Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 13, 2019): 2
Samuel 6
Part of Ronald Reagan’s success as President had nothing to do
with his policy decisions during the time that he was in office. Reagan
restored a sense of majesty to the office that had gone missing after the
downfall of Richard Nixon. Ronald Reagan, the actor, knew how to put on a show.
And he knew how to act like a President every time that he took the stage,
which meant every time that he was in public. But not only that, he knew
exactly how to set the stage so that he could play the role of President. The Reagan’s restored pomp and
circumstance to the office, and the people of the United States and the World responded.
Because Ronald Reagan played the part so well, and because he considered the
office to be important, the office of the President of the United States was elevated during his time leading the
nation. Ronald Reagan was not just able to unify a country; he took giant strides toward uniting diverse parts of the world.
Israel’s religious situation stood in disrepair. Politically,
David had begun to unify Israel after the
death of Saul and the division that had followed the King’s demise, but from a
religious standpoint, the nation was
still severely divided. There were two High priests. David had made Abiathar
High Priest in Hebron, but Zadok still held the office at Gibeon. The
Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant seventy years earlier, and
then returned the Ark to Israel, but it had not been brought back into the
religious center of the nation. Saul’s indifference to the God of Israel and
his murder of the priests at Nob had only exasperated the situation. And
because of all of this, most of the population lived in religious ignorance.
David planned on fixing the religious ignorance and division in
Israel, and bringing the Ark to Jerusalem was a
first step. The reality was that the job
of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem could have been completed by a few priests.
But David needed something more. He needed to capture the attention of the
nation. So David planned a spectacle. The Ark was an essential part of the nation’s spirituality and history. And so the
king planned a ceremony, and instead of inviting a handful of priests to do the
job, he enlisted thirty thousand of the best warriors that Israel had to offer
to complete the task. David consulted all
of his national leaders and got them on his side. And then, David put on a show
that would attract the attention of the whole nation as he brought the Ark of
the Covenant to his city. Politics and religion in Israel would once more be
under one flag.
Because, sometimes, if the cause is important, it deserves a show and the best act that we can possibly muster.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 15
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