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of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. And the anger of
the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his
error; and there he died by the ark of God.” Uzzah was angry with the
oxen, because they stumbled. He showed a manifest distrust of God,
as though he who had brought the ark from the land of the Philistines,
could not take care of it. Angels who attended the ark struck down
Uzzah for presuming impatiently to put his hand upon the ark of God.
“And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall
the ark of the Lord come to me? So David would not remove the ark
of the Lord unto him into the city of David; but David carried it aside
into the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite.” David knew that he was
a sinful man, and he was afraid that, like Uzzah, he should in some
way be presumptuous, and call forth the wrath of God upon himself.
“And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom, the
Gittite, three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his
household.”
God would teach his people that, while his ark was a terror and
death to those who transgressed his commandments contained in it,
it was also a blessing and strength to those who were obedient to his
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commandments. When David heard that the house of Obed-edom
was greatly blessed, and that all that he had prospered, because of
the ark of God, he was very anxious to bring it to his own city. But
before David ventured to move the sacred ark, he sanctified himself
to God, and also commanded that all the men highest in authority in
the kingdom should keep themselves from all worldly business, and
everything which would distract their minds from sacred devotion.
Thus should they sanctify themselves for the purpose of conducting
the sacred ark to the city of David. “So David went and brought up
the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David
with gladness. And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the
Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.”
David laid off his kingly attire, and clothed himself with garments
similar to the priests, which had never been worn before, that not the
least impurity might be upon his clothing. Every six paces they erected
an altar and solemnly sacrificed to God. The special blessing of the
Lord rested upon king David, who thus manifested before his people
his exalted reverence for the ark of God. “And David danced before
the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.