1 Chronicles 13:11-14 (NIV) Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.

David, who wanted to honor God, got all the people of Israel excited about bringing the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath Jearim. It had been left there for a very long time during a time when God's people were not seeking Him. After Saul became the first king of Israel, he quickly went astray and never even thought of bringing the Ark of God back from Kiriath Jearim. David went all out in the preparations for fulfilling his mission, but he forgot to consider how he should do it. There were very specific instructions on handling and carrying the Ark of the Covenant, which the Bible says is where God is enthroned between the cherubim, and David didn't follow any of them. That's why Uzzah died during this good mission to bring the Ark of God to where it belonged. The oxen that were carrying the Ark stumbled and Uzzah put his hand on it to steady it so that it wouldn't fall. He immediately died for having touched the Ark. Not only was no one allowed to touch it, but it was supposed to be hand carried by Levites only, and that by poles that would be inserted through rings in the Ark so that no one had to touch it to carry it. David's reaction was that he got angry, stopped the procession and left the Ark of God at the house of a man named Obed-Edom.

David's issue with God is one that is very common to us. He did something that God had specifically warned the people not to do, and then he got angry when something went terribly wrong and a man lost his life. The loss of life was David's fault for taking the carrying of the Ark so lightly. In his anger, he refused to continue to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. In other words, he was going to teach God a lesson and not bring His presence into Jerusalem. I'm sure that David wasn't thinking about what he did quite that way, but that is what his actions implied. All of a sudden, he was "afraid of God." If he had been reverent about what he was attempting to do, he would have sought advice and counsel. Now, he was afraid of the same God who had protected him from King Saul and had not only given him victories at every turn but had also anointed him as king of Israel.

When we get disappointed with God, we do similar things. We either stop praying, stop reading the Bible or stop going to church. We stop seeking Him for a while because we are upset at Him. But how foolish is that? Who do we think we are hurting? What lesson do we think that we are teaching God? When David learned that God had blessed the socks off of Obed-Edom and his household, he reconsidered and made plans to go back and try it a second time. But this time, he did some research to learn how to properly handle the things of God. There are no lessons for God to learn and you and I are the last people who should try to teach Him one. Trust God and reverence Him even when He doesn't act the way that you think that He should and continue to love, serve and obey Him. The only one that you will be hurting in trying to teach God a lesson is yourself. As Obed-Edom could have attested to, whoever makes room in their life for the presence of God will be richly blessed and highly favored. Instead of teaching God a lesson, let's learn one from David of what not to do when things don't go our way.

Pastor Joey Vazquez