Daily Devotional for Saturday, December 9

David’s Challenge

“And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” 1 Chronicles 13:12.

If you have ever tried to put together a swing set, you know the importance of the instruction sheets. You also know how important it is whether the author of the instruction sheets can write clearly, or not. Without the instructions, we are lost; without clear instructions, we are confused.

David had the right idea. He admitted that the people of Israel had not been seeking God through the ark. The ark and Tabernacle had been neglected, and David desired to rectify that. So he sent men to get the ark and put it in its proper place in the life and worship of the people of Israel. But he failed to read and follow the directions, or in this case, he failed to read and follow the Scriptures.

Exodus 25 details the manner in which the ark was to be carried. Numbers 4 details who may actually carry the ark. The instructions were there. But David and the priests failed to consult them. And it cost Uzzah his life, as well as delaying the moving of the ark.

David wanted to do right, and he wanted to restore worship in Israel, but his challenge was to restore proper worship. His challenge was to restore worship that God desired, and that God had required.

Our God is a holy God. He is loving, and He is welcoming, and certainly He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, but He is a holy God who cannot be approached on our terms. Even today under the New Covenant, we have a boldness to enter into the presence of God, but we do not do this on our own accord: we come through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

REFLECTION: God welcomes the sinner to Himself with open arms, but the sinner approaches those arms only through the outstretched arms of Jesus on Calvary.

Jason Rutherford