2 Samuel · chapter 6 of 24
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2 Samuel 6 tells how David tries to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem on a new cart; Uzzah touches it to steady it and dies, and David leaves it for three months at the house of Obed-edom. He then brings it in with joy, dancing before the Lord, and Michal, Saul's daughter, despises him in her heart. Michal had no children to the day of her death.
With Jerusalem as his capital, David wants it to be the center of Israel's worship as well. The ark of God, the symbol of the Lord's presence among his people, had been at Kiriath-jearim for years. 2 Samuel 6 shows both the joy of drawing near to God and the seriousness of doing it his way and not ours.
David gathers thirty thousand chosen men of Israel and goes to Baale-judah to bring up the ark of God, called by the name of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubim. They set it on a new cart and bring it out of Abinadab's house on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, drive the cart, while David and all the house of Israel celebrate before the Lord with songs and all kinds of instruments.
At the threshing floor of Nacon the oxen stumble, and Uzzah reaches out and takes hold of the ark. The anger of the Lord burns against him, and God strikes him down there, and he dies beside the ark. David is angry that the Lord has broken out against Uzzah, calls the place Perez-uzzah, and grows afraid of the Lord, asking how the ark can come to him. He leaves it at the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, where it stays three months, and the Lord blesses Obed-edom and all his household.
When David hears this, he brings the ark up with rejoicing to the city of David. When those carrying the ark have gone six steps, he sacrifices an ox and a fattened animal. David, wearing a linen ephod, dances with all his might before the Lord, while all Israel brings up the ark with shouting and the sound of the trumpet. Michal, Saul's daughter, looks out a window and despises him in her heart. They set the ark inside the tent David had pitched for it, he offers burnt offerings and peace offerings, blesses the people in the name of the Lord and gives everyone bread, meat and raisin cake. When he returns home, Michal greets him with sarcasm; David answers that he did it before the Lord, who chose him over her father, and that he will make himself even more lowly.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord's anger burns against Uzzah, who reached out to the ark, and God strikes him down for his irreverence. The law said the ark was to be carried by Levites with poles and that no one was to touch it, so both the cart and Uzzah's gesture showed careless handling of a holy thing.
David is afraid of the Lord and asks how the ark can come to him. His first joy gives way to a reverent fear that makes him stop, a necessary step before trying again the right way.
David dances with all his might before the Lord, wearing a linen ephod. The king joins the people in praise without regard for rank, with public and wholehearted joy.
David answers Michal that he did it before the Lord, who chose him over her father and over all his house. For him, worship is not to impress people but to honor God, even if they think him foolish.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: On a new cart, from Abinadab's house. — 2 Samuel 6:3
Answer: He reached out and took hold of the ark of God. — 2 Samuel 6:6
Answer: The Lord's anger burned against him, God struck him down and he died there by the ark. — 2 Samuel 6:7
Answer: At the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, for three months. — 2 Samuel 6:10-11
Answer: Dancing with all his might, wearing a linen ephod. — 2 Samuel 6:14
Answer: She had no children to the day of her death. — 2 Samuel 6:23
Uzzah's death teaches that God is not to be taken lightly. David wanted to honor the Lord, but he did it his own way, using a new cart in place of following the instructions. For a leader this is a warning: sincerity does not replace obedience to what God has revealed.
David's dancing, for its part, encourages joyful worship without embarrassment. Some look down on others who express themselves with fervor, as Michal did. Ask whether your worship holds joy and reverence in equal measure, and whether you are willing to be thought foolish for love of the Lord.
2 Samuel 6 leaves the ark in Jerusalem and David as a worshiping king, but also with a rift in his household. In 2 Samuel 7, David proposes to build a temple, and the Lord answers with a greater promise: he will build a house for David and establish his throne forever.
The text says God struck him down for his irreverence. The law commanded that the ark be carried on the shoulders of Levites and that no one touch it. Carrying it on a cart, as the Philistines had done, was already careless. For the original readers, the episode stresses God's holiness, not the harshness of a well-meant gesture.
It was a wooden chest overlaid with gold that held the tablets of the covenant and symbolized the Lord's presence among Israel. Its lid was called the mercy seat and was flanked by cherubim. For the people it was the place where God made himself present.
She saw him dance without royal ceremony and thought it beneath a king. David replied that he did it to honor the Lord and was willing to be humbled even more. The text does not say her contempt was justified, and her consequence was having no children.