A New Cart For God

A NEW CART FOR GOD

Turn to 1 Sam 4 -

We are all familiar with the Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of God, also known as the Ark of Testimony.

In the O.T. it is what housed God’s spirit. Once a year the High Priests would enter the Holy of Holies where the Ark resided.

This box housed, the presence of God. The Israelites would take the Ark into battle because they wanted the presence of God with them.

We can read about the fall of the walls of Jericho and for 7 days the Israelites marched around the city with the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant played a very important role in the lives and history of the Israelites because that is where the presence of God was.

In fact we can read in: 1 Sam 4:6-7

6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.

7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.(KJV)

When the Ark came into the camp, God had come into the camp also.

If this were a bible study and we were to examine some things about the Ark we would find that God had given some explicit instructions which pertained to the ark.

ð Only certain people were in charge of it.

ð Certain items were to cover it while in transportation

ð Only certain individuals were to go into the Holies of Holy or in the presence of it.

God was very specific about how He wanted the Ark to be treated and used.

In Exodus, turn there, we find the instructions of how the transportation of the Ark was to be handled.

Exod 37:3-5

3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.

4 And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.

5 And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.(KJV)

ARK OF THE COVENANT

The ark was made of acacia wood (shittim wood, KJV) overlaid with gold. It had four rings of gold through which carrying poles were inserted . These poles were never removed from the rings, apparently to show that the ark was a portable sanctuary. Even when the ark was placed in Solomon’s Temple, the poles stayed in place, and they could be seen from a certain point outside the inner sanctuary <1 Kin. 8:8>.

(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

I don’t think anyone would disagree that the Ark provided benefits for the children of Israel.

However, within those benefits God had set up a system and a method to use the Ark. Any deviation from this method resulted in the benefits not being present or even worse as with the case of a Priest entering into it’s presence unworthily he would fall dead.

Specific rules or guidelines for handling the things of God.

God has a method of doing things. His method does not always make sense to us and we find that confirmed in:

Isa 55:9

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.(KJV)

Prov 3:5, tells us to:

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.(KJV)

Why are we instructed to not lean on our understanding, but to trust in the Lord?

The answer was in Isaiah which told us God’s ways are higher than our ways or another way to say that is God does not do things the way we would do them. EXPOUND

God has a specific way of doing things. We have been talking about the Kingdom of God.

As we’ve stated before, the Kingdom of God translates into, God’s way of doing things.

Where so many Christians, myself included mess up is we try to do things the way we think they should be. Instead of following God’s way of doing things, which have been recorded in His Word.

And instead of finding out God’s method we do as described in Prov 14:12 - There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.(KJV)

We do what we think God’s way of doing things are many times because the Pastor said so, or my Uncle Henry who was a great Christian said it was that way.