In Sanctity and Holiness

By Dan and Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is at: https://youtu.be/kQkGaFnSirk

The scripture reading is 2 Samuel 6:1-7:17

David faced many “giants” in his path to becoming the king of Israel. He faced lions and bears while he was a shepherd over his father’s flock. He faced the Philistine giant Goliath who held all Israel hostage to his demands. He faced the giant of rejection by his beloved King Saul. After Saul’s death, David faced rejection again when the leaders of the tribes of Israel rejected him from being their king even though they knew God had chosen and anointed him as king. Finally, David overcame and defeated the Philistines who tried to snatch the kingdom away from him after he had taken Jerusalem. The Philistines came at David from the Valley of Rephaim meaning the Valley of Giants and David drove them back almost to the Sea. When it was time to celebrate his victories, what better way to do that than to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the new capital city of Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 6:1-2 NKJV 1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.

The Ark of the Covenant was on the move to its new home in Jerusalem escorted by specially chosen men of Israel. This is reminiscent of the journey of the Ark of the Covenant to the Promised Land. Like with the journey in the wilderness, there were difficulties along the way. What were the difficulties and victories that David experienced in bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem? How does this journey warn and encourage us in our journey to God’s Promised Land?

Throughout David’s life, he faithfully inquired of God what God would have him to do. For example, when he saw the armies of the Philistines converging on Jerusalem, he asked God how to arrange his forces to defeat the Philistines.

2 Samuel 5:18-20 NKJV 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the LORD said to David, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand." 20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

When God did indeed deliver the Philistines into David’s hands, David called the place “Baal Peratzim,” number 1188 in Strong’s Concordance meaning “the master of breaches.” The root word or peratzim is number 6559, “peretz” meaning to break out or breach. David rightly credited God for his ability to break through his enemies. The Philistines rallied and attacked David at Jerusalem a second time. Once again, David sought God’s plan for defeating the Philistines. This time, God went out and defeated the Philistines in front of David.

In celebration of these victories, David desired to bring the Ark of the Covenant into his new capital city. Wanting to honor the God who had always been with him and who had most recently given Israel a resounding victory over the Philistines, David planned carefully.

1 Chronicles 13:1-3 NKJV 1 Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if it is of the LORD our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; 3 "and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul."

The high priest who wore the Urim and Thummim used to inquire of God on his breastplate went into exile with David.  Abiathar had given aid to David and his men and then been forced to flee from the wrath of Saul. Now, David wanted to reunite the high priest Abiathar with the Ark of the Covenant. The place for inquiring of God should rightly be at the Ark of the Covenant. David had a new cart made for the express purpose of transporting the Ark. He gathered all of Israel with their musical instruments to play music before the LORD. One thing David forgot, however, was to inquire of the LORD how to bring the Ark into Jerusalem! A disaster was waiting to happen! As the procession approached the threshing floor of Nachon, the oxen pulling the cart stumbled. Uzzah, a Levite of the house of Abinadab, reached out to steady the Ark.

2 Samuel 6:6-7 NKJV 6 And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.

What went wrong? In David’s failure to consult God, he, also, failed to consult the Torah. The Ark of the Covenant had resided twenty years in one place and the instructions for how to move it were apparently forgotten. The Ark was not to be moved on a cart; it was to be carried on the shoulders of the Kohathites.

Numbers 4:15 NKJV 15 "And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry  them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

Only a priest could touch the holy things of the Tabernacle! This was especially true of the Ark of the Covenant! Although Uzzah had good intentions, he profaned the Ark by reaching out and touching it! A similar thing happened when the Tabernacle was dedicated in the wilderness before the children of Israel began their journey to the Promised Land. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, brought strange fire before the LORD and the fire of the LORD consumed Nadab and Abihu.

When Uzzah died, the whole procession came to an abrupt stop! We read that David became angry.

2 Samuel 6:8 NKJV 8 And David became angry because of the LORD'S outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.

We don’t know if David was angry at God or at himself, but he certainly attributed the death of Uzzah to God. David had earlier named the place where God had given him victory over the Philistines Baal Paretzim; he names this place Peretz Uzzah meaning the break or breach of Uzzah. As a result of this event, David relearned the fear of the LORD.

