Are New Carts Necessary?

Weight and importance should be given to proper worship.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Yesterday we took note of the number of men that escorted the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. But it is not just the number of men, but also the name of God that is given to us. The author makes sure to let us know in 2 Samuel 6: 2 that the ark has a certain name—the LORD OF HOSTS (armies) WHO SITS ENTHRONED. The idea is that the ark is intimately tied with the God of Israel. He sits enthroned above the cherubim. And then we are told that a new cart has been provided upon which the ark was carried. And this just makes sense to us doesn’t it? They have to transport it in some way. You can’t use the cart on the backside of the house that you used to shovel ox poop in. You can’t use the cart out in the garden that you used to throw the vegetables in. That wouldn’t be proper or reverent. If 30,000 men are coming in to protect this thing, then surely the least that could be done is to provide a new cart, one unstained, uncorrupted. All of this taking place, all of this fanfare, because this was a special, holy, occasion in the life of Israel. All of this because the worship of God is absolutely serious business that deserves to be protected, respected, and honored. But the original reader, hopefully, would have looked sideways at one particular thing—the new cart. Wasn’t there something written long ago about how the ark was to be transported? Wasn’t there something written long ago about who was to be transporting the ark? It seems like I remember something about that, maybe…oh well, maybe not. If your curious, join us next week, or go ahead and read for yourselves what happens in 2 Samuel 6.