January 10 - Philistine Expedient

Jan 10

The Philistine Expedient

2Sa 6:3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart

 “Why are you doing that?”

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.