And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
The verse follows the sudden death of Uzzah, who was smitten dead for touching the ark. The stroke fell at Nachon's threshingfloor, turning a season of gladness and rejoicing into grief and mourning and bringing sudden terror upon the throng. David was afraid of the Lord that day, astonished and greatly alarmed.
He knew he was sinful and feared that presumption on his part might bring God's wrath upon himself as it had upon Uzzah. At the same time he inwardly questioned the justice of God, because he had been seeking to honor the ark as the symbol of the divine presence and could not see why fearful judgment had come. His question about how the ark could come to him expressed fear about bringing it to himself and into his city of Jerusalem, feeling it would be unsafe to have it near him.
He therefore postponed bringing it to Jerusalem and determined to let it remain where it was, placing it nearby at the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. What happened to the ark impressed upon David and Israel the sacredness of God's law contained in it and the seriousness of treating that law with disrespect.
The verse follows the sudden death of Uzzah, who was smitten dead for touching the ark. The stroke fell at Nachon's threshingfloor, turning a season of gladness and rejoicing into grief and mourning and bringing sudden terror upon the throng. David was afraid of the Lord that day, astonished and greatly alarmed.
He knew he was sinful and feared that presumption on his part might bring God's wrath upon himself as it had upon Uzzah. At the same time he inwardly questioned the justice of God, because he had been seeking to honor the ark as the symbol of the divine presence and could not see why fearful judgment had come. His question about how the ark could come to him expressed fear about bringing it to himself and into his city of Jerusalem, feeling it would be unsafe to have it near him.
He therefore postponed bringing it to Jerusalem and determined to let it remain where it was, placing it nearby at the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. What happened to the ark impressed upon David and Israel the sacredness of God's law contained in it and the seriousness of treating that law with disrespect.