[One-Verse Meditation]

(2 Samuel 6:14) ESV

“And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.”

(Meditation)

When we read the story of Uzzah, it immediately troubles us. Uzzah’s intention seems clearly good, since he reached out because the ark of the covenant seemed about to fall. So it is easy for us to ask, “Wasn’t God being too harsh?” Yet later David reflects on this event and confesses that the LORD struck them down “because we did not seek him according to the rule” (1 Chron. 15:13). The problem was not merely Uzzah’s impulsive act, but that David and Israel were trying to handle the holy God according to human judgment and human methods. This event reveals that God is not confined within our good intentions; rather, he is the One who sets us rightly before his holiness.

Only after learning God’s holiness does David dance before the LORD with all his might. This dance is an expression of joy from one who has come to know who God truly is. After the incident with Uzzah, David’s struggle was the fear of asking, “How can I stand before this holy God?” But God did not leave him in that fear. By his word, he exposed what was wrong and set David back within his own way, finally leading him into a place of rejoicing before the LORD. David’s dancing, then, is not carelessness; it is the praise of one who has come to know the holiness and beauty of God.

This word also exposes us. Just as we judge God when we look at Uzzah’s apparently good intention, we also tend to measure everything that happens in life by our own standards of goodness and rightness. We ask, “Isn’t this acceptable?” “Why would this happen?” “Isn’t God being too harsh?” But our goodness and God’s goodness cannot be placed on the same scale. God is not one who can be explained by our standards. Rather, he is the One who shatters those standards and teaches us what it means that he is truly God. Therefore, this word first calls us to lay down our own judgments and self-made standards.

But God does not leave us there. Just as he did with David and Israel, the Lord also makes himself known to us through his word and finally leads us into a place where we rejoice in him and praise him. This is the purpose for which God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4–6). So the end of this word is not fear or forced resolve, but praise. Through all that takes place in our lives, God teaches us his Godness, and in doing so he makes us sing, rejoice in him, and delight in him. This is grace.

(Prayer)

Lord, it is grace that Your thoughts are not like ours. Our thoughts change so easily and so often. Because Your unchanging thoughts uphold us, we are always and everywhere safe. Let this day’s steps be taken in this grace. Amen.
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(Daily Meditation)

2 Samuel 6:6–23