Happy Tuesday! It is April 30th, the final day of the month. Did you know that it’s only by God’s grace that lightning strikes don’t happen often in church? Maybe His consistent and unwavering “grace” blinds us to the real consequences if His grace were absent. The Old Testament was under the Law, not grace. So, it draws back the curtains to reveal "life before grace." Doing so leaves us with poignant lessons that remind us to be eternally grateful but never careless. Read on…
Today's Reading:
2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13; Psalm 68; Matthew 17
Scripture
“David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. But when they came to the threshing floor, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen had nearly upset it — and the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah and God struck him down for his irreverence, and he died there by the ark of the Lord. And David became angry …” (2 Samuel 6:5-8)
Observation
In Deut. 4:15, God ordered that the ark be carried on the shoulders of the Levites — never on an oxen cart. Their shortcut proved costly. They ran into a divine, high-voltage wire at the threshing floor. The intriguing twist was that a celebration was happening just a few feet away from the lightning strike; this caused David to react angrily, especially in contrast with the celebration. I’m sure he thought of this as a rude, party-crashing event that spoiled the extravaganza, especially when it was all being done "in the name of the Lord!" The lesson?
Application
Celebration is empty unless it is the result of obedience. Celebration by itself is inadequate. But we can fall into the same place as Uzzah. We can carry on with programs, lights, and banners each Sunday. We can celebrate with music, cymbals, and tambourines, and yet, at the same time, we might be violating the principles of God within our ranks. Tolerated bitterness, immorality, and hearts that test God are mixed into our “song lists” until they’re barely detectable—celebration without obedience.
But the glorious thing was that David learned quickly. In verse 6:13, David sacrifices the oxen and burns the cart. He realizes his error and makes amends. Smart man. Then, in verse 14, we find, "And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might."
There’s nothing more liberating than celebrating with such freedom that comes on the tailwind of obedience. Then we, like David, can freely "dance with all our might."
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me the inseparable tandem of obedience and celebration. There’s no more freeing, emancipating feeling than when we celebrate — God’s way. Then, we can laugh and dance without the fear of lightning strikes.
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