eyes, however neglected, and were to be so esteemed by the people; that, in particular, the ark was still the symbol and pledge of his living presence, as a God to be approached and worshipped with reverence, yet also with confidence in the covenant of which it was the sign. Thus the impression produced by the terrible event would tend to the revival of religious faith and feeling, and secure that David’s endeavours should not end in the establishment of a mere ritual, however orderly and stately, but in sincere worship and corresponding life. It was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that the revival of religion began with terrible judgments. We also need a living faith in the living Godfaith in his relation to us and presence with us; faith in his love, awakening our confidence and affection; faith also in his majesty, holiness, and justice, awakening our “reverence and godly fear.” To this end we should meditate on the awe-inspiring aspects of the Divine character and government, as they appear in nature and providence and in the inspired book. Otherwise our religion is likely to become a weak, superficial, and sentimental thing, without depth and power.

2. It was a warning that was adapted to guide and restrain the religious zeal of the king. There was danger that, in his ardent desire for the re-establishment of the national worship with fitting circumstances of splendour and orderliness, he should not pay due attention to the instructions of the Law, but should violate the will of God in the endeavor to pay to him and secure for him due honour. Uzzah’s death would teach him that the Divine will must be first regarded. He learnt this lesson so far as the mode of removing the ark was concerned. He could scarcely fail to keep it in mind. in all his subsequent proceedings. Great zeal for religion has ever a similar peril. Under its influence there is danger of adopting, with the best intentions, means and methods which are not according to the Divine Word. The most powerful persons are the most likely to feel as if their own will might be their law. Thus carnality and worldliness come to regulate the affairs of the Church, and the Law of God is violated in letter or in spirit. Hence the “will-worship, the volunteered, self-imposed, officious, supererogatory service” (Lightfoot on Col 2:23), which has so extensively prevailed in Christendom, and which has originated or fostered errors of doctrine; hence also the terrible crimes against Christian liberty and love which have been committed ad majorem Dei gloriam, and thought to be sanctified thereby.

3. There remain the common lessons taught by every death, especially by sudden deaths, and yet more especially by sudden deaths in the midst of displays of human power and glory. The uncertainty of life, the certainty of death, the awfulness of death in sin (Joh 8:21, Joh 8:24), the vanity of earthly pomp and splendour, the necessity of habitual preparedness, the value of sincere and spiritual worship and service of God, the appropriateness of the admonition, “Be ye also ready,” and of the prayer, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”G.W.

2Sa 6:9

Dread of God.

The death of Uzzah made David “afraid of the Lord,” and deterred him from fulfilling his purpose to bear the ark into the place which he had prepared for it in his newly founded metropolis. He seems for the time to have dreaded lest it should bring evil with it instead of gooda curse instead of a blessing. So the vast assembly was dispersed, and the day which was to have been so glorious and auspicious ended in disappointment and gloom. David’s feeling is an illustration of religious terror, or the dread of God.

I. ITS NATURE.

1. It is to be distinguished from that “fear of the Lord” which is so often inculcated in the Word of God, and which is especially characteristic of the piety of the Old Testament. This is reverence of God, of his nature, authority, and laws. It includes, indeed, a dread of offending him, because of the certainty and terribleness of punishment; but it includes also veneration, esteem, and love. The feeling which is described in the text is simply alarm, terror.

2. It may be awakened by various causes.

(1) Terrible acts of God: sudden deaths, as that of Uzzah, those of Ananias and Sapphira (Act 5:5, Act 5:10, Act 5:11); violent tempests; earthquakes; deadly pestilence.

(2) Terrible aspects of his nature. Holiness and hatred of sin; justice, displeasure against sinners; together with his perfect knowledge and unbounded power.

(3) His threatenings.

(4) The consciousness of sin. This is the secret of the dread which springs from the thought of God. A solemn awe is compatible with innocence, but the holy would not be “afraid of God,” or if for a moment, at some startling and threatening event, only for a moment.

II. ITS VALUE. In itself and standing alone, it is of no religious worth at all. It is compatible with enmity to God, which is the opposite of true religion. When it springs into the heart of a good man it may be associated with very wrong feeling. David was “displeased” with God, while “afraid” of him (2Sa 6:8). It tends to drive them from him while seeming to draw them to him; for it is apt to generate a religion without love, without even reverencean obedience which is slavish and destitute of true virtue. It is favourable to superstition, indeed, and may stimulate to great liberality; but, while acting alone, it cannot produce genuine godliness and true holiness. It is the feeling on which priestcraft in all lands flourishes. Yet it is good as a first step in those that need it, and a preparation for what is better; and some measure of it, blended with other emotions, is always of value to many, if not all. In Psa 119:1-176; where every feeling of a pious soul finds expression, this is included (Psa 119:120). And our Lord enjoins it as a safeguard against the fear of man (Luk 12:4, Luk 12:5). This fear is of great value:

1. To arouse the conscience and prepare for better things. Many are so hardened that they are incapable of being, in the first instance, drawn by love; their fears must be excited.

2. To make the gospel welcome; which, revealing the love of God and the redemption which is by Jesus Christ, is fitted and intended to allay the dread of God and awaken confidence and affection.

3. To stimulate in obedience to God and deter from sin. It is true that love is the noblest stimulus, and that perfect love casts out fear (1Jn 4:18); but love is not perfect in this world, and fear is needed when temptation is strong and the better feelings are for the time dormant.G.W.

2Sa 6:11

God’s blessing abiding with the ark.

Divine chastisements and Divine benedictions have in this world the same end in viewthe promotion of true religion. The judgment on Uzzah and the blessing on the house of Obed-Edom were alike intended to reawaken a living faith and piety in the nation, by showing that Jehovah, the living God, was amongst them, and was still prepared to honour his own institutions and bless those who honoured them, whilst those who dishonoured them would incur his displeasure. Obed-Edom honoured God by receiving the ark into his house and caring for it; and, in return, God’s blessing rested on him and all his. They act a similar part who receive into their homes and honour there God’s book, God’s servants, God’s poor; those also who establish in their houses the practice of family worship, and keep alive in their families a warm interest in all that concerns the Church and kingdom of God. They and theirs enjoy the abiding presence and blessing of him who has said, “Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” (1Sa 2:30). Notice

I. THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ARK INTO THE HOUSE OF OBED–EDOM. It was owing to the panic occasioned by the death of Uzzah. May illustrate the apparently accidental circumstances which have sometimes introduced religion and the practice of family worship into families.

II. THE WELCOME IT RECEIVED. Obed-Edom, in this instance, excelled David. The alarm excited by Uzzah’s death did not deter him from receiving the ark into his house. Faith subdued fear. He may well have felt that the act would be well pleasing to God; that it would bring him and his nearer to God; that the ark would sanctify his home and turn it as into a temple; and that it could and would occasion no harm to those who honoured it for God’s sake. So should the things, persons, and practices that bring God nearer to a household be welcomed; and so will they be welcomed by such as have begun to reverence and love him.

III. THE BLESSING WHICH ACCOMPANIED IT. “The Lord blessed Obed-Edom, and all his household.” What form God’s blessing took in this case, so that in the course of three months it could become manifest to others, we are not told; perhaps some marked increase of worldly prosperity. And such an indication of God’s blessing is not uncommon in households where piety rules. But there are other blessings of God which to his children are more precious, and which are to be confidently expected by families which honour him.

1. A pervading sense of Gears presence and love. This would surely result from having the ark in the house; and not less is it the result of having a Bible which is really valued and consulted, and a family altar.

2. The enjoyment of the Divine Spirit. The actual living operation of the present God on the conscience, heart, and life. He “gives his Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” As the result of these:

3. A new sacredness given to family life and duty. The presence of the ark in the house would sanctify everything there, making the relationships sacred, and turning common duties into holy rites. Hence:

4. Higher and more steadfast family affections. Love to each other sanctified and elevated by common love to the heavenly Father and Divine Brother and Friend; unselfishness; unity; mutual helpfulness.

5. More cheerful and free, and therefore stricter, obedience to the Divine laws. The will of God as to the duties of parents, children, and servants, and of all towards those without, shining in a diviner light, better understood, and better practised. Hence the virtues which promote material and social welfare.

6. Family happiness. Springing naturally, as we say, but none the less as the result of the Divine appointment and active blessing, from such living. Happiness in and from the daily round of duty and affection. Happiness in the enjoyment together of God’s gifts. Peace in trouble. Hope when one departs to the better home; a sense of union still (“We are seven”), and assurance of reunion in due time.

7. Moral and spiritual fruitfulness. Such a family dwells in an atmosphere highly favourable for the production and growth of piety and all moral excellence in those connected with it. It is a nursery for the Church. From such the best Christians and Christian workers go forth. Similar family life is multiplied and perpetuated in the subsequent homes of sons and daughters.

IV. THE EFFECT OF THE BLESSING ON DAVID. He was reassured, and took measures, at once more according to the Law and more successful, for fulfilling his purpose to bring the ark to Zion. Similarly, the aspect presented by families which serve God and manifestly enjoy his blessing is adapted to incite, and has often incited, others to go and do likewise. Finally, families which regard not God may have many desirable things, but cannot really enjoy the Divine blessing. “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked,” while “he blesseth the habitation of the just” (Pro 3:33).G.W.

2Sa 6:12-19

The ark brought to Zion.

A grand day for Israel, and indeed for the world; the beginning of the religious significance of “Zion” and “Jerusalem,” and the mighty spiritual influence which has gone forth far and wide from that centre. With respect to the bringing of the ark “into the city of David,” we remark

I. IT WAS THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF A DELAYED PURPOSE. Although David was shocked and alarmed by the event which compelled him to desist from his first endeavour, he did not give up his purpose, but evidently set himself to prepare for a more imposing and appropriate introduction of the sacred symbol into his metropolis than he at first contemplated. The narrative in 1Ch 15:1-29. and 16. shows this; for such elaborate arrangements could not have been made in a short time. Delay tests the resolutions and purposes of men, reveals their quality, intensifies those which spring from true and reasonable zeal, and issues in their fuller execution.

II. IT WAS MARKED BY STRICT OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW OF GOD. The death of Uzzah had led to careful study of the Divine directions, which were now rigidly obeyed (1Ch 15:12-15, with which corresponds 1Ch 15:13 of our text, “they that bare the ark of the Lord”). It is well when painful experience of the penalties of disregard to God’s laws leads to inquiry and improvement. Unhappily, multitudes who suffer the penalties fail to profit by them.

III. IT WAS ACCOMPANIED WITH MUCH WORSHIP. Sacrifices were offered when a successful start had been made. Others, in greater number, when the ark had been placed in the tent prepared for it. The praises of God were sung as the procession moved on; and at the close of the ceremonies David “blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.” The suitableness of all this to the occasion is obvious.

IV. IT WAS A SEASON OF GREAT GLADNESS. Indicated by David’s dance “before the Lord with all his might.” Also by the shouting and the noise of musical instruments; and the royal gifts to the people at large, that all might feast.

V. IT WAS A NATIONAL TRANSACTION. All the tribes, by their representatives in great numbers, and all classes of the peoplethe king, the priests and Levites, the nobles, the officers of the army and their forces, the rich and the poorunited in the celebration. It was an act of national homage to the supreme Sovereign of the peoplea kind of enthronement of him in his metropolis. It was intended and well adapted to make the people realize afresh that they were one nation, and to bind them in a closer unity hereafter, religious as well as civil.

VI. IT WAS THE INAUGURATION OF A NEW AND BETTER ERA IN RELIGION. The ark was not thus brought to Jerusalem to remain solitary and neglected, as it had so long been, but that before it Divine worship might be conducted daily in a manner becoming the new circumstances of the people. For this David had made careful preparation, organizing part of the priests and Levites for the purpose, while others were appointed to minister at Gibeon, where the tabernacle proper and the altars were (1Ch 16:4-42). For the national worship was not even now conducted in strict accordance with the Mosaic Law, since that required the ark and the altars, and the priestly and Levitical ministrations, to be all in one place. On account of Circumstances which are not explained, though they may be surmised, the king could not do all that he would, but he did what he could; and this prepared the way for the more exact obedience to the Law which was rendered when the temple was built.

VII. IT MADE MANIFEST THE CHARACTER OF THE KING. His convictions as to the claims of God over him and his people; his zeal for the worship of God, and desire to infuse a similar spirit into the nation; his humility in descending from his elevation and fraternizing with, whilst he led, the people.

By the whole narrative we are reminded of:

1. The necessity and worth to a nation of true religion. To elevate its life, unite its various parts and classes, promote mutual justice and a spirit of brotherhood, regulate its conduct towards other peoples, and withal secure the blessing of God.

2. The worth of godly rulers. From their position, rulers necessarily exercise a wide influence, and it is a happy circumstance when their example is in favour of religion and virtue.

3. The difference between national religious pageants and ceremonies, and true national religion. Many will unite in the former who have no part in the latter. The former are often more brilliant and imposing as the latter decays. National Christianity can exist only as the individuals who compose the nation are sincere Christians.

4. The lessons which the proceedings here recorded suggest to those engaged in opening a new Christian sanctuary. Concern to secure the abiding presence and blessing of God. Much praise and prayer: praise for all the mercies which have led up to the day, and all the revelations and promises that give hope to its proceedings; prayer for the help of God in all, his acceptance of the work done in his Name, his use of it for the promotion of his kingdom, the good of his Church, and the salvation of those without. Much gladness and mutual congratulation on account of the work accomplished, and the good that may be hoped for from it to individuals, families, the neighbourhood, etc. A hearty union of all classes in the services, introductory to permanent union in mutual love and combined effort.G.W.

2Sa 6:16

Religious zeal despised.

“She despised him in her heart.” A graphic picture here. A numerous and joyous procession marching into the city with the ark of God, with sacred music and singing and dancing; the king at the head of all, more joyous and enthusiastic than all the crowd besides; and Michal, behind her window, cool and collected, without sympathy with the object or spirit of the proceeding, yea, looking on with contempt, especially for her husband, who was so demonstrative in his display of zeal and gladness. She has many imitators. There are many who regard fervid zeal in religion with contempt.

I. WHY FERVENT RELIGIOUS ZEAL IS DESPISED.

1. Alleged reasons; as

(1) that it is fanatical; or

(2) unintellectual, a sign of weak mind; a style of religion fit only for women and weak-minded men; or

(3) hypocritical; or

(4) not respectable.

The better sort of people, it is alleged, keep their religion within due bounds; certainly will eschew forms of religious earnestness which associate closely the upper classes with the common people.

2. Secret causes. May be:

(1) Ignorance. Want of knowledge of Christianity. Acquaintance with its great facts, doctrines, and precepts, and the exemplification of them in the lives of our Lord and his apostles, would make it clear that they demand and justify the utmost warmth of love and zeal; so that for Christians to be zealous in holding, practising, and propagating their religion is simply to be consistent.

(2) Irreligion, with or without knowledge. Unbelief or disbelief. The absence of religious faith and feeling. Possibly a settled hatred of religion and goodness. Men of this class cannot possibly understand or appreciate the operations of religion in the heart. The sincerely religious may disapprove of certain forms in which others display their zeal, but they will not indulge contempt of them.

(3) Formalism or superficiality in religion. To which ardent devotion and self-consecration are unintelligible.

(4) Pride of intellect, taste, or station. “Hath any of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees? But this multitude which knoweth not the Law are accursed” (Joh 7:48, Joh 7:49, Revised Version).

(5) Sometimes would be found secret uneasiness. Zeal in others awakens conscience, which utters condemnation; and conscience is relieved (or attempted to be) by fixing attention on what is regarded as objectionable in the religious zeal of others, and cherishing contempt for them.

(6) Religious bigotry, which has no tolerance for forms of religion, however sincere and good those who adopt them may be, that differ from those of the bigot himself. The piety of many good men is sadly marred by this spirit, and its earnestness feeds something very like hatred of fellow Christians. In this case also contempt springs largely from ignorance, as well as from a lack of that principle of religion which is supereminent, viz. love.

II. WHY SUCH ZEAL OUGHT NOT TO BE DESPISED.

1. It is in harmony with right reason. In view of the nature and works of God and our obligations to him, especially the redeeming love of God in Christ, the evils from which we are redeemed, the blessings which are brought within our reach, the cost of our redemption. It is not zeal, but indifference and coldness, which are irrational. Nothing but the willing devotement of heart and life to Christ is suitable as a return for his love. Devotion without warmth, service which is ever measured and stinted, are absurd.

2. It is required by Holy Scripture. The great duties of Christianity, love to God and man, necessarily include warmth and earnestness. And the terms in which we are exhorted to seek our own salvation and the good of others all imply zeal; the production of which is represented as one great end of the offering of himself by Christ (Tit 2:14).

3. It is countenanced by the highest and best society. By cherubim and seraphim, angels and archangels, apostles, prophets, martyrs, saints in heaven and on earth, and him who is higher than them all, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whose burning zeal we owe everything. The grandest intellects in the universe may be appealed to by the zealous Christian.

4. It is productive of the greatest good. Christianity has conferred and is conferring the greatest blessings on mankind, and is ever extending the area of its beneficial influence. But it is its zealous, not its cold-hearted, adherents to whom men owe its extension and powerful operation.

5. It secures the approbation of God, and final acceptance and reward. He who zealously uses his talents is to be received into the joy of his Lord, while the slothful servant is rejected ‘rod punished. The highly respectable and self-complacent Church at Laodicea is severely reproved and threatened on account of its lukewarmness (Rev 3:15, Rev 3:16). Only religion in earnest fits for heaven. There are no lukewarm Christians there.

Finally:

1. Let despisers of zealous Christians beware lest they be found despising Christ and God (Luk 10:16).

2. Let zealous Christians take heed of needlessly exposing their religion to contempt. As by associating it with things unworthy of it, such as narrowness of mind, cant, eccentricity, worldly policy, excessive ceremonialism, great ardour about small matters, little ardour about great matters, uncharitableness.

3. Some zeal in religion deserves to be despised. That, in particular, which is dissociated from truth, uprightness, holiness, or love. True religious zeal includes zeal for these; and no ardour of professed religion can be a substitute for them.G.W.

2Sa 6:20

Domestic religion.

“Then David returned to bless his household.” An interesting contrast with what precedes. Would have been a pleasing close of the narrative but for what follows. Presents David in an attractive light. His piety did not shine merely in public before a crowd; it illuminated and blessed his home. He did not regard his high station and the weight of the cares of state as raising him above, or releasing him from, his duties as head of a household. Nor did he, after that busy and exciting day, think himself excused from family duty. He had blessed the people in the name of the Lord; he now returns to bless his household, i.e. to invoke God’s blessing on them.

I. HOW A MAN MAY BLESS HIS HOUSEHOLD.

1. By maintaining and conducting family worship. Praising God with his family. Praying with and for them. Giving the worship a family character by the mention of family blessings, needs, sorrows, joys; the especial mention of special circumstances and events which affect the family, as they arise. Doing this regularly and perseveringly.

2. By the religious instruction of his family. Reading the Word of God as part of the daily worship. Teaching the children the truths and duties of Christianity, formally and informally. The latter as important, to say the least, as the former. Let the New Testament be the recognized guide of the house, to which every, thing is brought for judgment. Let its teaching be instilled insensibly as occasions arise in family life.

3. By family discipline. “Ruling well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity” (1Ti 3:4); encouraging right, forbidding and suppressing wrong conduct; regulating the companionships and occupations of his children. Family government on Christian principles and in a Christian spirit is itself a mode of instruction, and blesses a household.

4. By leading and accompanying his family to the house of God.

5. By setting a good example. The head of a household cannot perform his duties aright without personal piety. He cannot teach what he does not value and practise; his instructions and prayers will lack the reality which impresses; his character will deprive his words of their proper force. But a good life is a constant lesson. Children will learn from the spirit and conduct of a good father how to think of their Father in heaven, and how they may serve and please him. The unconscious influence of the parent’s life will be a perpetually operating power for good.

II. WHY HE SHOULD DO SO.

1. It is his manifest duty. Seen as we contemplate:

(1) The relation of the family to God, as its Founder, the Originator of each household, the Lord of family life, the Source of all its peculiar affections, the Bestower of all its blessings, the Guardian of its weaker members (Christ’s “little ones”).

(2) The relation to God of the head of a household. His servant, his representative, appointed for this very service.

(3) The promptings of parental affection and godly principles, which are from God.

(4) The express injunctions of Holy Writ.

(5) The just claims of society, which has a right to expect that in the household good citizens should be trained and good members of the Church. The character and welfare of a people depend more on family life than on public law and force; and most fathers can best serve their country by training well their children. Let them render more public services if they are capable of them, but ever let them “return to bless their households.”

2. He will thus best promote the welfare and happiness of his household. (See division III. of homily on 2Sa 6:11.)

3. His own happiness in his family will be greatly increased. If his desires for their good are granted, he will be a necessary partaker of their happiness, will rejoice that he has so largely contributed to it, and will receive a constant reward for his endeavours in their love and gratitude. If, through untoward circumstances, or counteracting influences against which he had no power to defend them, or through their own perversity, his efforts should fail, he will at least have the satisfaction of a good conscience.

In conclusion, what has been said of the duty of fathers applies equally to mothers, who have more influence than fathers over the younger children, and often over the elder also, and always have most to do with the order and comfort and moral atmosphere of the home.G.W.

2Sa 6:20-22

A despiser rebuked.

The history of Michal is rather an unhappy one. In early life she became enamoured of David, to whom she was reluctantly given by her father. Afterwards, when Saul became the enemy of David, she was given to another, from whom, after many years, she was torn by her first husband, more, probably, from policy than affection. It is likely she had no warm affection for him now. She may have resented his succeeding to her father’s throne. She had no sympathy with his religious zeal. Probably she originally admired the hero rather than loved the saint; and now that his fervour in religion has so strangely displayed itself, she can contain herself no longer. She felt herselfa king’s daughterdisgraced by his vulgar conduct; and she resolves to tell him her mind about it; and so, as he returns to his house in joyous religious excitement, eager to bless his family, as he had just blessed the people, she meets him with bitter reproaches, to which he, surprised and mortified, returns a bitter answer, in which are, nevertheless, good reasons for his conduct.

I. HER REPROACH. It was in substance that his conduct had been undignified and indecent. The charge was plausible, but unjust. Her anger and want of sympathy with her husband’s zeal led her to misrepresentation of proceedings which were innocent and praiseworthy. Similar lack of sympathy with ardent piety often leads to similar unjust judgment. Many are ready to condemn modes of expressing or promoting religion which are foreign to their own habits. But what would be unsuitable and unprofitable to one class of persons may be the reverse to another; and what would not be suitable as an ordinary practice may be allowable and commendable under special circumstances. In times of general excitement men will do what would be ridiculous at other times. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a good view of Jesus, regardless of dignity and the possible ridicule of the crowd; and he was rewarded for it. David would not have displayed his zeal by leading the multitude in music and singing and dancing under ordinary circumstances. Reproach and condemnation are to be estimated partly according to the persons who utter them. Many who are ready to do so are incapable of passing just judgment, on account of a total or partial want of religion. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Co 2:14). And some who are not destitute of religion are so contracted in their views and feelings that they are unable to estimate rightly the religion of others. John the Baptist practised abstinence, and was said to have a demon. Jesus lived as ordinary men, and was condemned as a glutton and winebibber. The apostles on the Day of Pentecost were said to be “full of new wine.” Those who are fond of orderliness and dignity in religion are prone to condemn all kinds of excitement and the freedom of form and expression which it favours. Bat it is possible to sacrifice efficiency to order. While the lovers of order and good taste are exclusively indulging their preferences, multitudes may be left uncared for and untouched. When, therefore, by means which are thought objectionable, they are attracted and benefited, the objectors may properly be asked to find and employ better methods which shall answer the same end; and meanwhile to bear with, yea, thank God for, those who are doing a good work in a manner which they cannot wholly approve. On the other hand, those who love and employ excitement and freedom may well be warned lest they frustrate their aim to save men by using means inconsistent with that reverence and thoughtfulness which are essential to true religion, and lest they unjustly condemn their fellow Christians who pursue their ends by calmer methods. There are room and need for variety of modes of worship and activity with one spirit and aim. Let us not condemn those who, in the Name of Jesus, are really casting out evil spirits, and bringing men to a right mind, though they do not follow with us (Luk 9:49, Luk 9:50).

