Bearing the Sacred Burden with God’s Help
1 Chronicles 15:26
And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.
Try to imagine the sheer weight of responsibility that rested upon the Levites to transport the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place. Already, one Uzza had died for having attempted to help with this task in a previous effort. However, because it was not done exactly as God had commanded, when Uzza reached out to stabilize the ark after the oxen which was pulling it stumbled and caused it to destabilize, the Lord smote him right then and there. You see, Uzza broke a very direct order from The Lord not to touch the Ark. Furthermore, the Ark was to be carried by the Levites…not simply placed upon a cart to be pulled by an oxen. So you see several things already out of place.
And now for my point: when God called the Levites to be the people who were to tend to the entire ministry of the tabernacle, it was an enormous task. It was also a great burden to bear, as God expected precise obedience in every step in the process. There was no room for error. Uzza was proof of that. So, here we are, considering the fact that after Uzza made a seemingly innocent mistake and was killed by The Lord because of it, now the Levites are brought back in to do it right. At this point, I can’t help but wonder just how nervous they must have been, as they wanted to be absolutely confident that they were doing everything the way God expected them to. They knew that to mess it up would likely cause them trouble they were not ready to face with The Lord. In other words, the call of ministry is not just a call, but a certain burden to be carried. Ministry is never to be taken lightly, and is always to be administered with a spirit of reverence and holy fear.
Think of the precious cargo we ministers carry with us every time we preach The Word. As symbolized in our text with the Ark (which contained among other items the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments), we are not to touch God’s Word (that is, alter it in any way) with human hands. We are to deliver it with the same respect, fear, and accuracy as the Levites did with the Ark. And the good news is, The Lord HELPED them with this task! Dear preacher, God knows the burden you are under, and will help you with it!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.
Try to imagine the sheer weight of responsibility that rested upon the Levites to transport the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place. Already, one Uzza had died for having attempted to help with this task in a previous effort. However, because it was not done exactly as God had commanded, when Uzza reached out to stabilize the ark after the oxen which was pulling it stumbled and caused it to destabilize, the Lord smote him right then and there. You see, Uzza broke a very direct order from The Lord not to touch the Ark. Furthermore, the Ark was to be carried by the Levites…not simply placed upon a cart to be pulled by an oxen. So you see several things already out of place.
And now for my point: when God called the Levites to be the people who were to tend to the entire ministry of the tabernacle, it was an enormous task. It was also a great burden to bear, as God expected precise obedience in every step in the process. There was no room for error. Uzza was proof of that. So, here we are, considering the fact that after Uzza made a seemingly innocent mistake and was killed by The Lord because of it, now the Levites are brought back in to do it right. At this point, I can’t help but wonder just how nervous they must have been, as they wanted to be absolutely confident that they were doing everything the way God expected them to. They knew that to mess it up would likely cause them trouble they were not ready to face with The Lord. In other words, the call of ministry is not just a call, but a certain burden to be carried. Ministry is never to be taken lightly, and is always to be administered with a spirit of reverence and holy fear.
Think of the precious cargo we ministers carry with us every time we preach The Word. As symbolized in our text with the Ark (which contained among other items the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments), we are not to touch God’s Word (that is, alter it in any way) with human hands. We are to deliver it with the same respect, fear, and accuracy as the Levites did with the Ark. And the good news is, The Lord HELPED them with this task! Dear preacher, God knows the burden you are under, and will help you with it!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill