The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_samuel/5.htm

Now that Abner and Ishbosheth are dead, Judah and Israel are once again one country and they anoint and install David as King over the entire land. And God’s Will was done.

And David still confers with God, serves Him, and does as He wishes, and as a result of his faithfulness, we can see the blessings God bestows on David.

Once David is made King, the Philistines begin their search for David to kill him, and David prays for guidance. God uses the word “doubtless” when He responds; He will “doubtlessly” go with David, protect his army in battle, and ensure he prevails.

Is David without sin? Not by a long shot,l we are all sinners. But when David sins, he confesses his sin, he repents from it,, and he picks himself back up to serve God. And that is why David will probably end up being the greatest king Israel ever saw.

In 1 Chronicles 12 through 14, the army of David is documented, where they were located and who were the officers.

And then we find some confusing scripture in 1 Chronicles 13. If you remember, Israel had separated itself from God in the time of Judge Eli, and because there were being defeated by the Philistines, they took the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them, thinking it would give them power, and it did not. Power comes from God, not from an inanimate object like the Bible, or a cross, or a statue of the Virgin Mary sitting on the dashboard of your car. Taking the ark into battle did not serve them at all, in fact it made it so the Philistines captured it.

But the Philistines were not righteous enough to be in its midst, and it made them ill with sores and boils. So they rid themselves of the ark and sent it back to Israel.

Now that David had established himself as king and was residing in the City of David, aka Jerusalem, he wanted the ark returned to Jerusalem.

As they were bringing it back and putting it on someones threshing floor for safe keeping, the oxen stumbled and a man named Uzza reached out to stablize the ark, and the Bible says the “wrath of God” killed him.

“If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.”

Does that sound like something Jesus would do? Did Jesus become angry because they had turned the Temple into a flea market on the Sabbath and upturn all of the tables, or did He stretch out His hand and just kill everyone? No, He didn’t, and God didn’t kill Uzza.

I hope that if the Ark of the Covenant is ever found again, they will follow the Law of Moses, which was God’s law given to Moses.

Do you ever recall Moses telling the children of Israel to put the ark on a cart and pull it with oxen? No! The ark was sacred, and was only supposed to be moved by carrying it with the gold poles, and only carried by Levites, assigned the responsibility of carrying the ark.

Remember the ark was so powerful that when the Levites who were carrying it stepped into the Jordan River (as they were crossing over into Jericho), the Jordan stopped flowing and they crossed the Jordan on dry ground, the same as they did at the Red Sea? Was David moving the ark in accordance with Mosaic Law? Was the ark being carried by sanctified Levites? No. Had it been carried properly, had it been carried by Levites, there would have been no oxen to stumble, and therefore no reason for Uzza to stabilize the ark.

Did God kill Uzza for touching the ark? No. Uzza died because he was not a Levite, he was no sanctified, and he was not righteous to withstand the Glory of God which filled the ark. Remember, the ark contained the tablets of stone which contained the Ten Commandments given to Moses, and written with the finger of God. How much more Holy can you get than to possess something that the finger of God Himself created? And the ark contained a vessel of manna as God had instructed, so the children of Israel would remember when God rained down food from the Heavens while they were wandering in the wilderness. How sacred would that be?

Just like the Holy of Holies, the place in the Tabernacle where the ark was stored, not just anyone could waltz in and start dusting the ark and sweeping the floor. The ark has so much Glory of God surrounding it, that a normal person could not withstand it. The Levites were given authority and protection from God to carry the ark, yet they even had to sanctify themselves before doing so. God didn’t kill Uzza…Uzza forgot the rules, and not just some stupid rules established by God, but rules meant to keep us alive! You are not righteous enough to withstand my Glory! Do not touch the ark unless authorized to do so…if you do, the Glory will be so strong it will kill you.

It is the same Glory that killed Nadab and Abihu, Aarons son’s who lit the unauthorized incense. And now that I think about it, maybe burning the incense was a non-verbal way to summon God into the tabernacle. Maybe when Nadab and Abihu lit the incense, which they were not authorized to do, it summoned God and He showed Himself to them. Just being in the presence of God made Moses face shine, and Moses didn’t set an eye upon God. Think if Nadab and Abihu lit the incense which caused God to come into the Tabernacle, and the Glory of God was so bright, they could not withstand it.

And the Glory of God contained within the ark of the covenant was so great, Uzza could not withstand it and when he touched the ark, it killed him. God doesn’t kill anyone…out separation from God is what kills us.

The lesson is…follow God’s law as it is meant to protect us, not restrict us or punish us.

The lesson is…Jesus is coming soon, and we better get righteous enough that we are able to withstand His Glory.

When Lucifer was an obedient angel in Heaven, while he was residing with God, loving Him, following God’s rules, Lucifer was righteous enough to withstand the Glory of God. But once he sinned, once he coveted the throne and plotted against God, Lucifer lost that righteousness and could no longer withstand God’s Glory. And perhaps the evil that lives within us is Satan, Lucifer himself, and until we get rid of him, until we cleanse our bodies of evil, we will not be righteous enough.

And maybe, just maybe, maybe our loving and merciful God, who is definitely not the angry tyrant we are told about, maybe God cast Lucifer and the fallen angels out of Heaven, not to ride Heaven of evil, but actually to save their lives. God knew that once sin entered them, they could not withstand His Glory and it would kill them. Even though they sinned, God still loved them, He created them, and maybe God cast them away from Him to save their lives.

As a pastor I sometimes follow says, “I can’t prove it, but you can’t disprove it either.” All I know is that the Bible was written by mortal humans, with good intentions, but likely had the wrong impression of things, because God is just like Jesus, and I know hoe Jesus is.