I think that we have looked at all the references to the Ark of the Covenant through I Samuel 7. Last week we saw it being abused in Bethshemesh and then being sent to Kirjath-jearim. It was a blessing to the house of Abinadab and to the family of his son Eleazar. Now we skip all the way to II Samuel with related material in I Chronicles 13 and 15. I don’t think that we are missing any references to the Ark before this chapter, except for one comment.
During the days of Saul’s reign as king, the blessings of the Lord were not heavy on Israel. The Philistines once again began to nibble away at the prosperity of the nation. And at several points the two countries met in battle. I believe that if Israel had kept the Ark at the center of her national heart, she would never have had to face an enemy again, but alas such was not the case. On one occasion, Jonathan, the son of Saul, was the instrument through which God gave a rare victory. I guess that the father and son weren’t on speaking terms at the time. The king didn’t know who God’s secret agent had been; who was the warrior in charge. After he learned that it was Jonathan, he called for Ahiah to fetch the Ark from Kirjath-jearim. He apparently wanted to use it as a lucky charm once again in any on-going battles. But that never happened because the battle proceed without his help, and the Ark wasn’t necessary. The reference to the Ark is so short in this episode that I don’t think we wouldn’t glean too much from it.
By II Samuel 6, Saul, the first king of Israel had been slain in battle with the Philistines, and then came David. He first ascended to the throne of Judah in Hebron and eventually over united Israel. With righteous David on the throne the nation began to prosper economically. Perhaps seeing that prosperity, the Philistines once again attacked Israel – II Samuel 5:22. “And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.” When David consulted the Lord it was not with the help of the Ark, but we don’t really know the details. The Philistines were soundly defeated – however they were not destroyed.
But things were going along quite well for Israel and for David and his family. He had lived in the valley of the shadow of death for some time. He had eaten cold beans, and had to beg even for those from time to time. Even though he lived in peace with God, providentially he had been a fugitive before evil men. But now the days of the valley’s are over, and David is now on the mountain top.
But David knows that there is no genuine national prosperity unless there is genuine spiritual prosperity. A church, a nation, a family needs more than security, good offerings and 200 souls in the services. It is essential that a church be as spiritual as it appears to be doctrinally sound. We can quote chapter after chapter; recite proverbs, prophets and poets. But if the heart is not filled with Christ and His Spirit, we are nothing. We are “as sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.”
In David we see an illustration of a desire for spiritual revival. For 20 years the Ark of the Covenant had rested in the house of Eleazar, then another decade and another. That symbol of the presence and blessing of God was enjoyed by only a few for 65 to 70 years. But now David was singing: “Revive us again, fill each heart with thy love, May each soul be rekindled…” With these things in mind, let’s think about the relationship of the Ark of the Covenant to revival.
But first, what exactly do we mean when we say “revival.” What is Revival?
Isn’t it the return of the Ark’s antitype – Christ – to His proper place in our lives? Revival is Christ really ruling a heart, or a church, a community or a nation. It is the Ark out of the woods and back into worship. Don’t get disconcerted by word “Baale” – that was the former name of Kirjath-jearim. And Kirjath-jearim means “City in the forest” or “City of the woods.” Revival can be personal, ecclesiastical or even national. But its simplest common denominator is Christ having His proper place.
And what are the characteristics of such a place? It means there is a central focus for our spiritual lives. The Ark is here; there is a place of meeting with the Lord. It means that there is a place once again for atonement – a mercy seat. I don’t know what Israel was doing for those two generations. Did they offer a single sacrifice which was acceptable before the Lord? When revival comes there is once again the revelation of God we need. Real revival cannot be separated from the ministry of the Word. It is not mere emotion – an excitement about God. With God’s Word we can go back to real heaven-sent guidance, rather than guessing about His will. And we can liken it to the coming of the Holy Spirit in power on the day of Pentecost. These are the things for which David yearned – not just for himself, but for the whole nation.
But there are a couple of other things which need to be considered. Sometimes that power and the presence of God is thrust upon people. So it was with Eleazer of Kirthjath-jearim. It was not exactly his choice, even though it was a blessing. And it will be thrust upon Obededom; whom we will study soon. Generally speaking, God works upon invitation only, but Obededom is an exception to that rule. Second, revival sometimes means the cutting off a few Uzzahs. Revival in a church sometimes can only come when some members are disciplined or leave. That can be an excruciating process, like the removal of a tumor. But often it is absolutely essential. Revival in an individual sometimes requires the exorcism of some prevalent sins. But I don’t think David had these things in mind when he called for a return of the Ark.
The Source of true revival must be the Antitype of the Ark of the Covenant – Christ.
Without question, revival is the rediscovery of the power of Christ in one’s life. It must have it’s beginning and ending in the Lord, just as we see in Acts 2. But there is a human side to the story just as there was in Acts chapter 1. If the church didn’t quit their fishing, and start praying, there would have been no revival. If they weren’t cloistered together in unity and tears, there would have been no revival. If there was no heart to hear and heart to do God’s will, there would have been no revival. And so it was with David and the return of the Ark.
This desire for the return of the Ark came from the depth of David’s heart. It was genuine; he desired it above anything else at this time in his life. Perhaps that desire should have come sooner – we just might find fault. But it was there now, and for that we commend the man. Oh, how I wish God’s people really wanted to have the Ark of the Lord in the center of their lives. Most Christians don’t want the Lord to control every part of their lives. Most of us have one or two sins, which we’d prefer to keep simmering on the back burner. Few are willing to anything and everything the Lord might ask. There are not many Eleazars and Obededoms in the world. David really did want revival, as nearly all Christians might say, but he hadn’t counted the cost.
