Why Did the Oxen Stumble?

2 Samuel 6:2-8

"2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 

3 So they set the ark of God ON A NEW CART, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart 
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.
5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 
8 And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day."

(Uzzah reaches out his hand to steady the Ark.)

 

Why did the oxen stumble?  And why did God strike down Uzzah who was only trying to help?  Have you asked questions God like that?  Me, too.

I always felt kinda bad for Uzzah. I mean, all he did was reach out his hand to steady the ark. What’s going on here?

The answer to those questions and more, even some you didn’t know to ask, are directly tied in with why the oxen stumbled in the first place and the meanings of the names of the players in this narrative.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t just put stories like this in the Bible for nothing.  He’s always up to something good and trying to teach us spiritual truths through the stories of the Old Testament. 

When studying puzzling passages like this one remember these things:

#1.The Holy Spirit is the Author.  #2. All the stories He has included in the Bible are there to tell us more about Jesus, Israel and the Church; and #3: His desire is to help us be blessed more abundantly above all we can ask or think.

Yes, these are real stories about real people and real events that actually happened but they are included in scripture for a very specific purpose.  So, let’s dig in and find out what’s on God’s heart.

(David and his entourage dance, sing and celebrate the return of the Ark.)

David made a big mistake in placing the Ark on an ox cart, new or otherwise, in the first place.  It’s supposed to be carried on the shoulders of the priests, much like one would carry a champion. That’s God’s way. It’s a position of honor you understand.  But when you don’t do things God’s way, HE DOESN’T HELP YOU.  He lets you do it your way.  When YOU WORK, He rests.  When you rest, HE WORKS.

Why did they need God’s help to carry the Ark? Because it’s really, really, REALLY HEAVY!  The lid, or Mercy Seat, alone was made of one solid slab of pure gold weighing one talent.  THAT’S 100 LBS FOLKS! 

 

(Contents of the Ark.)

The lower part was made of Shittim wood, which is incorruptible, and overlaid with pure gold.  It contained three items:  The tablets of the Ten Commandments carved on stones of *sapphire, Aaron’s rod that budded and a golden pot of manna.
(*For more on the topic of sapphire stone tablets, follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/08/ananias-and-sapphira.html) Experts estimate that the total weight of the Ark was about 565lbs!  When you take into account the very steep, rocky terrain these oxen had to negotiate you can see why they had a problem.  Without God helping to ease the burden of this VERY HEAVY piece of furniture, of course they stumbled.

When carried on the shoulders of the priests, however…the RIGHT WAY…God HIMSELF actually helped.  If He didn’t, even the priests wouldn’t be able to carry it.

Remember when Jesus said,  “My yoke is easy and My burden is light?”  This story perfectly illustrates that!

Clue #1 as to why they stumbled:
Oxen are used for hard labor.  They are a typology of RIGHTEOUSNESS BY WORKS; of man doing it his way.  What is the Ark?  It’s Jesus!…His presence, His Person and His work. 

Gold in the Bible typifies Divinity and wood is a depiction of humanity.  Jesus is 100% God:  GOLD, and 100% Man:  WOOD.  He’s the God/Man

 

(High Priest places one drop of blood on the Mercy Seat.)

Once a year the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the Mercy Seat.   The two golden Cherubim, wings unfurled, heads pointed down at the Mercy Seat, are guardians of God’s Holiness and Righteousness.  They are representative of God “looking” down on the Mercy Seat.  When God “looks” at the Mercy Seat and “sees” the blood, He passes over you.  He does not see your sins, represented by the three items under the Mercy Seat.  He wants your sins covered by His Mercy.  In other words, covered by the blood!  

With all that in mind, let’s go back to the story.  

So “carried on an ox cart” was not God’s way.  If David had read his Bible he’d have known better not to put the Ark on any kind of cart.  But maybe he missed Bible study that week before he marched off to Kirjath Jearim to retrieve it.

Where did the ox cart idea come from in the first place?   The Philistines, of course;  and what do the Philistines know about the proper way to carry the Ark?  ZERO. ZIP. ZILCH.  They’re ignorant Gentiles, for heaven’s sake!

Why wasn’t in Jerusalem where it belonged?  Let’s retrace the journey of the Ark for the last 20 years or so and find out.

 

(The journey of the Ark.)