II. DAVID‘S REPLY. It was severe, and likely, as it was doubtless meant, to sting. Notice:

1. His defence. That what he had done he had done for Jehovah.

(1) Him who in himself was worthy of all possible honour and public praise and confession.

(2) Him who had chosen and exalted him, in the place of Saul and his house, to be ruler over his people. Piety and gratitude combined to impel him to rejoice before the Lord on an occasion so remarkable and auspicious. All of us have similar reasons for honouring God to the utmost of our power. In view of them, the most ardent zeal for the worship of God and the promotion of his kingdom is justified, and cold and measured service stands condemned.

2. His determined resolve. To do as he had done. Yea, to surpass his recent displays of zeal for the Lord. If this was accounted vile, he would be viler still; if this were to lower himself, he would sink lower still. Similar should be the effect upon us of the reproach which fervent piety may subject us to. If, indeed, objection be made to some of the ways by which we show it, we should reconsider them, especially when the objection comes from Christian brethren; but undeserved reproach should stimulate us to greater devotedness and more resolute determination.

3. His assurance of honor. From “the maidservants” of whom Michal had spoken so disparagingly. He virtually appealed from her judgment to theirs. What just foundation is there for satisfaction in the approval of the humbler classes?

(1) They may be more capable of right judgment in matters of religion than many who are above them in worldly condition, and even in general education and intelligence. They may have more spiritual susceptibility and fewer prejudices. They may feel more their ignorance, and be more humble and teachable. They at least know what does them good, which is the end of all religious ministrations. Hence they are often right when their scorners are wrong. Our Lord was accepted and listened to gladly by many of the common people, while few of the upper and the learned classes received him; and he rejoiced and thanked his Father that, while the truths he taught were hidden from “the wise and understanding,” they were revealed unto “babes” (Luk 10:21). And in the early Churches St. Paul tells us that there were “not many wise after the flesh, or mighty, or noble;” but that these were put to shame by the weak and despised (1Co 1:26-28).

(2) The good of the humbler classes is to be sought. To secure this end they must be interested, and their approval won; and he who can, without unworthy arts, succeed in winning them so as to lead them to Christ, may well rejoice and he thankful. David’s language may be in substance adopted by preachers who are despised because approved and followed by the common people; while the ministry or Church which fails to lay hold of them ought to mourn and reconsider its spirit and methods.

To conclude:

1. It is an unhappy thing when man and wife differ radically in matters of religion. It deprives them of the unspeakable benefits of mutual sympathy and helpfulness. It is the occasion of dispute and unhappiness, if not settled alienation. It hinders very seriously the religious and moral education of the Children. Let these things be thought of before the irrevocable steps are taken which bind two lives together.

2. There are worse faults in relation to religion than vulgarity, undue excitement, or eccentricity. These may be in some degree injurious, but indifference or hostility is fatal.G.W.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Before Christ 1044.

2Sa 6:1. Again David gathered together all the chosen men, &c. Afterwards David levied yet thirty thousand men, the chosen strength of Israel; i.e. thirty thousand more than he had before his late victory over the Philistines. Houb.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

III. Solemn transfer of the Ark of Mount Zion and establishment of regular divine service

2Sa 6:1-23

1Again David [And David again1] gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims [which is called by the name of Jehovah of hosts who sitteth on the cherubim].2 3And they set [transported] the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah [on the hill]; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave [led] the new cart. 4And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah [on the hill] [om. And Gibeah]3 accompanying [with] the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. 5And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord [Jehovah] on all manner of instruments made of firwood [with all their might, with songs]4 even [and] on harps [lyres] and on psalteries and on timbrels and on cornets [sistra] and on cymbals.

6And when they came to Nachons5 threshing-floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. 7And the anger of the Lord [Jehovah] was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error;6 and there he died [he died there] by the ark of God. 8And David was displeased because the Lord [Jehovah] had made a breach upon Uzzah; and he called the name of the [that] place7 Perez-uzzah to this day. 9And David was afraid of the Lord [Jehovah] that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord 10[Jehovah] come to me? So David would not remove the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] unto him into8 the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11And the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord [Jehovah] blessed Obed-edom9 and all his household.

12And it was told king David, saying, The Lord [Jehovah] hath blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So [And] David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom 13into the city of David with gladness. And10 it was so [it came to pass] that when they that bare the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. 14And David danced before the Lord [Jehovah] with all his 15might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So [And] David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark11 of the Lord [Jehovah] with shouting and with the [om. the] sound of the [om. the] trumpet.

16And as the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] came into the city of David, Michal, Sauls daughter, looked through a [the] window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord [Jehovah]; and she despised him in her heart. 17And they brought in the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] and set it in his [its] place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt-offerings12 and peace-offerings12 before the Lord [Jehovah]. 18And as soon as David had made [And David made] an end of offering [ins. the] burnt-offerings and [ins. the] peace-offerings, [ins. and] he blessed the people in the name13 of the Lord [Jehovah] of hosts. 19And he dealt among [dealt out to] all the people, even among [to] the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as [ins. to the] men, to every one a cake of bread and a good [om. good] piece of flesh14 and a flagon of wine [a raisin-cake]; so [and] all the people departed every one to his house.

20And David returned to bless his household. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was [om. was] the king of Israel [ins. made himself] to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly15 uncovereth himself! 21And David said unto Michal, It was [om. it was] before the Lord [Jehovah] which [who] chose me before thy father and before all his house, to appoint me ruler [prince] over the people of the Lord [Jehovah], over Israeltherefore will I play 22[yea, I have played] before the Lord [Jehovah]. And I will yet be more [be yet more] vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight; and of the maid-servants 23which [whom] thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honor. Therefore [And] Michal the daughter of Saul had no child16 unto the day of her death.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

[Parallel with 2 Samuel 6 is 1 Chr. 13, 15., 16Tr.]

2Sa 6:1. Assembly of all the chosen men in Israel.David assembled.17 Thenius renders: and David increased again all the chosen men; but against this is that nothing has been before said of the numbers of the army (as the again would then imply), and that such a completely isolated statement of the augmentation of the standing army would be very strange, [and further this rendering would not agree with the expression all the chosen men.Tr.].The ancient VSS. all have: assembled.The expression all the chosen men can be understood (as in Jdg 20:15; 1Sa 24:3) only of the military men chosen expressly for service of war, not of a chosen body identical (according to 1Ch 13:1-5) with the captains of thousands, etc., that is, with the representation of the nation in stocks and families (Keil), for the term chosen () could not be so employed. And for this reason the word again cannot refer to the non-military assembly of the Elders in 2Sa 5:1; 2Sa 5:3, against which further is, that David did not convoke that body, while it is here said that David again gathered, and that that assembly lay too far back of the two gatherings of the military population for the Philistine wars described just before [ch. 5]. Rather the again refers to this latter assemblage of the military men, which is obviously presupposed in the immediately preceding narrative. Thus 2Sa 6:1 by the again and the all the chosen men connects itself immediately with what precedes, while it introduces what follows: for why should David not have brought up the ark with an army of thirty thousand men (against Thenius)? The exhibition of such military pomp accorded perfectly with the importance of the ark for the whole people, whose elite in these hearts of oak [Germ. kernel- or core-warriors] (Ew. Gr. 290 c) the more appropriately took the first place in the solemn procession, since it was their victory over the Philistines that made the transference of the ark possible. Besides, a military escort might be necessary to guard against a new attack of the enemy.We learn from this that David already in a certain sort maintained a standing army (Then.).The Sept. has seventy instead of thirty thousand, supposing, no doubt, that the whole military force of all Israel was here assembled, a supposition that is excluded by the phrase chosen men. [The consultation of David with the leaders in 1 Chronicles 13, and the assembling of all Israel (that is, probably, through its representatives) is not inconsistent with the statement here. The Chronicler brings out prominently details of organization, especially religious, Samuel gives the simplest historical narration.Tr.]

2Sa 6:2-10. Davids march to fetch the ark from Kirjath-jearim.

2Sa 6:2. And David went with all the people that were with him.These are not the above-named thirty thousand chosen warriors, but, besides them, the representatives of the whole nation gathered to the festival, as described in 1Ch 13:1-14, where nothing is said of a military body, while here in our passage the preliminary conference with the heads of families is passed over, and only a summary statement made in reference to the accompaniment of the ark by the people. The expression from Baale is strange, since nothing has before been said of Davids going thither. But we cannot make the Prep. () = to (Dathe), nor regard the phrase as definitive of the preceding all the people, as do the ancient VSS. (Sept. of the rulers of Judah, Vulg. of the men of Judah, and so Luther of the citizens of Judah)the latter view is untenable because the designation of place presupposed in the expression from thence would then be wanting. From what follows Baale-Judah can be nothing but the place Kirjath-jearim (comp. 1Ch 13:6) whither the ark was carried according to 1Sa 6:21; 1Sa 7:1, = Kirjath-baal, Jos 15:60; Jos 18:14; Baalah, Jos 15:9; 1Ch 13:6. This original Canaanitish name continued along with the Israelitish. See Jos 18:14, Kirjath-baal, that is, Kirjath-jearim, the city of the children of Judah; to this last name answers here Baale-Judah, whereby this city is distinguished from others of like name, Baal or Baalah in Simeon (Jos 19:8; 1Ch 4:33) and in Dan (Jos 19:44). It lay on the border between Judah and Benjamin, westward on the border of the latter tribe and about eight miles west of Jerusalem [identified by Rob. with the modern Kuryet el-Enab or Abu Gosh, on the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa.Tr.].Since, now, the Prep. from cannot well be taken (with Keil) to be an ancient clerical error, we may either suppose that the writer here gives a very condensed narrative, not mentioning Davids march to Baalah, because he took it for granted in relating what was to him the chief matter, the bringing of the ark thence (Kimchi, Maurer), or, if such a condensation seems too hard, we must suppose a lacuna in the text. Thenius thinks it probable that it originally read to Kirjath-jearim of the citizens of Judah, = children of Judah, Jos 18:14 ( ) and the two first words except the last letter () have fallen out. This, as explaining how the Prep. () came into the text, seems better than the conjecture of Lud. Capell. (Crit. Sac. I. 9, 8), who supplies the words of 1Ch 13:6 to Baalah, to Kirjath-jearim, which is to Judah, or that of Bertheau (and Ewald) Baalah, it (), is K., which is to Judah. [It seems a difficulty in the way of Thenius ingenious restoration that the word in the sense of citizen, inhabitant is found only with names of cities, not of countries. This, if correct, will also set aside Well-hausens explanation of the Prep. (), that it arose from a misunderstanding of, , which was taken = citizens or inhabitants. Perhaps the is clerical error for , the two letters being not very unlike in their ancient forms.Tr.]. To bring up thence the ark of God.The rest of the verse is descriptive of the ark of God, but opinions vary as to the exact sense. The rendering (connecting with ): on which (ark) the name, the name of Jehovah is called (Keil) or called on (De Wette), has against it that there is no example of so many words between the Rel. and its complement (Then.), and the strangeness of this repetition of the name [which is written twice in the Heb.Tr.]. The translation: which (ark) is called the name (Kimchi, and also Bunsen: which is called by name [whose name is called] ), is untenable because the ark itself is never so called; equally insufficient is Keils explanation of his translation: over which the name of Jehovah is named, that is, above which Jehovah reveals His glory, for the verb is called or named must be referred not to Jehovah, but to the human naming of Jehovahs name. Also to Ewalds view, who refers the Relative to God, and translates He was named with the name (Gr. 284 c) the twice-recurring name is an objection. It is better, therefore, to render (with Cler., Maur., Then., Berth.): where the name of the Lord of hosts is invoked (reading for ). Usually indeed the verb call is followed by the Prep. (in, on) when it means invoke, but it is found without this Prep., Psa 99:6, and Lam 3:55; and though there was no invocation of the Lords name at the ark itself (since none was permitted to approach it), yet the place where it stood was doubtless a place of divine worship.18 Who is enthroned on the Cherubim, that is, is present with His ruling power in the midst of His people; the expression is never used except in relation to the ark; see on 1Sa 4:4. Who is enthroned on the Cherubim above it19 (the ark). [On the text of this verse see Text. and Gram.Tr.].

2Sa 6:3 sq. Set it on the cart.20 A new cart must be taken, because the sacred vessel was not permitted to come in contact with anything already desecrated by common use, comp. 1Sa 6:7. And brought it out; according to the above translation (set) there is no need of rendering this verb as Pluperf. had brought (Then.).Carrying the ark on a cart was contrary to the legal requirement (Num 7:9), according to which it was always to be borne by the Levites. The Hebrews here probably imitated a Phnician or Philistine custom. The Phnicians, namely, seem to have had sacred carts, on which they carried about their gods (Mnter, Relig. der Karthager, p. 120), and the oxen were sacred to Baal (p. 15). (Sthl., David p. 39). See 1Sa 6:7. Out of the house of Abinadab on the hill, comp. 1Sa 7:1 sq. According to this passage Abinadabs son Eleazar was entrusted with the oversight of the ark; here we find Uzza and Ahio mentioned as Abinadabs sons, and as driving the cart in charge of the ark. The ark had been about seventy years in Abinadabs house, twenty years up to the victory of Ebenezer (1Sa 7:1 sq.), forty years under Samuel and Saul, and about ten years under David. Thus the statement that Uzza and Ahio led the ark may (as Keil remarks) be explained without difficulty. Either these two sons were born about or after the time that the ark was deposited in his house, or the word sons is used in the wider sense of grandsons, as is often the case (Keil).Text-criticism of 2Sa 6:4. By the mistake of a transcriber, whose eye wandered at the words back to , the words from to were repeated, and are to be omitted. Only thus is the omission of the Art. in the second to be explained. [That is, omit the new at the close of 2Sa 6:3, and in 2Sa 6:4 omit the first clause ending with Gibeah. Some read 2Sa 6:4 thus: and Uzza went with the ark of God, and Ahio (or, his brother) went before the ark, which gives a good sense. The whole verse is omitted in Chron. See Text. and Gram.Tr.]

2Sa 6:5. Whilst Ahio went before the ark, and Uzza went alongside it (2Sa 6:6)perhaps in 2Sa 6:4 the words and Uzza went have fallen out before with the ark of God (De Wette, Then., Buns.)the whole procession, David at the head, moves forward with music, song and dance. The whole house of Israel, see 2Sa 6:1-2. Before the Lord, whose presence was symbolized by the ark itself. Sporting, that is, playing (see Jdg 16:25) and dancing (see 2Sa 6:14). The Heb. word ( ,) is the general expression for dancing in its connection with vocal and instrumental music, 1Sa 18:7; 1Sa 21:11; 1Ch 13:8; 1Ch 15:29; Jer 30:19; Jer 31:4; Pro 8:30 sq.The words of the Heb. text with all manner of cypress-woods make no sense; for what signifies the mention of the material, of which the instruments were afterwards made? The Sept. and Vulg. ( ) with fitted instruments, in omnibus lignis fabrefactis with all manufactured woods) presuppose indeed this reading; but the Sept. has also another reading with might and with songs, to which answer the corresponding words in Chron. (2Sa 6:8): with all their might and with songs. [This reading of Chron. is now generally adopted here, though not by the Jewish expositors Philippson and Cahen, who retain the text of Samuel.Tr.] With the expression with all might comp. 2Sa 6:14 : and David danced with all (his) might. On the connection of song with festive dance and instrumental music see on 1Sa 18:6-7. The timbrel (tabret, hand-drum ) or Aduffe [Arab, and Pers. duff or diff, Span. adufe] was used by the virgins to give the time in dancing.The menana [incorrectly cornet in Eng. A. V.] is an instrument that gave forth a melodious tone when shaken to musical time (from, to shake), the sistrum () of the ancients.Cymbals, smaller or larger metal-plates, which when struck together gave a clear sound.21 Chron. has trumpets in place of sistra; the two accounts are doubtless mutually complementary (Keil). [On these instruments see the Bib.-Dicts.Tr.]

2Sa 6:6. And when they came to a fixed threshing-floor.Nachon () is not to be taken (with many expositors [and Eng. A. V.]) as a proper name, since it never so occurs; nor is it = threshing-floor of the blow ( Mov., Keil), for the word is always found as a Pass. Partcp. (Niph.), and cannot be derived from the Qal [simple Active] of the verb smite (), which never occurs; besides, in that case, as Bttcher rightly remarks, the name would not be connected with Perez (2Sa 6:8). Nachon (from ) = a fixed threshing-floor, which did not change its place like the summer floor (Dan 2:35), and therefore probably had a roof and a stock of fodder (Bttch.). Chron. has threshing-floor of destruction (Kidon, = Job 21:10, destruction, properly blow, plaga = Ar. caid), a designation that probably has its origin in the succeeding narrative. Later the name Perez-uzza came into use instead of these appellations. It is not necessary to insert in the Heb. the words his hand () after the verb put forth, for the verb is found alone in Psa 22:17; for example, comp. with Psa 18:17; Oba 1:13. [Bib.-Com.: the word reach is so used in Eng. without a following hand.Tr.]. Uzza reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it, namely, to keep it from falling over or down; for the oxen shook, jostled it (); according to the usual signification of the verb,not ran away (Ges. Dietr.), or had gotten loose (De Wette), nor had thrown it down (Bttch., Then.), since according to the narrative Uzza wished to save it from falling by laying hold of it. Ewald: they jostled the ark so that it seemed about to fall off. [The Acc. Pron., not expressed in the Heb., is easily supplied from the connection.Tr.]

2Sa 6:7. God smote him for the error. [Erdmann thus agrees in this translation with Eng. A. V., Abarb., Philipps., Keil, Chald.; the difficulty is stated in Text. and Gram. Some render for his rashness, some unawares, and others adopt the reading in 1Ch 13:10. Consult Kennicotts Dissertation, p. 456, Levys Chald. Dict. s. v. , Wellhausens Text Samuelis.Tr.]. The error consisted in touching the ark, which as the symbol of Gods presence (1Sa 4:7), none could look at (Num 4:20; 1Sa 6:19), much less lay hold of, without peril of life. For transportation, therefore, it was first covered up by the Levites to whom it was committed (especially the Kohathites, Num 7:9), and that with faces covered (Num 4:15; Num 4:20), and carried on staves which constantly projected (Exo 25:14-15).Instead of this brief statement of the offence, Chron. has the descriptive periphrasis: because he had put out his hand to the ark, which is followed by Syr. and Arab. A suddenly fatal apoplectic stroke was the natural means of the manifestation of the divine anger at Uzzas violation of the majesty of the holy God symbolized in the ark of the covenant.

2Sa 6:8. And David was angry that the Lord had made a breach (or inflicted a stroke) on Uzza; not was amazed (confounded), for the verb is always used of anger, the angry person being introduced with the Prep. [= to], 2Sa 19:43; 1Sa 15:11; Gen 18:30; Gen 18:32; Gen 31:36. The cause of his anger or angry excitement is not the deed of Uzza, but the deed of God, the slaying of Uzza, in so far as he was obliged to look on himself as the cause of this punishment through his non-observance of the legal prescription concerning the transportation of the ark; for the ark was to be borne, not ridden, and touching it was forbidden on pain of death (Num 4:15). To this day this name had continued the only one in use in commemoration of this occurrence, [that is, up to the writers time, which was at some considerable remove from the event referred to.Tr.].

2Sa 6:9. While David is angry at this justly-incurred misfortune, his heart is filled with fear of the Lord. How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?This question indicates the ground and object of Davids fear of the Lord; in view of what had happened on the touching of the ark, he feels himself guilty before the Lord and unworthy of His presence; he fears to be similarly stricken, if he now bring the ark to him into Zion.

2Sa 6:10. The procession was broken up, and the effort to bring the ark to Zion abandoned; he carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.Obed-edom, a Levite of the stock of the Korahites, which was a branch of the family of Kohath (Exo 6:16; Exo 6:18; Exo 6:21), a son of Jeduthun (1Ch 16:38), appears afterwards as a porter in Jerusalem, and also acts as musician in the transference of the ark (1Ch 15:18; 1Ch 15:21; 1Ch 15:24; 1Ch 16:5). He is called Gittite not from a former protracted residence in the Philistine city Gath (Vatabl.), but from Gath-Rimmon, the Levitical city in Dan. (Cler.), Jos 21:24; Jos 19:45, where he was no doubt born. Since he was of the Korahites, who were porters during the march through the wilderness, we can the more readily understand how the ark was carried to him. [If Jeduthun is the same as Ethan (comp. 1Ch 15:17; 1Ch 15:19 with 1Ch 16:41-42; 1Ch 25:1; 1Ch 25:3; 1Ch 25:6; 2Ch 35:15) then Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, was a Merarite. There may, however, have been several of the name. 1Ch 25:15 is supposed by some to establish the identity of our Obed-edom with the Jeduthunite, though this cannot be said to be certain. If the two are the same, it is suggested that, though a Merarite by birth, marriage with a Kohathite would account for his dwelling in a Kohathite city. The question can hardly be certainly decided. His name is peculiar, apparently = serving (servant of) Edom. It is suggested (Wellh.) that Edom is here the name of a god, to which the objection is that there is no trace elsewhere of such a deity, the name occurring only as a gentilic one, and in connection with Esau. It having been shown by Erdmann that the man Obed-edom was a Levite, it may be surmised either that he was a foreigner adopted by marriage into the tribe of Levi, or, more probably, that he, or some ancestor of his, had once been in servitude to the Edomites.See Bib.-Com. in loco.Tr.]

2Sa 6:11-19. [1Ch 13:14; 1 Chronicles 15, 16]. Transference of the Ark from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David.

