I Chronicles 15:2,3
‘Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to serve Him forever.” And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place which he had prepared for it.”‘
David gets a second chance. A few chapters earlier he had the ark moved and one of the helpers was struck dead, as he sought to touch it to steady it. David was angry and afraid of God. So, they temporarily stored it at Obed-edom’s house.
The problem was the ark was to be transported on the shoulders of the priests. I believe there were other practices as well. I don’t believe they intentionally ignored this, but weren’t concerned. Not quite this common, but they seemed to treat it as shipping governmental items. They had enough people, but they hadn’t looked to see if there was protocol. Nor did they seek the Lord.
This was a much bigger deal than they thought. There was little fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Fearing God is the starting point. Proverbs 3:5,6 shares another important practice, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” They didn’t acknowledge Him.
Another practice that should have been employed is to search the scriptures to see if God had anything to say on the matter. It ends up He did. That was the biggest problem. Our behavior should never be outside of scripture. Acts 17:11 says, “Now these, who were more noble than those in Thessalonica, received the word with all readiness, on every day examining the Scriptures, whether these things were so.” This is those in Berea. This is a great legacy. May this be said of us also.
Our present culture behaves in a manner that is quite disrespectful of God. They cloak it in the phrase of our writing, “There shall be no establishment thereof.” They claim to follow the scriptures is establishing Judaism and Christianity. Our founders fled the persecution of Europe, as they wanted independence in worship. They didn’t want a denomination of Christianity established. But they did want Christianity. Nine of the thirteen colonies had the requirement of their leaders was that they be protestants. Our cultures seeks to hide that fact.
I think God will judge any people who behave in a manner outside of His ways. Our culture seems to be heading in a direction contrary to God’s ways. Hopefully, He will send revival to turn the hearts of the people back to Him.
Lord, help us to fear You. To inquire of You about our actions and plans. Help us to be in the scriptures to learn of You, but also to see if You have said anything on these matters. Thank You for the example of David. A man after Your heart, but also a fallible one who learned from his mistakes.