2 Samuel 6:9 NKJV 9 David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"

David learned that God could not be treated casually. Nor was God at David’s command to do as David desired. God had displayed His mighty power first in defeating the Philistines and second in protecting His sanctity. David was not sure that bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city would be a good idea, so he diverted the Ark to the nearby home of a Levite named Obed-Edom.

2 Samuel 6:10-11 NKJV 10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

The book of Chronicles records that Obed-Edom was a Kohathite of the family of Korah. He became a gatekeeper and musician during temple worship. 1 Chronicles 26 tells us that God blessed Obed-Edom with many sons and grandsons, sixty two in all! The presence of the Ark of the Covenant resulted in blessings when God’s instructions were followed as promised by Moses.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 NKJV 1 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 "that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

After three months, David made plans to once again bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. This time he followed God’s instructions for handling and moving the Ark.

1 Chronicles 15:1-2 NKJV 1 David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, "No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever."

The procession began with only six steps, then, they stopped and sacrificed oxen and sheep. David was careful to get everything right this time! The Stone Edition Chumash explains:

Far from being a danger, however, the Ark proved to be a blessing to its new host, so David had it brought to Jerusalem with pomp and celebration, with sanctity and devotion. No one celebrated more than the king himself, dancing with abandon in a public display of boundless joy that the Ark was coming “home.”[i]

David put off the robes of the kingship while bringing the Ark into Jerusalem. Perhaps this was in acknowledgement that his first attempt at bringing the Ark into the city was more about his own aggrandizement than God’s. Instead, David put on the linen ephod, the standard apparel of the priesthood.

2 Samuel 6:14-15 NKJV 14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

David didn’t just dance a little bit; he danced with wild abandon and acrobatics! There was nothing dignified in David’s actions! He is described as leaping and whirling around! When they reached the city, David brought the Ark into the tent he had prepared for it.

2 Samuel 6:17-19 NKJV 17 So they brought the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. 19 Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.

The two offerings that David brings are the burnt offering and the peace offering. The burnt offering is a gift totally given to God. It is usually a bull that is sacrificed with the whole animal placed on the altar. The smoke of the offering rises entirely to God. The peace offering is a shared meal with God along with the family and friends of the one bringing the offering. David shared out his peace offering with everyone gathered to Jerusalem for this event. Everyone received a portion of the meal which included bread, meat and a cake made with the fruit of the grapes. The Stone Edition Chumash translation describes the meal as including a loaf of bread, a portion of beef, and a container of wine fitting the requirements of the peace offering. David concluded the ceremony by blessing the people. Imagine the scene, King David steps up dressed simply in the garments of the priesthood, raises his hands forming the letter shin for El Shaddai, and speaks the words of the blessings over the people. At the conclusion, all the people returned to their houses.

However, not everyone in Jerusalem was pleased with the actions of King David. David’s wife Michal, daughter of Saul, watched these proceedings through the window of David’s house. When she saw David’s unrestrained dancing, she despised him. While all the people were celebrating, Michal remained in the house. After blessing the people, David also, returned to his house with the intent of blessing his household.

2 Samuel 6:20 NAS95 20 But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"

David’s intent to bless his household was blocked by the scornful greeting of Michal. Michal is not described here as David’s wife; she is described as Saul’s daughter. It was Saul’s pride that led to his downfall as a king. When Samuel was delayed in arriving to celebrate Saul’s victory over the Philistines, Saul didn’t want to look bad in the eyes of the people, so he offered the sacrifices in Samuel’s place. Michal regards David’s actions as humiliating himself before the women of his household. The word translated as “uncovered” is number 1540 “galah,” meaning to denude in a disgraceful sense, such as the stripping of a captive. Figuratively, it means to reveal, expose, be discovered, or to be taken captive. Michal accuses David of behavior unbecoming of a king.

First Fruits of Zion in Torah club Volume three comments:

It obviously offended her pride to have her husband, the great king, acting in such a humble and devoted manner before the Holy One and before the rest of Israel.[ii]

David responds to Michal’s scorn with the assertion that he will continue to worship God and, that those whom Michal thought would despise David, would instead honor him.