2Sa 6:11 sq. Three months the Ark remained in the house of Obed-edom.After the words with the house of Obed-edom, Chron. has in its house, in order to maintain the dignity of the sacred vessel (Then.). The blessing on Obed-edoms house and possessions (comp. Jos. Ant. 7, 4, 2)22 for the ark of Gods sake, that is, by reason of Gods gracious presence in His majesty and glory, forms the contrast to that other revelation of Gods anger [against Uzza] and to Davids fear of misfortune and destruction from the presence of the ark, and now becomes the occasion of Davids resolution to bring the ark to himself to Mount Zion. After the words (2Sa 6:12): because of the ark of God the Vulg. has: and David said, I will go and bring back the ark with blessing into my house, which is an explanation of what precedes in reference to Obed-edoms experience of blessing, as motive for bringing back the ark. [Well-hausen: This addition in the Vulgate of 1590, which pragmatically connects the two facts which in the masoretic texts are merely collocated, does not belong to Jeromesee Vercellone in loco. It is found also in several Greek MSS. Against Thenius.Tr.]. Chron. (2Sa 15:1) connects this narrative with the preceding (the palace-building, 2Sa 14:1 sq.) by the remark that David, while building houses in Jerusalem, prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom (which was not necessarily near Perez-Uzza, but lay perhaps on the outskirts of the Lower City) into the city of David with gladness, in glad procession, with festive joy, comp. Gen 31:27; Neh 12:43.

2Sa 6:13. Since bearers of the ark are spoken of, it appears that David now observed the prescription of the Law. In 1Ch 25:2 sq. David declares that no one should bear the ark but the Levites, because they were thereto chosen by God. The former procedure is thus expressly recognized as illegal (comp. Num 1:40; Num 4:15; Num 6:9; Num 10:17). In Chron. we then find (2Sa 6:2-13) the kings consultation with the priests and Levites about the legal performance of the solemn act of bringing up the ark, and (2Sa 6:14 sq.) Davids further regulations concerning the singing and instrumental music in the procession.And when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had made six steps, he sacrificed (caused to be sacrificed) an ox and a fat calf.De Wette renders wrongly: And it came to pass, as often as they went six steps, he sacrificed; the Heb. would not allow this rendering (it must then be … , Bttch.), and what a monstrous representation: such an offering every six steps! The meaning is that David, having arranged and started the procession, introduced and consecrated it with a sacrifice. It was a thank-offering for the happy beginning and a petition for the prosperous continuation of the undertaking (Bttch.). The halt after six steps is therefore not a surprising fact (Then.), nor need we suppose that the bearers stood a long time with the ark on their shoulders. The offering of seven bullocks and seven rams, which according to Chron. (1Ch 15:26) was made by the Levites, was not the same with this, but a concluding thank-offering for the happy completion of the undertaking with the Lords help (comp. 2Sa 6:12). [So also Patrick and Keil regard the sacrifice in 1Ch 15:26; but it seems clear from the context that the same offering is here intended as in our passage, for the solemnity is not completed till 2Sa 6:15. It is no objection to this that David is the offerer in the one and the Levites in the other (Patr.), for David may have used the Levites as sacrificers (as Erdmann intimates); nor does the apparent difference in the animals make a serious difficulty, for the terms in Samuel may be collective, see Gen 32:6 (so Eng. A. V.), Chron. simply supplying the exact numbers, the special term bullock of Chron. may be included under the general oxen of Samuel, and the rams under the somewhat indefinite fatlings (so Sept. and Vulg.). Or, if it be difficult to take the second word () as collective, we may suppose a difference in the figures in the two accounts, such as is not infrequent.Tr.].

2Sa 6:14. And David danced with all his might before the Lord.The verb (Pilp. of , only here and 2Sa 6:16) = to hop, spring, dance in a half circle, comp. the similar word for camels, dromedaries (). Dances on festive occasions, as in thanksgiving for deliverances (Exo 15:20), for victory (Jdg 11:34; Jdg 21:19; 1Sa 18:6) were commonly performed by women alone. The expression with all his might sets forth the high degree of Davids joyful excitement, comp. 2Sa 6:5. Before the Lord, that is, before the ark of the covenant as the symbol of the presence of the Lord as the king of His people.Girded with a (white) linen ephod.As elsewhere the white ephod was worn only by priests as a sign of their priestly character (1Sa 22:18), there was a special significance in Davids wearing the priestly dress now; it lay, however, not in a desire on his part to represent himself, in honor of the Lord as head of the priestly people of Israel, but partly in the general priestly character that the kingly office of David and Solomon still continued to maintain at the head of the people, partly in Davids priestly procedure in this festivity; he, as it were, performed the functions of a priest (Thenius), not merely in blessing the people (2Sa 6:18), but also in conducting the whole procession and arranging the sacrifice. While the Chronicler gives elaborate information respecting the dress of David and the Levites, our narrator here confines himself to the statement that David was clothed with the white ephod. On the other hand, Davids dancing is omitted by the Chronicler, not because it offended him from a priestly point of view (for he alludes to it in 2Sa 6:16, and mentions it 2Sa 13:8 in agreement with 2Sa 6:5), but because he here wished to bring out with special prominence the ritualistic side of the ceremony, for which the priestly dress was important. (See Keil in loco.) [It is suggested by some (see Bib. Comm.) that the first clause of 1Ch 15:27, and David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, is merely another form (possibly a corruption) of the text of Samuel, and David danced with all his might, especially as this same 2Sa 6:14 mentions the linen-ephod also. The Heb. letters in the two clauses are sufficiently alike to permit one to be derived from the other, and the context in Chron. is not against such a supposition. But it is impossible to say whether the one text is to be derived from the other, or, under such a supposition, which is the original.Tr.]

2Sa 6:15. Comp. 1Ch 15:28, where the names of the several instruments are given. Here we have briefly with shouting and sound of trumpet.The Chron. draws full accounts from the common source, our author gives a summary statement. [On religious dances among the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, see Wilkinsons Ancient Egyptians, Smiths Dict. of Greek and Roman Ant., Arts. Chorus and Saltatio, and comp. Art. Dance in Smiths Bib. Dict.Tr.]

2Sa 6:16. Michal23 is expressly called Sauls daughter, not thereby to characterize her as lacking in true-hearted piety (Keil), but to distinguish her in comparison with Davids other wives, as highest in position. She looked through the windowthat is, holds herself aloof from the procession,24 and criticises Davids conduct (as her remark proves) with a cold heart which had no part in his and the peoples joyous inspiration. When she saw the king leaping and dancing (Chronicl.: dancing [= leaping] and playing), she despised25 him in her heartdespised him on account of his presumed degradation of himself, to the shame of his royal dignity (2Sa 6:20).

2Sa 6:17. The tent that David pitched for the ark being merely a covering on poles without a firm structure of boards, could have been only temporary, since David had the purpose to build a permanent sanctuary, a house to the Lord (chap. 7). Set it in its place in the midst of the tent.That is, in the space marked off according to the tabernacle which still stood in Gibeon, in the Holy of Holies. The burnt-offerings and thank-offerings that David now offered referred to this provisional sanctuary, and served to consecrate it. Of course he made the sacrifices not in his own person, but through the priests.

2Sa 6:18. The offerings being ended, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Sabaoth.The blessing was not the Aaronic (Num 6:22 sq.), which pertained only to the high-priest, but (like Solomons, 1Ki 8:55) a concluding benedictory address to the whole people. The name of the Lord of Sabaoth is the essential being of God, as it was exhibited in the fulness of all His revelations to His people. The benedictions find their fulfilment only in this self-revelation of God to His people as their source, which is at the same time the pledge for the fulfilment.

2Sa 6:19. The entertainment of the people. Each one, men and women, received a bread-cake ( = , 1Ch 16:3), a round cake, such as was baked for sacrificial meals, comp. Exo 29:23 with Lev 8:24 sq. Eshpar [Eng. A. V.: good piece of flesh] occurs only here, is not = piece of flesh,26 but probably to be derived from a verb to measure (Aeth. , De Dieu, Gesenius, Rdiger, De Wette), and = a measure of wine, which would not be too hard a suppletion [would not be supplying or understanding too much] (Thenius). The third term [Eng. A. V.: flagon of wine] means raisin-cake, or a mass of dried grapes pressed into a cake (Ges.), comp. Son 2:5; Hos 3:1.Thereupon the people returned home.In like manner David, having finished the offering and the entertainment, returned to his house to bless it (2Sa 6:20 a)that is, to invoke on his house the blessings he had pronounced on the people, and (having finished this sacred act) to place it under the protection and blessing of the Lord, of whose presence in his house the ark standing near in the tent was the symbol. The close of verse 19 and the beginning of verse 20 are given at the end of the narrative, 1Ch 16:43.

2Sa 6:20-23. Michals pride and Davids humility.

2Sa 6:20. And Michal came to meet David.The words here added by the Sept.: and greeted him are an insertion, which there is no ground for putting into the Hebrew text. How glorious did the king of Israel make himself to-day!This bitterly ironical address with which David, returning joyfully to bless his house, is received by Michal, is the outburst of her wicked feeling (2Sa 6:16). Who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants.That is: exposed, degraded himself, obviously alluding to the fact that David had exchanged the royal robes proper to such an occasion for the light, comparatively short sacerdotal dress. She blames him not so much for dancing as that in such a procession and in such attire, forgetting his royal dignity, he mingled with the common people and put himself on a level with them. As one of the vain fellows uncovers27 himself.Worthless, bad fellows () as Jdg 9:4; Jdg 11:3; Pro 12:11; Vulg.: buffoons (scurris), Sept.: dancers (), which is an explanation instead of a translation. Observe the twofold definition of the degradation: in the eyes of the maids of his servants over against the reference to the king of Israel.

2Sa 6:21. Davids answer.Before the Lord who chose me and I have played before the Lord.We have here an anacolouthon, the long Rel. clause who chose Israel breaking the connection, which is then restored by and [or yea] I have played, the phrase before the Lord (which stands at the beginning) being resumed. [On this verse see the English translation and Text. and Gram.Tr.] After the words before Jehovah Sept. inserts I will dance; blessed be the Lord, and after and I have played [which it renders I will play] has and I will dance, in order thus to relieve the anacolouthon, and to introduce the dancing, which (though the object of Michals blame) is strangely omitted [in the Heb.] in Davids reply. In answer to Michals cutting irony, which regards Davids conduct merely from the point of view of its accordance with the dignity of the king of Israel, and characterizes it as common and low, he affirms two things: 1) that in his procedure he had an eye only to the glory of God, and that it must therefore not be condemned as common and low, but rather recognized as holy and well-pleasing to God; and 2) that he received his kingdom and his position as king of Israel through the Lords choice and command. He had therefore acted not counter to, but in accordance with this royal dignity, in that he gave the honor to the Lord, who had raised him from lowliness to this height. The expression before the Lord derives a very strong emphasis from its position at the beginning and at the end, and, thus repeated, indicates the holiest and highest point of view whence (in opposition to Michals profane utterance) his procedure in this festival is to be judged and estimated. Before thy father and before his whole house says David, in order to repel the charge that he had thus lowered the royal dignity which had passed to him from Saul and his house, thus pointing also to the cause of the rejection of Saul and his house, namely, such haughtiness and pride as the daughter of Saul had here exhibited.

2Sa 6:22. And I will be yet more vile. Instead of this Sept. has the nonsensical rendering: and I will still thus uncover myself ()! The less reason then for changing the Heb. in my eyes into the Sept. in thy eyes. Certainly David did not lower himself in his own eyes, that is, in his own judgment, by his playing and dancing (as Thenius, contrary to the text-reading, remarks)not in the sense of Michals charge; yet he did lower or humble himself in his own eyes in the sense that he expresses in 2Sa 6:21, where he describes his conduct as a self-abasement before the presence of the Lord. In comparison with this (that is, with this abasement before the Lord) he continues: And I will be held (= become) yet more vile (Niph. = Qal. as Gen 16:4) in my eyes.That is, in my own judgment will humble myself yet more than to-day. The expression in my eyes cannot be explained as = I will suffer still greater contempt from men than what I have just experienced. And with the maids, of whom thou hast spoken, with them will I be held in honor.Ewalds explanation: should I seek honor from them? no, that is not at all necessary falls to the ground, since Michals assertion that he had gotten himself honor was not serious, but ironical. Thenius: of the maids shall I be held in honor [so Eng. A. V.]that is, they, the simple souls, will know better than thou how to estimate my humility, and this will compensate me for thy foolish contempt. But this latter is an interpolated thought, which would be farthest from Davids soul at this moment of extreme humility before the Lord, and would savor of Michals ideas about human honor. The honored here (obviously contrasted with Michals honored, made glorious, 2Sa 6:20) refers (as is clear from the throughout recurring words, before the Lord) to the honor in the sight of the Lord, which will be given those who humble themselves before the Lord. David, having opposed to Michals in the eyes of the maids his in the presence of the Lord, places himself before the Lord on the same level with the maids, expressing by the repeated with his fellowship and equality with these humble folk, and pointing to the honor which he with them would have before the Lord, because he humbly showed due honor to the Lord. [The objection to this interpretation is that we should then expect David to say I will (or shall) be honored by Jehovah, that is, the subject or agent of the honoring must be expressed, and is given in the text only by the word maids. The Hebrew Prep, may mean among or before (apud), and thus permits the translation of Eng. A. V., Patr., Then., Philippson. Besides, in reply to Michals sneer about the maids, it is a natural and sharp rejoinder on Davids part to accept this honor which she regards as beneath contempt.Tr.]

2Sa 6:23. Michals childlessness is specially mentioned as a punishment of her pride. This was the deepest humiliation for an oriental woman. [For a vivid description of the scenes of this chapter see Stanleys Jewish Church, Second Series, p. 8998, Lect. 23 (Am. Ed.).Tr.]

HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL

1. It was not till David had taken Jerusalem from the Jebusites, made Zion his capital and secured it by his victories from Philistine attacks, and thus for a short time at least secured peace, that he could proceed to the holy work that he completed in bringing the ark to Zion, and that was of great importance for the religious life of the nation. This act had its root in Davids truly pious feeling, was the living expression of his gratitude to the Lord for His favor, and aimed at the elevation and concentration of the religious life of Israel. It needed a new elevation, since under Saul it had partly at least sunk down from the height to which Samuel had brought it, and fallen into a somewhat brutalized condition. The royal house itself, whose influence on the people was so great, had more and more lost living piety; the spirit of pride reigned in it, as Michal (who was herein very like her father) plainly shows here in her bearing towards David; it is a significant fact that in her fathers house she has an idol-image. The religious-moral life of the nation fell of necessity into more and more thorough dissolution, the longer Sauls persecutions of David continued and the external unity established by Samuel was destroyed by the wars between Saul and David, and by partisan oppositions. When, now, David by establishing his theocratic kingdom over all Israel had restored the external (national and governmental) unity, he made an important step further, by the act recorded in this chapter, towards elevating and sanctifying the inner life of his people; he laid the deepest foundation for their internal unity by again concentrating their religious life on its centre and source, namely, the dwelling of God in the midst of His people, symbolically set forth in the ark. In Sauls time it [the ark] had not been sought after (1Ch 13:3); the centre of divine service that it indicated had been lost. Now David gathers the representatives of the whole nation around him, in order at the head of the nation solemnly to restore to the centre of the national life the long-vanished sanctuary, and to renew the religious unifying of the people, especially in regard to divine service, about the kernel and star of the innermost life. By the transference of the ark to Zion Jerusalem, representing the national and political unity, becomes now the centre of religion and divine service for the national life. The account in Chron. supplements our history in regard to the part taken by the priests, the divine service and the ordination of the sacred service before the ark (chs. 13, 15, 16). With this was connected the restoration of the unity and arrangement of the priestly service and of the duties of divine service. This unity indeed does not yet reach a complete external representation. There continue to be two holy places; the ark remains apart from the old tabernacle, which abode with the altar of burnt-offering at Gibeon, where also the offerings still went on (1Ch 16:39; comp. 1Ki 3:4). There the high-priest Za-dok officiates, the son of Ahitub, of the family of Eleazar, who performs the legal regular sacrificial service at the tabernacle (Lev 17:3). But beside him we find a second high-priest in that Abiathar (of the family of Ithamar), who escaped from Nob to David (1Sa 22:20), had remained with him, and now resided with the sanctuary on Zion (comp. 1Ki 2:26); so the two are named together in 2Sa 20:25; 1Ch 18:16. This double high-priestship, which had arisen from the separation of the tabernacle and the ark, was the reason why David permitted this separation to continue, and did not remove the Mosaic tabernacle also to Mount Zion, since he could remove neither the one high-priest nor the other from his office. We see also two sacred tents, besides the old one at Gibeon a new one pitched by David over the ark. While the sacrificial service is still continued in Gibeon according to the Law (1Ch 16:40; comp. 1Ki 3:4), a sacred service is established by David at the ark also; ibid. 2 Samuel 6:37 sq.But in spite of this still continuing external dualism, there was after the institution of the sacred service on Zion an internal unity (through the establishment of regular divine service) such as did not exist before. The tent which is pitched on Zion, is provisional, and points like the old tent, which in the march through the wilderness and in the time of the Judges was the symbol of a provisional arrangement, to a central sanctuary to be erected, the founding of which David has in mind, but cannot yet execute (2 Samuel 7). But in this provisional, personal state of the religious life which in its two principal seats is unified, purified and arranged, the sanctuary in Jerusalem steps into the central point of the religious consciousness both for David and for the whole people, while the sanctuary in Gibeon retires into the background, as is especially evident from the fact that the tabernacle is never mentioned in the Psalms. Comp. Hengst. Gesch. d. R. Gottes [Hist. of the kingdom of God] II., p. 122 sq.

2. The significance of this narrative (of the transference of the ark to Jerusalem and Davids conduct therein) for the apprehension and representation of the theocratic royal office in his person, is first to be considered on the one side in relation to God, and on the other side in relation to the people. The content of his consciousness as king is simply this one thought of the dependence of his kingdom for its dominion on the royal rule and might of the covenant-God, whose choice and command has appointed him king over Israel (2Sa 6:21), that he is the instrument by which God carries on His government of His people. From this point of view the bringing back of the ark is an act of reverence and gratitude to the Lord, whose name, symbolically set forth in this sanctuary, is honored and praised by David at the head of the whole people as the sum of all his revelations to them. But also by the establishment of this token of the presence of the Lord in the midst of His people and of His royal dwelling and enthronement in His possession on Mount Zion, which David has prepared for his own residence, the idea of the indivisible unity of the human kingship and the kingly rule of God in His people is brought out. There is enthroned the king of glory, Psa 24:7-10; the kings throne is the throne of God, Psa 45:7 [6]; Jerusalem is the city of the Great King, Psa 48:3 [2]; Zion is Jehovahs dwelling, Psa 9:12 [11]; Psa 74:2; Psa 76:3 [2]; thence proceed all manifestations of Gods royal might and glory, Psa 20:3 [2]; Psa 110:2.But also in relation to the people David represents the theocratic kingship in the light of its ideal signification. He assembles the whole people about the sanctuary as the throne of Jehovah; he will make them a people truly united under the dominion of God, moving with their whole life around Jehovah as centre, showing their king-God the highest honor and serving Him alone (Psa 24:1-10). In contrast with every other oriental kingly office David shows in his conduct the popular character of the theocratic kingship. He does not soar at an unattainable and unapproachable distance and height above the people, but makes himself one with them, mingles immediately with them, is accessible to all, and does not scorn fellowship with the lowest and meanest, because be knows that in the presence of the Lord he is not connected but religious-morally on the same level with the whole people and every individual one of these (2Sa 6:21-22). David, as theocratic king, whose government is to be the organ and representative of Jehovahs rule over His people, is conscious that he is mediator between the Lord and His covenant-people, and acts accordingly: on the one hand he represents the whole people before the Lord and leads them to Him, at their head and in their stead brings burnt-offerings and thank offerings, and appears with them before the presence of the Lord (2Sa 6:21) to restore at the ark the legally ordained divine serviceon the other hand he represents the Lord before His people, declaring His name to them, and praying and obtaining His blessing for them.Herein, as appears most clearly in this history, David not only stands in closest connection with the bearers of the prophetic office, but we see in him also the kingly office in closest association with the priestly, while Saul, in opposition to both these offices, allowed his kingly rule to assume more and more an antitheocratic character. But still farther: as David, as representative and instrument of Gods royal rule over the people of His possession [peculiar people = his private propertyTr.], possesses the prophetic spirit, whereby Jehovahs word designed for the people is on his tongue (2Sa 23:2), so also, like Samuel representing the people before God, he combines in his person the priestly character with the kingly and the prophetic, and in this festival in his priestly dress and procedure brings out and represents the idea, that the theocratic kingship, as a representation of the people before the Lord is to be a priest-kingship. [As David is never said to have performed the distinctively priestly work of sacrifice (committing this, as Erdmann himself says in the Exposition, to the priests), and as the representation of the people before God, and mediation between them and Him is a general pious work, performed often by prophets and others (Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Josiah, Nehemiah), it is not easy to see why on this ground alone a priestly character should be assigned to him. In one sense the whole people were priests (Exo 19:6), a great spiritual idea being thus guarded against the perverting tendencies of outward ritual, and so David was in the high spiritual sense a priest, as every Christian now is; but in the narrower sense an Israelitish priest made atonement for sin by blood, and none but sons of Aaron could perform this service, as now human priesthood is abolished, and the priestly work is done by Christ alone.Tr.].But also the religious-moral character and the disposition of the theocratic king is here set forth typically in the presence of the whole people; he precedes them in showing the Lord His due honor in word and deed; he shows himself to be the faithful and conscientious overseer, leader and arranger of the divine service; he shows himself to be deeply penetrated with the feeling that he owes his royal office solely to the free undeserved grace of the Lord, and exhibits a deep humility, wishing to be nothing but the servant of the Lord in fellowship with his servants and maids. [See Translators note to Erdmanns exposition of 2Sa 6:22.Tr.].This humble disposition of David in the presence of his God forms the sharpest contrast to the haughtiness and pride of his wife Michal, who knew nothing of the impulse of divine love (Theodoret).

3. Gods blessing is an outflow of His name; it can only be mediately obtained by man for man, when it is drawn from this eternal, inexhaustible source. The Lord dispenses His blessing to house and family, people and State, only on the condition that His gracious presence is desired and preserved (2Sa 6:11), and honor given to His name in mind, word and deed, as here by David and all the people. When men devote their heart and all their life as a sacrifice to the Lord, and consecrate themselves to Him, in reward therefor He sends on them streams of blessing.

4. The following are the references in the Psalms to the important event of the transference of the Ark. Psalms 24 was no doubt composed by David to celebrate Jehovahs entrance into the sanctuary on Mount Zion, with direct reference to the incidents narrated in 2 Samuel 6 Jehovah, the king of glory, comes to make His dwelling on Mount Zion amid His people.

