2009 – Day 131.May 12 – God Cares

2009 – Day 131.May 12 – God Cares

Passage of the Day: 2nd Samuel 6: 1 – 9 … Link to passage for study …

My Journal for Today: When some people read a passage like this one today, they might think that it illustrates a heartless God; but the opposite is the point in this passage. God does care; and as long as we care about what God has clearly spelled out are His cares, i.e., His will, as He had in His decrees about the Arc of the Covenant, we can know that our hearts and actions are in accord with His will; and we will be blessed. However, if we, as did Uzzah in this passage, breech God’s will, the consequences can be dire – even to the point of death. Uzzah, not being a Levite, touched the untouchable; and the penalty had been clearly defined by God’s decree; and Uzzah died.

And we also see an interesting point of humanity from David in this passage, who showed a moment of displaced anger toward God when Uzzah was stricken dead. I personally think David, “the man after God’s own heart,” knew that he should have not let such an incident happen. David should have done his homework and insured that only Levites would be within touching distance of the Arc. But because of David’s haste, a man died needlessly; and I believe that David’s misplaced anger reflected his own actions and lack of studied care for which God had declared His care.

Have you ever been careless and thoughtless; and your thoughtless actions caused someone else to be hurt? And in that moment of realization, it’s easy to get mad at others or even God, when, in point of fact, it is you who was at fault. This was really David’s fault in the moment God struck down Uzzah. Yes, as Swindoll points out, David was a “man after God’s own heart;” but he was not a perfect man; and even his imperfect anger reflected a misplaced heart for God’s perfection and for His declared word.

Swindoll helps his readers, in this case yours truly, to see that we need to KNOW in our minds and hearts what God cares for. And where do we learn that? Well, the answer to that one is “Duh !!” The answer, of course, is that we know God and His will from His word.

So, what does that imply? It means, if we’re to have a heart for God, we must have an intentional heart for God’s truth, which is found in His word, … the Bible. So, I return to a verse which often rings true when we look for God’s desire that we succeed and prosper in caring for what God cares for; and that passage is found in Joshua 1: 8, linked here for you. … [And I really hope you have memorized this one!]

If you’ve been reading along with me through this study of the life of David, I hope you’ve picked up on one of the main recurring themes, pointing believers toward God’s word as the source for knowing God and His will for our lives. Dear one, we cannot, and will not, know God or His will for our lives if we choose to ignore God’s word. It’s that simple; and if we choose to prioritize other things in our lives above investing diligent time studying God through His word, we just might suffer some dire consequences, like others being hurt because WE ignore God’s will.

My friend(s), sin leads to death; and choosing to ignore God and His truth, is sin. I’ll leave it to you to decide if you want to cause the death of a Uzzah because you chose to worship idols rather than to worship God through His word. My heart is for God; and I pray that I internalize this message that my God wants me to be pursuing Him through His word.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I get the message; and I am here today pursuing You through Your word. Amen