2 Samuel 6

1 David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. 2 He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

8 Then David was angry because the LORD’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

9 David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” 10 He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.

12 Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

21 David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Points of Interest

• ‘to bring up from there the ark of God’--having won peace like they haven’t had for a while, David musters the troops for a completely different reason: to worship God together. The ‘ark’ is basically a very ancient , very holy souvenir chest. The Israelites built it during Moses’ time, according to God’s specifications, and filled it with remembrances of the ways God rescued them and provided for them in their desert wanderings.
• ‘enthroned between the cherubim on the ark’--as we’ve mentioned a couple of times over the course of this guide, the surrounding nations made physical representations of their gods, called ‘idols.’ These idols weren’t thought of as mere pictures of the gods, but as local manifestations of the gods. The LORD God prohibited the Israelites from making this sort of physical representation, certainly of other gods, but even of the LORD himself. God wanted the Israelites to think of God being right in the midst of them, directly, without any physical proxy necessary. So, the ark, instead of being a representation of God, was fashioned to look like God’s throne, as if God was sitting right in the midst of them.
• ‘between the cherubim’--cherubim are angelic attendants. There were sculptures of cherubim on either side of the ark.
• ‘brought it from the house of Abinadab’--just like the Philistines would carry their idols into battle, the Israelites would bring the ark. About twenty years ago, just before Saul became king, the Philistines captured the ark from the Israelites, more or less in the same way as David just captured the Philistine idols in yesterday’s passage. But the temple and town in which the Philistines held the ark started to experience all sorts of misfortune; so they put it on a cart and sent it back to the Israelites. None of the Israelites who found it quite knew what to do with it; so Abinadab has been keeping it safe. David now wants to return it to its proper place in the worship life of the Israelites.
• ‘celebrating with all their might before the LORD’--they put as much effort into praising God as into battle.
• ‘The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act’--this is meant to be a royal parade, a triumphal procession of God on his throne, celebrating his victory and entering in glory into his people’s new capital. The pageantry is ruined by the way in which they carry the ark, hauling it on the back of a bumpy oxcart. It’s like throwing Santa into the back of a U-Haul for the finale of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, but much, much worse. God didn’t ask for this parade, but he seems to think that if they’re going to do it, they should do it well. Uzzah is acting lazy, and casually disrepectful; the ark is a sacred item, meant to be touched only by the high priest, but Uzzah is treating it like so much luggage. Still, it’s a bit shocking that God strikes him dead for it.
• ‘Then David was angry because the LORD’s wrath had broken out’--now everyone is in a bad mood. God is angry that his throne is being mistreated. David is angry--whether at God or Uzzah or both is unclear--because his parade is ruined by someone being struck dead. And the big day quickly unravels.
• ‘ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite’--having only made it partway from Abinadab’s house to Jerusalem, the ark once again ends up in temporary storage in a random, nearby house. A Gittite is someone from Gath, the Philistine city in which David once sought refuge from Saul. Obed-Edom is a Philistine expatriot living in Israel.
• ‘the LORD blessed him and his entire household’--God suddenly and mercilessly cuts Uzzah down for throwing out a hand to steady the ark. Now, God casually brings a steady flow of goodness in Obed-Edom’s direction, apparently in gratitude for Obed-Edom’s hospitality. The overall impression I get from this set of interactions is that God wants the ark to be a source of blessing to people, but that doesn’t mean that God or the ark can be taken for granted. I’m still in awe that God would be willing to kill someone to make his point; but I can understand that God would want to make the point that God’s goodness toward us should not be taken as license for complacency. In any case, seeing the positive effect on Obed-Edom’s family encourages David to try again to bring the ark to Jerusalem.
• ‘those who were carrying the ark of the LORD’--this time around, they carry the ark by hand, by its carrying poles, as would be appropriate for a throne, and for the ark; and it works like a charm. God doesn’t actually seem to be asking all that much here. The consequences for not doing that little bit do still seem to be dismayingly severe, though.
• ‘Wearing a linen ephod’--David is dressed like a simple priest instead of like a king.
• ‘she despised him in her heart’--apparently, particularly when someone is dancing energetically, ephods can be a little revealing. Michal finds David’s actions and clothing to be embarrassingly uncouth.
• ‘inside the tent that David had pitched for it’--throughout the wandering in the desert, both the ark and the people stayed in tents. When they finally arrived in the promised land, the people, naturally, built more permanent homes. The ark, however, remained in a tent throughout the past 400 years, except, of course, for the past 20 years, when it was kept in Abinadab’s and Obed-Edom’s homes; but that was during a time when it was out of service, as it were. David now restores it to its proper setting.
• ‘he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins’--this is a big, fun, abundant feast. There’s plenty of meat for everyone to eat, with a new sacrifice being offered every six steps; and everyone gets their own little gift of more party food.
• ‘returned home to bless his household’--after the big, public ceremony, David returns home, hoping to continue the celebration with his family.
• ‘I will become even more undignified than this’--it’s not okay for the ark to be treated unceremoniously, but David has no scruples about looking foolish himself. This reminds me of our very first passage, when God tells Samuel, ‘People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’ It’s David’s very willingness to not behave like a king that makes him a good king, in God’s eyes, at least.
• ‘And Michal daughter of Saul had no children’--this is a sad end to David and Michal’s relationship. After all of this time, they finally realize that Michal doesn’t want David to be different from her father; she wants David to be a new and improved version of her father. So, they quietly part ways. David has plenty of other wives to spend time with and have children with. It would be easy enough for David and Michal to simply avoid one another. Politically speaking, this means the end of the House of Saul. If David were to have a son with Michal, that son, being descended from both Saul and David, would have the inside track on inheriting the crown. But it’s not to be.

Taking it home

• For you: David doesn’t let much, if anything, get in his way of following God. He portrays an attitude of being willing to do absolutely anything for God. Do you feel just as sure? Or do you feel some interest in God but have some hang-ups along the way? Tell God that you want him to be your number one priority, and that you are willing to do anything for him. If that seems like a stretch, say it out loud as if just to try it on for size, paying attention to ways you feel resistant; then talk with God about those areas of resistance.
• For your six: Michal drastically misunderstands and resents David’s decisions in following God. Are there ways you feel misunderstood or resented by your six for your decision to follow Jesus? Do you feel too weary to even talk about it? Ask God for help in communicating. Next time the opportunity presents itself, talk to your six about what God has recently been doing in your life.
• For our church: While God, being God, is supernatural, powerful, and bigger than we can quite comprehend, I wonder if there are ways in which God is somewhat like us, simply wanting to be appreciated and recognized. We all know how terrible it feels to do a lot of work, give a nice gift, or go out of the way to show someone love only to find that no one even notices or cares. Ask God to fill our church with a spirit of incredible gratitude. Ask God to give us a special awareness of the ways God has been working. Pray that our response would be to thank him.
• For families: Talk about what it means to you to worship God. What are ways you like to worship God? Do you like to dance, sing, raise your hands, sit quietly, or something else altogether? Put on one of your family’s favorite worship songs and worship in the best way you know how. Have fun!