He is celebrated as the king of the whole world (2Sa 6:1; 2Sa 6:10); on this foundation of the majesty of the Creator and Lord of all things rests the view of His royal glory, the revelation of which is unfolded in and for Israel. The praise of Jehovah as the strong hero in war, the Lord of Sabaoth, points to Davids Philistine wars (2Sa 6:1; 2Sa 6:15). The primeval doors, which are to lift themselves up that the king may hold his entry, are the gates of the old fortress of Zion. The exhortation to the doors to raise and widen themselves assumes that this is the first entrance of the ark, and excludes the view that the Psalm was composed on its return from war. While 2Sa 6:7-10 describe the arrival and solemn entry of the King of glory with the outward preparation for His worthy reception and for His entrance into the place prepared for him, 2Sa 6:1-6 refer to the ascension of the people to Mount Zion and to the moral requirements made of those who will be in truth the people of God, who desire and seek after Him. Only the pure in thought, word and deed are His people and may approach Him. With unholy mind and unclean hand Uzza seized the sacred vessel; to this (2Sa 6:6 sq.) refer the words of the Psa 5:3-6. The blessing of Jehovah the God of salvation (2Sa 6:5) recalls 2Sa 6:11; 2Sa 6:18. The words: the generation of them that inquire after Him and seek His face, form a contrast to 1Ch 13:3 : Let us bring up the ark of God; for in Sauls time we sought it not.The history of the entry is here regarded according to its higher moral-religious significance for the people of the Lord. It was needful at the very beginning of the new relation to establish its essential character and fix it in the peoples consciousness, to furnish a counter-weight or equipoise to the external pomp with which the ark was brought in; to point out that true (not simply external) fellowship with a God like this one, the lord of the whole earth, and a share in His blessings, is to be obtained only in the one way of true righteousness; to point to the serious nature of the demands made on the subjects, that results from the glory of the entering king (Hengstenb. on Psalms 24).

With reference to the establishment of the sanctuary on Mount Zion, and in essential harmony with the first didactic-ethical part of Psalms 24, David sang Psalms 15 also, as is clear from the question to the Lord in 2Sa 6:1 : Who may be guest in thy tent, who may dwell on thy holy mountain? and from the portraiture of the moral character of Gods house-companions though we cannot establish with certainty particular references which Hitzig here finds to the history in 2Sa 6:12 sq. (see Moll [Langes Bible-Work] on Psalms 15).

Whether Psalms 68 (as most ancient expositors, Stier and v. Hoffm. hold), especially 2Sa 6:16-17 (Ew.), is to be referred to 2 Samuel 6, is doubtful; more probably it is connected with the return of the ark from the wars and victories whose termination is given in 2Sa 12:31.

Psa 78:56-72 presents the historical pre-suppositions of this fixing of the seat of the royal glory, which lie far back in the history of Israels sin and defection from the Lord to strange gods. The Lord punished Israel for their apostasy by forsaking His dwelling in Shiloh, giving the sanctuary into the hands of enemies, etc. But the Lord again had mercy, and arose in His might to cast down the enemy; He chose Judah that He might in it on Zion establish His dominion and build high His sanctuary. From hence He ruled as the king of His people through His servant David whom he had chosen to feed His people, as once he fed the flock, whence He called him.

Psalms 101, the Princes psalm or rulers mirror (Luth.), was not indeed composed by David on the occasion of Uzzas misfortune and the deposition of the ark in the house of Obed-edom (Hammond, Ven., Dathe, Muntinghe, De W., Del.); for, from the connection of thought, the question: When comest thou to me (2Sa 6:2)? cannot be referred to the words of 2Sa 6:8 : how shall the ark of Jehovah come to me? and the designation of Jerusalem (ver 8) as the city of the Lord does not suit, since Jerusalem was so called in consequence of the establishment of the ark on Zion, and an anticipation of this designation (Del.) is not supposable. But this appellation, the city of the Lord, taken together with the repeated expression within the house and with the prominent mention of personal, domestic, social and national duties and virtues, favors the view that some time after this event, which was an epoch-making one for his and the nations religious-moral life, David wrote this Psalm with reference to the blessings that he therein received from God and the obligations therein imposed on him. The city of Jehovah, which has received this name and the honor involved in it through the Lords choice of it as a dwelling-place, is to set forth not only in its divine service [ritually], but also ethically the character of holiness (Moll), Isa 35:8; Isa 52:1; Nah 2:1, as the king within his house, which is founded and built on Mount Zion as the seat of the theocratic kingly dominion, himself walks in uprightness of heart, suffers no other house-companions but those who with him serve the Lord in righteousness (2Sa 6:3), truth (2Sa 6:4) and humility (2Sa 6:5), and so conducts his government, that in the nation and land he looks on those only as his true servants and his companions in the kingdom of God who walk in the ways of faithfulness and honesty. Ewald: We are introduced into the very core of all the great kings thought and effort at this time by Psalms 101, which cannot have been composed till at least after this removal of the sanctuary, when Jerusalem had already for some time been the city of Jehovah, and according to its whole content probably falls in these first years. Here is freely poured forth a heavenly-clear stream of the purest kingly thoughts and purposes. How David, having before wished to become a righteous king, faithful to the true God, was now in the city of Jehovah much more joyfully and decidedly resolved to become one, comes out most beautifully from the words of this Song.

5. The establishment of the ark on Zion was the beginning of the reformation and reorganization of the divine service, which was raised by David from the disintegration and lawlessness into which it had fallen under Saul, to an artistically beautiful form. He organized the priests and Levites, dividing them into twenty-four classes for weekly service. With his own musical endowments was intimately connected his zealous care for the organization of the sacred music, to which, with the aid of the three great masters, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, he gave a new impulse, and for the culture and further development of which, along with the four thousand Levites who were charged with the execution of the sacred music, there was formed a select chorus out of the families of the three masters. And with this was connected the development of sacred poetry in psalm-composition, of which David himself was the creator.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

2Sa 6:2. [Hall: The tumults of war afforded no opportunity of this service; only peace is a friend to religion; neither is peace ever our friend, but when it is a servant of piety.28Tr.] Fr. Arndt: Truly to be praised and felicitated is every land that is ruled by a pious king; there mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other: and the proverb is proven true: As the king, so the people! But also to be felicitated is every king himself, who does not forget that over him there reigns a yet greater king, the King of all kings, to whose grace he owes his royal power, who alone secures him his throne, and who will one day bring him to account for what he does and what he leaves undone.

2Sa 6:3-7. Starke: He who wishes to rejoice let him rejoice in the Lord.-[Hall: O happy Israel, that had a God to rejoice in, that had this occasion of rejoicing in their God, and an heart that embraced this occasion!Tr.]As a burning coal kindles the next, so may the good example of pious rulers attract the subjects to follow them, 2Co 9:2.Even that which is done with a good intention does not always please God, 2Sa 7:5; Lev 10:1; Pro 14:12.Osiander: Even pious people err when they depart, though it be but a little, from the express word of God.[Hall: Gods businesses must be done after His own forms, which if we do with the best intentions alter, we presume.Wordsworth: All religious reformations which are wrought by men are blemished with human infirmities.Tr.]Schlier: How could such a festal joy, which knew nothing of holy fear, however well meant, prove acceptable to God? It is not enough that we mean well, and have pious thoughts; we must also, in what we do, hold fast to Gods word and commandment, and in all our joy in the Lord must not allow ourselves to forget that we have to do with a holy God.Disselhoff: Where God sees one that wishes to flee to the shelter of His word, He so trains him up that he learns to bow unconditionally to the authority of that word, and no longer mingles Gods word and mans word.F. W. Krummacher: This interruption of the bright jubilee-festival was for every one a new warning that Gods kindness never goes alone, but always under the guidance of His holiness, that we dangerously overstep the limits of becoming modesty whenever we mount up to the delusion that it depends on us to rescue the ark as soon as ever the car of the Church whereby it is borne appears, through the negligence and unfaithfulness of those who are appointed for its direction, to be rolling into the abyss.O. v. Gerlach: Uzzah is a type of all those who with humanly good intentions, but in an unsanctified spirit, take it upon themselves to rescue the cause of God, which they think is in peril.

2Sa 6:9. Osiander: When many have sinned, God commonly punishes one or two of the leaders, in order that the others may remember their sin and beg forgiveness.F. W. Krummacher: Though the Lord may for a time change His countenance, yet with His own people He always means faithfulness, and after the storm always makes the sun come up again in his time. However painfully He may chastise, His word of promise always stands: Can a woman forget her child? etc.

2Sa 6:11. Fr. Arndt: Where the sign of the Lords presence, the means of grace, is, there the Lords presence and gracious working is not wanting, and where this enters there is indeed blessing upon blessing, as in Obed-edoms house.Schlier: What blessed people we then first become when we receive Gods word into our houses, and let this word of God be our hearts joy and delight. The blessing of the Lord dwells where Gods word dwells.

[2Sa 6:12. Scott: When pious men who have been betrayed into unwarrantable conduct have had time for self-examination, searching the Scriptures and prayer, they will discover and confess their mistakes, and be reduced to a better temper; they will justify God in His corrections; they will be convinced that safety and comfort consist, not in absenting themselves from His ordinances, or in declining dangerous services, but in attending to their duty in a proper spirit and manner; they will profit by their own errors.Tr.]

2Sa 6:14. Disselhoff: David was full of joy because he perceived that entire submission of heart to Gods revealed will makes one truly free and blessed.Berl. B.: The joy of a soul is unspeakably great, which finds again in itself the pure and holy God, whom before it feared to receive.F. W. Krummacher: David gave expression to that which swelled in his bosom, even in corresponding gestures and a rhythmical movement.The idea of that which the world of today is wont to associate with the word dance, is here to be kept quite at a distance. Dancing was in Israel a form of divine service, in which oftenas in the case of Miriam and her companions after the passage of the Red Seathe highest and holiest inspiration found expression.Starke: It is accordingly a shameful misuse to justify voluptuous dancing by Davids example.S. Schmid: What is undertaken in Gods service must be done with all the heart and with all the powers, in order that everybody may see that one is in real earnest.

2Sa 6:15. Schlier: So we have here a popular festival, and indeed a right joyous popular festival full of festal jubilation, and the occasion of the festive joy is nothing else than the ark, the sanctuary of the Lord. The law of the Lord makes a whole people, with their king in the lead, joyous and jubilant.How much do worldly festivals amount to, and how little do Christian festivals ! what a jubilee in the one case, and how little true festal joy in the other!Our fairest and most delightful popular festivals ought to be our Christian festivals.

2Sa 6:16. Starke: Divine and heavenly things are to worldly hearts only folly; they cannot know them, for they are spiritually discerned, 1Co 2:14.F. W. Krummacher: Even at the present day, alas! there is still no lack of people like Michal. In the pure fire of the Spirit from on high these persons also see only a morbid fanaticism; in the most animated and vigorous expression of hallowed exaltation of soul, a hypocritical display. The life from and in God remains a mystery to every one until through the Spirit of God Himself it is unsealed to his experience.

2Sa 6:20. [Henry: We have no reason to think that this of which Michal accused him was true in fact; David no doubt observed decorum, and governed his zeal with discretion; but it is common for those that reproach religion thus to put false colors upon it, and lay it under the most odious characters.Tr.]There is never wanting to pious enthusiasm the moment when it again gives place to the accustomed quieter and more equable state of mind. David did not always come home in so exalted a frame as on that festal day. But lamentable is the case of him who does not at all understand the eagle-flight by which souls devoted to God, in times of especial visitations of grace, are carried up above all the enclosures of their wonted everyday life, and transported into a condition in which in feeling and word they soar above the heights of earth.Berl. Bib.: After the soul has lost all its own greatness and all the joy drawn from itself, it has no other joy or greatness than the joy and greatness of God. Men filled with mere carnal prudence cannot bear such a condition. They condemn it and depise those who are so happy in possessing it, yea they chide it still, as here Michal reproaches David and passes carnal sentence on that which is spiritual.

2Sa 6:21 sqq. Disselhoff: A heart that with all the forces of its being clings so closely, so joyously, to Gods revelation, or rather grows into it, draws from it all nourishment and receives from it all light, such a heart bears as a precious fruit that unfeigned, immovable humility, whose heart-refreshing image this history sets before our eyes.He who walks in such humility before God and men, his eye is not blinded by the sunlight of good days, his heart and head do not become dizzy on the heights of prosperity. He stands firm, whether God leads him into the gloomy valley, or a step higher, or upon the summit. But such humility is born only of absolute submission under Gods law and testimony.[Scott: We should esteem such reproaches honorable, and determine to become still more vile in the eyes of ungodly revilers, by abounding in those services which they despise.Robinson: We are warned from the examples of ancient saints to expect opposition and contempt, as far as we discover any real fervor in the service of God. Nor should we wonder if on such an occasion a mans foes be they of his own household.Tr.]S. Schmid: It is better to be exalted by God with the lowly than to be humbled by God with the proud. Mat 23:12. Cramer: Honor with God should be more highly esteemed than honor with men. Joh 12:43.

2Sa 6:23. Fr. Arndt: If we look back once more, we see: All are blessed of God, David, Obed-edom, the rejoicing people; Michal alone has remained unblessed. Her lack of blessing was the penalty and the curse of her pride.[Hall: David came to bless his house (2Sa 6:20); Michal brings a curse upon herself.Tr.]

[Chap. 6 Rabanus Maurus: In this history we see humility approved, pride condemned and rashness punished.Tr.]

Chaps. 6 and 7. Disselhoff: The blessed secret of standing firm in days of exaltation and undisturbed quiet. Belonging to it are: 1) Humble, unconditional subjection to the testimony of God; 2) Faithful, genuine, zealous work for the honor of the Lord and of His kingdom; 3) Grateful stillness when the Lord rejects our work for Him, and wishes to work in our own hearts.

[2Sa 6:6-7. The fate of Uzzah: 1) Its occasionneglect of a known commandment of God (Num 7:9; 2Sa 6:13). 2) Its immediate causeirreverence (Num 4:15). 3) Its general lessons for us; for example, even an apparently little thing may be a great sin; an action may seem necessary, and yet be wrong; good intentions do not excuse disobedience; we must not expect to help Gods work by measures which God forbids.Tr.]

[2Sa 6:8. A man displeased with God; thinking himself wiser, more kind, more just than God. Really perhaps vexed that his grand solemnity was interrupted, his rejoicing people disappointed, his prestige damaged, his enemies encouraged. Often when men complain of Providence on high moral grounds, they are in fact mainly influenced by some secret personal feeling.Now highly elated with spiritual pride, at once thankful and self-complacent, and presently dejected, irritated and disposed to give up altogether (2Sa 6:9). When any promising religious enterprise of which we have had the lead is disastrously interrupted, we are tempted to find fault with Providence.Tr.]

[2Sa 6:10. Obed-edom and the ark. Israel had long slighted the ark; Uzzah had been slain for making too free with it; David had shrunk from it in mere superstitious fear and resentment; Obed-edom receives it gladly, deals with it in the prescribed way, and is rewarded by a rich blessing. So as to religion in general. Some neglect, and greatly lose; some profane, and are ruined; some misunderstand, and pervert into superstitious fear; but those who truly welcome and observe it according to its real nature are richly blessed themselves, and may by their example induce others to seek it likewise (2Sa 6:12).Tr.]

[2Sa 6:12. The city of David now becoming the city of Jehovah (Psa 101:8). 1) How it had been conquered; 2) How it was consecrated; 3) How it was to be prospered.Worthy purposes of a God-fearing ruler. King Davids devout programme when now established as theocratic sovereign (Psalms 101). 1) As to his personal character and conduct (Psa 101:2); 2) As to punishment and prevention of evil-doing (lb., 2Sa 6:3-5; 2Sa 6:7-8); 3) As to encouragement of good men (lb., 2Sa 6:6). (Comp. above, Hist. and Theol., No. 4, latter part.)Tr.]

[2Sa 6:12-18. Sermon on Psalms 24, as written for this occasion. Comp. Psalms 15. (See above, Hist. and Theol., No. 4.)

2Sa 6:20. He that had blessed the people (2Sa 6:18) returns to bless his household. Piety in public and in privatepublic worship and family worship.A good man, after public religious duties, returns joyous, thankful and loving to his homeand meets scolding and ridicule.

2Sa 6:16; 2Sa 6:20-22. Religious enthusiasm, and those who contemn and ridicule it.

2Sa 6:16-23. Sermon on the history of Michal. (Comp. Henry on this passage.)Tr.]

Footnotes:

[1][2Sa 6:1. Wellhausen supposes that came from the misunderstanding of >, as if the verb were from , which regularly takes (comp. 1Sa 18:29); but see the explanation in the Exposition.Tr.]

[2][2Sa 6:2. So substantially Cahen, Wellhausen, Bib. Com.; Philippson repeats the word name, and Erdmann renders: where () is invoked the name of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim over it.It is clear, however, that is the complement of the Rel. , and the second is better omitted with Sept., Vulg., Chald., Arab., and one MS. of Kennicott. As to the number of words between the Rel. and its complement, such a massing up of dependent phrases in unusual, but not impossible; and the sentence may have been originally simpler (as Wellh. suggests) , and the appositional phrase afterwards added.Tr.]

[3][2Sa 6:4. This clause is omitted by Erdmann (so Sept.). But it is doubtful whether the whole verse had not better be omitted (as in 1 Chronicles 13.), for it adds nothing to the preceding. In that case the last clause might be regarded as a marginal explanation which early got into the text.Thenius thinks that the incorrect repetition of the first clause has occasioned the dropping out of the words: and Uzzah went, before the words: with the ark of God, and Wellh. adds that it has also occasioned the change of the appellative , his brother, into the proper name, , Ahio.Tr.

[4][2Sa 6:5. This is the reading in 1Ch 13:8. Sept.: .Tr.]

[5][2Sa 6:6. Aq. , and so substantially Bttcher and Erdmann: to a ready (fixed) threshing-floor; but this is less probable than the rendering of Eng. A. V. as a proper name. It is no objection to this that this word does not occur elsewhere as a proper name. The form in Chr. is thought by Wellh. to be the same as the last syllable of this: = =; but this is improbable.Tr.]

[6][2Sa 6:7. , an obscure phrase. Ewald: unexpectedly (comp. Dan 8:25; Job 15:21); some Greek VSS. give , ; Erdmann and others as Eng. A. V., which is a doubtful meaning, and besides the suffix would then be required. Our phrase might be a fragment of the phrase in Chron.: (so Bib. Com. and others). Chald. as Eng. A. V.; Vulg. super temeritate (so margin of Eng. A. V.).Tr.]

[7][2Sa 6:8. Some MSS. have .Tr.]

[8][2Sa 6:10. , on, since the city was on a hill (but many MSS. have .). indicates the point reached by motion, the Prep. being omitted, as is frequent.Tr.]

[9][2Sa 6:11. Some MSS. have the house of Obed-edom, and others add the Gittite.Tr.]

[10][2Sa 6:13. Here and elsewhere Aquila renders by . Sept. has for in 2Sa 6:14 (see 2Sa 6:5). It is difficult to see how it gets its translation: and there were with him seven choruses bearing the ark, unless it takes (steps) concretely as = persons going or marching; what follows: , is also strange.Tr.]

[11][2Sa 6:15. Some MSS.: ark of the covenant of Jehovah.Tr.]

[12][2Sa 6:17. Without the Art. since the number is not given, and the statement is indefinite; but in the following verse, since the nouns are then defined by previous mention, the Art. is used.Tr.]

[13][2Sa 6:18. Sym.: , Aq. .Tr.]

[14][2Sa 6:19. Erdmann: a measure (of wine), Aq., Sym. (perhaps from = fine meal), obscure, Sept. , perhaps = , Vulg. assaturam bubul carnis unam, a roast of ox-flesh.Tr.]

[15][2Sa 6:20. This adverb in Eng. A. V. is intended to express the force of the second Inf. here; the construction is noticed by Erdmann. Supposing the second Inf. to be genuine and intensive, the meaning would be: really, thoroughly uncovers, to which Eng. A. V. corresponds substantially.Tr.]

[16][2Sa 6:23. Keth. , Qeri , written in Gen 11:30 , which is the older form. Bttcher: This is one of the few examples of the retention by the punctuators of an archaism in the older book, and its correction in the later.Tr.]

[17] for = (as in 1Sa 15:6; Mic 4:6, Psa 104:29), comp. Ew. 139 b, Ges. 68, Rem. 2; it is Impf. of [not of to increase].

[18]The refers back to the . So in 1Ch 13:6 this invocation is mentioned, if we read for at the end.

[19] belongs to , but there is no need to supply in reference to Cherubim (Then.).

[20] as 2Ki 23:30; comp. 2Ki 13:16.

[21]Instead of our Chron. has , see Psa 150:6.

[22][Josephus says (but probably without extra-biblical authority) that Obed-edom, from having been poor, became rich, and that people observed it.Tr.]

[23] , as in 1Sa 17:48 and often in later books, for (comp. Ew. 345 b)because there is no progress in the action, but we have merely the mention of an additional incident (Keil).

[24][But probably it was not expected that she and other members of the household (women) should take part in the procession (2Sa 6:20).Tr.]

[25] with , as verbs of inclination and hate often have the prepositional construction (love to, Lev 19:18; hate or contempt towards, Pro 17:5); Ewald, 282 c.

[26]It is not (with most Rabbis) to be derived from and .

[27] . The explanation of this abnormal combinationaccording to Ew. 240 cis that since according to the sense only the second form must be in the Inf. Abs., both now with slight change of form appear in the Inf. Const., because the whole sentence by reason of the Prep. follows the train of the Inf Const. Maurer: is Inf. Abs. (for , in order to make paronomasia with the preceding ). Thenius and Olshausen (Gr. p. 600) explain as error of copyist from the preceding word.

[28][The following specimen of allegorizing on 2Sa 6:1 is given as a curiosity: The thirty thousand chosen (elect) are shown by the number to have been perfected in faith, works and hope. For three refers to the Trinity, and thus denotes faith; ten refers to the Decalogue, and denotes works; thousand, the greatest of numbers, the perfect number, denotes the hope of eternal life, than which there is nothing higher. Therefore multiply three by ten, lest faith without works be dead. Likewise multiply thirty by a thousand, in order that faith, which works through love, may not hope for reward elsewhere than in heaven. This precious morsel is found in Rabanus Maurus (ninth century), and also in an anonymous work of the seventh century, printed with the works of Eucherius.Tr.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

This is an interesting Chapter, and considered as typically, in some points, referring to Jesus, demands our attention the more. We are here informed of David’s intention of bringing up the ark from where it had long been in obscurity, during the troubles of Saul’s reign, to David’s new city. In the accomplishment of this purpose, David meets with an humbling, and most distressing providence. – His behaviour upon it, – the attempt afterwards renewed, and succeeds, – the joy of David and the people on the occasion, – the behaviour of Michal, David’s wife, – his displeasure. These are the principal things contained in this Chapter.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

(1) Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. (2) And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

It is remarkable that we have met with nothing in relation to the Ark, from the time of its return out of the Philistines’ territories, (as recorded 1Sa 6:1 to the end) excepting, that Saul is once said to have called for it, until this which is now mentioned. See 1Sa 14:10 . Twenty years it was lodged in Kirjath-jearim. 1Sa 7:1-2 . But do observe, with what honourable terms it is spoken of; the Ark of God; whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts, that dwelleth between the cherubims. Was not this most clearly typical of Christ? Is not Jesus both the Mercy-seat, the Propitiatory, the Propitiation, and the sole manifestation of the divine presence? Do not all petitions go up on him? And are not all communications made from him? How sweetly doth one pray to this effect; Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou and the ark of thy strength. Psa 130:8 . I refer the reader, on this most interesting subject, to what hath been already advanced upon it in the commentary on these passages; Exo 40 ; Deu 10 ; Jos 3 . The design of David in fetching the ark, is more particularly mentioned, 1Ch 13 where a whole chapter is filled in relating it, how David conferred with the leading men of his nation on the subject; to which I refer the Reader.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Care of the Ark

2Sa 6

IN the second verse we read “David arose.” A new passion seized him; a sudden enthusiasm stirred him like a great wind from heaven. We cannot account for these inspirations, excitements, new consecrations and purposes in life: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” to new life, new force, new duty. Sometimes we say, Why did not men rise before? The answer is, They could not: the rising of men is not in themselves. Herein perhaps we have been harsh and unjust to one another, thinking that it lay within our own power to be enthusiastic when we pleased, to burn with holy zeal just according to the changeableness of our own will, as if today we could be almost seraphs, and to-morrow could be earthly and cold, wholly without the Spirit, and bent on finding eternity in time. But life is not so fickle a thing as that. There is a centre, there is a Throne, there is a living King, and in connection with these great central sovereignties and dominions there is a mysterious ever-operating Spirit that will not fall under our calculations and laws and predictions as to his operations in the human mind and on the human heart. Revolutions come into nations, and nobody can tell how; those who would explain them will point a fact here and there, which may or may not have much relation to the vital circumstance. And so a man who never prayed before will suddenly cry mightily to God for help, or shout in fear and agony as if he had seen some new and terrible vision which had affrighted his soul. The times and the seasons in every sense are with God. One thing we can do, blessed be his name, we can wait, we can pray, we can be ready, we can tarry for the King. Blessed is that servant who shall be found waiting when his Lord cometh; he will have nothing to do but to spring at once to his work, and turn the little day into a large opportunity.

