Bible Study

[ralph]

I feel like we aren't coming together enough to study the word of God.  That being said, perhaps we can start doing so on a regular basis here in the forums.  I was reading 1 Chronicles 13 and  came up with some questions to encourage further study.

What is the spiritual significance of the ark?
The oxen stumbled at "Chidon's threshing floor".  Does that have any significance?
Why did God strike down Uzza for putting his hand to the ark?
Why did God bless the house of Obed-Edom when keeping the ark in there house?

1 Chronicles 13

13 Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; 3 and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul." 4 Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
5 So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim. 6 And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed. 7 So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. 8 Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.
9 And when they came to Chidon's threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God. 11 And David became angry because of the Lord's outbreak against Uzza; therefore that place is called Perez Uzza to this day. 12 David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How can I bring the ark of God to me?"
13 So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 14 The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.

[indianabob]

Hello Ralph,

I will attempt to address your question as follows.
The ark symbolizes God's covenant with Israel.
God struck down Uzza because he did not trust God to protect the ark and intervened out of a lack of faith.
Once again God blessed the house where the ark was kept to demonstrate His power and love to the whole people.
1 Ch 13:4 illustrates why God was angry. "the people did what seemed right in their own eyes rather than obey God.
This is the same error committed by Adam and Eve.
Rather than obey God they did what seemed right in their own eyes.

I'm sure that there are better explanations. Bob

[AwesomeSavior]

Ralph:

The spiritual significance of the ark is within us, and represents (in a nutshell) the whole Bible being fulfilled, first in the Elect and eventually with everyone else.

In conjunction with that, why was the blood of sacrificial bulls and goats to be sprinkled only on the mercy seat "eastward"?  (Leviticus 16:14)

There was a very specific reason. The answer is in the first sentence.

Dean

[HoneyLamb56]

Thanks Bob for the answer to Ralph's query re the Ark and Uzza; you have given me more clarity on how to understand what signifigance these little ancedonts play in scripture; I had read that passage not too long ago and wondered the same thing.  Shouldn't just regard these incidental things as just fillers to a story, they're there for a reason....my light bulb just turned on afer all these years

Diane

[ralph]

Thank you for your responses!   We have a body of believers, each with their own gifts and measure of knowledge and wisdom and it's so important that we continue to come together and feed each other.  I am so grateful for this forum. God Bless.

Proverbs 27:17
17 As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

[Abednego]

God struck down Uzza because he did not trust God to protect the ark and intervened out of a lack of faith.

God struck down Uzza because He gave very specific instructions on how the ark was to be transported and those instructions were not being followed. Only Levites could touch the ark, and only using poles. They weren't supposed to reach out and touch it at all.

[Extol]

Hi Ralph,

The first of the forum rules is stated as follows:

This forum is primarily a place for people of a like mind to fellowship, and secondarily to discuss and question what they learn on bible-truths.com.

In other words, discuss and question what they learn from the writings of L. Ray Smith. Since Ray has been dead for nearly a decade, it is not surprising the forum has gotten increasingly quiet. A big part of Ray's mission was "exposing those who contradict" (Titus 1:9), primarily regarding the doctrine of eternal hell. Well, there's only so much you can discuss about hell not being real, and the church being wrong, especially when a) we've all known for a long time there is no eternal hell; and b) there is no new material coming out to discuss. People have tried to bring in new ideas (while still fervently believing the basic truths of God's sovereignty and the salvation of all) but they are muzzled for violating the rules. There are plenty of other ways to have those discussions (private message, regular e-mail, phone, letter, in person) but we aren't supposed to do so here. I don't particularly like it, but those are the rules.

That being said, I will risk breaking the rules and give a couple of my thoughts.

I like to look up the meaning of names in stories--especially bizarre stories like this one--because the meanings often give valuable insight for their prophetic and/or descriptive significance. The name Uzza means strength, which indicates he was trying to help God with his own human strength, rather than having faith in God to do the work. This is still common today; there are many of us who think God needs a helping hand to fulfill His promises. I like how 19th-century German theologian Otto von Gerlach explained it:

Uzzah was a type of all who, with good intentions, humanly speaking, yet with unsanctified minds, interfere in the affairs of the Kingdom of God, from the notion that they [the kingdom affairs] are in danger, and with the hope of saving them.

