Old Testament reading: 2 Samuel 5-6
God says what He means and means what He says, and neither the passage of time nor good intentions in any way diminishes or negates His word. Following the conquest of Jerusalem and the defeat of the Philistines, David decides to further unite and inspire the people by bringing the ark to Jerusalem, here identified as “the City of David” (2 Sam 6:10, 12). David failed to move the ark in accordance with the word of God. Rather than having the ark transported on the shoulders of the sons of Kohath (Num 4:15, 7:4-9), he placed the ark on an ox cart. As David and all the host of Israel celebrated and danced about, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady it. For this he was immediately struck dead. David was unhappy with the Lord, but God had been clear about transporting the ark as well as forbidding anyone to touch it. Uzzah did not get a free pass for his good intent. I know it sounds crazy, but Uzzah would have been better off to let the ark fall to the ground than to touch it. David would later confess his error, saying he had not consulted God about the proper order (1 Chr 15:13-15).
New Testament reading: Luke 6-7
It is truly astonishing how hard the hearts of men can be concerning the truth. In Luke 6:1-5, Jesus refuted the error and hypocrisy of the Pharisees who had accused his disciples of violating the Sabbath. First, the Pharisees were in error in their accusation that the disciples were violating the Sabbath. Some take this text and claim Jesus was teaching situation ethics. But such is not the case. In Matthew’s account of this incident, Jesus is recorded as declaring the disciples as being “guiltless” (cf Matt 12:7). The Pharisees were hypocrites insofar as they refused to condemn David, who had in fact violated the Law by eating bread that was not lawful for him to eat. Then, in Luke 6:6-11, we find men hating Jesus for healing a man with a withered hand. How could someone witness such a marvelous miracle and hate the man who performed it? Sadly, such was the case with many in Jesus’ day, and I have no doubt our present generation is no better.
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