The Philistines had “captured” it some 20 earlier in a battle against Israel.  I say “captured” in quotes because, actually, God allowed them to take it.  Why? You see, Israel at that time had lost the right to have it in their midst which I shall explain shortly.  

This whole battle in which it was taken by the Philistines took place while Eli was high priest over Israel.  He was a very worldly, fleshly priest with two wicked sons named Hophni and Phinehas.  They did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

 

(Eli and his wicked sons.)

I Samuel 2:12-17

“12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord .

13 And the priests’ custom with the people was  that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.

14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

16 And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as  much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “ No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord , for men abhorred the offering of the Lord .

Though he was nearly blind, old Eli was not ignorant of his sons’ many “indiscretions,” shall we say, yet he did nothing to stop them.  It got so bad that the people began to despise the Lord’s offerings.  Needless to say, God was most displeased!

Enter the child, Samuel.

I Samuel 3:1

“Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there  was no widespread revelation.”

 

(Samuel hears the voice of the LORD.)

The LORD appeared to Samuel and told the child of His plan to end the line of wicked old Eli and his evil sons.  He accomplished it all in one day during the aforementioned battle with the Philistines. Both Hophni and Phinehas were killed in the battle on that day and the Ark taken “captive.”  News of the Ark’s “capture” came to Eli from a man of the tribe of Benjamin.  Upon hearing the news, he fell backwards off the stool on which he was sitting and broke his neck.  He died instantly. 

The Philistines, on the other hand, were overjoyed (well, at first anyway) to have the Ark of God in their possession.  It was short-lived, however.  Let’s just say things didn’t exactly go well for them.

Their first mistake was to boast that their “god,” Dagon, had “triumphed” over the God of Israel. (Uh oh!) Dagon was a fish god; half man, half fish.  You know; a merman.  Their second mistake was to take the Ark to their “god’s” temple in Asdod.  They set it before “him” and celebrated their victory.  

Oops.

 

(Dagon on his face before the LORD.)

In the morning, where was Dagon?  FACE DOWN IN FRONT OF THE ARK!  So they helped their “god” back up onto his place.{snicker} Then, the next morning, where was Dagon again?  He was not only face down in front of the Ark but his head and hands were severed from the rest of him!  

Head denotes intelligence and hands depict strength in biblical typology.  This is a picture of the devil being totally deprived of his knowledge (head) and strength (hands) having been completely crushed by Jesus!  HALLELUJAH!

Clue #2:  THE ARK CAN DEFEND ITSELF (Obviously)

Those poor, hapless Philistines had the Ark for a total of 7 months; 7 months of pure hell, that is.  It caused them nothing but grief.  Wherever it was sent, the people were stricken with tumors and plagued with rats.  Many people died.  They finally….wisely….decided they’d better send it back where to it belonged before it killed everybody!

After consulting with their own priests, they put together a trespass offering (smart move) and put it on an ox cart pulled by two milk cows–nursing mothers, in other words.  They figured that if these new mothers did not turn around and run back to nurse their young, which would have been their nature, then all of their troubles must indeed have been caused by the God of Israel.

DUH!!!

 

(Ark comes to Beth Shemesh.)

The oxen first came upon the town of Beth Shemesh. The people were overjoyed to see the Ark at long last!  These were Jewish people, right?  You would think they’d know better, but they made a HUGE mistake.  They lifted up the Mercy Seat. (Oh dear!  Remember, God doesn’t want to see what is underneath.). They were probably just curious to see the sapphire tablets inside the Ark.  Well, God broke out against them and killed fifty thousand and seventy men.  OUCH!  Harsh lesson!

 

(For more on the tablets of sapphire, follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/08/ananias-and-sapphira.html)

The Holy Spirit is illustrating the verse that says “the letter KILLS but the spirit gives life.” 

It kills alright; QUITE LITERALLY.  Being under law is deadly.  It brings all the curses of Deuteronomy 28 even to believers if they are trying to keep the law, which is righteousness by works.  You can only bring out the law if you push aside the Mercy Seat, which is Jesus.

You’d better know, Church:  Righteousness is a gift you receive not an action you perform. 

 

Understandably, after that fiasco, the men of Beth Shemesh were terrified!  So they sent word to the men of Kirjath Jearim asking them to take the Ark off their hands, which they did.  It stayed there in the house of Abinadab, a priest of Israel, for 20 years!

