Feb 24 (Daily reading: Numbers 3-4) We have noted that God is in the details. God gave Moses detailed instructions for the moving of the Ark of the Covenant from place to place. When God had given Moses the design for the ark, it included four rings, two on each side, and two poles. “You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them” (Ex. 25:14). In our text for today, God explained further: “When the camp is to set out, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die” (4:15).
Approximately sixteen centuries later, David witnessed a tragedy because these instructions were not obeyed. The ark had not been in Jerusalem for many years, and David organized 30,000 men to bring the ark home. They moved the ark by setting it on a new cart. At a certain point, when the oxen stumbled, a man named Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. When he touched the ark, “God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God” (2 Sam. 6:7). If they had followed God’s instructions and used the poles to carry the ark, this would not have happened.
The Bible gives us principles to live by. This story is one of many which teaches us that when God speaks to us through His word or through our circumstances, we are to listen, and we are to obey!
“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love” (Jn. 15:10, NIV).
– Al Gary
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