David arose to bring the ark to the metropolis. A much minuter account will be found in chapters xii.-xvi. of the first book of Chronicles. In connection with this transport of the ark to Jerusalem we should read the sixty-eighth and the one hundred and first Psalms, and thus realise the historical colour of these great songs. The twenty-fourth Psalm must not be omitted in connection with this account; to that we shall subsequently refer. David would have the metropolis the centre of national worship. Being now enthroned there, he would have the ark near the throne. This idea is not without sublimity, and not without practical bearing upon our own nationality and own own religious civilisation. Be strong in the high places; see that the throne is within the operation of the mysterious influence of the altar; let there be no great distance between royalty of an earthly kind and service of a spiritual sort. Let every metropolis be the best city in the whole land. It ought to be. For some reason, historical or immediate, it is a city of renown, why should not its fame be ennobled by the richest spiritual associations and the. richest spiritual activities? An irony not to be tolerated, that every other part of the land should be better than the metropolis! Is that the right sequence of things? Is that honest logic? Ought it not to be otherwise? To think that a man should be better everywhere else than in his understanding and in his moral nature should be wealthy, influential, socially great, physically well-cared for, and yet that his intellect should be neglected and his heart should be left desolate! Nay, this is an iniquitous irony. It should stand to reason that a man should have a large well-furnished understanding, a quick and responsive heart, an obedient will in relation to all heavenly commands, and the rest shall be added unto him. We must discover the immediate bearing of this upon our particular circumstances. The doctrine need not be limited to nations; it may be brought within the area of families. Is it to be thought of that every one in the house is good except the master, the head? Is he alone wanting in the upper nature, the heavenly outlook, the vital communication with God? Applying the doctrine in this direction, we feel at once how intensely practical it becomes, and how beautiful would be the living sequence if we could see the father, the mother, the firstborn, and the others as it were in the order of time and nature moving upward and onward to larger life and to larger service. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

How is the ark to be moved? For forty years the ark has been in one man’s house. Perhaps the law may have been forgotten in that time. We read, in the third verse, that “they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah.” There is a touch of veneration about this arrangement. The cart was “new.” In the olden time and in eastern cities great store was set by new things: the colt upon which Jesus rode was to be one whereon never man sat; the tomb in which he was laid was a tomb in which never man was laid before. There used to be a kind of pagan veneration for new things. Samson said, If you bind me with new ropes they must be new then I shall be weak as other men. That experiment having failed he added, If you bind me with new ropes they must be new “never occupied” is the old English word never occupied before, then my strength will be as the strength of other men. So we find here that the cart on which the ark was to be carried is a new cart. Where was the law? A dead letter. We can outlive our laws. We can forget the Bible. We can so accustom ourselves to policies and moralities of our own invention and construction as to forget the law of Sinai, the commandments of the living God. When Moses distributed the waggons and the oxen in ancient time the commandment ran in this direction, “But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.” Oxen and waggons they were to have none. When the ark was to be carried it was to be carried by living men, and they were to be proud of the crowning honour of having part or lot in bearing the ark of the Lord. Let us not look at such details as little things, and suppose that it matters nothing whether the ark is carried in one way or another, provided that it is brought to its proper destination. There is nothing trifling in the kingdom of heaven; there is nothing trifling in human life, when we really understand it. If God has thought it worth his while, in the mysterious exercise of his love, to number the hairs of our heads, he has rebuked the frivolity which separates things into important and non-important, into religious and secular, as if a man might pray regarding some things and omit to pray regarding others. The whole earth is a sanctuary. All life is a priesthood or a sacrifice. We lose valuable elements out of our character when we treat things trivially and do our work with a loose hand. All our life is written down for us; blessed be God for that assurance; the next thing to be done is to find out where, and to read the record with eyes made watchful by love, made penetrating by loyalty to God. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord;” there is not only a general supervision of his way of movement, and a fixture of the end in which that movement will culminate, but all the steps each of them is ordered by the Lord now uphill, now down in the valley, now in the place of graves, now in the wilderness of desolation; enough if the steps are where God meant them to be and if our hands are locked in his.

“And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it” ( 2Sa 6:6 ). Did the oxen turn aside naturally because of the threshingfloor? Had not they, too, come home? Did they not betray natural impatience when they approached the place where food was kept? The ark shaking under the movement of the oxen, Uzzah, who was undoubtedly a Levite, put forth his hand and took hold of the ark in well-meant purpose. But he was killed ( 2Sa 6:7 ). The ark is never in danger. Could we work this conviction into our minds, it would save us from a thousand inventions and schemes by which to support the throne of the living God. That throne needs no buttress of our building. What share have we in keeping the stars in their places? How much of the security of the constellations is owing to our pre-arrangement, forethought, and devotion? God will take care of his own ark, and his own kingdom and truth in the world. If men did less, more would be accomplished, so far as the protection of these inner spiritual mysteries is concerned. We have work enough to do, but we must not trespass, violate the limits within which we have been enclosed, and take upon us supposed duties which we can never discharge. We cannot guard the truth. That is in God’s keeping. If we touch it we may do injury to ourselves, if our touch be done in any spirit of undue anxiety. God was most particular regarding the ark. It must not be moved until the priests had covered it; and whilst they were in the act of doing so the Levites were not so much as permitted to look upon the mysterious box. Then the ark was to be carried upon staves appointed for that purpose. This was God’s method, why should not God have his own way with his own work? This incident rebukes anxiety, limits human service, testifies to the divine presence. Why this anxiety about the kingdom of heaven? Let the anxiety be fixed upon ourselves upon our spirit, conduct, action; let us be severe in cross-examination of our own motive and intention: then our service will be large and beneficent.

David got a new view of divine providence upon the day on which a breach was made upon Uzzah. He “was afraid of the Lord that day” ( 2Sa 6:9 ). David began in gladness. He began to praise “the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals;” and the enthusiasm was enthusiasm of music, a passion of delight; and suddenly David was paralysed, filled with fear. He did not know that God was so careful, so critically particular. Such fear has a great place in spiritual education. The culture of the soul is not to be perfected by instruments made of fir wood only, even on harps, psalteries, timbrels, cornets, and cymbals; that is but one aspect and department of our spiritual education needful, right, useful; but a holy fear, a sense of solemnity, a terror that owns the divine nearness may have much to do in chastening, ennobling, and sanctifying our character. Frivolous men never come to any good. For a time, they seem to carry the day with them, but because there is no deepness of earth they soon wither away. The truly religious life is a life or awe, solemnity, holy self-restraint, and almost apprehension that at any moment God may break forth in flame and consume the imperfect worshipper. These terms of course have their adaptation to particular experiences, and must not be forced upon men as if they were of general and uniform application. Each man knows what is his own particular case; let him turn his anxiety into a daily prayer.

Being afraid of the Lord that day, David could not complete his purpose:

“So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household” ( 2Sa 6:10-11 ).

David having heard that the time of fear had passed and the time of blessing returned, came to complete his original intention:

“And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness” ( 2Sa 6:12 ).

Now we read in the thirteenth verse a singular expression: “And it was so, that when they that bare the ark….” Experience had not been lost upon these people; there were no oxen and waggons employed on this second occasion. Nothing is said to account for the change; but the change is sufficiently accounted for by previous events. Beautifully do these words read “Bare the ark of the Lord,” living men serving the living God; men serving him immediately and directly, and not by proxy or through the intervention of inferior animals, but the living men engaged in the living service of the Living King. It is beautiful as a piece of finished music.

“David danced before the Lord with all his might” ( 2Sa 6:14 ). Here was religious enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, what is religion? Until we feel the passion of love we do not enter really into the spirit of Christ. We cannot hold down our emotions, and keep back our heart like a prisoner, in some high seasons of spiritual delight. Why should not congregations exclaim when they are moved by the spirit with great emotions of gratitude and delight? Is there anything undignified in the grand Amen of a thousand hearts uttered in one solemn exclamation? We must not kill enthusiasm, nor discourage enthusiasm, but cultivate it, direct it, and turn it into a great motive power, by which we shall do more work, and do it with increasing and ever-multiplying gladness.

But one saw David’s enthusiasm:

“Michal, Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart” ( 2Sa 6:16 ).

There are unsympathetic observers. We must take our life from one of two sources as to its key and purpose: either from those who are cold, selfish, worldly, and incapable of enthusiasm; or from those who are spiritual, loving, ardent of nature, and who keep back nothing which it lies within their power to bestow, that God may be honoured. Now by which of these powers shall we be governed by the enthusiastic David, or by the contemptuous Michal? Why this despising of glad king David? The explanation is given in the same verse: “Michal, Saul’s daughter.” In very deed a daughter of Saul! Some people are damned by their parentage! How far they are to be blamed, who can say? Michal brought this curse with her into the world. To be part of the progeny known for coldness, selfishness, vanity; to be the children of men who never prayed; to be burdened with the name of men who never knew the cross; surely God will be pitiful to such! He will remember them in their generation as well as in their individuality. The omniscient is judge: let us therefore be glad. God knows through what processes we have passed how we have been limited, and overweighted, and held back, and perverted; how evil influences have risen up within us of which we could give no rational account: but he who keeps record of the generations, and follows a man down through the ages, knows what black lines gather themselves up in him; and God will be pitiful to the burden-bearer, sweetly merciful to those who, longing to cast off the burden, seem to be unable to do more than reveal their weakness.

The ark having been brought in, the twenty-fourth Psalm was sung. It is something to have the very ode before us which was sung at the time of the entrance of the ark into the metropolis. How nobly that Psalm ends! “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Then the inquiry: “Who is this King of glory?” Then the great thunder answer: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Then: “Who is this king of glory?” And the great triumphant shout: “The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.” There is no ark now to bring in, but there is a topstone to be brought on. Jesus Christ is building his tabernacle, or his temple, his church, watching the building rise stone by stone, and the topstone shall be brought on with shoutings of “grace, grace unto it.” In that glad hour, the coldest man will become hot; and he who has never known the passion of enthusiasm will be caught in the very agony of religious thankfulness.

Selected Note

” Michal… saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord ” ( 2Sa 6:16 ). The Hebrews, in common with other nations, had their sacred dances, which were performed on their solemn anniversaries, and other occasions of commemorating some special token of the divine goodness and favour, as means of drawing forth, in the liveliest manner, their expressions of joy and thanksgiving. The performers were usually a band of females, who, in cases of public rejoicing, volunteered their services (Exo 15:20 ; 1Sa 18:6 ), and who, in the case of religious observances, composed the regular chorus of the temple (Psa 149:3 ; Psa 150:4 ), although there are not wanting instances of men also joining in the dance on these seasons of religious festivity. Thus David deemed it no way derogatory to his royal dignity to dance on the auspicious occasion of the ark being brought into Jerusalem. The word used to describe his attitude is , in the reduplicate form, intimating violent efforts of leaping; and from the apparent impropriety and indecency of a man advanced in life, above all a king, exhibiting such freaks, with no other covering than a linen ephod, many learned men have declared themselves at a loss to account for so strange a spectacle. It was, unquestionably, done as an act of religious homage; and when it is remembered that the ancient Asiatics were accustomed, in many of their religious festivals, to throw off their garments even to perfect nudity, as a symbol sometimes of penitence, sometimes of joy, and that this, together with many other observances that bear the stamp of a remote antiquity, was adopted by Mahomet, who has enjoined the pilgrims of Mecca to encompass the Kaaba, clothed only with the ihram, we may perhaps consider the linen ephod, which David put on when he threw off his garments and danced before the ark, to be symbolic of the same object as the ihram of the Mahommedans. The conduct of David was imitated by the later Jews, and the dance incorporated among their favourite usages as an appropriate close of the joyous occasion of the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Jewish dance was performed by the sexes separately. There is no evidence from sacred history that the diversion was promiscuously enjoyed, except it might be at the erection of the deified calf, when, in imitation of the Egyptian festival of Apis, all classes of the Hebrews intermingled in the frantic revelry. In the sacred dances, although both sexes seem to have frequently borne a part in the procession or chorus, they remained in distinct and separate companies (Psa 68:25 ; Jer 31:13 ).

Prayer

Almighty God, it is not in man that liveth to direct his way. There is no way in the darkness. Thou hast made the darkness a prison: we know not its size, we cannot tell how long it will endure; it is a burden, and we sink under it; it is a mystery, and we have to answer to it. We would acknowledge God, that in all our paths we may be directed. We would not go out alone; we would never move but under God’s inspiration. We do not want to consult ourselves now, for we have seen our own folly in countless cases; we want no counsellor but God. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Make the light, show the work, give me the strength, and work in me a spirit of loving obedience, that is all we want; it seems so little, yet it is so much yea, it is all grace, the very perfectness of Christian culture. Help us, then, to say, if not always clearly and firmly, yet with great meaning, Not my will, but thine be done. That is the last sentence thou dost teach in thy school. We cannot say it as we would like to say it; our heart keeps something back; we will not yet deny ourselves: we will have a self-loving existence; we insist upon it that consciousness alone makes heaven: we will not leave all things absolutely in God’s hands. Yet we pray that we may be able to do this some day day of miracle, day of heaven! Then death shall have no pain for us, the cross will have no agony we cannot bear, and heaven will be round about us. We pray thee to direct us in every step. As thou hast numbered the hairs of our head, and as thou hast known our thought afar off, so let our uprising be a religious act, and our downsitting an expression of religious trust. Take away from us all things temporal, material, so far as their debasing influence is concerned, and lift us and them up to high heavenly levels, that we may be lost in God. Surely we have learned all this in the school of Jesus Christ thy Son. He is our Teacher, as well as our Propitiator; we hold our doctrine from him: we know nothing of Christianity that we have not learned from Christ, and if we have put anything of our own into it, behold we have spoiled the revelation of thy love. Jesus is our refuge, our trust, our plea; a strong tower, a sanctuary that cannot be violated; an answer to law, a security in judgment. May his Spirit live in us, mould us, sanctify us, inspire us, and may we be so like Christ as to be almost mistaken for him. Amen.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XX

BRINGING UP THE ARK AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTRAL PLACE OF WORSHIP

2Sa 6:1-7:29 ; 1Ch 13:1-14 ; 1Ch 15:1-17:27

The wars are now all over, and there has come a period of rest. The first thing that impresses David’s mind is this: “I have made Jerusalem the capital of the nation, and Mount Zion is the chief place in Jerusalem, but in order to keep this people unified, God must be present. Off yonder at Gibeon is the tabernacle and the brazen altar, a part of the people worshiping there, and there is an altar of sacrifice but no altar at Jerusalem. Ten miles off yonder at Kirjathjearim is the ark of the covenant; it has been there forty-eight years. Lost in the days of Eli to the Philistines, and returned by the Philistines and stopped at that place, and there another part of the people are worshiping.” You can see how David’s mind would be fastened upon the thought that he must bring that ark with its symbol of divine presence to his capital, but in order to bring it he must have a place to put it, so he selects a site for it and builds a tent, something like the tabernacle which Moses built, which was still at Gibeon, and it remained there until Solomon built the Temple. After Solomon built the Temple, the tabernacle was no longer regarded. It passes out of history.

It has been a characteristic of this man’s life to consult God in everything that he does. Now the priest carried two jewels on his Ephod called the Urim and Thummim, and through the Urim and Thummim God answered questions propounded. That Ephod with the Urim and Thummim had been carried by Abiathar to David in the cave of Adullam. All along through life he had that with him, and through these brilliant jewels in some way, we do not know just how, God answered questions propounded. There was also instituted an order of prophets who became the mouthpieces of Jehovah, so that if a man wanted to know Jehovah’s will he would go to the seer, or prophet, as David went to Nathan, and as Saul went to Samuel. These were two ways in which God communicated with the people the priest way, through the Urim and Thummim, and the prophet way, through their inspiration. It is the object of David to gather together at Jerusalem everything sacred the ark, tent, and altar, and the precious Urim and Thummim, so that here now in every way he may hear from God.

Sometimes God communicated with individuals in dreams and visions, but ordinarily through the two ways I have pointed out. We see why he wanted to get the ark up there, and how important in order to perpetuate unity and solidarity of his kingdom; all who would confer with God must come to his capital.

While David was king it was not an absolute monarchy. There was what was called the Convocation of Israel the general assembly. This section commences: “And David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader.” Notice that he did not settle matters by a mere ipse dixit “words spoken by himself.” It was not by mere royal edict. He wanted the people to see and commit themselves to it, that this was the best thing to do for the nation. Sometimes a pastor becomes arbitrary in deciding what to do when he could accomplish his object a great deal better if he would confer with his brethren. David was not just a boss; he wanted everybody committed. After this consultation it was decided that they would go for the ark, and our text tells us how they brought it from Kirjathjearim on a cart drawn by oxen and that when the oxen stumbled and the cart looked as though it were going to turn over, Uzzah, one of the men who had been guiding it, reached out his hand to stop it, and God struck him dead instantly. That made a deep impression upon David and the people as deep as when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire upon the altar and the lightning leaped from God and destroyed them; an impression as solemn as when at Peter’s words Ananias and Sapphira fell dead under the stroke of God. The question is, why? The answer is found in the Mosaic law, that while carts might be used to carry the external things, the posts of the enclosure, and the curtain of the enclosure, the things of the sanctuary had to be carried by men, and staves were fitted into each piece heavy enough to require it so that four men might carry it. They might put the other things in a cart, but these sacred things had to be borne by men. In the next place, only certain men could touch it without death. They must not only be of the tribe of Levi, but of the family of Kohath. In Numbers we have the order of the encampment of the twelve tribes, three on each of the four sides; the Levites made an inner circle, and the position of the Kohathites and their duties. Whenever the trumpet sounded the Kohathites had to pick up the ark to carry it. In this case the law was violated, and God, in order to show that there must be reverence for sacred things, and that his precise commands must be carried out, made the breach on Uzzah.

We now come to a question of David, and it is a great text 1Ch 13:12 : “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” What a theme for a sermon! If I were to preach on that I would show that wherever the ark was there was safety and blessing. After it stopped at Kirjathjearim that place was blessed; after it stopped at the house of Obed-Edom that home was blessed. Since that ark was a symbol of divine presence and divine guidance, it was a supreme question, “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” How shall I get the ark of God into my family, so that there will be safety, guidance, peace, and love? You see what kind of a sermon could be made out of it.

The whole vast crowd went back to Jerusalem and left the ark there. It was a good thing to have, but a bad thing to touch. It stayed at the house of Obed-Edom three months, and every hour it brought a blessing to that home. Our text tells us that David had made him houses in the city of David and prepared a place for the ark, if he could ever get it there: “How shall I bring it home to me?” The house that David built for himself was a palace.

The riches that he had made, the commerce that he had instituted, culminated in a treaty with Hiram, king of Tyre. Tyre was the great naval power of that age what England is now and through his alliance with Hiram he obtained the best artificers in wood and metal, skilled workmen, and cedars from Lebanon. These huge trees were floated to Joppa, and from Joppa brought across the country to Jerusalem, and so David had a fine house. When he went into that house the day it was finished, he wrote a song Psa 30 . I told you about his gratitude; whenever a blessing came, it brought immediately from him an expression of thanksgiving to God. He wrote Psa 30 and sang it at the dedication of the house. He dedicated this house of his to God. The song commences: I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

I told you that in studying the psalms, you would get the interpretation of the inner life of David, and that you could tell from the psalms what events of his life most impressed him. Arrange the Davidic psalms in order, as they express the life of David. You will commence, of course, with the twenty-third, then the eighth, etc. There was a great difference between the Gave of Adullam and this fine palace. Some people do not get a home until late in life. Lorenzo Dow used to sing that he never had a home, and when a friend made him a present of a home, he declined it because it kept him from singing his favorite hymn.

David, hearing that the blessings of God had been on ObedEdom, and wanting this blessing brought to Jerusalem, studied the law and the law told him how to handle the ark; that the Kohathites should bear it, the Levites only should come near it; so he set out again with a vast host nearly 1000 singers to go after the ark.

Three chief singers led with cymbals, then three more men led the lute or psaltery-crowd, and three more men led the harp-crowd, and the priests blew the trumpets for signals. On page 127 (1Ch 15:19 ) we have: “So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed, with cymbals of brass to sound aloud; and Zechariah and Asiel, and Shemiramoth and Jehiel, and Unni and Eliab, and Maaseiah and Benaiah with psalteries set to Alamoth.” “Alamoth” means female choir; “Sheminith,” male choir. He started out to get the ark home, and when he got to the place they sang this song, Psa 15:1 : Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart; He that slandereth not with his tongue.

Then when the Kohathites lifted up the ark, he said, “Let God arise, and his enemies be scattered,” the song that Cromwell sang before battle. And now having picked up the ark, the priests with the trumpets gave the signals to the cymbal-band., the psaltery-band whose singers were maidens, and to the harp-band. When that vast host drew near to Jerusalem, they sang Psa 24:7 . Lift up your heads, O ye gates, And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors.

They marched in and deposited the ark in its place in the tent and then David repeated the words of Moses: “Return to thy rest, O Lord,” then followed refreshments, and then followed the benediction.

I will not go over the pageantry, but will present this thought: The Harmony tells us (p. 128) “On that day David first ordained to give thanks unto the Lord, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.” In other words, as soon as he got the ark in its place, he instituted that remarkable worship which has never been equalled from that day to this; there was something every day, morning sacrifice and evening sacrifice. He appointed 24,000 Levites to various services around the sanctuary. There were twelve different bands, twenty-four pieces each, for each month of the year, and on great occasions these 288 pieces would be in one grand band with a choir of 4,000 voices; but every month of the year a certain band would know that it would have to go in. There were a great many singers, male and female; singers corresponding to cymbals, singers corresponding to harps, and singers corresponding to cornets. I do not suppose that history has a parallel to this organization of music. It became somewhat greater in Solomon’s time, but David was the organizer.

