With Jerusalem established as the capital and David’s city, David’s next act as king is to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the capital as a way of establishing the spiritual rule he intends to bring to Israel. Unfortunately, he learned the hard way that God’s will has to be done in God’s way. When he followed the way of the Philistines in trying to transport the ark on a cart, rather than being carried by the Levites on poles as described in Exodus 25:10-22, Uzzah was struck down by the Lord and David was both angry and afraid of God.
The story of the return of the ark to Israel – ultimately, a cause for great celebration since the ark and the Tabernacle were symbols of God’s holy presence with His people – is told in both 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 15 in some detail. We learn that it’s not enough to have good ideas and good motives; we have to do things God’s way and approach Him with due reverence and awe. There is no place for mere pragmatism and ‘sensible’ ideas; we must do things in the way God has prescribed.
David shows us, however, that it is possible to repent and be restored, for when he does bring the ark back in the right manner, there is great rejoicing and celebration. David dances before the Lord with complete abandon, something which his wife, Michal, sees and despises. She represents religion over relationship, decorum and duty over desire and heartfelt worship, and David reminds her of his debt to God and subsequent desire to celebrate (even if this means being undignified or humiliated in his own eyes.) He celebrated before the Lord (2 Sam 6:21) and understood that just because he was king did not give him greater merit in God’s eyes than anyone else. We are all sinners saved by grace alone through faith. We all have the same reasons to celebrate that David had, and are in an even more privileged position than he was, since we know more of God’s great salvation plan. God now dwells in us (1 Cor 6:19-20); His presence with us a miracle we do well to celebrate every day.