Interesting aside: later there was a King of Judah with a similar name, Uzziah, meaning strength of Yah. He was a godly king, strengthened by Yahweh (as his name suggests), although he eventually thought too highly of himself and had an Uzza moment:

But when he was strong [note the play on words], his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 2 Chronicles 26:16

Obed Edom was a Levite, which may explain, at least in part, why his house was blessed . Levites were set apart to deal with the ark and "holy things" (Num 4:4). Though some commentators assume Uzzah and Ahio were Levites because their father had guarded the ark (1 Sam. 7:1), it is never stated they are of Levi. After Uzzah got zapped, David restored the lawful order of things regarding the Levites handling the ark and leading worship. Said David: 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 Chr. 15:2). This is followed by a list of Levites, among whom was Obed-Edom (15:18). To me this suggests Uzzah was perhaps not a Levite, and/or they were not properly following the rules of the holy things prior to David's reforms.

[Porter]

What is the spiritual significance of the ark?
The oxen stumbled at "Chidon's threshing floor".  Does that have any significance?
Why did God strike down Uzza for putting his hand to the ark?
Why did God bless the house of Obed-Edom when keeping the ark in there house?

The ark is Christ. Chidon's threshing floor is the place where judgment occurs for the many called. Uzza's death represents the second death of the many called. The house of Obed-Edom represents the chosen Elect.

Ray said the Old Testament is the biography of Jesus, and that when ever the OT talked about the prophets and Israel, it was talking about Jesus and His Elect. 

When ever the Old Testament starts to seem complicated for me, I try to remember the simplicity of whom they represent -  spiritually. If all I see is literal death (and there is a lot of that in the OT), it gets confusing.  However, if I can see Jesus and my own self in the OT, it becomes a bit more clear.

The OT stories often revolve around Israel disobeying God, with only a few that ever obey. If Scripture is written for "our admonition", what is it God is admonishing us to do? 

I'm not saying anything new, as Ray has covered all of this in his papers. The amount of spiritual wisdom through the many topics in Ray's paper's would take me a lifetime to absorb (maybe cause I'm slow lol). Ten years later, I still learn something new when ever I read them. There is just so much spiritual content, that the reconciliation of all is only the tip of the iceberg, or even the cherry on top.

I'm not saying anyone that explained the significance of the events in 1 Chronicles is wrong, as I think a lot can be gleaned from those explanations.  It's like all the details combined paint a better picture of God's plan for us all, along with how we should walk in them.

[indianabob]

Hello Jesse,
Thanks for expanding on the issue at hand.
Appreciate your contributions very much.
Indiana Bob

Hi Ralph,

The first of the forum rules is stated as follows:

This forum is primarily a place for people of a like mind to fellowship, and secondarily to discuss and question what they learn on bible-truths.com.

In other words, discuss and question what they learn from the writings of L. Ray Smith. Since Ray has been dead for nearly a decade, it is not surprising the forum has gotten increasingly quiet. A big part of Ray's mission was "exposing those who contradict" (Titus 1:9), primarily regarding the doctrine of eternal hell. Well, there's only so much you can discuss about hell not being real, and the church being wrong, especially when a) we've all known for a long time there is no eternal hell; and b) there is no new material coming out to discuss. People have tried to bring in new ideas (while still fervently believing the basic truths of God's sovereignty and the salvation of all) but they are muzzled for violating the rules. There are plenty of other ways to have those discussions (private message, regular e-mail, phone, letter, in person) but we aren't supposed to do so here. I don't particularly like it, but those are the rules.

That being said, I will risk breaking the rules and give a couple of my thoughts.

I like to look up the meaning of names in stories--especially bizarre stories like this one--because the meanings often give valuable insight for their prophetic and/or descriptive significance. The name Uzza means strength, which indicates he was trying to help God with his own human strength, rather than having faith in God to do the work. This is still common today; there are many of us who think God needs a helping hand to fulfill His promises. I like how 19th-century German theologian Otto von Gerlach explained it:

Uzzah was a type of all who, with good intentions, humanly speaking, yet with unsanctified minds, interfere in the affairs of the Kingdom of God, from the notion that they [the kingdom affairs] are in danger, and with the hope of saving them.

Interesting aside: later there was a King of Judah with a similar name, Uzziah, meaning strength of Yah. He was a godly king, strengthened by Yahweh (as his name suggests), although he eventually thought too highly of himself and had an Uzza moment:

But when he was strong [note the play on words], his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 2 Chronicles 26:16

Obed Edom was a Levite, which may explain, at least in part, why his house was blessed . Levites were set apart to deal with the ark and "holy things" (Num 4:4). Though some commentators assume Uzzah and Ahio were Levites because their father had guarded the ark (1 Sam. 7:1), it is never stated they are of Levi. After Uzzah got zapped, David restored the lawful order of things regarding the Levites handling the ark and leading worship. Said David: 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 Chr. 15:2). This is followed by a list of Levites, among whom was Obed-Edom (15:18). To me this suggests Uzzah was perhaps not a Levite, and/or they were not properly following the rules of the holy things prior to David's reforms.