FROM THE HOUSE OF THE GATEKEEPER TO THE GATES OF THE CITY
Lift up your heads, O ye gates!
Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in..
Psalm 24: 9
Jubilation and celebration followed the Ark of the Covenant as it was led by King David on the way up to Jerusalem. [Today’s Literal Translation: revival, restoration, reformation or a new move of God is coming!] There was singing, celebration and dancing. All those dignitaries in one place must have given a stamp of official presence to the proceedings. And probably, there were impressive trappings fit for the occasion. There were the royal wearers of purple and the priests wearing fine twine linen, and a great crowd of people. The excitement must have been palpable. David had done it! The Ark of God was returning to Jerusalem! Maybe some were wondering, could this be the Great Coming foretold of old? Maybe they were wondering if the surreal and foggy uncertainty about the long-awaited Messiah would now be rolled away to reveal that the mysterious Mashiach, the Savior -- in the flesh -- was the one who had accomplished such a great deed on behalf of Israel. Maybe some hoped for that, but it proved not to be the case.
What we do know is that the Ark represented the glory of God. God’s glory abides with His presence and real-time anointing, not a past anointing. Where the physical emblem of the Ark resided on earth there was shalom – renewal, restoration, worship, prosperity of spirit, soul and body. The same is true with the Ark not made by hands – the same richness in the Holy Spirit is with us when we open our hearts to a relationship with our God, who is never far. As we draw near to God, He draws near to us. James 4:8.
It was also known as the Ark of God's Strength. 2 Chron. 6:41; Psalm 132:8.
David led the crowd to welcome the Ark. He had reason to be excited. God had done just as He said He would. David had been victorious in battle, and the Ark, which had sojourned in a foreign land, was on its way home. He was grateful to God, to be sure. And he wanted to make sure this sequence of events went well. Perhaps he wanted that almost too much.
There were rules for how the Ark was to be carried. According to the Law, this holiest of sacraments was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests, not upon an instrumentality of someone else’s choosing. Numbers 7:6-9. Intimate contact with the presence of God is a vital necessity if we are to make it to the destination where God has prepared to meet us. I want more of it.
However, instead of following the rules, David had the Ark removed from the shoulders of the priests and put on a new cart pulled by oxen. The priests walked alongside. Now here was a separation God had not intended. The tangible presence and power, the Shekinah Glory of God was not on the priests’ shoulders, but had been relegated to a cart – a contraption made with human hands for the One who dwells in a City not made by hands! I wonder if the priests did not realize this essential ‘protocol’ was wrong. Did they know, but instead choose not to say anything?
Perhaps David didn’t know the rules, or maybe he felt his idea for carrying the Ark was better, because it would inject more pomp and ceremony into what was a truly royal occasion. Whatever the reason, the result was disaster when the cart reached the threshing floor of Nachon. A threshing floor is a central place where grain is separated from chaff. Spiritually, it is where impurities are separated from the fruit of righteousness in our lives. The cart hit a bump in the road, and a man, Uzzah, whose name means strength, reached a hand out to keep the Ark from falling off the cart and was struck dead instantly. The Bible says he died for his error, but that error was really caused by someone else’s mistake. So here we are presented with an act that was meant to honor God, but which resulted in a frightening death. It sure sounds like a bizarre story with a scary ending.
How zealous would we be to walk in the ways of the Lord if we were always mindful that even the things we speak or do, even most casually, could affect the innocent souls of those we were sent to serve? Would we be less inclined to latch onto some of the self-serving notions that are floating around today? Nowadays, there are rampaging doctrines on spiritual relationships, ministry callings and giving that have no real or well-founded basis in the scriptures. These have been inflicted upon God's innocent lambs to serve some very ignoble purposes. We teach these doctrines first to bear fruit unto men, and only as a secondary notion do we concern ourselves with God’s preferences on these matters.
In the New Testament there’s a story about a man named Ananias, who made a pledge to support the apostles. He decided not to live up to it, but lied about it instead of saying he had changed his mind. This is yet another strange story with a seemingly harsh and frightening result. Have you ever wondered why this story and the story of Uzzah are in the Bible?
Ananias died because he lied, but he could have told the imperfect truth and lived. The same thing happened to his wife. They swore by what was false. Psalm 24:4.
I believe that even as we prepare for days of Glory, there is a caution against the 'spirit of Ananias' today.
