08/07/2016 - IMPORTANT DETAIL

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Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.    2 Samuel 6:12

Ever since the philistines took the Arch of the Covenant, God was angry with His people and their enemies. The Israelites knew that He walked amongst them and they could not have sinned, like the sons of Eli had done. Once taken to the land of the philistines, the Arch brought curses to that place. See what you have done to prevent the Lord from working in your life. 

In the land of the philistines, the presence of the Arch meant great loss to them, for, because they did not fear the Lord and because they did what they shouldn’t, they saw the hand of the Almighty come upon them in a destructive way. The shame was deadly; so much so, that they concluded they would be terminated if they didn’t get rid of that “box” which contained the God of Israel. They strived to get rid of the punishment that had come upon them. 

Fear also came upon David and the Israelites when they saw what happened to Uzzah, who put out his hand to the Arch of God and was fulminated. He did not know that God did not need human help concerning His cult. Even the praise should be given with the fear and trembling which He gives us. The oxen stumbled, but, even so, God was powerful to keep safe what belonged to Him ( 2 Samuel 6:6). 

In David´s case, he did not give up bringing the Arch; however, he told to send it to the house of Obed-Edom, where it stayed for three months. There, it was different. Because he feared the Lord and embraced the Arch for a short period of time, this man and his house were blessed by God for the love they showed towards the sacred. The Most High always rewards those with a godly heart. 

Then, David sought the Arch and took it to his city. However, he feared so much that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep every six steps, by those who were carrying the arch (v. 13). At the same time, David danced with all his might before the Lord. Thus, that king and all of Israel took the Arch with great joy and at the sound of trumpets. 

David knew that he should serve God and do His work with the gladness given by Him. Those who only complain or ask for blessings with a bitter heart or with hidden sins are completely wrong. Psalm 119:75 explains the reason why we are afflicted. Deliberate sin brings a harsh sentence.  

Those who do the work with sadness do not serve God. Gladness is the basic requisite when serving the Lord. The fact that you rejoice when you listen to the Word but you don’t use it in the divine work – prayer, testimony, giving your tithes and offerings –  shows that you have become a bad fig tree, and because of that, you will not remain in the Promised Land. 

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares