Jan 10
The Philistine Expedient
2Sa 6:3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart
When someone asks that question it is usually
because they don’t understand why you are doing something. You may be involved
with something that is outside the experience or knowledge of the person asking,
such as the thousand questions children may ask.
Or the question may come from one who is more
experienced or informed. When they see you are doing something that they know
won’t work, or even worse, may lead to big problems they may ask “Why are you
doing that?”
You may be annoyed with that question and
ignore them. Or you might ask how they would do it. But the best response would
be to ask yourself “Hmmm…What am I doing ….and why?”
The start of a new year is a good time to ask
ourselves that question. “What am I doing?”
It is good to periodically review what we are doing, why we are doing it
and if it works. A TV personality says it this way. “Keep doing what you’ve
done and you’ll keep getting what you got!”
That is exactly what David should have done
before he moved the ark. If you recall the events of 1 Sam chapters 5-6 The
Israelites had taken the ark to a battle, sort of like a good luck charm. The
Philistines captured the ark, but it gave them so many problems they put it on
a new cart pulled by cows and sent it back to the Israelites. Circumstances led
to it being taken to the house of Abinadab, where it sat for 20 years.
David decided it was time to go get the ark and
bring it to Jerusalem. He gathered 30,000 chosen men and headed up to Abinadab’s
house. When they loaded the ark on a new cart pulled by oxen and headed down
the road David and the people who came with him all started playing their
musical instruments. It was like a big parade with bands and celebration. They
were delighted in taking part in such a wonderful religious thing.
2Sa 6:5 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.
It was a splendid religious celebration. God was
being glorified and honored. Such a huge crowd of people celebrating God by
marching through the country with the ark would have been a powerful witness
and a demonstration of their devotion to Jehovah. It was a Jehovah celebration!
But it was not according to God’s word.
Something caused the oxen to shake the ark so
Abinidab’s son , Uzzah, reached over and took hold of the ark.
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.
David’s initial response was to be displeased. He was not
happy with what God had done. David had organized a wonderful religious event, thousands
of people had joined in, they had a religious parade with a band and everyone
was feeling so blessed. Then God had to go and ruin it all! David was not
happy.
2Sa 6:8 And David was displeased,
because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah:
Then his displeasure turned to fear of God. If a great
celebration didn’t please God then David just didn’t have any idea what it
would take?
2Sa 6:9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and
said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
David had made the kind of mistake that is
sapping the strength from churches today. They keep trying to figure out better
ways to celebrate Jesus. As a result some of the world’s most popular ideas are
making inroads into some churches. You may know of churches that claim to be
Bible believing, but are not Bible behaving. The early church overcame the
Roman Empire. Christianity today seems weak in comparison.
So what had David done wrong? He had ignored
God’s clear instruction on how the ark was to be carried. Levites were in charge of moving the ark. Long poles went through the rings on the outside
of the ark, so they never had to touch it.
(See Exodus 25:14-15; Numbers 4:15)
Didn’t someone in that crowd with
David wonder why there were rings on the ark? There must have been some who
knew the Word of God was being ignored, but they didn’t speak up. They just
kept quiet and joined in.
Those in charge would have known how the
Philistines had sent the ark back on a new cart. So they just did what the ungodly
Philistines had done. They chose the Philistine Expedient. That sounds like the
title of a modern spy vrs spy book, but it isn’t.
The word expedient means they
used what was at hand, what was convenient. Why bother with details when they
were sincere in their religious celebration. The Philistines did it that way.
So the Israelites used the same ungodly method, put a religious spin on it and
just knew it would make God delighted. Their error seems so obvious to us
today.
So what are we doing? It is good to stop and
ask ourselves if our understanding of God matches what Scripture teaches. Does
the way we worship meet Biblical standards? How about our church, pastor, and
religious holidays? Is Easter really
about bunnies and eggs, two symbols of ancient fertility cults? Is church
leadership really about politics and manipulation? Finally is our modern
cafeteria Christianity where we pick and choose the parts of the Bible we
enjoy, really how Scripture should be used?
It is so easy to “be conformed to the world”
and so hard to “transform our minds” but that is a poor excuse to not make the
effort. Let us consider how we worship, how we apply the Word of God to our
lives. Let us stop and ask “What are we doing?” And that is our devotional
thought for today.
Think about how you handle the Word of God; How you worship;
What your church practices; How the leadership is guiding your church; and if
what you do draws you closer to God or farther from Him. David just used what was expedient, what was
available, what was easy and what the ungodly had done. Are we repeating the
same error today?
That’s probably enough for us to think about
today! God bless you and give you both wisdom and strength to follow the Word
of God.
Jos 1:8 This book
of the law shall not depart
out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein
day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written
therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have
good success.
