Once more David called together the best soldiers in Israel, a total of thirty thousand men, and led them to Baalah in Judah, in order to bring from there God’s Covenant Box, bearing the name of the Lord Almighty, whose throne is above the winged creatures.
All those people – and it only took two to transport it?!
They took it from Abinadab’s home on the hill and placed it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart… As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. At once the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box…
There were rules to be followed (Exodus 37:1-5). David was acting as if the way was already open (Hebrews 9:8).
Then David… decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his family.
The Lord blessed a non-Jew by his presence! Marvellous! This is an image of all of what was to come (Acts 10). May we see this again in our time. Fill the wedding hall, Father (Matthew 22:9-10; Hebrews 12:23)!
King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the Lord had blessed Obed Edom’s family and all that he had; so he got the Covenant Box from Obed’s house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration.
What a change from the 30,000 elite soldiers! Not by might… (ZacharIah 4:6).
After the men carrying the Covenant Box had gone six steps, David had them stop while he offered the Lord a sacrifice of a bull and a fattened calf.
It’s the first time we see David offering a sacrifice (Psalm 51:16-17). There is a time and a place for everything (2 Samuel 24:18-25).
And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.
The zenith of David’s reign – much like Saul’s was in 1 Samuel 11:15. As part of an ancient Roman “triumph” parade, a slave stood behind the Roman conqueror to whisper a warning: “that all glory is fleeting”. Indeed, but not for Messiah Jesus (Colossians 2:15). 😊