2 SAMUEL 6 - PROPER WORSHIP
2 Samuel 6
King David sought to bring the Ark of God back into Jerusalem to restore proper worship. The Ark of God had been previously captured by the Philistines, but was sent back to Israel because of the curse that it brought upon the Philistine people (1 Samuel 7). The Ark was a box that was covered in gold with angels mounted on the top. Inside of it were the stone tablets received by Moses, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff that had budded. The Ark is where God’s presence resided in the times of the Old Covenant. To those who worshipped God properly, the Ark brought blessing. To those who didn’t worship God properly there was cursing. David wanted to bring the presence of God back to the center of Israel, in the holy city of Jerusalem, so that the people could live under the blessings of God.
Therefore, David gathered 30,000 men to bring the Ark from the house of Abinadab where it was stored after being returned on a cart by the Philistines. Abinadab lived on a hill and his two sons, Uzzah and Ahio, helped bring the ark down the hill. They set the Ark of God on a new cart to transport it, but God had given commands for how the ark was to be carried. God is holy and he had given his people the way to properly worship him (v. 1-4).
As the Ark rode on the cart, David and the people made their way down the hill with great celebration. There was dancing, singing, and musical instruments. Ahio and Uzzah were at the center of the procession making sure that the Ark stayed steady on the cart. However, when they came to the bottom of the hill, to the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled. With good intentions but improper handling Uzzah reached out and touched the ark to steady it from falling (v. 5-6).
In that moment the music stopped, and the dancing ceased because Uzzah was dead. God had struck Uzzah with death because he had reached out and improperly touched the ark. God’s presence was being handled in a way that was wrong, even if there were good intentions. Everything about this procession was improper, but the people failed to see it, and David not knowing why God showed anger against Uzzah, was now angry toward God (v. 7-8).
With a lot of confusion and definitely some fear, the people decided to park the Ark at the house of Obed-Edom. David went away to find answers for his anger, confusion, and fear. David asked, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” In the process of seeking to know why this happened, the Ark remained at the House of Obed-Edom, and great blessing came upon his house because of the Ark of God. This drove David to know why the Lord had cursed Uzzah, and why he had blessed Obed-Edom. David sought the Lord and inquired of his commands and realized that they had improperly handled the Ark of God. The law commands that the Sons of Kohath were to be the only people to carry the ark of God. They were to carry the ark with poles and upon their shoulders and not touch the ark, for it was holy (v. 9-11).
Once David realized the proper handling of God’s presence, he set out to bring the Ark to Jerusalem again. This time David had the music and the dancing, but he also had the Son of Kohath carrying the Ark, and with an extra measure of proper worship they sacrificed two animals for every six feet that they travelled. The sacrifices we not required, but they demonstrated a newfound reverence for the holiness of God. At the end of it all, the people all received portions of the sacrifices to take home for food to celebrate the blessing of the Ark being in Jerusalem (v. 12-15).
It was in this proper procession that David was so filled with rejoicing in worship that he danced among the people in a linen ephod. David danced before the Lord with all is might because he had discovered proper worship of a Holy God. However, David’s wife Michal looked out her window and saw David dancing. She thought that David’s dancing was improper for a king. Something that a vulgar fellow would do before female servants. Yet, David had experienced true and proper worship. He knew that it was improper to base worship on new carts, good intention, and musical procession. Worship of God’s holy presence had to be based on God’s terms, not man’s terms. Michal’s terms of worship mattered very little to David, because he knew he had properly worshipped the Lord in the assembly of God’s people. God’s presence was now in a tent in Jerusalem and blessing would come upon the kingdom of Israel because of it (v.16-23).
When Jesus came, he told the woman at the well that those who worship must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4). God’s presence no longer resides in an Ark, but in God’s people who believe upon the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus made propitiation through his own blood, so that those who worship God can enter boldly into God’s presence. Proper worship in the New Covenant happens through the blessing of knowing Jesus, our High Priest, who carried our sin and death upon his shoulders.