My understanding of this in today’s context is as follows. We display the spirit of Ananias when we say that our purpose (the reason for which we serve) is firstly God’s purpose, but it really isn’t. In reality, what happens is that somewhere along the way our intention to put God's purpose first became supplanted by our own desire to please ourselves. We think what we do will benefit God anyway, so there's no problem. But with God, it’s our primary purpose that counts as our real purpose. God would rather have us deal with our motivations before him, even if our wrong motives have resulted in an error, than for us to secretly continue in our own selfish purposes and ambitions.
My thought is that this pattern we see today is not a new one. Perhaps it is what David did as well.
The unthinkable had happened. Moving the Ark, which was supposed to be a victorious and joyous event, had resulted in death. In a crippling assignment, fear rocketed through the crowd, followed by doubt. Their ultimate target was the heart of the mighty warrior, David. So struck was he that he could not complete the job, and he shied away from the Ark – that symbol of victory and Divine Presence, the very reminder of “God with Us” that had carried the people through darkness and trials.
And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? 2. Sam. 6:9.
David was a warrior, prophet and king, and God’s chosen representation of every aspect of earthly ministry in one blessed vessel. He was a gatekeeper of the Lord as well, one who sat between the gates of Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 18: 24. But here he was -- paralyzed by shock, guilt and fear. While in this condition he took a next step which caused a delay in the blessings of God for the people of Israel. Those blessings would have accompanied the proper enthronement of the Ark in its rightful place. However, David could not continue toward Jerusalem, and so he sent the Ark away to the house of Obed-Edom. 2 Sam. 6:10-12.
So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him in the City of David; but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 2. Sam. 6:10.
The verb used to describe the “carrying aside of the Ark to the house of the gatekeeper is natah, which can be understood as a bending or turning away, or a moral deflection or change in course.
If there’s a course deflection, does God allow for course correction? I am grateful that He does. If we have stepped out of His plan, he can delay our expected schedules until we regain our footing and come back to His plan. Is the time in between lost? David’s experience shows us that God waited, because David had a lesson to learn, that his way must be subordinate to God’s way. And then his strength would return.
Lift up your heads, O keepers of the gates! The King of Glory awaits the return of your strength.
David quickly figured out what he had done wrong, and how the Ark should be carried. But in the meantime, for three months the presence of God dwelled with Obed-Edom.
Who was Obed-Edom? He was a Gittite who was also a Levite, from the Levitical city of
Gath-Rimmon in Manasseh. The literal translation of the name Obed-Edom is “servant of Edom.” Edom was the land inhabited by the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin. In spite of his name, which may have represented his family history outside Israel, he was a Levite and a porter or gatekeeper in God’s Kingdom. 1 Chron. 26: 4-8. Gatekeepers were administrators over temple finances or the business affairs of a jurisdiction such as a city. 2 Kings 7:10-11; 1 Chron. 9:21, 26.
The Ark went to the home of a worshipping gatekeeper. Actually, it seems those two aspects -- worshipper and gatekeeper -- cannot really be separated. Rather, I believe the King of Glory entrusts charge of His gates to those who worship, those who wash in the particular fragrance of His Presence.
Would this gatekeeper also be afraid? No, instead, the scriptures say God rested with Obed-Edom, and everything around him sprang to life. Imagine having the Fountain of all Life in your house! Everything that pertained to Obed-Edom was blessed. According to the rabbinical literature, his greatest blessing was that he became the father of many children during that period.
More widespread blessing resulted when David got his act together and realized that since he was the one who sent the Ark away he also had to reclaim it, for a second time. And he did so with haste. This time, he embraced God's protocol. The priests were sanctified and ready, and the Ark traveled on their shoulders with shouts of praise and the sound of the trumpets. Oh, what a sight! Sacrifices were offered after every seven steps. David still was not in a hurry, but this time it was for the right reason, he had to make time for the praise! We can't afford to be cheap with our adoration of God. The gatekeeper king abandoned his station and danced with all his might before the people, and offered a rich and unforgettable fragrance offered before His King.
And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to everyone a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed everyone to his house. 2 Sam. 6:18-19.
Obed-Edom and those in his circle were blessed while the Ark dwelled in his house, but it was when the presence of the Lord passed through the gates of the City and returned to the Temple that all the people could see the blessing of the Lord, and everyone experienced shalom, that state of perfect alignment between God and man.
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah.
Psalm 24: 3-6.
Deanna
