R³ Devotional - Day 124

David is King! All of Israel is rejoicing with him and feasts have been celebrated in his honor! And then: well, it does not take long for David to get served some humble pie…sadly at the expense of Uzzah.  “Who is Uzzah,” you ask. (Strictly my opinion here) He was an “innocent” man driving a cart of oxen to bring the Ark of The Covenant into Israel, and we find he fell victim to breaking one of God’s rules about the Ark. He touched it quite innocently in an attempt to stabilize it. He was here, he touched it, then he was dead! We can all read this and think, “Well that was harsh!”  We must ask ourselves who put him in that situation though.  You see in Chapter 13, David consults all the people (not God) for advice on this, so it was doomed from the start. Our God that put him where He needed him was not sought outright on the Ark being moved.

Then we see a mix of things in Chapter 14. We see David getting a little worldly, taking multiple wives and having a large family. Then immediately we see the Philistines coming after him, so he turns to God for guidance, receives it, follows it, and succeeds…twice! Have you ever caught yourself in that “trap?”  You have seen/felt God work in an area of your life, and you immediately turn to Him for that. But in other areas, you are still pulled away by the ways of the world (culture). I admit it wholeheartedly…I spent years there…years!

In Chapters 15 and 16, we see David harken back to the laws for carrying the Ark to get it into Jerusalem into a tent he had pitched for it. He used the appointed people, they consecrated themselves correctly, the right sacrifices were made, and then the Ark was brought into Jerusalem.  The only little negative thing we see noted is that Michal, David’s wife despises him in her heart after seeing him worship as the Ark of The Covenant was brought in. I find this one little quip fairly interesting because I see it as an “eyeroll” or lack of support from a spouse for having a husband that fully worships God!  It is like she is cool with the warrior, the conqueror, and the king, but as soon as he rejoices in his God, it is as if she is embarrassed. I am certain according to Bible scholars there were other reasons for that, but that is how I see it come across. I cannot imagine walking through life with a spouse who was ashamed of my absolute adoration and worship of our God! I can confidently state in my case; it is the one thing my Wife loves most about me because we share that love of God together! We end up with David’s song of thanks, and what a beautiful song it is! The Ark is moved, the people have worshipped, and all is in place for a kingdom that now is reset on worshipping God.

Real Life Principles:

God will humble you when your pride takes over. He wants you to seek Him in everything, not just some things. He wants your whole heart, not just part of it. He wants your true love for Him, not just lip service.

Relevant Life Applications:

David trusted God fully in those times where he needed Him most, but on other things, he tried it on his own or sought worldly counsel, which typically led to failure in some way. If we are willing to give Him some things, why is it so hard to give Him everything?

Being Ready with Life Action Steps: 

Make God the first thing you turn to each day. Do you start with prayer and thanksgiving every day? Do you read His word every day to get closer to Him? Or do you just cry out to Him when it gets really bad? Seek Him in ALL THINGS!