Missing the Mark Part 2 By Rayola Kelley

Last month I shared some teaching posts on the incident in 1 Chronicles 13. Man may know what is right, but fails to properly execute it and therefore, misses the mark of receiving God’s approval. This is easy to do in our humanity. We assume things because we know about certain things but that does not mean we have taken note of how to handle it. Knowing something and doing something right are two different matters altogether.

We see from last month that the first misstep David took is that he failed to seek God in the matter. He sought others, but not God. The second thing he did wrong was he failed to seek the proper protocol in which to handle a sacred object of God.

How we approach something is based on our attitude towards it. David’s handling of the matter made it common and not sacred and precious. He had zeal but was operating in ignorance towards what the Lord would consider righteous actions. David attempted to do a few things to bring distinction to the ceremony, but the truth of the matter is that his failure to do what was required ended in death.

“And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” (1 Chronicles 13:12). In 1 Chronicles 13:8, we read how there was a great celebration because of bringing the ark to Jerusalem. However, when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, an ox stumbled and Uzza put his hand on the ark to steady it and was struck dead by the Lord.

The Bible is clear, we must not mishandle the things God has marked as sacred and holy. That which is sacred and holy must never be treated as being common or ordinary. Those who serve God must not be flippant with that which God has ordained and set apart as His witness. Sadly, we have a tendency to think that if something meets our religious standards that God will certainly see our intention and honor them.

David was displeased that a man lost his life because of what many considered a “small” infraction. Again, it does not matter how man sees a matter; rather, it comes down to how God weighs it according to His Word and instructions. The sons of Aaron lost their lives because they offered strange fire on the Altar of Incense.

In this world, fudging here and there is acceptable, and especially if you get away with it. However, we do eventually reap what we sow and many times our fudging creates a big tsunami that will come back to haunt us. Clearly, there will be no fudging with the instructions and ways of God without consequences. Any fudging in the matters of God is a matter of unbelief and disobedience. In a way, it is showing disdain or contempt towards God and His Word.

God was not concerned that David was displeased. It was his failure in the first place to obey God’s instructions that cost Uzza his life. It was up to David to make sure that which concerns God, was done according to God and His instructions. Those who are involved with God and His kingdom’s work should take heed to this example. Every time one of God’s servants mishandles the things of God, they are most likely setting others up for judgment.

There is nothing like righteous judgment that can bring fear, sobriety, and clarity to a servant of God. Judgment is a type of separation. On that day David was clearly separated from his way of thinking to soberly consider what it would take to bring the ark home. Sometimes in our fleshly logic, zealousness, and silliness, God will send some type of incident to knock us off of our pedestal and bring us back to center with Him and His Word.

“And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had” (1 Chronicles 13:14). Missteps with the things of God will result in missing the mark that leads to disaster. David’s zeal to bring home the Ark of the Covenant was understandable but his protocol was contrary to God’s way. It ended up costing a man his life.

The whole incident caused King David to abort his plan to bring the ark home. He was no longer zealous because it cost him. His planning had ended in disaster and his goal to bring the ark to the place of God a failure. It was clear David was confused about it and was no longer walking in confidence in his plan. In fact, God’s action caused the king to fear the Lord in a way that changed his whole attitude.

The fear of the Lord gives one a real keen awareness that the matters of God can’t be treated in a casual way. It will often cause them to go back to the drawing board. In David’s case it would be back to the Law as to the proper way in which to move the ark.

Due to the ark on their property, the family of Obededom was experiencing blessings. This got back to David and he realized that he, along with the city and the people, were missing the blessings of God. This stirred him up to once again bring the ark home. This example reminds us that when we miss the mark we will end up missing blessings from God as well.

Christians miss the blessings of God when His presence is absent. The problem is when people live without His blessings long enough, they no longer look for them or expect them. Without the presence of God, religion is an empty shell that may seem beautiful and functioning, but it lacks life. If often takes a major shaking for God’s people to wake up to the fact that what they lack and what they are in need of is God’s presence in their midst, His intervention on their behalf and His blessings.

“Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever” (1 Chronicles 15:2). King David finally got it! It was not some “wow” factor that came to him from above; rather, it was him acknowledging the proper way in which to bring the ark home according to the statues that were laid out in the Law.

We can shake our head at David’s grave misstep towards God’s instruction, but how many of us are guilty of missteps? How many of you when you read the incident in 1 Chronicles 13, perceived God to be unfair for striking dead an innocent man for touching the ark? How many of you when reading it and knowing God’s instructions in moving the ark, thought, “David, that is not the way to bring the ark to Jerusalem?”

David knew much of the Law, but he was not a priest and he did not seek the wisdom of the High Priest when it came to this sacred object of the tabernacle. He was flying high on assumptions and religious notions. He had a relationship with God and wanted to please Him but failed to consider the instructions that would maintain the sacredness of the ark. It is believing God’s Word and obeying it that pleases God.

When it comes to learning the same bitter lessons about the sacredness of the things of God, I have been there and the consequences I paid made me wiser. No doubt David was wiser for his failures and the sobriety that came with it caused him to reconsider his actions and take note of the proper procedures.

Today, as I consider some of the religious activities of the church, I wonder how many believers need to experience a bit of shaking to realize the need to believe God’s Word and simply obey it because it is the right thing to do. Of course, the key to doing right before God and pleasing Him rest with truly loving Him.

“And he gathered together all the princes of Israel with the priests and the Levites” (1 Chronicles 23:2). King David was about ready to die and he was putting his house in order, as well as the forthcoming temple of God. His great desire was to build a house for God, but since he was a man of war, his son, Solomon would be given the task. However, David would be the one who would prepare for it by providing the material to build it and setting up the different teams of worship and service in the temple.

As I thought about the valuable lesson David learned from his costly blunder when he moved the Ark of the Covenant the first time, I thought that out of everyone in his kingdom he was probably the best one suited to establish the protocol of service and worship when it came to the temple. After all, he was a man who worshipped God with his music and no doubt he took time to understand the responsibility of the priests and the Levites after costing a man his life. The responsibilities of the different groups of the Levitical tribes are defined beginning in 1 Chronicles 23 through 26. It is clear that David was committed to ensuring that once the temple was built, everyone would know their place of service and would be prepared to move into it.

When I look back on my walk with the Lord, I can see where all of my failures, defeats, and great blunders prepared me to walk in the ways of righteousness. For the most part, we start out knowing what is right, but we have a tendency to take detours for different reasons that end in consequences. It is tasting the bitterness of rebellion that causes us to reconsider our ways. Once we begin to choose to do what is right, we will reap the benefits from it.

I was sharing with a friend that when we do what is right, we will avoid sabotaging what we have already done. As soon as we let down on a matter, and begin to impatiently charge to get something over with, that is when we leave a trail of ruin behind. In fact, people can follow it.

To learn that righteousness is always the right way of doing something adds great wisdom to our walk. It is easy to get impatient, take short-cuts, or even bluff our way through something, missing the mark of God’s approval. We fail by not first pausing, counting the cost, and considering the right way of doing it. This type of response for a believer comes from unfeigned faith that has integrity and will not accept any way but the way that is upright. When we are upright, we will do right. In a way, it can become a sacrifice that will prove to be a sweet savor and not some decaying crumbs we toss the Lord’s way. We will see it as confirming our testimony to the unseen world as we bring glory to God in all we do.