We now come to one of the most important lessons in the Bible (p. 131). You will understand that Deu 12:10-11 , is the key passage for interpreting the present section. Here is the direction that after they get over into the Promised Land and their enemies are subdued, the kingdom is settled, all the wars ended, then God will designate a central place of worship for his house. David was familiar with the passage in Deuteronomy. He now believes that the provisional days are over, and that the time has come for God to have fixed habitation where all must come, in fulfilment of that passage, and he purposes in his heart to build the most magnificent house for God that the world has ever seen (2Sa 7:1-3 ). He was not mistaken in the divine purpose to have a central place of worship; he was not mistaken that Jerusalem was the place, but he was mistaken as to the time when, and the man by whom this glorious Temple of God should be erected. It is important for you to see wherein he was mistaken and wherein he was not mistaken. God commends him for his zeal: “It was well that thou didst purpose this in thine heart.” “That is a good thing, but you are not the man to do it.”

The Bible assigns two reasons why David was not the man. In 1Ki 5:3 , Solomon, who was the right man, uses this language: Thou knowest how that David, my father, could not build a house for the name of Jehovah his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put these under the soles of his feet. In other words, the military power of David had not fully given rest; the time of rest had not fully come; a partial rest had come, but not the full rest necessary to the establishment of this house. Solomon then adds: But now Jehovah my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. That is the first reason.

We find another reason in 1 Chronicles. David is speaking: “But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood” (1Ch 28:3 ). He refers to it again as follows: “But the word of Jehovah came to me saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight” (1Ch 22:8 ).

Now go back to the passage in Deuteronomy: “When you have gotten over into that country and have obtained rest from all your enemies, then this permanent house of God shall be built.” David mistook, (1) the time the wars were not yet ended; (2) the person he had been a man of war and had shed blood abundantly, and the builder of the house of God must be a prince of peace. We will have use for this thought when we come to consider the antitype. Whereupon the message to David, the message of our text (and I want you to see that this divine message to David made the deepest impression ever made upon his mind by any event of his life) made a stronger impression upon the Jewish mind after his time than any preceding thing. You will find the psalms full of references to it, and the prophets magnify it above every promise, particularly Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, and you will find that this message that Nathan, from God, delivered to David, thrilled the Jewish heart with marvelous expectation of the Messiah, David’s son, the Great King that was to come. Frequent reference is made to it in the New Testament, and Matthew’s whole Gospel was written on the thought of the coming of the King. This is his great theme.

In order to see how this impressed David, notice the exact words spoken to him (2Sa 7:4-7 ): “And it came to pass the same night, that the word of Jehovah came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah, shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even unto this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?” “During the period of the judges, when I selected a judge like Samson, or Gideon, or Barak, did I at any time say to any of these judges that the time had come to build me a permanent house?” (Read 2Sa 7:8-16 .) That was the message and it is very easy to see from the context that at the time it made a most wonderful impression upon the mind of David, as you further note from his prayer following right after it. (Read 2Sa 7:18-19 ; 1Ch 17:16-17 .) Consider particularly these words: “And this too after the manner of men, ‘O lord Jehovah.” Luther translates that passage thus: “This is after the manner of a man who is God, the Lord.” That is to say, such a promise cannot fulfil itself in a man of low degree. The Chronicles passage has it: “Thou hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree.” David does not understand that his son Solomon is to exhaust the meaning of this passage.

In order to prove the impression made on David’s mind, let us read all of Psa 72 which closes with the words of David and ends a book of the Psalms. The subscription is: “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.” You may easily gather from this psalm that when this promise was made through Nathan that God would build him a house house meaning family except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain to build it, since children are a heritage of the Lord. The King in his mind appears from Psa 2 . (Read Psa 2:1-8 .) Then again in Psa 110:1 “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” This king is to be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Then in Psa 89 . (Read Psa 89:2-4 .) Notice again in Psa 45 . (Read the entire psalm.) Now we want to know how this promise to David impressed the mind of the prophet. (Read Isa 11:1-10 .)

The genealogies of both Matthew and Luke prove that Jesus was a descendant of David. (Read Luk 1:31-33 ; Luk 1:68-70 .)

Another passage (Read Heb 1:5 ). “Again” here refers to Christ’s resurrection. His soul had gone up to God at his death on the cross to make atonement, and after the atonement returned for the body, and when the resurrection took place God said, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Again, in Hebrews, he says that Moses built a house, the tabernacle, and Solomon, the lineal son of David, built a house, the Temple. But the Temple that Solomon built was out of unfeeling rock, unthinking stone, quarried as rough ashlars from the mountains; then by certain processes smoothed and fashioned into things of beauty, to be fitted into the earthly Temple of the Lord, which is a type of human beings, quarried as rough ashlars from the mountains of sin; then by the marvelous works of regeneration and sanctification, they become smooth ashlars ready for fitting into the temple of God, the living temple, to be a habitation for God, through the Spirit, to the end of the world. See also the last chapter of Revelation.

My point is, that while this promise of God through Nathan rested for the time being on Solomon, who did build a house, that it looked to a higher than Solomon, to a more distant day. Let us read Luther’s translation again: “This is after the manner of a man who is God, our Lord.” When you study the vast literature of the Old Testament say such a series as Hengstenberg’s Christology or Hengstenberg’s Kingdom of God, or any good commentary on 2Sa 7 and parallel passages in Chronicles, you will find that they regard this promise made to David as the most remarkable ever made. The prophetic light grew brighter all the time. Way back yonder the seed of the woman, Abel, then Seth, Shem, Abram, Isaac, Jacob. . . David, but here the messianic light becomes most brilliant in this promise.

QUESTIONS

1. What are the general conditions of affairs at this point, and what prompted David to bring up the ark from Kirjathjearim?

2. In what three ways did God communicate with his people, and what was the bearing of these on the removal of the ark and tabernacle to Jerusalem?

3. What course did David pursue, and the lesson therefrom, what incident here shows the sanctity of the ark and the impression made by it, and what Mosaic law was violated here?

4. What text here for a sermon, and the line of thought suggested?

5. Give an account of the building and dedication of David’s house.

6. What course did David pursue before attempting again to bring up the ark?

7. Describe the procession that went after the ark. What psalm did they sing as they started?

8. What did David say when the Kohathites lifted up the ark, and what general sang it before battle?

9. What song did they sing as they approached Jerusalem, and what did David say when they deposited the ark in the tent?

10. Describe the course of worship instituted by David.

11. Cite the direction for the establishment of the central place of worship; what David’s purpose concerning it; wherein was he not mistaken, and wherein was he mistaken?

12. Why was not David the man to build the Temple?

13. What message brought to David by Nathan, what impression did it make on his own mind, on the Jewish mind, and what Old Testament and New Testament references to it?

14. What was Luther’s translation of, “And this too after the manner of men O Lord Jehovah,” and what its meaning?

15. What was the impression made on David’s mind, and what was the proof?

16 How did this promise to David impress the mind of Isaiah?

17. Who was the immediate fulfilment of this promise to David, who the remote fulfilment, and what the New Testament proof?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

2Sa 6:1 Again, David gathered together all [the] chosen [men] of Israel, thirty thousand.

Ver. 1. Again, David gathered. ] That is the second time 1Ch 13:1 ; 1Ch 13:5 after that their first consultation about the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem had been interrupted by the invasion of the Philistines. Reformation ever meeteth with opposition. David was no sooner settled in his kingdom, but he thinks of settling religion and God’s sincere service: which popular men should esteem as silver, noblemen as gold, princes prize as pearls, as Aeneas Sylvius was wont to say of learning.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

2 Samuel

DEATH AND LIFE FROM THE ARK

2Sa 6:1 – 2Sa 6:12 .

I. The first section 2Sa 6:1 – 2Sa 6:5 describes the joyful reception and procession. The parallel account in 1 Chronicles states that Baalah, or Baale, was Kirjath-jearim. Probably the former was the more ancient Canaanitish name, and indicates that it had been a Baal sanctuary. If so, the presence of the ark there was at once a symbol and an omen, showing Jehovah’s conquest over the obscene and bloody gods of the land, and forecasting His triumph over all the gods of the nations. Every Baale shall one day be a resting-place of the ark of God. The solemn designation of the ark, as ‘called by the Name, the name of the Lord of Hosts, that dwelleth between the cherubim,’ is significant on this, its reappearance after so long eclipse, and, by emphasising its awful sanctity, prepares for the incidents which are to follow. The manner of the ark’s transport was irregular; for the law strictly enjoined its being carried by the Levites by means of bearing-poles resting on their shoulders; and the copying of the Philistines’ cart, though a new one was made for the purpose, indicates the desuetude into which the decencies of worship had fallen in seventy years. In 1 Chronicles, the singular words in 2Sa 6:5 , which describe David as playing before the Lord on the very unlikely things for such a purpose,’ all manner of instruments of fir wood,’ become ‘with all their might: even with songs’ which seems much more reasonable. A slight alteration in three letters and the transposition of two would bring our text into conformity with I Chronicles, and the conjectural emendation is tempting. Who ever heard of fir-wood musical instruments? The specified ones which follow were certainly not made of it, and songs could scarcely fail to be mentioned.

At all events, we see the glad procession streaming out of the little city buried among its woods; the cart drawn by meek oxen, and loaded with the unadorned wooden chest, in the midst; the two sons or descendants of its faithful custodian honoured to be the teamsters; the king with the harp which had cheered him in many a sad hour of exile; and the crowd ‘making a joyful noise before the Lord,’ which might sound discord in our ears, as some lifted up shrill songs, some touched stringed instruments, some beat on timbrels, some rattled metal rods with movable rings, and some clashed cymbals together. It was a wild scene, in which there was a dangerous resemblance to the frantic jubilations of idolatrous worship. No doubt there were true hearts in that crowd, and none truer than David’s. No doubt we have to beware of applying our Christian standards to these early times, and must let a good deal that is sensuous and turbid pass, as, no doubt, God let it pass. But confession of sin in leaving the ark so long forgotten would have been better than this tumultuous joy; and if there had been more trembling in it, it would not have passed so soon into wild terror. Still, on the other hand, that rejoicing crowd does represent, though in crude form, the effect which the consciousness of God’s presence should ever have. His felt nearness should be, as the Psalmist says, ‘the gladness of my joy.’ Much of our modern religion is far too gloomy, and it is thought to be a sign of devotion and spiritual-mindedness to be sad and of a mortified countenance. Unquestionably, Christianity brings men into the continual presence of very solemn truths about themselves and the world which may well sober them, and make what the world calls mirth incongruous.

‘There is no music in the life

That rings with idiot laughter solely.’

But the Man of Sorrows said that His purpose for us was that ‘His joy might remain in us, and that our joy might be full’; and we but imperfectly apprehend the gospel if we do not feel that its joys ‘much more abound’ than its sorrows, and that they even burn brightest, like the lights on safety-buoys, when drenched by stormy seas.

II. The second section contains the dread vindication of the sanctity of the ark , which changed joy into terror, and silenced the songs. At some bad place in the rocky and steep track, the oxen stumbled or were restive. The spot is called in Samuel ‘the threshing-floor of Nachon,’ but in Chronicles the owner is named ‘Chidon.’ As the former word means ‘a stroke’ and the latter ‘destruction,’ they are probably not to be taken as proper names, but as applied to the place after this event. The name given by David, however-Perez-uzzah-proved the more permanent ‘to this day.’ Uzzah, who was driving while his brother went in front to pilot the way, naturally stretched out his hand to steady his freight, just as if it had been a sack of corn; and, as if he had touched an electric wire, fell dead, as the story graphically says, ‘by the ark of God.’ What confusion and panic would agitate the joyous singers, and how their songs would die on their lips!

What harm was there in Uzzah’s action? It was most natural, and, in one point of view, commendable. Any careful waggoner would have done the same with any valuable article he had in charge. Yes; that was just the point of his error and sin, that he saw no difference between the ark and any other valuable article. His intention to help was right enough; but there was profound insensibility to the awful sacredness of the ark, on which even its Levitical bearers were forbidden to lay hands. All his life Uzzah had been accustomed to its presence. It had been one of the familiar pieces of furniture in Abinadab’s house, and, no doubt, familiarity had had its usual effect. Do none of us ministers, teachers, and others, to whom the gospel and the worship and ordinances of the Church have been familiar from infancy, treat them in the same fashion? Many a hand is laid on the ark, sometimes to keep it from falling, with more criminal carelessness of its sacredness than Uzzah showed. Note, too, how swiftly an irreverent habit of treating holy things grows. The first error was in breaking the commanded order for removal of the ark by the Levites. Once in the cart, the rest follows. The smallest breach in the feeling of awe and reverence will soon lead to more complete profanation. There is nothing more delicate than the sense of awe. Trifled with ever so little, it speedily disappears. There is far too little of it in our modern religion. Perfect love casts out fear and deepens awe which hath not torment.

Was not the punishment in excess of the sin? We must remember the times, the long neglect of the ark, the decay of religion in Saul’s reign, the critical character of the moment as the beginning of a new era, when it was all-important to print deep the impression of sanctity, and the rude material which had to be dealt with; and we must not forget that God, in His punishments, does not adopt men’s ideas of death as such a very dreadful thing. Many since have followed in David’s wake, and been ‘displeased, because the Lord broke forth upon Uzzah’; but he and they have been wrong. He ought to have known better, and to have understood the lesson of the solemn corpse that lay there by the ark; instead of which he gives way to mere terror, and was ‘afraid of the Lord.’ David afraid of the Lord! What had become of the rapturous love and strong trust which ring clear through his psalms? Is this the man who called God his rock and fortress and deliverer, his buckler and the horn of his salvation and his high tower, and poured out his soul in burning words, which glow yet through all the centuries and the darkness of earth? It was ill for David to fall thus below himself, but well for us that the eclipse of his faith and love should be recorded, to hearten us, when the like emotions fall asleep in our souls. His consciousness of impurity was wholesome and sound, but his cowering before the ark, as if it were the seat of arbitrary anger, which might flame out destruction for no discernible reason, was a woful darkening of his loving insight into the heart of God.

III. The last section 2Sa 6:10 – 2Sa 6:12 gives us the blessings on the house of Obed-edom and the glad removal of the ark to Jerusalem. Obed-edom is called a ‘Gittite,’ or man of Gath; but he does not appear to have been a Philistine immigrant, but a native of another Gath, a Levitical city, and himself a Levite. There is an Obededom in the lists of David’s Levites in Chronicles who is probably the same man. He did not fear to receive the ark, and, worthily received, the presence which had been a source of disaster and death to idolaters, to profanely curious pryers into its secret, and to presumptuous irreverence, became a fountain of unbroken blessing. This twofold effect of the same presence is but a symbol of a solemn law which runs through all life, and is especially manifest in the effects of Christ’s work upon men. Everything has two handles, and it depends on ourselves by which of them we lay hold of it, and whether we shall receive a shock that kills, or blessings. The same circumstances of poverty, or wealth, or sorrow, or temptation, make one man better and another worse. The same presence of God will be to one man a joy; to another, a terror. ‘What maketh heaven, that maketh hell.’ The same gospel received is the fountain of life, purity, peace; and, rejected or neglected, is the source of harm and death. Jesus Christ is ‘set for the fall and rising again of many.’ Either He is the savour of life unto life, the rock on which we build, or He is the savour of death unto death, the stone on which we stumble and break our limbs.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

Chapter 6

And again, David gathered together the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand of them. And David arose, and went and all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring from there the ark of God ( 2Sa 6:1-2 ),

Now Baale of Judah is actually Kirjath-Jearim, it’s about eight miles from Jerusalem. It is where they had brought the ark of God. So he was coming now to bring the ark of God into Jerusalem. In coming to Kirjath-Jearim, what they did is make a new cart, and they put the Ark of the Covenant on this new cart, and they got these oxen to pull the cart. As they were coming with all of this big celebration, the oxen pulling the cart with the Ark of the Covenant upon it, the ox, one of the oxen tripped and the cart began to shake, and the Ark of the Covenant looked like it was going to fall. This one fellow reached forth his hand, Uzzah, and he reached out his hand to steady the ark of God so it wouldn’t fall, and when he reached out his hand to touch the ark of God, God smote him dead.

This angered David, number one, with God, and it put a fear in David’s heart. He said, “Hey man that thing’s powerful. Who among us can live around that thing?” Seeing the power of God against anyone who would dare to violate the word of God, David really got panicked, because he knew that he wasn’t doing that close, “Who can live around this thing?” So he just had to turn in, and he had to go back to Jerusalem empty, not taking the Ark of the Covenant. But he just put it in there at the house of Obededom.

It is interesting though that as David sought to bring the Ark of the Covenant back, rather than going back to the book of the law to see how God had ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be transported, David was following the Philistine example. When they sent the Ark of the Covenant back, they had built a cart, and they took oxen and had it pulled back with the cart pulled by oxen. Now that was the Philistines’ method of transporting the ark. However, the law of God said that when they bore the ark, they were to put these staves through the rings, and it was to be borne by four priests. So David really wasn’t following the law of God in building this new cart, and having it pulled by oxen. He was not following God’s pattern, but the Philistine pattern. It had, of course, disastrous results.

So they just put the ark there at the house of Obededom, and God began to bless Obededom like everything, because the Ark of the Covenant was there. For three months this guy was just blessed of God. They came and told David, “Wow is Obededom ever being blessed because of the Ark of the Covenant.” So David decided, “All right, I’ll go and get it and I’ll bring it on into Jerusalem.”

So this time now he went back to the scriptures to follow the law of the Lord, and he had the priests bear the Ark of the Covenant, and when they would walk six steps, he would make a sacrifice unto the Lord. Then go three, six more steps, and he’d offer another sacrifice unto the Lord. He was out there, he had on just a linen robe, a common garment, took off his kingly robes and everything, and was just dressed in a common garment, of a common person, out with the crowd dancing with all of his might before the Lord. I mean he was just having a hilarious time. He was so excited bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, with tremendous excitement and joy. The people were praising the Lord, offering sacrifices, dancing before the Lord, David in the middle of them, dancing with all of his might. Just singing praises unto God as the Ark of the Covenant was coming unto Jerusalem.

And his wife the daughter of Saul [Michal] looked out the window, and saw him doing that; and she hated him in her heart ( 2Sa 6:16 ).

So David had a big party, gave everybody a big portion of meat, jug of wine, sent them on their way, blessed all of the people. Everybody was thrilled. He was on cloud nine, “All right” just so thrilled. He came in to bless his house, just overflowing, and who should meet him at the door but ice sickles, Michal.

And she said, Didn’t the king behave himself gloriously today, uncovering yourself in front of all those handmaidens, [they’re gonna despise you] ( 2Sa 6:20 ).

Boy, that big, cold put down, cold blanket. You know it is so hard when you’ve had such a glorious experience with the Lord, and you’re just floating. You meet someone that says, “Well, aren’t you just the one.” You know, “Ugh.” Well David’s not one to be messed with.

And he said to her, [He gets very caustic with her, he said,] it was before the LORD, which chose me [cut, cut, cut] before your father, and before his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore I will play before the LORD ( 2Sa 6:21 ).

“That was before the Lord. I wasn’t out there before the people.” You, just making a big show out there in front of all those people, out there dancing, making a big show, making a big thing of yourself.” David said, “It was before the Lord who chose me before your father, and his house. And I’m gonna play before the Lord.”

And I will be yet even more vile than this, and will be base in my own sight: and of these maidservants which you have spoken of, I’ll be held in honour of them. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death ( 2Sa 6:22-23 ).

He actually disgraced her by refusing then to have relationships with her, and refused her the honor of having a child, which in that culture was a most important thing for a woman was to bear a child, a son, especially for her husband, and David got even. He was not one that you really wanted to mess with. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Victorious in war, David was not unmindful of the central truth of the national life over which he was called to preside. The nation was indeed a theocracy, with the worship of God at its very center.

Believing this, David prepared to bring the Ark into the capital. When he did a startling event occurred. Contrary to instructions given long before to Moses, the Ark was placed on a new cart. As they started on their way, the oxen drawing the cart stumbled; and one man, daring to stretch forth his hand in an attempt to steady the Ark, was at once smitten with death.

The effect on David of ,this terrible vindication of the divine majesty was remarkable. He was displeased, and yet afraid. So afraid that for the moment he dared not go forward with his purpose, and, consequently, the Ark rested for three months in the house of Obed-edom.

At last, however, it was taken forward to Jerusalem. The action of David as he danced before it, which called forth the contempt of Michal, was, of course, purely Eastern, and revealed his profound recognition of the true King of his people and his sense of humility before Him.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

the Return of the Ark Interrupted

2Sa 6:1-11

We have heard nothing of the Ark since it left the land of the Philistines, 1Sa 7:1-2. The spiritual life of the nation was low, else this holy symbol of Gods presence would not have been thus neglected. David wished to make the new capital the religious as well as the political center of his kingdom. It was necessary, therefore, that the Ark be removed thither.

The sacredness of the Ark lay in its association with Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. It was His seat or throne. He dwelled between the cherubim. The clear order was that it should be borne on the shoulders of the Levites, and David had no right to substitute a new cart, after the manner of the Philistines, Num 7:9; 1Ch 15:12-16. The death of Uzzah and the blessing on the house of Obed-edom illustrate the severity and the goodness of God. Not one jot or tittle of the law can fail; therefore the least violation must bring suffering on the part of those who offend; while reverence, obedience and faith secure an immediate response of the divine favor and love. God can and will take care of His own. We need not fear for the safety of His Church.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

3. The Ark Brought to Zion

CHAPTER 6

1. The ark fetched by David (2Sa 6:1-5)

2. Uzzah: his error and death (2Sa 6:6-9)

3. The ark in the house of Obed-edom (2Sa 6:10-11)

4. The ark brought into Davids city (2Sa 6:12-19)

5. Michals mockery of David (2Sa 6:20-23)

It is of importance to read 1 Chronicles 13 for a better understanding of how the ark was brought from Kirjathjearim to Davids city. The book of Chronicles contains these larger records because in that book these events are described in their theocratic character, while in Samuel the outward aspect of Davids kingdom is followed. David issued the call that the people with the priests and the Levites should gather to bring again the ark of God (1Ch 12:2-3). However we do not read anything more about the Levites, who alone were commissioned to carry the ark. It is evident that David neglected to follow the divine instructions given in the law concerning the handling of the ark. (See Numbers 4.) This neglect may be traced to the fact that David did not inquire of the Lord. The way they transported the ark was the way of the Philistines (1Sa 6:7). When Uzzah put forth his hand to steady the ark, he was smitten for his error and died. God had spoken to His people and taught them the lesson that the ways of the Philistines and disobedience to His Word in holy things demands His judgment. How many in the past and more so today act like Uzzah when in service for God they employ the methods of the world and disregard entirely His Word. Godly fear and faithful submission to the Word of God are essentials in true service for God. Service without these is often a snare and results in dishonour.

