The Second Book of Samuel
Chapter 6
(Parallel Chapter - 1 Chronicles, Chapter 13 & 15)
David Dances Bible Lesson
King David Dancing in the Bible Story
Last time we got together to share at Daily Bread, David had become
king of all Israel, then went to Jerusalem and took the city from
the Jebusites. Following that, he defeated the Philistines ...
Twice. With the Hand of God assisting all the way! That pretty much
catches us up to date.
I'm so glad that you just read the Infallible
study with our last Daily Bread, because here comes another one of
those things that some might call a discrepancy. In this chapter, the
Bible says that the ark of God was in the house of Abinadab in the
town of Gibeah, the city where Saul reigned from. But if we go back
to 1 Samuel, Chapter 7, we find this:
1 Samuel 7:2
And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the
time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel
lamented after the LORD.
David Dances Bible Explanation
King David Dancing in the Bible Blessing
Now, there was only one instance, and it was when Saul and Jonathan
defeated the Philistines, that it was mentioned of Saul asking for
the ark to be brought to him:
1 Samuel 14:18
And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of
God was at that time with the children of Israel.
Perhaps after that, the ark was taken to Gibeah, because it was quite
a victory, or maybe Abinadab moved from Kirjathjearim to Gibeah. It
does bear mentioning that Kirjathjearim and Gibeah are only five
miles apart, so if anyone wants to debate with you about the exact
location of the ark, maybe the author viewed Kirjathjearim as a
suburb of Gibeah, and to better explain the general location, he used
Gibeah, since it would be better known, being the home town of the
former king and all.
At any rate, David wanted the ark brought to Jerusalem since that was
the city he'd be reigning from and he knew that it should be nearby
because in the days of Saul, they didn't inquire at it ... If they
had, things may have been different for Saul.
David Dances Bible Truth
King David Dancing in the Bible Concern
1 Chronicles 10:13-14
13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed
against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept
not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit,
to enquire of it;
14 And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him,
and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
The people knew it was the right thing to do, and David gathered all
of Israel together and they went to the house of Abinadab the priest
and brought the ark of God out and set it on a new cart. Uzzah and
Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the cart with Ahio in front. And
David and all the people of Israel played music on instruments for
the Lord.
When they were at the threshing floor of Nachon (referred to as
Chidon in 1
Chronicles 13:9), the oxen stumbled and shook the ark, and Uzzah
reached out and put his hand on the ark to steady it. The Lord became
angry at Uzzah, and killed him for his mistake, and he died next to
the ark of God. Why did it make the Lord mad that Uzzah touched the
ark? For one thing, though Uzzah was a Levite, he was not a priest.
Only a priest was allowed to touch the ark ...
David Dances Bible Discussion
King David Dancing in the Bible Warning
Numbers 4:15
And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary,
and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after
that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch
any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of
Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Numbers 4:20
But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest
they die.
A layman wasn't allowed to look at the things in the ark either.
Remember when the Philistines stole the ark? When they sent it back
to the Israelites because of all the torment each Philistine town
suffered that took possession of it, the first place that the cows
which carried the ark stopped at was Bethshemesh.
But the people of Bethshemesh looked into the Ark of the Lord and He
killed 50,070 people because of that ... Remember? That was back in
1
Samuel, Chapter 6.
Another thing that may have been a factor in kindling the anger of
the Lord about this transferring of the ark from the house of
Abinadab was that it was supposed to be carried ... And they put it
on a cart instead.
David Dances Bible Tale
Why King David Dancing in the Bible
David was unhappy that the Lord punished Uzzah this way, so he named
the place where this happened Perez-Uzzah, which means Breach of
Uzzah.
Here's a study that you can read about the ark which includes a
picture of what it might have looked like:
Now David was afraid of the Lord that day and said "How will I bring
the ark of the Lord home to me?" He decided not to bring the ark to
the City of David yet, but into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite
and it remained there for 3 months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom
and all his family.
So David went back to the city of David and prepared a tabernacle for
the ark and made himself houses. When David heard about the blessings
that the Lord bestowed on Obed-edom and his family because of the
presence of the ark of God, he wanted to bring it home.
David Dances Bible Saga
King David Dancing in the Bible Reason
So, David invited all Israel and they gathered and went and brought
the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David
with a happy celebration.
This time however David said that none but the Levites were to carry
the ark and that the Lord struck Uzzah because they didn't follow
the proper procedure for transporting the ark. So they carried the
ark on their shoulders with the staves, just as Moses had commanded
(Exodus
25:14). He also had the Levites sing during the celebration, as
well as priests appointed to blow trumpets and others to be
doorkeepers.
After they had gone six steps carrying the ark of the Lord, they
stopped and David made offerings to the Lord. David danced before the
Lord with all his might wearing a linen ephod and all the people of
Israel celebrated with him as they brought the ark of the Lord into
Jerusalem with shouting and blowing trumpets.
David Dances Bible Message
King David Dancing in the Bible Purpose
As the ark of the Lord arrived in the City of David, Michal, Saul's
daughter, David's wife, looked through a window and saw king David
dancing ... He was happy for the Lord because the ark was come to
the royal city where it would be inquired at ... Which was a
practice that was neglected during the reign of Saul. Michal, seeing
this joy, detested David in her heart.
They brought the ark into the tabernacle and set it in place. David
then made burnt offerings and peace offerings and blessed the people
in the name of the Lord Almighty. He then gave every person of
Israel, men and women alike, bread, meat, and a cake of raisins.
David also wrote a song for the singers of the Levites to sing at
this celebration. He gave it to Asaph who was the chief musician at
that time. If you've ever wondered why many of David's psalms say "To
the Chief Musician," in the title, those are songs that were sung in
the different services and celebrations of the tabernacle or temple,
much like what we today refer to as hymns in church, of which many
are still composed of the words of David's Psalms.
David Dances Bible Conclusion
King David Dancing in the Bible Summary
David also appointed certain Levites to minister before the ark, and
then everyone went home. Then David went to bless his own household.
Michal came out to meet David and said, "How glorious was the king
of Israel today, who uncovered himself in front of all the servants
and handmaidens, like a fool that isn't ashamed to uncover himself!"
But, David didn't let her bother him. He replied that he was not
ashamed to celebrate before the Lord, who had chosen him over her
father his heirs, and that he would again play before God, and even
more enthusiastically and still feel humble in his own sight, and the
maidservants would consider him honorable. For mocking the Lord's
anointed so, Michal was barren her entire life.
Moving right along, aren't we? Next time we meet, we'll find out more
about the history of king David ... And Israel, right here at Daily
Bread!
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