 

(David the shepherd boy.)

David as a young boy, probably about 17 years old, heard that the Ark of the Lord was there in Kirjath Jearim.  The name of the town means "fields of the woods," in Hebrew by the way.  That's right, folks:  The Ark was "lost" in the woods, pun intended. 

Saul was king during this entire time and never once did he have any thoughts of bringing the Ark back to Jerusalem where it belonged.  Jerusalem was the CENTER of worship for the Jewish people yet it never occurred to him to restore it to it's rightful place.  Very strange. 

Not David, though.  That wasn't his attitude at all. From the moment He heard about where it was, he purposed in his heart to bring the Ark of the LORD back to Jerusalem; BACK TO THE CENTER OF WORSHIP.  

He writes about his heart's desire in Psalm 132:

“3 Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the FIELDS OF THE WOODS. {Kirjath Jearim}

It wasn't until David was King of Israel, however, that he was able to accomplish his life-long goal.  This is why God called him "a man after His own heart."  Abba, too, desires that Jesus, His beloved Son, be The CENTER OF WORSHIP ALWAYS!

Accompanied by much pomp and circumstance he arrived at the house of Abinadab to collect the Ark.  He put it on his own new ox cart and off he went with his entourage. They were going along OK until they reached the threshing floor of Nachon.  Here is where the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark and died.

Let's look at the rest of the pieces to this puzzle to understand why.

As I said, oxen are working animals, a picture of righteousness by works or "self righteousness."  Another clue is found in the meaning of Uzzah's name in Hebrew.   

In the meanings of the names of people, places, even things in Hebrew, there are buried nuggets of truth for us throughout the Bible.  It's kinda cool!   Hebrew is also a language of picture writing, like Chinese.  Each letter is a picture of something.  There are other nuggets hidden there!

Uzzah's name comes from the root word, "uz," which means "strength."   You've heard of the Israeli invention "the uzzi?"  It's name is derived from the same root.  It means "gun of strength."  

Uzzah means "MY strength," as opposed to the name Uz-zi-jah, which means "God's strength."  

The picture being painted here is of "Uzzah" stretching out his "arm of flesh" to "help God."

Tell me Church:  Does God ever need our help, the help of the arm of flesh?

No, NEVER.  Remember what happened in the temple of Dagon?  Oh yeah.  I'd say God is WELL-ABLE to defend Himself.

This whole sad tale is a picture of righteousness by works.  The Holy Spirit is trying to tell us it is DEADLY...literally!  This is why Christians within congregations where their pastors are trying to "balance" GRACE with law, (the righteousness by works model), are sick and die before their time.  

News flash:  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BALANCE.  You are either under grace OR law; not both.  They are mutually exclusive.  

These well-meaning men of God are inadvertently KILLING THEIR PEOPLE SLOWLY.  Might as well feed them arsenic.  It's no less deadly.

Listen, Church:  JESUS DID A FINISHED WORK.  We cannot add ANYTHING to it.  Your salvation is Jesus plus nothing.  Your blessings are Jesus plus nothing.

Those who try to add their "good works" to Jesus' Finished work God "ADDS" to them are all the plagues listed in this book!  (See Rev. 22:18)

When we try to be acceptable or pleasing to God by our good works or try to merit or earn His blessings, we stumble too.  That's the message here.

THAT'S WHY THE OXEN STUMBLED.

THAT'S WHY UZZAH DIED:  BECAUSE OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

As you can well imagine, David was both angry at God and terrified at the the same time.  He was so afraid he decided he wasn't going any further.  Instead he left the Ark at the home of one Obed-Edom. 

II Samuel 6:9-11

"9 David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 

10 So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 

11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. AND THE LORD BLESSED OBED EDOM AND ALL HIS HOUSEHOLD."

(Obed Edom before the Ark of the Covenant.)

Obed Edom?  Who is he?  He's a Gittite.

What's a "Gittite?"  Someone from the city of Gath in Philistia.  He's a GENTILE.

Remember who else hailed from Gath? Yep; Goliath, David's giant. 

Incredibly, though the Ark was only in his home for 3 months, the Bible records that "the Lord  blessed Obed Edom and all his household."