Then the progress of the ark was arrested, because David filled with fear would not remove it to his city. The ark found a resting place for three months in the house of Obed-edom (servant of Edom); he was a Levite and therefore authorized to care for the ark (1Ch 26:1-5). Blessing rested upon his house. The judgment of Uzzah and the blessing of Obed-edom had a great effect upon David. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. This is all we find in our chapter. But how did he bring the ark up? 1 Chronicles 15 gives the answer. Then David said, none ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto Him for ever. The sons of Kohath, Merari, Gershom, etc., are given there. All is now done in accordance with the Word of God and blessing follows. And David filled with divine joy danced, girded with a linen ephod, before the Lord. After the ark had been set in its proper place in the tabernacle which David had pitched and the burnt offerings and peace offerings had been brought, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. In his dancing the king had taken a place amidst the people. And Michal, who is called here not the wife of the king, but the daughter of Saul, despised David. She looked upon Davids holy joy as an indecent humiliation, while the king declared he would even be more vile than thus and base in his own sight. What a contrast with the pride of Saul which is now manifested in his daughter Michal. And what happened when the ark had been put into the tabernacle? 1Ch 16:4-36 tells us how David appointed Levites to minister and then he delivered into the hands of Asaph and his brethren a great Psalm of praise. And that sublime utterance looks forward to a far more glorious day, when the Lord dwells in Zion in the midst of an obedient people. Then the heavens will be glad and the earth rejoice and among all the nations it will be said Jehovah reigneth; and even nature will sing in the presence of the Lord (1Ch 16:31-36).

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

2Sa 5:1, 1Ki 8:1, 1Ch 13:1-4, Psa 132:1-6

Reciprocal: 2Ki 23:1 – the king 1Ch 13:5 – David Act 7:45 – unto

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

The Ark in the Home of Obed-Edom

2Sa 6:1-18 (Compare 1Ch 13:1-14)

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

We have some very solemn lessons to consider.

1. The sacredness of holy things. For several chapters we have studied some things which have had to do with the Ark of the Lord. One thing which we have not thus far suggested is the careless way in which the Ark was handled, first by the Philistines, and later by the men of Beth-shemesh. Neither of the above seemed to realize that there was any sacredness connected with the Ark. The former jostled it about on a cart, and the latter rudely opened it to examine the inside.

In this study, however, we come to a climax in this carelessness-a climax which is altogether inexcusable, and which was severely rebuked from on High by the death of Uzzah. Details of this will be brought out later. We wish to do no more here than offer some general comments.

As we see it, the spirit of the age in which we are now living is imbibed with an utter disregard of the sacredness of things Divine. Men worship the Lord, the high and holy One, the Creator of Heaven and earth, in a most careless and even flippant way.

The Names of Deity are often omitted. We speak of those Names which refer to the risen, exalted, and glorified Lord. Instead of addressing our Saviour as the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ the Lord, He is too frequently addressed by the one Name, Jesus.

We grant that the Name Jesus has a very hallowed significance of meaning-“He shall save His people from their sins.” However, the Name which is so casually upon the lips of many is used to designate our Lord as the Man who dwelt among us.

In the Epistles following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, His fuller titles are given to Him with, perhaps, two or three exceptions, where there is special reference to His Saviourhood.

Let us observe for a moment the opening statement of the prayer which the Lord taught His disciples. The prayer is like this: “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.” There is something in the word “hallowed” which carries reverence and worship and the recognition of the sublimity, the glory, and the power of the Father.

We need to learn the deeper significance of the words spoken to Moses, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

I. BRINGING THE ARK BACK WITH POMP AND GLORY (2Sa 6:1-2)

1. The Ark had been twenty years in the house of Abinadab. It was, to be sure, once more among the people of Israel; but now that Samuel was gone, and Saul was gone, and David was king, it was quite natural for the king to want the Ark brought again to its own place, that God might be the recognized Head of the nation.

2. David gathered together thirty thousand men of Israel to bring the Ark. In 1Ch 13:1-14 we read that David consulted “with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.” This might have been all right, had they all consulted with the Lord, in His Word, and found out just how the Ark was to be brought back. Failing in this, David made a great mistake, Again we read in Chronicles that David said, “If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the Lord our God.” Let us do this and that. Let us beware that in everything we keep God in the first place and never in the second. It is not whether it seem good to us and the Lord, but to the Lord.

3. David may have felt that the presence of so many thousands of Israel would give glory to God, and he may have felt that his own dignity as king demanded such a great demonstration. At any rate there was to be much ado in the matter.

It was at least a great day in Israel. They were ready to come together to the great event, even from Shihor of Egypt, unto the entering of Hemath.

The Ark, during the days of Saul, and after the death of Samuel, had never been recognized; and the God who dwelt between the cherubim had never been sought. Now, however, the people were once more turning their faces God-ward.

Beloved, let our chief concern be this-that God is in our midst, both honored and loved. If He has been isolated outside the camp, then let us go unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. If He is loved and received as the One in the midst of the church, let us not fail in meeting Him there.

If there is no Ark of God in our own home, let us bring thither the Ark in the erection of our Family Altar.

II. DOING A GOOD THING IN A WRONG WAY (2Sa 6:2-3)

1. The imitation of the world often works havoc. The news of how the Philistines had brought the Ark back into the coasts of Israel, had never been forgotten. They had brought it upon a new cart, drawn by oxen. They had brought it thus, and brought it successfully.

Now the Lord’s people seek to imitate them. Perhaps this was the result of David’s looking to the people. Had they only read God’s instructions, they had known that the Ark was to be carried and not carted. Had they stopped to consider the construction of the Ark, itself, they could have seen that the Ark was made to be carried and not carted. Why were the staves there, and why the sockets?

2. The Head of the Church is Christ, and Christ should be recognized. The time has come when there is altogether too much consulting of the people, instead of the lines of positive Scriptural statement. Pastors are called, deacons or elders selected, trustees, Sunday School superintendents, church organists, choirs, and much else, are brought into the places of authority without even asking whether there be any “thus saith the Lord” as to how they shall be chosen, or as to what kind of men are to be chosen.

Let us, hereafter, recognize Christ, and ask His guidance in all of these things.

III. MAY OUR GOOD BE MARRED BY OUR BAD? (2Sa 6:5)

1. A wonderful and glorious praise. How the volume of song and music must have welled up to Heaven! Truly God was pleased with the songs of praise; for praise is comely, and it exalteth the Lord. What a time of praise and magnificent music awaits us over in the Glory! There will be angels harping on their harps. There will be the voices uplifted in marvelous magnificats unto the Lamb.

The numbers praising the Lord will be ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands and thousands of thousands. The words will be, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” The words will be “Thou art worthy to take the Book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

2. What then? May our good be marred by our bad? We are sure that it may. The jubilation of that wonderful hour was hastening to a sad anticlimax. The singing was to be turned to dread and fear. The people were about to be shocked with the judgment of God upon one of their number. The king, even David, was filled with misgivings as to God’s judgments.

Yes, it may be so. Doing a good thing, in a way all pleasing to God, cannot make it possible for God to overlook a thing that is altogether evil.

Let no one think for a moment that large gifts of money, or great feats of service, can in any way make up for sin in the camp. We cannot cover our evil way with the cloak of any great display of praise-be it ever so sincere. When there is an Achan in the camp, there is an army in defeat.

The many suffer for the sins of the one, when the one is an integral part of the many.

IV. WHEREIN HUMAN METHODS MEET THEIR JUST DISASTER (2Sa 6:6-7)

1. A rough place in the road. As the cart passed by Nachon’s threshing floor, the oxen caused the Ark of God to shake. There you are! Carting the Ark was out of the Divine plan. The Ark had never been shaken had it been carried.

There are always places in the road where the ways of the world in the church will bring disaster. Unless God is in the house, they labor in vain who build it. God will not insure worldly, self-devised, humanly conducted church methods against failure.

God’s ways are not man’s ways. They are as far separated as the East is from the West. The ways of men augur success, but they cannot fit in with the ways of God. The carnal and the mental cannot walk with the spiritual. The flesh cannot join in comradeship with the Spirit.

2. The dead man in the road. Uzzah did the natural thing. When the Ark began to shake, he immediately reached out his hand to steady it. Was there anything wrong in this? Perhaps Uzzah thought the Ark was as precious as his own life. He loved it. To him it stood for everything that was high, and holy, and lofty. He did not want it to fall to the ground, and to be broken upon the roadside. Was he not then, to be commended rather than blamed?

Perhaps Peter should have been commended instead of reproved when he drew out his sword and smote off the ear of Malchus. Perhaps Moses should have been condoned when, in his anger, he struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it. Should we teach that a well intended service is necessarily an acceptable service?

At least God does not teach so. The moment that the well-meaning Uzzah touched the Ark of the Lord, there was a dead Uzzah by the roadside.

As we look at Uzzah, dead, we see the harvest of carting the Ark, which God instructed should be carried. The wages of sin is death. We see also the utter folly of approaching God or God’s Ark, apart from the commanded Blood of atonement.

V. WHEREIN PRAISING WAS TURNED TO COMPLAINING (2Sa 6:8-9)

1. Shall we cease to praise God in His judgments? Is our God righteous and worthy of praise only when He passes around His blessings? With Israel it was a day of praise, when God delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. They were willing to praise God even for His judgments upon Pharaoh.

Let us remember that God is just as righteous in His judgments as He is in His deliverances. Why then should Israel have lost their song, when God sent forth judgment on Uzzah, and on all of them?

Perhaps there is no theme of song so dear to the hearts of saints as that of Calvary. Yet Calvary is the place of God’s righteous judgment on sin. We sing not when we see Uzzah dead in the road, but we sing when we see Christ dead on the Tree.

2. Behold David, the king displeased with God. The trouble with David was that he did not want his hour of praise to be broken up with a funeral. Uzzah’s death put a quietus on Israel’s praise. The harpers put up their harps; the timbrels were laid aside, the music ceased.

Does God ever break up our seasons of joy with times of sorrows? Does judgment ever walk hard upon the path of victory? Yes, when there is sin in the camp. Yes, when we try to do the right thing in the wrong way. Yes, when we are willing to set aside God’s way for our own.

3. Wherein fellowship is turned into fear. It seems too bad! They, who were so happily blessing God in a glorious song of fellowship, now began to be afraid of the same Lord. God’s breach on Uzzah filled David and the Children of Israel with the same kind of fear that His breach on the inhabitants of Ashdod and Ekron had filled the Philistines.

The Children of Israel began to dread God because He was a God of judgment. They felt safer, perhaps, without Him than with Him. Thus it was that they trembled and were afraid. Sin always makes men afraid of God. From the day that Adam and Eve hid in the trees of the Garden, sinners have always hidden. In the days of the Lord’s Second Advent the nations will be afraid as they see the Lamb seated on the throne.

VI. THE ARK IN THE HOUSE OF OBED-EDOM (2Sa 6:10-12)

Yes, the march of that wonderful day was ended abruptly. The 30,000 choice men of Israel returned to their homes in disappointment and afraid of God.

So it was that David would not take the Ark unto himself, but it was carried aside into the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite.

1. The Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. It must have been a wonderful three months to the household of Obed-edom. A new prosperity came to him and to all who dwelt with him. His whole household was blessed. Everything he touched, the Lord made to prosper. Perhaps his very children bloomed out in a new radiance of health. His fields became more abundant. Joy filled every heart in his home. Prosperity had come and they were glad.

Is this not always true when the Lord dwells in any home? Does His presence not breathe a peace and a power that nothing else can produce? If the Lord is in the house, the blessings of the Lord are upon it.

2. The Ark which had brought death to Uzzah, brought blessing to Obed-edom. Here is a seeming paradox. Why should the same Ark bless the one, and curse the other? Does not the same fire which warms one, burn another? Does not the same water that gives drink to the one, drown the other? Why? Not because the fire or the water has favorites; not because the fire or the water has spasms in which it blesses or curses, according to its whims. Not at all. Then, why? The difference is in men, and peoples; not in God.

God would be rich to all, but He is rich unto all who call upon Him. Where there is the curse, there is invariably sin; where there is blessing, there is always the righteousness which is by faith.

3. David hears the good news. “It was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the Ark of God.” Here was room for thought, with David. He had gotten a vision of God that enlightened his mind. He had learned a lesson that we are sure he never forgot. God with us always brings blessing.

VII. CLAIMING GOD’S BEST (2Sa 6:15-18)

1. Think of the period David was without the Ark of God. Somehow it seems to us that David had been depriving himself of many blessings during the time that the Ark was in the home of Obed-edom. During those three months, between the time he went to get the Ark and the hour when at last, assured of blessing because of the blessing that God had given the household of Obed-edom, he was restrained by fear.

Let us ask ourselves this solemn question: “Are we missing God’s best because we have lived apart from His presence?” God help us to at once set about to secure all that is ours in Christ Jesus.

2. Consider the joy of bringing back the Ark of God. In 1Ch 15:1-29 we find David had prepared a place for the Ark. Moreover David had discovered wherein he had erred in his first attempt to fetch the Ark. Now, David said, “None ought to carry the Ark of God but the Levites.” Mark you “carry the ark,” not “cart the ark.” Then David added, “Because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought Him not after the due order.” What else could God do? His people had refused to follow Him fully; they had broken His Headship, and they had to be judged and chastened.

Now, with as much joy, perhaps greater joy; and now, in God’s way, they brought back the Ark. What a glorious sight it was. “And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the Ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.”

As they marched there was heard the sound of the cornet, and with trumpets and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

Thus the ark was brought to its house that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. Then, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

Our minds cannot but anticipate that wonderful day when the saints will be gathered home. Oh, what joy and rejoicing, to be forever with the Lord.

AN ILLUSTRATION

At last David found the place of true joy-it lay in the path of obedience and the full presence of God who dwelt in the midst of the cherubim.

There is no more beautiful legend than the one associated with the Bells of Limerick, a quaint Irish city, famous today very much because of this beautiful story.

A poor Italian lad, ambitious to produce a set of bells whose chimes would be unrivaled for beauty, labored hard and long in his own country to bring them to perfection. They were hung in a monastery in Italy, and the whole countryside was charmed by their sweet melody. The successful artist purchased a house in the district and for years spent his evenings listening to the sweet music of his bells. War came; the bells were stolen and carried away, he knew not where. Old and poor, he bade good-by to his native Italy, and set forth in search of the music he loved so well. His tired feet touched the shores of many lands; at last he came to Ireland.

One evening, just as the sun was going down, he was sailing up the river that runs close by Limerick, when borne on the evening’s zephyr, there came stealing into his ears the sweet chimes of melodious bells. He sat enraptured; he knew that he was not mistaken, and that the entrancing melody was the music of his own long-lost and cherished bells. He set his face, now wet with tears, toward the tower whence the enchanting strains were coming; and as the vessel sailed into port, his wanderings were over. The light had faded from his eyes, his fingers had loosened their hold, and his soul had wafted away to the sweet music of his own bells.

Oh, child of God, have you lost the music that once delighted your soul? Has the world stolen from joy the joy bells of our old-time faith and devotion? You need not wander the world about nor wait till death to find the music. The bells are in your soul, and Jesus is able to touch them into “music so sweet the angels will stoop to listen.” If those bells have ceased to ring, there is a reason, which God knows and you know. Let the Son of God forgive you and restore the music to your soul.-W. E. B.

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

2Sa 6:1. Again David gathered the chosen men of Israel Having defeated the Philistines, and enjoyed some peace, he thought it a seasonable time to fetch up the ark, and settle it in an honourable place; and for that purpose summoned the principal persons in Israel to attend. For he was sensible that purity and sincerity in the worship of God was the best, and, indeed, only sure stay of his own power and of his peoples prosperity. And to settle the worship of God, in all its solemnity, was now his object.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2Sa 6:2. Baale of Judah. It is called Baalah, Jos 15:9. It was no doubt the place formerly called Kirjath-jearim.

2Sa 6:8. David was displeased. vayickar, perturbatus fuit, as Junius reads. David was troubled with anguish and sorrow of heart for the death of Uzzah. The whole 30,000 were so terrified that they left the awful ark in the field. The priests, the unskilful priests, were to blame for putting the ark on a cart. The war of the ark with Elis sons, with Dagon, with Philistia, with the men of Bethshemeth, chap. 6., and now with Uzzah, should teach ministers to sanctify the Lord God; and let all tyrants learn to abstain from persecuting the church. The office of the sword is to punish real crimes.

2Sa 6:14. Girded with a linen ephod. The levites wore such upper shawls, 1Ch 15:27; but different ones, it would seem, from the ephod of the priests. Exodus 28. The orders of each were thus distinguished.

2Sa 6:23. Michal had no child. Saul drove David from this princess presently after their marriage; the person to whom Saul confided her was an aged man; now she had not been long restored. Children were denied her by the special designation of heaven. When that is the case, families should patiently bow to the will of providence.

REFLECTIONS.

David in his exile had often lamented his absence from the ark, and the altar of God. Now he was desirous to have this ark enthroned and lodged contiguously to his house, that he might daily bow in the divine presence, and promote piety in his court. The motive was good and noble; and in the issue it was signally owned by marks of divine approbation.

Devout in his person, he wished to remove the ark with every expression of piety and national homage. He assembled thirty thousand men of the best families in Israel; he assembled an army of levites and musicians; and arraying himself as a levite, he led the vast train of musicians; and singing the 68th Psalm, they made the earth to ring, and the heavens to resound the praises of God. It is well, undoubtedly well, for a nation to pay the most public homage to God for its mercies; but in all this eclat and shouting, it is feared there was a preponderancy of human joy mixed with the divine. Leaving the law of God, which expressly enjoined the ark to be borne by the priests, or by the levites, they imitated the profane Philistines and carried it on a cart. Uzzah, for whom no pleas of ignorance can be urged, put forth his hand to stay it when it shook on the carriage; and God therefore struck him dead, and awed all the people by the terrors of his presence. Ah, how soon were their shoutings changed to weeping! Every one forsook the ark at Nachons threshing floor, and went home empty and ashamed, full of reflections and fears concerning the glory and terrors of the Lord. Let us learn to reverence holy things. The ark was typical of Jesus Christ, and no one must meddle with his work: neither can any sinner approach his Maker without the atoning blood. Let us learn also to be exact in keeping the commandments of God, and neither diminish their force, nor accommodate them to our humour. Let the lazy priests be here warned, for the Hebrew priests employed a cart instead of bearing the sacred symbols of the divine presence in their hands.

Well, though the king and his people went home without the ark, Obed- edom graciously received it into his house: and as the Lord blessed Laban for the sake of Jacob, and Potiphar for the sake of Joseph, so he blessed this man because of the ark. His family was healthy, his cattle were strong, and his lands loaded with the riches of the earth. And how many religious families in all ages have been blessed because they have encouraged the gospel, and cherished the ministers of religion? How many families within the last two hundred years might be referred to in Britain whom God has blessed, because they have aided the cause of righteousness and truth, and fed the ministers of religion at their table. Surely we have in this land a thousand Obed-edoms whom God has already requited with the hundredfold reward, and in the world to come he will give them life everlasting.

The blessings on the house of Obed-edom emboldened David to perfect his design in the removal of the ark. But the second time, having learned obedience, he caused it to be borne by the hand; and he offered sacrifice on its being removed six paces. It is the judgments of God which compel the world and the church to revere his name, and to adore with trembling; for he has power to maintain his right. David this day possessed the height of joy, and saw the consummation of all his wishes; for the ark being near his person he was afraid of no danger. But no joy is to be expected on earth without some check, and some alloy. In the midst of his transports he had the calamity to be despised and reproved by his queen, whom he tenderly loved. She felt her pride hurt on seeing him so plainly dressed, and by his degrading himself, as she thought, to a level with his subjects. What a calamity when a woman takes no part in the sacred joys and fervent worship of her husband! Michals soul was barren of the grace of God, and God punished her with perpetual barrenness of womb. She might by Davids prayers have obtained a son; but this was now forfeited. Such was her punishment for falsely accusing her lord of degrading himself before men, when he had done it solely before the Lord.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2 Samuel 6. David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem. Michals Scorn. Her Punishment (J). (Cf. p. 286.)Nothing has been heard of the Ark since 1Sa 7:2, before the accession of Saul. The introduction of the Ark in I S 2Sa 14:18, is due to corruption of the text. This silence is sometimes accounted for by supposing that the Ark was under the control of the Philistines and inaccessible to the Israelites (cf. Cent.B, and EBi, Ark). Davids action gave added importance to the new capital; and the building of Solomons Temple probably provided Jerusalem with the chief sanctuary in Israel.

2Sa 6:1-11. David and the people go to Baal, or Baalah, Judah (not Baale), to fetch the Ark. This place is identified (Jos 15:9 f., 1Ch 13:6) with Kirjath-jearim, where the Ark was left in 1Sa 7:1. The identification however, may be due to a comparison of the two passages, and may not be correct. The two passages may come from different sources (cf. p. 276) which took different views of the history. They set out for Jerusalem in solemn procession; but a certain Uzzah put his hand on the Ark to steady it and God smote him for his error. David abandoned his purpose, placed the Ark for a time in the house of Obed-edom of Gath, doubtless a ger (2Sa 1:13*). There is no question as to the regulations of the Priestly Code concerning Priests and Levites. Apparently Uzzahs fault consisted in handling the Ark roughly and unceremoniously. The narrative illustrates the imperfect morality ascribed to Yahweh by the earlier documents (cf. 1Sa 26:19).

According to some, the Uzzah episode is mythical, having arisen as a conjectural and mistaken interpretation of the place-name Perez-uzzah, Breach of Uzzah. If this were so, David found the Ark at the house of Obed-edom; which would lend some support to the view that up to this time the Ark was under Philistine control. But a mythical explanation is not probable. Another improbable view is that Uzzah died from the shock which came upon him when he realised that he had committed an act of irreverence. [Parallels to this may be found in Frazers Taboo and the Perils of the Soul.A. S. P.] Sometimes, in the case of these ancient narratives, the safest course is to accept their substantial historicity without trying to explain everything. If we are to venture an explanation here, we might suggest that the death of Uzzah was due to excitement at the prospect of the Ark being thrown violently to the ground and broken; and to the sudden, strenuous effort needed to save it. Death under such circumstances would be interpreted as a sign of Divine displeasure and an Act of God.

2Sa 6:5. with all manner of instruments made of fir wood: read, with 1Ch 13:8, with all their might and with songs.

2Sa 6:12-23. Obed-edom prospering, David gathers that Yahweh is appeased, and makes another attempt to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. As soon as a start is made, sacrifices are offered and, nothing untoward happening, the procession marches on and reaches its destination in safety. David, intoxicated with religious fervour, abandons himself to an ecstatic dance before Yahweh, i.e. the Ark. David was merely clothed with the priestly linen ephod, which hardly supplied a decent covering in the wild movements of the dance (Cent.B); 1Ch 15:27 provides him with a robe. When David went home, Michal railed at him for his lack of dignity; probably not the first exhibition of temper on the part of this much-tried lady. David protected himself from similar experiences by relegating Michal to a separate establishment. This is probably the meaning of 2Sa 6:23.

2Sa 6:19. a portion of flesh: represents the single Heb. word eshpar, the meaning of which is unknown; it occurs only here and 1Ch 16:3.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

David’s kingdom having been established, he is rightly concerned that God should have His true place as in highest authority over Israel. The ark was the symbol of the throne of God, yet had been in the obscurity of the house of Abinidab in Baale (or Kirjath-Jearim — Jos 15:9). Thus, through the history of Saul, God’s authority was obscured, but David wants this in the place of highest prominence. He therefore gathers thirty thousand chosen men of Israel in view of his commendable purpose. But he made the tragic mistake of not inquiring from the Lord about this first. Since, as he knew, God was in authority, how inconsistent it was for him not to consult that authority on the matter of bringing the ark up to Jerusalem. Certainly that was where it should be, but David had forgotten God’s appointed means of transporting the ark, and evidently the priests, who should have known this well, were not concerned to inform him.

