In The Word
Read: 2 Samuel 5:17-6:23
War with the Philistines
17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David; and when David heard about it, he went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines came and overran the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.” 20 Then David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place Baal-perazim. 21 And the Philistines abandoned their idols there, so David and his men carried them away.
22 Now the Philistines came up once again and overran the Valley of Rephaim.23 So David inquired of the Lord, but He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the baka-shrubs. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the baka-shrubs, then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” 25 Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him; he struck and killed the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
Peril in Moving the Ark
6 Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David departed from Baale-judah, with all the people who were with him, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of armies who is enthroned above the cherubim. 3 They had mounted the ark of God on a new cart and moved it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. 4 So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. 5 Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
6 But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen nearly overturned it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 Then David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah; and that place has been called Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside 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 Obed-edom and all his household.
The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem
12 Now it was reported to King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with joy. 13 And so it was, that when those carrying the ark of the Lordmarched six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened steer. 14 And David was dancing before the Lord with all his strength, and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lordwith joyful shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
16 Then it happened, as the ark of the Lord was coming into the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she was contemptuous of him in her heart.
17 Now they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of armies.19 Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread, one of dates, and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people left, each to his house.
20 But when David returned to bless his own household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel dignified himself today! For he exposed himself today in the sight of his servants’ female slaves, as one of the rabble shamelessly exposes himself!” 21 But David said to Michal, “I was before the Lord, who preferred me to your father and to all his house, to appoint me as ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. So I will celebrate before the Lord! 22 And I might demean myself even more than this and be lowly in my own sight, but with the female slaves of whom you have spoken, with them I am to be held in honor!” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
After King David begins to completely walk in the promise of God for his life, Satan does not just give up and go home. In contrast, he continues to attack him. Whenever the enemy would come against him, King David would seek the Lord for wisdom. The Lord would instruct him, and victory would ensue. The enemy, relentless, would then launch a counter-attack. Once again, King David makes a very wise decision to seek the Lord to be sure that he is not depending on the last battle’s strategy to get him another victory. This time, the Lord instructs King David to handle the same kind of situation differently than he had before. What a wise leader!
However, after these great victories, King David decides to move the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David. This was a good idea, but during the process of moving the Ark, a man is killed. Fear and confusion gripped King David to the point where he did not want to be near God. This happened because King David forgot to inquire of God how to move the Ark, and he assumed it would be alright to carry it on a new cart instead of the backs of consecrated men. As a wise leader, he made the adjustment and all went well.
The enemy will never stop attacking us. When he does, we should always inquire of God what to do. We must also inquire of God in all other situations, never assuming we know what to do, and all will be well.