David And The Philistines, Round 1
5:17-25; 1 Chronicles 14:8-12
In David’s ascension, he came to the attention of the Philistines. He was no longer a warlord under their protection. He was not just a tribal leader. He was now king of the nation that was their enemy. And as that king, he had conquered Jebus, an old city state, and made it his capitol.
So, the Philistines came for him. David got word they were coming and went down to a stronghold. We are not told where this is. We know that David stayed in several strongholds while Saul pursued him. But, Jerusalem was also referred to as the Stronghold of Zion. He may have been there, because the Philistines gathered in the Valley of Rephaim, which is west of Jerusalem.
David again inquired of God whether he should engage them in battle and if God would give him victory. (10) God told him yes to both questions. So, David engaged the Philistines in battle and won. He said “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a bursting flood”. (11) As a result, they named the site of the battle “Baal-perazim”, which means lord of bursting through.
The word “baal” means “lord”. Sometimes it is used a a proper noun as the name of a Canaanite deity. But it can be used simply as lord, but in reference to God.
Then we have a small piece of irony. In an earlier battle, the Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant to battle and the Philistines had taken the Ark of the Covenant from the Israelites and placed it in their pagan temple. Here, the Philistines took their idols to battle and abandoned them when they fled. The Israelites took them and burned them. (1 Chronicles 14:12)
David & The Philistines, Round 2
5:22-25
The Philistines were done yet, though. They regathered in the valley to attack Israel. Maybe they wanted their idols back.
David again inquired of the LORD. He was told not to go straight at them, but to circle around and attack the rear of the Philistine army. In fact, he was to wait until he heard the sound of marching in the top of the balsam trees, then attack, for the LORD had gone before him.
So, David did as instructed. He routed the Philistines and struck them down all the way to Gezer. That was close to the Philistine border, so David may have stopped there to avoid actually taking his army into Philistia.
David Attempts To Retrieve The Ark
6:1-4
Next on David’s agenda is to move the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He wants Jerusalem to be the center of all things, the center of political power and the center of worship.
David made this a very big deal. He chose 30,000 men from the different tribes of Israel to go with them. They went to retrieve the Ark from Baale-judah, which was previously known as Keriath-jearim. It was about 10 miles from Jerusalem. “Baale-judah” means “Lord of Judah”. It was likely renamed after the ark was taken there.
1 Samuel 4-7 tells the story of the Philistines defeating the Israelites in battle. As the Israelites realized they were losing, the brought the Ark from Shiloh, believing the the Ark would save them. It did not. And the Philistines captured the ark and took it to their pagan temple. It symbolized the victory of their god over Israel’s God.
However, that did not go well, so they returned it to Israel, taking it to Keriath-jearim. It stayed there about many years.
So, David had a new cart made. He loaded the ark in it, and had the two sons of Abinadab drive it. Evidently, he did this because this is how the Philistines moved it to Israel.
That all sounds good until you go back to the Lord’s instructions regarding the transportation of the ark. Those instructions were very specific. On each of the four feet of the ark was placed ring made of gold. Two poles made of acacia wood and covered with gold were put through the rings for carrying. The poles were never to be removed. (Exodus 25:12-15; 37:1-9)
The Levites were charged with the care of the Tabernacle. A sub-tribe, the Kohathites were to guard it and take care of the furnishings. To move the ark, it was covered with goatskins, then blue cloth. Only the Kohathites were to move the ark. They were to carry it with the poles. They were not to touch it. If they did, they would die. (numbers 3-4)
The Death of Huzzah
6:5-11
So the procession began. The people sang and played instruments. It was a big celebration. But, then, tragedy struck. One of the oxen stumbled, the ark teetered, and Uzzah put his hand on the ark to steady it. The LORD was angry and struck him dead.
This made David angry and scared. He stopped the process and put the ark in a man’s home.
Why did this happen? After all, the man was only trying to help. And David was only trying to help. This event tells us two things.
First, when God says to do something a certain way, he means do it that way and that way only. Although all of this was done with good intentions, it was not done according to God’s commands.
This is an important concept. Sometimes, people will justify their actions by saying the Bible does not specifically say we cannot do it that way. But, if God has told us how to do it, it does mean do it only that way. If you do not believe this, read about the “strange fire” episode. (Leviticus10)
Here is what God says: “You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32).
Also, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, the you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God the I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Second, God takes his holiness seriously. He said: “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.” (Leviticus 10:3)
David should have know these things. Either he did not or he ignored them. He could also have consulted the Levites. It makes you think the Israelites had given up on the tabernacle in the absence of the ark.
David Finally Retrieves The Ark
6:12-15
After hearing that the Lord blessed the family in whose house the ark was left, David went to get it. Evidently, this time he did it correctly. Verse 13 refers to “those who bore the ark”. They were probably the Kohathites.
With much fanfare and rejoicing, the ark was brought to Jerusalem. David led the way, dancing with al his might while waring a linen ephod like a priest would wear. Young Samuel wore one when he ministered at the tabernacle. (1 Samuel 2:18)
So, the ark came to Jerusalem. But, the tabernacle was not there and the ark was not placed in the tabernacle.
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