What?  A Gentile?  Blessed by God?  Abinadab had it in his house for 20 years yet there is not one mention of God blessing him.....at all.....and in fact, it was his son, Uzzah, who was struck dead by God!  

The very next verse says, "12a Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God."

How could they tell he was blessed?  Were they merely "spiritual blessings?"  Hardly.   They could tell by all his "MATERIAL BLESSINGS."  Can't see "spiritual" ones can you?  So there were OBVIOUS, OUTWARD signs that were reported to King David. 

What's the difference between Abinadab and Obed Edom?  Abinadab was both a Jew AND a priest.  Obed Edom was a Gentile, basically a nobody! Hmmm.....

Once again the answers are hiding in the meanings of names in Hebrew.  Obed means "servant;"  Edom comes from the root word "dam," which means "blood."  HE WAS A SERVANT OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS!  He had a greater revelation and appreciation of His blood!  HUGE DIFFERENCE between him and Abinadab. 

David, upon hearing all this, returned for the Ark, this time with a whole new attitude!  He must have gone back to to church or read his Bible because he returned with priests properly consecrated and educated on how to carry the Ark of God:  On their shoulders.

(The priests carry the Ark God's way.)

Let's follow the story:

"12b So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.

13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 

14 Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet."

Where before there was abject terror now there was great dancing and rejoicing and a VERY different King David!  From bad attitude to a NEW ATTITUDE, he is recharged!

Many of the same kinds of things that transpired 3 months prior--like lot's of praise and worship--were again present; but he learned from his mistake.  He did something new:

EVERY SIX PACES HE OFFERED ANIMAL SACRIFICES.  

Yep!  Blood was shed EVERY SIX PACES!.....and this time, God helped the priests transport His Ark because they were now doing it His way!

I Chronicles 15:26 

"26 And so it was, when GOD HELPED THE LEVITES who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord , that they offered seven bulls and seven rams."

Know how far it is from the house of Obed Edom to Jerusalem?   SEVEN MILES!  That's a whole lot of sacrifices and shedding of blood! 

Can you imagine? A burnt offering EVERY SIX PACES!  What a difference now that he understood why God blessed Obed Edom.  He, too, got a clear revelation of the blood of Jesus. No wonder there was exuberant praise and worship!!!

Before Uzzah died, there was no lack of praise and worship. It was heartfelt and sincere no doubt, but they relied on their own reasoning, their own efforts.  But it's not enough to praise and worship the Lord.  Jesus, His glory, His beauty and His FINISHED WORK must be CENTRAL. 

Many Christians today are of the opinion that having more praise and worship is the key to revival.  Yes and no.  Praise and worship are involved but praise out of a heart that is resting and rejoicing in the finished work of Jesus and an overwhelming consciousness of our eternal righteousness BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS takes it to a whole new level!  It's no longer out of a sense of duty or the wrong kind of fear of God but rather out of a heart that truly understands; a heart that cannot help but respond to God's amazing Love, Grace and Mercy!

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ARK IS BROUGHT BACK TO JERUSALEM!  

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JESUS IS BROUGHT BACK TO THE CENTER OF THE CHURCH!  

We get turned on, fired up engaged people so in love with Jesus that no one will have to tell them to go talk to others about Jesus:  THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO SHUT UP!

This is the missing piece in the Church today.  Jesus needs to be brought BACK TO THE CENTER.  She needs a whole new appreciation of the BLOOD OF JESUS! 

Every 6 paces is a picture of having communion every 7th day; in other words every week, corporately, plus people making use of communion in their daily lives.  It was, after all, given for our health and well being. 

PASTORS:  Want your churches to really grow?  BRING THE ARK BACK TO THE CENTER OF WORSHIP!

"But, Jesus is the center," you say.  

I beg to differ.  If you go to church and all you hear is someone telling you the right thoughts, words and behaviors to perform but Jesus is hardly even mentioned except in a harsh judgmental way,  HE ISN'T CENTRAL:  THE LAW IS.  You are prioritizing righteousness by works above righteousness by faith.  Remember.....D-E-A-D-L-Y!

Self-righteousness:  That's what Uzzah represents.  Well I say, "UZZAH NEEDS TO DIE!"  

Bring Jesus once again to His rightful place: at the CENTER of worship in the church....and LET THE OXEN STUMBLE! "