The Threshing Floor

04-30-08 The Threshing Floor

..So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 2 Samuel 6:12

In this story the Ark of the Lord is being carried from house of Abinadab to the City of David. The Ark is placed on a cart driven by Oxen. When the oxen stumbled it caused the cart tip and Uzzah reached out to prevent the Ark from falling. Instantly Uzzah dies from his irreverent act.

A couple of things that I noticed in this story today. I wondered why God would allow this to happen? Uzzah paid with this life. Uzzah's reaction was a clear indication of what happens when being unfamiliar with the presence of God. It's not the act of touching the Ark that killed Uzzah it was the unfamiliarity in how to carry the presence that killed him. That happened long before his incident. I think it's so true of our lives. I know that I've gone through things at times and have felt like inside my spirit has no strength to go on. It wasn't one event that pushed me overboard it was the decision that I had made long before to do things on my own, ignore my spiritual need of God and stop pursuing God's presence daily.

The second thing I noticed is where this happened and why it happened. This event all took place at the threshing floor of Nacon. The threshing floor was the place where the wheat and the chaff where separated. The name Nacon means prepared. I think sometimes God puts us in a place of separation of preparation for what's next. David and the Levites should of known that the Ark was to be carried by the Levites through poles on their shoulders but they instead were carrying the presence on a cart. This is a perfect example of how we can approach the presence of God at times. So familiar that we become unfamiliar. How does this happen in someones life? When we are so familiar with the presence of God that we become unfamiliar. It's a perfect example of being satisfied with the last time. Every opportunity is a new door to find God out more. When you approach the presence of God the flesh has to be separated from our lives. We have to prepare our minds and our hearts for something new. "It's never just another church service". David was in a place of separation of the flesh and preparation of something new. I know one thing, David never looked at the presence of God the same from this moment.