2 Samuel 6:21-22 NAS95 21 So David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 "I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished."

David was pleased to be lightly esteemed before the LORD; however, Saul could not bear to be lightly esteemed. Samuel’s words to Saul touch on this.

1 Samuel 15:17, 19 NKJV 17 So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?...19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"

So, Michal, instead of receiving the blessing that God would have bestowed on her through David blessing his household, remained childless. This is a very different outcome than the outcome for Obed-Edom who received the blessing of many sons and grandsons.

David had achieved his goal of bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the capital city of Jerusalem. But he was not pleased that the Ark was in a tent while he lived in a house of cedar. This does not line up with his desire to be lightly esteemed and humble before the LORD. David desired to build a house for his God.

2 Samuel 7:1-2 NKJV 1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains."

God did not grant David’s request to be allowed to build a temple for God. We’ve looked at this in depth in previous teachings. However, God honored David for his desire to build a house for Him, by stating that God would build a permanent dwelling place for Israel and that, within Israel, God would build a house for David.

2 Samuel 7:10-11 NKJV 10 "Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 11 "since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.

This house that God would build for David would be a house from which David and his descendants would rule over the nation of Israel. It would be at this time that a son of David would build a house for God. This promise of the kingship would be an everlasting appointment, different from that granted to Saul.

2 Samuel 7:13-16 NAS95 13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 "I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"

The word translated as “lovingkindness” is number 2617, “chesed” means kindness or favor. However, this word is covenant language. First Fruits of Zion explains in Torah Club Volume Three:

The word “lovingkindnes” (hesed,) is a covenantal word. It expresses God’s legal/covenantal commitment to be faithful to His Promise.[iii]

David’s son Solomon, whose name means peaceful, built the house for the LORD. However, that temple was eventually destroyed and Israel was driven from the Promised Land, not once, but twice! The covenant is still in effect, though. David’s house and kingdom will always endure. There will be another time, when God gives victory to the Son of David and He will march triumphant into Jerusalem, not according to the commandments of man, but according to the commandments and sanctity of God!

We, also, have a journey that we are to take on the way to Jerusalem. That journey, like the journey of the Ark under the command of David, is to be a journey observing the commandments, statutes, and judgments of God. We are not to treat the things of God lightly, but we are to fear God. The Book of Ecclesiastes describes the futility of a life lived without God. It ends with these words of wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

In our journey through life, the goal of eternal life dwelling in the eternal city of Jerusalem is before us. Through Yeshua, our Messiah and the Son of David, we have the promise of a dwelling place in the land that will be ruled over by Yeshua. Let us complete our journey in the fear of God as we honor and keep His commandments.

Study Questions:

1. Discuss the connection of this teaching to the Torah Portion Shemini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47.

2. Peretz, #6559, means to break out. One of the sons of Judah was named Peretz. The word is also used in Micah 2:12-13 about a breaker breaking out into the kingdom. Yeshua refers to this passage in Matthew 11:11-15. How does this use of the word peretz connect these passages?

3. God’s judgment fell on Nadab and Abihu in the Tabernacle for bringing strange fire and on Uzzah son of Abinadab for touching the Ark of the Covenant. What do these names mean? What is the connection between the name Nadab and the name Abinadab? What other connections are there between these people?

4. What made David confident that it was time to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem?

5. What can we learn from David blessing the people and then going to bless his household? Why is it important to bless our families?

6. What new insight did you gain from this blog? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

Bonus Question: What is the significance of God breaking out against Uzzah at the threshing floor of Nachon?

© 2019 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.

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[i] The Stone Edition Chumash. Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz. ArtScroll Series. Mesorah Pulblications, ltd. ©1998, 2000. Page1169.

[ii] Torah Club Volume Three: The Haftarah. Boaz Michael. First Fruits of Zion. ©1999. P. 437.

[iii] Torah Club Volume Three: The Haftarah. Boaz Michael. First Fruits of Zion. ©1999. P. 439.