His Strength for His Way

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9

The Lord is eagerly searching for people with hearts wholly reliant on His strength; for hearts that lean on Him, that trust and walk in His way. His ways can sometimes appear intimidating or simply too difficult. But that couldn't be further from the truth. His yoke is indeed easy and His burden, light: for the heart that leans and follows, He will give His strength to. 

This lesson was learned the hard way by King David when he first attempted to transport the Ark of the covenant from Kirjathjearim to Jerusalem. By comparing this first attempt with the second (successful) one, we see the blessing and strength that is given when one chooses to walk in the Lord's commandments over their own ways. 

First we need to know exactly how the Ark of the Covenant was supposed to be carried in accordance with the law. We can see this in the book of Numbers: “When the camp sets forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the ark of testimony with it: and shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a blue cloth and shall put in the staves (polls) thereof.” (Numbers 4:5-6) “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 (a family of the Levites) 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.” (Numbers 4:15)

So from this we can gather that the Lord wanted the Ark to be covered, and then carried by a specific family group – the Levites. Seems straightforward enough, yeah? Now knowing this let’s take a look at David’s first attempt at bringing the Ark back to Jerusalem.

The idea was great, David wanted the Ark of God back in the nation’s capital. However, his first attempt at doing so was in his own strength and by his own way. David made an announcement and gathered the people to bring up the Ark in a joyous celebration. So far so good. But in the very next verse we see a major mistake - “they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio (Abinadab’s sons) drove the cart” (1 Chron. 13:7). So instead of carrying the Ark, they put it on a cart and pulled it by oxen. Though David and all of Israel played music with all their might before the Lord, He was not pleased. For we see that the oxen began to shake the Ark and “Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark” (1 Chron.13:9) And there Uzza died. Many people get upset when reading this part, it’s okay, David did too. David feared the Lord that day and put off bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. Instead he brought it aside to the house of Obededom the Gittite.

But let’s go back to Uzza for a moment. Why did God strike him, people ask. Well there’s the simple obvious answer, which is: “they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” Yep, good enough reason for me. But let’s take the whole situation into account as well. The Ark was being transported in a way God did not command. The Ark was unsteadied when the oxen shook, and was probably about to fall over. This is why Uzza put forth his hand, to keep the Ark from falling. Now let me ask, do you think it’s possible that God wanted the Ark to fall? Do you think God might have been trying to stop them from doing it their way, to bring them back to His own? I think so. 

So #1: Uzza touched the Ark which was never permitted; #2: the Lord was trying to bring Israel back to following His way, and Uzza put forth his hand to stop God, so they could continue carrying the ark (doing things) in their own way. Not good. Interestingly enough, the name Uzza means “strength”. I don’t find this coincidental. I think Uzza represented the Israelites doing something in their own strength.

So now David is in quite a predicament. He wants the Ark back in Jerusalem, however he knows now that he wasn’t doing it the right way, and on top of that God was clearly not pleased about it. New hope comes though when he hears that, “the Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertains unto him, because of the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:12) My assumption is that David might have perceived this as a sign that the Lord’s anger had passed. But that’s just my guess. Either way, we see that David prepares a place for the ark of God in Jerusalem and pitches a tent for it in anticipation. He then goes to retrieve the Ark a second time…

David is not going to do things his way again though. He’s going to follow the commandments of the Lord, and do it God’s way.

He first acknowledges that the Levites must carry the Ark, declaring “the children of the Levites bear the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.” (1 Chron. 15:15) He also calls again, gathering the children of Israel and assembling the children of Aaron (the Levites). He makes a great deal in bringing the most skilled musicians and singers to perform before the Ark as they moved. And with every 6 paces that the Levites who carried the Ark took, David sacrificed oxen and rams to the Lord. David himself, “danced before the Lord with all his might.” (2 Samuel 6:14)

I think it’s safe to say that this time around David did it God’s way. He did it right.

By doing it His way, and by following His commandments, something huge changed. “And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord…” (1 Chron. 15:26) This second time, when Israel obeyed the Lord and carried the Ark the way He commanded, He helped them bear the weight.

Let’s look at this logistically. The Ark was a solid wood container overlaid with gold. You think that sounds light? I don’t. Putting it on a cart and having oxen pull it sounds much easier than literally bearing it on your shoulders. And in our own natural strength, that’s true. Doing it the way the Lord commanded was more difficult, but when they obeyed and did it regardless, the Lord bore it with them. My guess is that the Ark was actually lighter and easier to carry when it was done correctly, than when it was pulled on a cart.

The way of the Lord may seem difficult. You may think, “well I can’t do that, I can’t live like that, I don’t have the strength or the self-control.” But that’s only because you’re looking at how you can accomplish the goal in your own way and in your own strength. When you stop this fight with yourself and surrender to His way, you find that He gives you His strength. You realize that its actually easier and lighter because now the Lord is strengthening you – Now He’s bearing it with you.