Something else, this revival came from the heart of a common man – spiritually speaking. Zadok and Abiathar were the High Priests in David’s day, but I don’t read them taking the initiative. Even if they did have same desire, it means nothing without the rank and file to carry it out. Part of the heart may say, “Yes, let’s have revival,” but if the king of that heart isn’t fully on board, there will be no revival.Humanly speaking, what was the source of this revival – it was the desire of a simple believer.
But there were some mistakes made about this revival and the Ark.
Despite what thousands of Baptist churches have tried to do, revival cannot be preplanned, like a birthday party. David meant well, but it seems that the croud with him weren’t seeking same blessing. The 30,000 chosen men were probably soldiers who were only obeying orders. David went to the clergy, inviting them to join him, and many did. But then some of these people, it appears, started to take things out of David’s hands. The whole thing started taking on more organization than David or the Lord intended.
Revival is not something which can be left to a handful of human decision-makers. “Well, it’s been nearly a year. Time to have a revival around here. Somebody go get the Ark.” It just doesn’t work that way. And from where did the idea of a cart come? Originally from the Philistines. How often do decisions about church meetings come from unbelievers? How often are secular techniques employed? Or the preacher buys a copy of the latest Christian best-seller “How to conduct a revival meeting.” Step one, step two, if your church is above 300, go to step 3; or if not skip to step 4. How did the idea of a new cart reach David? Perhaps it was through Uzzah. Maybe he was a son or grandson of Eleazar who was first commissioned to care for the Ark in Kirjath-jearim. Perhaps he could recall the stories of his forefather and how revival first came to his house. “What was good enough to bring ark to grandad must be good enough for the rest of us.”
That man’s death tells us that God was more than a little displeased with Uzzah. After all, how did they get that Ark into the cart? They lifted it? Lifted how? This man may have already been in God’s gun sights. Those decision-makers ignored 50;070 different witnesses about the Ark of the Covenant. First there were the thousands of deaths in Bethshemesh. Oh, but that is ancient history, right? Then there was the witness of the four rings at the corners of the Ark. Those rings were just begging, “Put my golden staves in here.” “Oh, be quiet rings, we want to do things the new and modern way.” We want revival to come through the lungs of professional singers and perhaps puppets. We expect revival to sweep into town on the wings of an interdemoninational preacher.
What were some of the mistakes made about this revival; this return of the Ark? There was the idea to use the easiest way possible. The cart for example. Old fashioned, heaven-sent revival is just too hard to call up. Let’s use the cart short-cut. It used to be that meetings would last 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or months in a single church. Then they’d all go over to a neighboring church and start over again. Now we have “Revival” meetings which last a total 3 nights – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It used be that revival meant tears, confession of sin and mean, hard preaching. Now we want the short road, even if we miss the revival completely. “Oh, God just didn’t want to pour out His blessings this year.”
Do know how far it was from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem – how about 8 miles. Do you mean that those Levites couldn’t take turns carrying the Ark that far? Then there was the idea that real revival never has any hitches or flaws. Revival can be planned down to the last potluck dinner at the end of the week. As the oxen went along, Uzzah thought that they shouldn’t stumble; but they did. Real revival may have plenty of stumbles, glitches, hitches and stitches. Glitches produce gold and diamonds. There was the idea that revival depends upon us more than it does the Lord. The oxen are stumbling, well then throw out your hand and push God back up onto His cart. Was that Ark in any real danger? Does the Bible say that it was falling? An ox tripped. That was all. How often do such animals actually fall to the ground?
David and the people were apparently thinking that close is good enough with the Lord. It doesn’t matter if we don’t transport the Ark properly, close is good enough. It doesn’t matter if the Levites are not in charge, close is good enough. It doesn’t matter whether or not we have asked the Lord’s will in this matter. It doesn’t matter if we are coming to the Lord with broken hearts – other emotions are good enough. But it does matter. There will be no revival when God’s people are not fully surrendered to Him.
What is the proper approach to the Ark – and thus to Revival?
Don’t stop with verse 9, that’s merely the place start: “How shall the Ark of the Lord come to me?” Don’t stop with asking the question. Look for the correct answer. Revival has to have at its root the realization of our unworthiness. And there must be reverence and a fear of God. There is a difference between being afraid of God, and to have the fear of God. We’ re talking about reverence and respect before the Lord. Uzzah did not possess that essential fear of God. Perhaps he had lived with the Ark in his spare bedroom for too long. It was in a room in his house, but not in a room in his heart. There is a lot called “Revival” today which lacks that reverence, and thus it is false.
From there we go on to the sprinkling of the blood of God’s righteous sacrifice. Where there is revival, there will also be the preaching of shed blood Christ. And there has to be a strict adherence to the Lord and His commands .
And how did David learn about the proper method of glorifying the Lord? Through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. In David’s first attempt there was plenty of music – but no preaching. There may be nothing wrong with the music, but let’s put first things first. It is in the preaching of the cross where the power of God rests.
How I pray that God would lay on the hearts of His people a desire for the filling and power of the Holy Spirit. That He would crush me with that desire. How we need to see souls coming to Christ – because we are bubbling over with the Lord. We require the guidance and leadership of the Lord for our daily lives. But we end up satisfied with the spiritual status-quo. In the mean time not only are Christian Uzzah’s falling head long into eternity. But at the same time are multitudes of non-Christians dying as well.
May God give us revival – with the Ark of Christ in His proper place in our hearts