Plans to Move the Ark to Jerusalem
15 Now 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 is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.” 3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place which he had prepared for it. 4 David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and 120 of his [a]relatives; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and 220 of his relatives; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 of his relatives; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and 200 of his relatives; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and 80 of his relatives; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and 112 of his relatives.
11 Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it at the first, the Lord our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. 15 The sons of the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles thereon, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
God has a plan for our lives. I’ve said it a thousand times (or more), but this hammers it home. David admits that the death of Uzziah was because “we did not seek Him…”. How often do we seek God for wisdom and for guidance in our every day lives? Later on, God offered Solomon (David’s son) anything in the world, and Solomon’s request for wisdom pleased God. God offered him a blank check, and Solomon asked for wisdom!
We lean far too often on our own knowledge, our own expertise, and while those are gifts God has given us, we should “seek Him first”. We need to seek God so that we might know even better, indeed how best to use the gifts of God. No matter the situation, big or small. Slow down, stop even, and ask God to be the director of your day. Invite the creator of the Universe to guide you in the best way, every day, and you will not be disappointed.