David and the Ark
1 David consulted with all his leaders, the commanders of hundreds and of thousands. 2 Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the LORD our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, k that they should gather together with us. 3 Then let us bring back the ark of our God, for we did not inquire of him ,l in Saul’s days.” 4 Since the proposal seemed right to all the people, the whole assembly agreed to do it.
5 So David assembled all Israel, m from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, ,n to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. o 6 David p and all Israel went to Baalah q (that is, Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah) to take from there the ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD who is enthroned between the cherubim. r 7 At Abinadab’s house s they set the ark of God on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart.
8 David and all Israel were dancing with all their might before God with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. t 9 When they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, u Uzzah reached out to hold the ark because the oxen had stumbled. 10 Then the LORD’S anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had reached out to the ark. v So he died there in the presence of God. w
11 David was angry because of the LORD’S outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is still named today. 12 David feared God that day and said, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me? ” 13 So David did not bring the ark of God home to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. x 14 The ark of God remained with Obed-edom’s family in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his family and all that he had.
13:1–4. The narrative begins with David consulting the people, continuing the motif of the entire nation (“the whole assembly of Israel,” 13:2) unified around their monarch. David’s appeal to the assembly emphasizes the role of the people as a whole, but also of the Lord in decision making. It is ironic that while in his speech David distances himself from his predecessor Saul (13:3), whose lack of inquiry led to his downfall (cf. 10:13–14), David does not properly inquire of God as to how to move the ark, which would place inquiry at the heart of the nation. Although David discerns the will of the people (13:4), he does not discern the will of the Lord (cf. 1 Ch 15:13).
13:5–8. David and “all Israel” then proceed to Kiriath-jearim to transport the ark to Jerusalem (13:5–6). According to Ex 25:10–22 the ark was housed in the most holy place in the tabernacle, represented either God’s royal throne or his footstool, and contained symbols of his miraculous provision (manna, Aaron’s rod) and covenant relationship with Israel. Its presence in Kiriath-jearim followed its loss to the Philistines (1 Sm 4–6). David has arranged for its transport on a cart guided by the sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, and accompanied by the worship of the people with musical instruments (13:7–8), a theme typical of the books of Chronicles.
13:9–12. Tragedy strikes, however, as Uzzah reaches out his hand to steady the ark when the oxen stumble. In this the commoner Uzzah violates a holy object, that is, one dedicated for God alone, which was to be approached only by sacred personnel. It is not accidental that the location of this event is at a threshing floor (13:9), a foreshadowing of a later threshing floor that will mark the site of the temple in which the ark will finally rest (21:18). David’s anger and fear (13:11–12a) remind the reader of the mysterious character of the Lord’s will and the need for God’s servants to make inquiry of and submit to that will. David’s searching question in 13:12b will be answered by the provision of the Levites in chapter 15.
13:13–14. The chapter ends with the ark resting in the home of Obed-edom, where it brings divine blessing. This only increases the tension created by this incident, ensuring that the ark will eventually find its way into Jerusalem so as to bring blessing on the nation as a whole.