They set the ark on a new cart (v.3), apparently thinking this was giving it due honor. Were they merely following the example of the Philistines when they returned the ark to Israel after having captured it and suffered for doing so (1Sa 6:7-9)? God’s method was only for the Levites of the family of Kohath to carry the ark by means of the staves (Exo 25:13-14; Num 3:27-32), though named “priests” in Jos 4:16-17. Philistines might ignore this, but Israel must not. In fact, the Philistines gave more credit to God than did the Israelites on these occasions, for the Philistines left the cart without drivers and without a man going before it. They decided to let God direct the oxen, and there was no difficulty. The Israelites had two drivers as well as the man before. No doubt they thought they should take every human precaution to see that the ark was well conducted. This was not faith.

With great joy David and many minstrels played numbers of instruments to celebrate the coming of the ark to Jerusalem. But this was suddenly and shockingly interrupted when Uzzah, a driver, reached out to steady the ark when it was shaken by the oxen. God immediately struck him dead (vs.6-7). Uzzah was the son of Abinidab in whose house the ark had remained for many years (1Sa 7:12), but neither Uzzah nor anyone else in that house had touched the ark before, or they would have been killed. No doubt what he did was on the spur of the moment and with concern that the ark should not fall, but the throne of God does not need the steadying of men’s hand.

Though Uzzah, in reaching for the ark to steady it, acted without premeditation, yet his effort was an actual insult to God’s authority, and he died. This was a lesson needed by David and all Israel. The responsibility for bearing witness to God’s sovereign authority (as symbolized in the ark) is not to be placed upon oxen and a cart, but upon the shoulders of the Levites, the sons of Kohath (Num 3:27-32). Today every believer too, as the Levite Kohathites were, is responsible to bear Christ upon his shoulders as the One who sustains the throne of God’s glory. They actually did not touch the ark, but bore it with staves. This witness is not to be left to any organization that man devises, a new cart with its impersonal “oxen” to energize it. Too often God’s people leave their responsibility to their “denomination” and bear no personal witness to Christ in His place of gracious sovereign authority. Let us carry the ark by its staves on our own shoulders, while having utmost respect in not daring to touch it, that is, to give Christ His place of highest sanctification, altogether above the need of our defending or protecting Him.

David was not only subdued before God that day, but displeased (v.8). Were his motives not right in ringing the ark to Jerusalem? If so, why should God kill Uzzah for doing a very natural thing? But right motives alone do not secure God’s approval. They must be accompanied by obedience to God’s Word. David did not yet realize that the ark should be carried by the Kohathites, and it is more sad still that the priests did not discern the reason for this tragedy. David feels that the Lord is telling him that he ought not to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Why did he forget to consult the Lord at this time at least? For this failure he deprived himself of the privilege of having the ark at Jerusalem for three months. He decided to have it placed in the house of Obed-edom a Gittite (vs.10-11)

It appears evident that Obed-edom treated the ark with becoming respect while it was in his house, and during its three months there God signally blessed him and his household. The news soon reached David that because the ark was in Obed-edom’s house the Lord had specially blessed him, so that David now decided that he would have the ark brought to Jerusalem, which was done with gladness (v.12).

It is not reported here that David had realized his mistake at this time, But 1Ch 15:12-13 shows this plainly, that the Lord had made a breach because “we sought Him not after the due order.” This time, therefore, we read of those who “bore the ark” (v.13) and that they had only begun to walk when David offered sacrifices to the Lord. This indicates a more becoming attitude than previously, for it involves the putting down of the flesh in order that Christ may be exalted. Our only real relationship to God is on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ. David accompanied this with his own personal dancing before the Lord, not with his kingly garments, as though he was of any importance in comparison to what the ark signified; but being clothed with a linen ephod (or tunic). This speaks simply of practical righteousness, a far more important thing than man’s dignified outward position of honor. David’s whole heart was manifestly in what he was doing.

As the procession came into the city with the shouting of the people and accompanied by at least one trumpet, Michal, the daughter of Saul, was only interested enough to look through a window. She had not the concern of a godly Israelite to be present to take part in giving God His place in the kingdom. The whole matter meant nothing to her, and when she saw David taking a lowly place at this time, she despised him in her heart. This is merely the unholy pride of the flesh. Her father Saul would never have done what David did: he was too interested in maintaining his own royal dignity.

The ark was set in a tent that David had pitched for it in Jerusalem. This was God’s center, and yet there was to be no temple for the ark until the days of Solomon. Nothing is said of the character of this tent, as to whether it was the same as “the tabernacle in the wilderness.” But when the ark was set there David again offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. This is the important reminder that God’s presence in Israel is only to be enjoyed on the basis of the value of the sacrifice of Christ. The burnt offerings speaks of what God receives from that sacrifice, and the peace offering involves both God’s and man’s sharing in the value of it, in vital concord.

When God is given His true place, it is inevitable that the people will be blessed. David delighted to bless them in the name of the Lord of hosts. More than this, he gave to every individual adult in Israel, women as well as men, a loaf of bread, a good sized piece of meat and a cake of raisins. This shows too that those who give the Lord His place will also be glad to be generous toward others.

Following David’s placing the ark in its tent and his blessing of Israel, he returned to bless his own household. But Michal was in no condition to be blessed. She was ready with her caustic, sarcastic tongue to grossly insult her husband, the king: “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” (v.20). Of course this uncovering only referred to David’s divesting himself of his royal apparel. Michal was so spiritually blind as to have no discernment that the greatest of human beings has no place of special honor before God: all are on the same humbled level.

David therefore answered her that what he had done was “before the Lord,” a vitally important matter. More than this, he reminds her that the Lord had chosen David as king above her father Saul and above all Saul’s house. God’s choice was a man who would humble himself before God, not one who always sought to proudly exalt himself Therefore David would celebrate before the Lord (v.21).

The only right way to do this was in the humbling of self, and David would be willing to be more undignified than this for the sake of the honor of the Lord. As to the maidservants of whom Michal spoke, he knew that this would not depreciate the honor they would give him (v.22). They had more sense than did Michal, for they would recognize that the man who takes a lowly place before the Lord is the one who can be trusted in the place of authority over men.

God’s government also intervened in this serious matter, and He decided that Michal would have no children to the day of her death. A woman who ignores the things of God, shows little respect for her husband, and has no children, must surely have a miserable existence. But it is a mercy she had no children, for she could not have taught them the humility of true faith in the living God.

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

The first move 6:1-11

Baale-judah (2Sa 6:2) may have been the later name of Kiriath-jearim (cf. Jos 15:9-10). [Note: Ibid., p. 869.] This was where the ark had evidently rested since the Israelites had moved it from Bethshemesh in Samuel’s days (1 Samuel 6; cf. Psa 132:6-8). [Note: Joseph Blenkinsopp, "Kiriath-jearim and the Ark," Journal of Biblical Literature 88 (1969):146-47.]

David wanted to bring the ark into his capital because it symbolized the Lord’s presence. As we have seen, David did not believe superstitiously that the ark for its own sake would bring blessing wherever it went. He viewed Yahweh as the real source of blessing. However, he wanted the people to see that it was important that Israel’s God, and what represented Him, should be at the center of national life. Unfortunately he did not move the ark according to the specifications of the Mosaic Law but according to customary practice (cf. 1Sa 6:7-8). Priests were to carry it on poles (Exo 25:14; Num 4:1-15), not on a cart. Furthermore no one was to touch it (cf. Num 4:19-20). This incident is a striking illustration of the spiritual truth that God’s work must be done in God’s way to secure God’s blessing.

God’s symbolic entrance into Jerusalem was a cause for great celebration. David was apparently angry because he expected God to bless his efforts. God taught him that obedience is more important than good intentions and religious ritual (1Sa 15:22). David learned a lesson about God’s holiness too.

"He who had experienced wonderful protection over the years from the Lord his God, and had known unusual intimacy with him, had to come to terms with the fact that he had overstepped the mark, and presumed upon the relationship, by failing to observe the regulations laid down to safeguard respect for God’s holiness. Though Jesus taught us to call God our Father, he also taught us to pray ’hallowed be thy name,’ implying the need to pay careful attention lest privilege becomes presumption." [Note: Baldwin, p. 208. Cf. Gordon, p. 232.]

The death of Uzzah was a lesson similar to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1-2), Achan (Joshua 7), and Ananias and Saphira (Act 5:1-11). All these people failed to take God seriously at the beginning of a new phase of His kingdom program. What we do is important, but how we do it is also important. Coming close to doing God’s will is not enough even though we have the best of motives; David wanted to honor God. We need to practice radical obedience; we need wholehearted commitment to God’s will as His disciples.

During the three months the ark stayed with Obed-edom, David evidently did some Bible study and discovered how God had said His people should move it (cf. 1Ch 15:1-13). Obed-edom probably came from the Levitical town of Gath-rimmon in Dan (Jos 21:24; Jos 19:45). It is unlikely that he was a Philistine from the Philistine town of Gath. His house appears to have been on the southwestern hill of Jerusalem. [Note: R. A. Carlson, David the Chosen King, p. 79.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ARK BROUGHT UP TO JERUSALEM.

2Sa 6:1-23.

THE first care of David when settled on the throne had been to obtain possession of the stronghold of Zion, on which and on the city which was to surround it he fixed as the capital of the kingdom and the dwelling-place of the God of Israel. This being done, he next set about bringing up the ark of the testimony from Kirjath-jearim, where it had been left after being restored by the Philistines in the early days of Samuel. David’s first attempt to place the ark on Mount Zion failed through want of due reverence on the part of those who were transporting it; but after an interval of three months the attempt was renewed, and the sacred symbol was duly installed on Mount Zion, in the midst of the tabernacle prepared by David for its reception.

In bringing up the ark to Jerusalem, the king showed a commendable desire to interest the whole nation, as far as possible, in the solemn service. He gathered together the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand, and went with them to bring up the ark from Baale of Judah, which must be another name for Kirjath-jearim, distant from Jerusalem about ten miles. The people, numerous as they were, grudged neither the time, the trouble, nor the expense. A handful might have sufficed for all the actual labour that was required; but thousands of the chief people were summoned to be present, and that on the principle both of rendering due honour to God, and of conferring a benefit on the people. It is not a handful of professional men only that should be called to take a part in the service of religion; Christian people generally should have an interest in the ark of God; and other things being equal, that Church which interests the greatest number of people and attracts them to active work will not only do most for advancing God’s kingdom, but will enjoy most of inward life and prosperity.

The joyful spirit in which this service was performed by David and his people is another interesting feature of the transaction. Evidently it was not looked on as a toilsome service, but as a blessed festival, adapted to cheer the heart and raise the spirits. What was the precise nature of the service? It was to bring into the heart of the nation, into the new capital of the kingdom, the ark of the covenant, that piece of sacred furniture which had been constructed nearly five hundred years before in the wilderness of Sinai, the memorial of God’s holy covenant with the people, and the symbol of His gracious presence among them. In spirit it was bringing God into the very midst of the nation, and on the choicest and most prominent pedestal the country now supplied setting up a constant memento of the presence of the Holy One. Rightly understood, the service could bring joy only to spiritual hearts; it could give pleasure to none who had reason to dread the presence of God. To those who knew Him as their reconciled Father and the covenant God of the nation, it was most attractive. It was as if the sun were again shining on them after a long eclipse, or as if the father of a loved and loving family had returned after a weary absence. God enthroned on Zion, God in the midst of Jerusalem – what happier or more thrilling thought was it possible to cherish? God, the sun and shield of the nation, occupying for His residence the one fitting place in all the land, and sending over Jerusalem and over all the country emanations of love and grace, full of blessing for all that feared His name! The happiness with which this service was entered on by David and his people is surely the type of the spirit in which all service to God should be rendered by those whose sins He has blotted out, and on whom He has bestowed the privileges of His children.

But the best of services may be gone about in a faulty way. There may be some criminal neglect of God’s will that, like the dead fly in the apothecary’s pot of ointment, causes the perfume to send forth a stinking savour. And so it was on this occasion. God had expressly directed that when the ark was moved from place to place it should be borne on poles on the shoulders of the Levites, and never carried in a cart, like a common piece of furniture. But in the removal of the ark from Kirjath-jearim, this direction was entirely overlooked. Instead of following the directions given to Moses, the example of the Philistines was copied when they sent the ark back to Bethshemesh. The Philistines had placed it in a new cart, and the men of Israel now did the same. What induced them to follow the example of the Philistines rather than the directions of Moses, we do not know, and can hardly conjecture. It does not appear to have been a mere oversight. It had something of a deliberate plan about it, as if the law given in the wilderness were now obsolete, and in so small a matter any method might be chosen that the people liked. It was substituting a heathen example for a Divine rule in the worship of God. We cannot suppose that David was guilty of deliberately setting aside the authority of God. On his part, it may have been an error of inadvertence. But that somewhere there was a serious offence is evident from the punishment with which it was visited (1Ch 15:13). The jagged bridle-paths of those parts are not at all adapted for wheeled conveyances, and when the oxen stumbled, and the ark was shaken, Uzzah, who was driving the cart, put forth his hand to steady it. “The anger of God,” we are told, “was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.” His effort to steady the ark must have been made in a presumptuous way, without reverence for the sacred vessel. Only a Levite was authorized to touch it, and Uzzah was apparently a man of Judah. The punishment may seem to us hard for an offence which was ceremonial rather than moral; but in that economy, moral truth was taught through ceremonial observances, and neglect of the one was treated as involving neglect of the other. The punishment was like the punishment of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, for offering strange fire in their censers. It may be that both in their case, and in the case of Uzzah, there were unrecorded circumstances, unknown to us, making it clear that the ceremonial offence was not a mere accident, but that it was associated with evil personal qualities well fitted to provoke the judgment of God. The great lesson for all time is to beware of following our own devices in the worship of God when we have clear instructions in His word how we are to worship Him.

This lamentable event put a sudden end to the joyful service. It was like the bursting of a thunderstorm on an excursion party that rapidly sends everyone to flight. And it is doubtful whether the spirit shown by David was altogether right. He was displeased “because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah, and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me? So David would not remove the ark of the Lord into the city of David; but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.” The narrative reads as if David resented the judgment which God had inflicted, and in a somewhat petulant spirit abandoned the enterprise because he found God too hard to please. That some such feeling should have fluttered about his heart was not to be wondered at; but surely it was a feeling to which he ought not to have given entertainment, as it certainly was one on which he ought not to have acted. If God was offended, David surely knew that He must have had good ground for being so. It became him and the people, therefore, to accept God’s judgment, humble themselves before Him, and seek forgiveness for the negligent manner in which they had addressed themselves to this very solemn service. Instead of this David throws up the matter in a fit of sullen temper, as if it were impossible to please God in it, and the enterprise must therefore be abandoned. He leaves the ark in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, returning to Jerusalem crestfallen and displeased, altogether in a spirit most opposite to that in which he had set out.

It may happen to you that some Christian undertaking on which you have entered with great zeal and ardour, and without any surmise that you are not doing right, is not blessed; but meets with some rough shock, that places you in a very painful position. In the most disinterested spirit, you have tried perhaps to set up in some neglected district a school or a mission, and you expect all encouragement and approbation from those who are most interested in the welfare of the district. Instead of receiving approval, you find that you are regarded as an enemy and an intruder. You are attacked with unexampled rudeness, sinister aims are laid to your charge, and the purpose of your undertaking is declared to be to hurt and discourage those whom you were bound to aid. The shock is so violent and so rude that for a time you cannot understand it. On the part of man it admits of no reasonable justification whatever. But when you go into your closet, and think of the matter as permitted by God, you wonder still more why God should thwart you in your endeavour to do good. Rebellious feelings hover about your heart that if God is to treat you in this way, it were better to abandon His service altogether. But surely no such feeling is ever to find a settled place in your heart. You may be sure that the rebuff which God has permitted you to encounter is meant as a trial of your faith and humility; and if you wait on God for further light and humbly ask a true view of God’s will; if, above all, you beware of retiring in sullen silence from God’s active service, good may come out of the apparent evil, and you may yet find cause to bless God even for the shock that made you so uncomfortable at the time.

The Lord does not forsake His people, nor leave them forever under a cloud. It was not long before the downcast heart of David was reassured. When the ark had been left at the house of Obed-edom, Obed-edom was not afraid to take it in. Its presence in other places had hitherto been the signal for disaster and death. Among the Philistines, in city after city, at Bethshemesh, and now at Perez-uzzah, it had spread death on every side. Obed-edom was no sufferer. Probably he was a God-fearing man, conscious of no purpose but that of honouring God. A manifest blessing rested on his house. “The God of heaven,” says Bishop Hall, “pays liberally for His lodging.” It is not so much God’s ark in our time and country that needs a lodging, but God’s servants, God’s poor, sometimes persecuted fugitives flying from an oppressor, very often pious men in oreign countries labouring under infinite discouragements to serve God. The Obed-edom who takes them in will not suffer. Even should he be put to loss or inconvenience, the day of recompense draweth nigh. “I was a stranger, and ye took Me in.”

Again, then, King David, encouraged by the experience of Obed-edom, goes forth in royal state to bring up the ark to Jerusalem. The error that had proved so fatal was now rectified. “David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God and to minister unto Him forever” (1Ch 15:2). In token of his humility and his conviction that every service that man renders to God is tainted and needs forgiveness, oxen and fatlings were sacrificed ere the bearers of the ark had well begun to move. The spirit of enthusiastic joy again swayed the multitude, brightened probably by the assurance that no judgment need now be dreaded, but that they might confidently look for the smile of an approving God. The feelings of the king himself were wonderfully wrought up, and he gave free expression to the joy of his heart. There are occasions of great rejoicing when all ceremony is forgotten, and no forms or appearances are suffered to stem the tide of enthusiasm as it gushes right from the heart. It was an occasion of this kind to David. The check he had sustained three months before had only dammed up his feelings, and they rolled out now with all the greater volume. His soul was stirred by the thought that the symbol of Godhead was now to be placed in his own city, close to his own dwelling; that it was to find an abiding place of rest in the heart of the kingdom, on the heights where Melchizedek had reigned, close to where he had blessed Abraham, and which God had destined as His own dwelling from the foundations of the world. Glorious memories of the past, mingling with bright anticipations of the future, recollections of the grace revealed to the fathers, and visions of the same grace streaming forth to distant ages, as generation after generation of the faithful came up here to attend the holy festivals, might well excite that tumult of emotion in David’s breast before which the ordinary restraints of royalty were utterly flung aside. He sacrificed, he played, he sang, he leapt and danced before the Lord, with all his might; he made a display of enthusiasm which the cold-hearted Michal, as she could not understand it nor sympathize with it, had the folly to despise and the cruelty to ridicule. The ordinary temper of the sexes was reversed – the man was enthusiastic; the woman was cold. Little did she know of the springs of true enthusiasm in the service of God! To her faithless eye, the ark was little more than a chest of gold, and where it was kept was of little consequence; her carnal heart could not appreciate the glory that excelleth; her blind eye could see none of the visions that had overpowered the soul of her husband.

A few other circumstances are briefly noticed in connection with the close of the service, when the ark had been solemnly enshrined within the tabernacle that David had reared for it on Mount Zion.

The first is that “David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord.” The burnt-offering was a fresh memorial of sin, and therefore a fresh confession that even in connection with that very holy service there were sins to be confessed, atoned for, and forgiven. For there is this great difference between the service of the formalist and the service of the earnest worshipper: that while the one can see nothing faulty in his performance, the other sees a multitude of imperfections in his. Clearer light and a clearer eye, even the light thrown by the glory of God’s purity on the best works of man, reveal a host of blemishes, unseen in ordinary light and by the carnal eye. Our very prayers need to be purged, our tears to be wept over, our repentances repented of. Little could the best services ever done by him avail the spiritual worshipper if it were not for the High-priest over the house of God who ever liveth to make intercession for him.

Again, we find David after the offering of the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings “blessing the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.” This was something more than merely expressing a wish or offering a prayer for their welfare. It was like the benediction with which we close our public services. The benediction is more than a prayer. The servant of the Lord appears in the attitude of dropping on the heads of the people the blessing which he invokes. Not that he or any man can convey heavenly blessings to a people that do not by faith appropriate them and rejoice in them. But the act of benediction implies this: These blessings are yours if you will only have them. They are provided, they are made over to you, if you will only accept them. The last act of public worship is a great encouragement to faith. When the peace of God that passeth all understanding, or the blessing of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost are invoked over your heads, it is to assure you that if you will but accept of them through Jesus Christ, these great blessings are actually yours. True, there is no part of our service more frequently spoiled by formality; but there is none richer with true blessing to faith. So when David blessed the people, it was an assurance to them that God’s blessing was within their reach; it was theirs if they would only take it. How strange that any hearts should be callous under such an announcement; that any should fail to leap to it, as it were, and rejoice in it, as glad tidings of great joy!

The third thing David did was to deal to every one of Israel, both man and woman, a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. It was a characteristic act, worthy of a bountiful and generous nature like David’s. It may be that associating bodily gratifications with Divine service is liable to abuse, that the taste which it gratifies is not a high one, and that it tempts some men to attend religious services for the same reason as some followed Jesus – for the loaves and fishes. Yet Jesus did not abstain on some rare occasions from feeding the multitude, though the act was liable to abuse. The example both of David and of Jesus may show us that though not habitually, yet occasionally, it is both right and fitting that religious service should be associated with a simple repast. There is nothing in Scripture to warrant the practice, adopted in some missions in very poor districts, of feeding the people habitually when they come up for religious service, and there is much in the argument that such a practice degrades religion and obscures the glory of the blessings which Divine service is designed to bring to the poor. But occasionally the rigid rule may be somewhat relaxed, and thus a sort of symbolical proof afforded that godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

The last thing recorded of David is, that he returned to bless his house. The cares of the State and the public duties of the day were not allowed to interfere with his domestic duty. Whatever may have been his ordinary practice, on this occasion at least he was specially concerned for his household, and desirous that in a special sense they should share the blessing. It is plain from this that, amid all the imperfections of his motley household, he could not allow his children to grow up ignorant of God, thus dealing a rebuke to all who, outdoing the very heathen in heathenism, have houses without an altar and without a God. It is painful to find that the spirit of the king was not shared by every member of his family. It was when he was returning to this duty that Michal met him and addressed to him these insulting words: “How glorious was the king of Israel to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamefully uncovers himself.” On the mind of David himself, this ebullition had no effect but to confirm him in his feeling, and reiterate his conviction that his enthusiasm reflected on him not shame but glory. But a woman of Michal’s character could not but act like an icicle on the spiritual life of the household. She belonged to a class that cannot tolerate enthusiasm in religion. In any other cause, enthusiasm may be excused, perhaps extolled and admired: in the painter, the musician, the traveler, even the child of pleasure; the only persons whose enthusiasm is unbearable are those who are enthusiastic in their regard for their Saviour, and in the answer they give to the question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” There are, doubtless, times to be calm, and times to be enthusiastic; but can it be right to give all our coldness to Christ and all our enthusiasm to the world?

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary