Who's Touching the Ark? — Leonard Ravenhill

Uzzah and the Ark of God

2 Samuel 6. We read from verse 1 again. David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel 30 ,000 and David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Bailey of Judah to bring up from fence the ark of God whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim.

And they set the ark of God upon a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah. And Uthar and Ahail. That's not a state that's the name of a man. The sons of Abinadab drove the new cart and they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah accompanying the ark of God.

And Ahail went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord. And all instrument. None of instrument made of fir wood even on harps and psalteries on cinders on cornets and cymbals.

And when they came to Nacon's threshing floor Uthar put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uthar and God smote him there for his error.

And there he died by the ark of God. Let's look a minute here in the 25th chapter of Exodus. Exodus chapter 25. Remember the beginning of this chapter is where the Lord is selecting. He's going to do what I think must have been very strange to Israel.

The Tabernacle and God’s Exact Pattern

They had never had any covering in the sense of a tabernacle. They'd been nomads. They'd have no priests. They'd have the heavens for the ceiling of their church if you like. And now suddenly instead of being enlarged they're contracted to a small space that that's called.

I've been called again the tabernacle in the wilderness. And God gives specific instructions to this amazing man Moses about the about the building. It's very interesting that he had no choice in this.

He obeyed every commandment God gave to him. He had no more choice in the colors of the thing any more than Noah had a choice of what kind of a rainbow he wanted. Never wondered what kind of a rainbow it might have chosen it if the Lord said you choose the colors.

It would have been a mess if it asked me. I wouldn't know the color that he just did as he was commanded. And it says in verse 8 of the 25th chapter of Exodus. Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them according to all that I show thee after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern and the pattern of all the instruments thereof.

Even so shall he make it okay. Come down to verse 17. I shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half should be the length thereof and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And I shall make two cherubins of gold.

A beaten work shall not make them in the two ends of the mercy seat and make one cherub on one end and the other cherub on the other. Even of the mercy seat shall he make the cherubins on the two ends thereof.

And the cherubin shall stretch forth their wings on high covering the mercy seat with their wings and their faces shall look one to another towards the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherub cherubins be.

And now shall put the mercy seat above upon the ark. And in the ark thou shall put the testimony that I shall give thee and there will I meet with thee now. That's the first piece of furniture mentioned as regards the tabernacle.

It was roughly 54 inches long this ark. It was a three feet high and three feet wide. And it was a visible presence of an invisible power. It was a kind of a earthly resting place where God put his power between those awesome cherubins.

Remember how often the the the psalmist cries all thou that dwellest between the cherubins shine forth psalm 80 particularly before Ephraim and Manasseh. Stir up thy strength and come and save us. If you talk about the ark usually people think you mean the ark where you know the children play with at home they've little animals.

And they are they going to Noah's ark. Well that was an ark all right. Now do you remember another ark beside that. Well it was a little thing a woman made to put a baby in. She made an ark of bulrushes and said do you have this ark.

Now the ark. Actually the word really means that if you get right to the bottom it means a place to preserve something intact. It has complete coverage. You know I've said so often that faith does three things.

It reckons it risks and it rests. I think the mother of Moses must have been that. Well she sure was a wonderful woman. And she put that baby in that little ark and pushed it out onto the waters of the Nile.

I think it's a horrible risk now that you know a crocodile wouldn't eat it before. She had hardly turned her back or the lid could have blown off and the sun might have scorched the baby crisp. Or it could have been carried away on the on the flood.

Or somebody could have stolen it. But you see when you get a word from God you're not going to be shaken by the Philistine to anybody else outside. God had told her what to do and she obeyed. And again now that's the key.

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

That's anchorage of spiritual success. Spiritual maturity is obedient. To obey is better than sacrifice. Remember King Saul filled the whole of that that valley with beasts and yet he retained a few of the price stock.

And when Samuel came up to him and spoke to him he said well I've done as you said. And the little sheep gave the story away. Enough. Wonderful. What little animals have taken important parts in the Bible isn't it.

And Samuel says if you've done what you said you've done. What mean that this bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen which I hear to obey is better than sacrifice. There is no substitute for obedience.

No not there not now not ever again. Trust and obey. There's no other way. There's no other outlet. You either do as God says all right there be to shrink to begin to wither. Now here is the ark and the measurements given to us.

Verse 22 says there will I meet with thee. And that was the supreme desire of God. It's the supreme desire of God today that when we come together we meet with him. As I usually ask people when somewhere in a meeting did you come here.

Or did you come here tonight to meet God. Or did you come to hear a sermon about him. I thought with somebody today a internationally known figure who said you know I'm realizing how little I know of God.

And I had offered somebody a sermon that uh there's the most profound thing I've ever heard. And this person said I don't I feel as I don't want to preach anymore. I said well I felt when I when I have the the depth that this man has talking about Jesus laying his glory by and enwrapped in our clay.

Oh God pity us. We're so commercialized we're so regulated by circumstances. We get up with the clock the clock runs our lives that we lose sight of eternity we lose sight of the wonder of God's salvation.

The Holy of Holies and the Presence of God

And the key concern is about the whole of the building of this marvelous you know if you want to call it kind of a private area that was to be roped off. And again when you think of all the linen that was put around and every thread billions of them were put in there by hand rather staggering isn't it.

And then there's to be a a place a holy place. And then not only a holy place but the holy of holies. And this ark was put not in the holy place it's put in the holy of holies and it has the chief place in the holy of holies.

And inside of it you'll have the uh the rod that budded and you'll you'll have a sample of the manna that fell from heaven and it didn't get worms in it either. And uh and there you have the tables of stone these this testimony of God has to be preserved.

And the ark is is an abiding place for God on earth that is he manifests himself there. Uh let's let's skip over a minute. Here i am reading the first book of Samuel and uh chapter five. Sorry we can't go through the whole thing.

This is a fantastic study. I'm going to do it myself but i couldn't do it tonight because it would take up too much time. But if you want to find a a a my excuse me a minute account of this ark and God's desire and the way it moved around you'd have to go to the first book.

Go to the first book uh of chronicles and chapters 12 to 16 and you'll find a very marvelous account of the moving of that wonderful ark. And then of course you'd have to read psalm 68 and psalm 101 which which also deal with him.

And this from psalm 24 you see this is some little bit of furniture that's tucked away in a corner that has no meaning meaning. It's the abiding place. If you like it's a seat. It's a dwelling place. You have the ark and then on the on the top of the ark you have a mercy seat.

The salvation army never used to talk about coming to the altar. They used to sing. I remember about years ago 60 70 years ago when the army used to sing come to the mercy seat fervently kneel here bring you wounded heart.

Here uh tell your anguish earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. There's a mercy seat a blood-sprinkled mercy seat. Somebody afterwards removed that lead and looked inside. And because they did they they got into serious trouble.

Now if you read those psalms again 68 and 101 and psalm 24 you'll find this thing goes immensely immensely interesting. Okay we're now in the first book of samuel chapter 5 the philistines took the ark of god and brought it from ebenezer to ashdod.

Dagon Falls Before the Ark

When the philistines took the ark of god they brought it into the house of dagon and set it by dagon. Now when they have ashdod rose early in the morning behold dagon had fallen upon his face on the earth before the ark of god.

And they took dagon and set him on his place again. And there rose early in the morning and he was fallen on his face and his head and his hands had broken off. Now now you see here the peril of of toying or playing with holy things.

There's a verse i didn't look up. But it talks about the iniquity of holy things. Now that's that's something to really turn over isn't it. How in the world can you have the iniquity of holy things. These people have captured the ark of god.

They thought it would do them good. Instead it did. Either they put it aside of their god. This monstrous god dagon with with the upper part of his body was a man and the lower part of fish something like a mermaid you would say today.

And there he stood in a temple where people worship him. And as soon as they put the ark of god there without anybody doing a thing big old dagon fell down on his face. So they stood him up again and they went in next morning he was worse off.

He not only fell down his hands had broken off his feet had broken off just because of god's presence being there. Now now see what happened further in the chapter when it was early in the morning behold dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the lord and the head of dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold.

Only the stump of dagon was left. Therefore neither the priest of dagon nor any that came into the dagon's house. Dare tread on the threshold of dagon to this day. You see just that one visitation that one movement of god terrified them.

So in a sense dagon had to go after business. Verse six. The hand of the lord was heavy upon them of ashdod and he destroyed them and smote them with emeralds and ashdod and the coats coats thereof. And when the men of ashdod saw that it was so they said the ark of god of israel shall not abide with us.

For his hand is sought upon us and upon dagon our god going to the end of the eighth verse. And they carried the ark of god the god of israel. They carried the ark of the god of israel out thither. And it was so after they had carried it out that the hand of the lord was against the city.

Now here you are again you see the the peril. What i want to emphasize. Two things i want to emphasize the peril of having these holy things. I'm misusing them. And yet the peril is obviously the opposite to the to the power.

Jericho: Obedience and the Power of God

Remember the children of israel one of their marvelous escapades. They walk around the city seven times. What did they do. They carried the ark of god. So then that was the very presence of god. Can you imagine people on the walls looking down and say well who are these lunatics.

I mean what. They were not allowed to speak. That must have been tough on some of them. They were not allowed to speak. They walked around in silence. They carried the ark. What have they got there. Is that a coffin.

What is it. What's the casket. You see they were not allowed to mount it. When moses was sharing out some of the property of israel he gave various things to various people. But the sons uh i've forgotten his name athon.

I think it was. His sons were not allowed to have any cattle or any of the possessions. They were separated to carrying the ark of god. Now the peril is this. And i think i think to me it comes home with great force.

Or let me go to the other scripture. Where did we read a bit earlier. I forgot my chapter 2nd samuel. And uh pardon me chapter 6. Okay 2nd samuel 6 and verse 6 when they came to nakum's fleshing floor usar put forth his hand to the ark of god and took hold of it and the oxen shook it and the anger of the lord was kindled against it.

Why. Now they'd made a new cart for it. God said it never had to be on a cart. God said it had to have four gold rings one on each corner and put a staff through it. And that men had to carry this thing.

So they made a new cup. You know the jews then i don't know about today. They love new things. Remember what samson said. If you fasten me with seven new ropes then i should be like other men. Or then i should be weak like other men.

Rather insulting to us isn't it. Remember it later when jesus died they put him in a new tomb. When jesus rode an ass he rode one that nobody had broken in. It was entirely new. They love new things. And these people thought they were doing god a favor by uh you know modernizing this thing.

I why carry the thing on your shoulders. Anyhow when oxen can do it. Now i don't know what happened to these oxen. You know it says that when they came to the threshing floor of usar maybe they thought it was lunchtime.

You know they could smell not the stuff we eat. And right now they're fetching some new wheat. We should stay and have some. And maybe the very action of the those those creatures that swayed the ark now isn't it really awesome.

They didn't decide to paint it another color. They didn't decide to put a second deck on it. They didn't just figure it in any way. The men didn't go in front of it and start blaspheming. The man somehow thought he do got oh look the ark is going to topple over.

Oh i'll hold it. So i once asked mr sturgeon if we would join a society for the defense of the bible. And he said you don't usually walk before a lion with a sword. Why do you need to defend the bible.

All this man did was put his hand up to stay the ark. And immediately he was smitten. What do you think we're doing with the gospel today. Dressing it up painting it up. Somebody told me this week of a christian group a rock band.

A christian christian rock band. Uh anyhow. Uh whatever they are they go around. And now they've got sequins on their coats. Well why not. Johnny cash has them. And all the other guys have them. I mean if the world can have them can't we glitter.

I mean if we've no other glitter we may as well stick it on the outside. If it's not on the inside anyhow. And we try to study the ark of god. We're trying to put some improvement on the ark of god. We try to do that.

Trimming the Gospel and Softening Sin

I think with the translations we make of the word of god. We try and make some of those words just a little bit more easy. As i said to some preachers i preached with this week that that if we go back and maybe mentioned it here before if we go back to bible language and and call thin what it really is.

Instead of saying somebody you say that girl's a whore. You say no. No. She's a call girl huh. You say about a dirty filthy sodomite. Oh no no. He's not a sodomite. He's just gay. There's nobody wicked.

They're just weak. There's no iniquity. It's just infirmity. No backsliders anymore. That's a dirty word. A lot of people have a fellowship. But backsliders. You don't use that word. Oh how smooth we.

Uh i remember reading a story of where he was particularly angry one day i'd like to have heard whitfield. I think it had been right up my alley. He got mighty furious about the possessions the devil had.

He was always wanting the church to pull down stronghold. He was always seeing the enemy doing his evil work getting people to submit to him. And one day he says i'm going to shoot the arrows of god into your heart.

And he said he mentioned an arrow and he pulled it the arrow back. Like different the congregation ducks you know when you're well that's the way to preach. If you can get them to do that at least you've got them halfway down to the ground.

And maybe when you get them halfway down you can push them the other half. But the anger of the lord was kindled against this man and not only slaughtered him but killed him. Come on in god's name. What are we doing with the gospel today.

Isn't it getting more emasculated. Isn't it getting more uh hollywood style. Don't you. Don't you miss the absence and the glory of god. Why they got that they got. They got the very presence of god in fact and that's all they are all we need.

There's an old hymn that says god's presence and his very self and essence all divine. I'll ask you again i've asked you before. When did you last go out of the sanctuary. Tiptoe. Because god would reveal his holiness and his majesty.

We go out very much as the same way we came in go out. We say hey i like it. So when like that in fears myself which i've got it. Well i like some other trivial thing that's got nothing to do with eternity and nothing to do with god.

Oh my notice in verse five. Now go back a minute here david and all the house of israel played before the lord and all instruments made of fur wood even hearts and psalteries and timbrels and coronets and on symbols.

Now that there is ecstasy. Now come down to verse nine. This same david was afraid of the lord that day and he said how shall the ark of the lord come to me. That's a big switch. He's excited. They have a band music.

Everything's having a wave of the time. And then suddenly god intervenes and suddenly his all emotional life does a somersault. He realizes what an awful god he serves. What a god of majesty. What a god of glory.

One minute everybody's excited. The next minute would not be something it'd be like going into the uh that experience. You know when on the night and safari went to church that must have been a great morning.

I would have enjoyed that. I think i said well lord why do you. Why did you stop with hypocrites. I'm sure half the congregation. If you'd have wiped them out at the same time it would have been more spectacular.

But god doesn't do it that way. But i what i'm trying to say rough as and tumbled as it may be because i've had such a hectic day today that the anger of god was kindled for a very simple thing. He did not take a hammer and break the ark.

He didn't say this old piece of furniture we can do without. You know the ark is the only thing that was taken out of the original tabernacle and went into the temple of the most high god. You know afterwards in the book of the revelation it says that's preserved the testimony of god in an ark.

Now scholars will tell you that the ark was destroyed in the second invasion and the burning of babylon. And what have you got. And maybe it was and yet god's presence. And that's what it matters. It isn't a case of having a wooden box here.

What it's telling us is that god makes their place in habitation. Now as i said to somebody today this is this is awesome. This is breathtaking. When when you say well i'd like to go. And i wish we had a box.

And you can say god's presence is there. He's there in his holiness. He's there in his majesty. He's there in his glory. Be careful how you handle this thing. Well we don't need a box. We don't need a presence.

The Church as God’s Dwelling Place

Why. Because it says you're the habitation of god. There's only so much of god's holiness in this meeting as you and i fill with the spirit of the holy spirit of god the pure spirit of god. He doesn't dwell in temples.

They oh you can make him a thousand crystal palaces like they've done on the west coast there. So what. You can't sanctify a building in the new testament sense. They didn't do that. Why. Even solomon said and i guess he built the most expensive building ever made man in the life.

He used gold to walk on. He used gold on the walls. He was the most extravagant building ever made. He used gold more easily than we use cement. And he built the altar and he had all the priests in total correct display there.

And yet when he made it into session to god he says look i put up this building. I've done everything according to your commandment. We've even got an altar. We even got a sacrifice on the altar. Now what's missing.

Nothing except the fire of god. What good is his house that i've built it. If god's presence isn't there. What's the good of making a showpiece and say we've got the best choir. We've got the most brilliant preacher we've got this time.

So what in god's name does it matter. The only thing we're putting our hands on so many things these days you've got to start this way and finish that way and do something else. We're getting so mechanical since that wendy the gospel needs trimming.

I would have to go to a meeting this week. There's a five-piece band there. It was banned b-a-n. If i had ought to do it it was b-a-n-n-e-d ban. I had to ban the whole thing. Oh how they swerved and jazz and whatnot.

They didn't do that too long after i really got going. The preacher said amen for 10 minutes. Then he lost his all. His pump uh was to say his energy and somehow lost his voice. Who's touching the ark.

The Fear of the Lord and Holy Reverence

David was afraid of the lord. He hadn't been afraid before. Isn't it incredible that this people that knew god in such an intimate way this people have gone around the city without a gun the most despised people of all.

And they went round one day round another day round another way round another. On the last day they went round seven times. So 13 times they went round that's pretty unlucky isn't it. And they kept dumb and they stood all the criticism of the people that were watching and all they had to do on the last day was shout with a great shout.

Why. Because god was there and i don't see any fun in shouting and carrying on in a meeting. Oh you can clap your hands. That's okay. But mercy if that's all you have to do you have to whip people up.

You know i thought my dear friend there dale there uh his father belong a tribe called the quakers. And i thought about when god said i want a tabernacle and there at the mercy seat will i meet with thee.

God wants me to meet with him. It's more than me preaching for him. It's more than me being a missionary for him. He wants to meet with me. He wants to reveal himself to me. He wants to talk to me. He wants to to come and work in this being of mine.

A lady called me from the border of mexico today and she said she was weeping. And she said that god has called us here. We're hispanics we god has really blessed us. But oh we do want to be such great soul winners.

And she went on. I said my dear look the first commandment is not that will be a soul winner. The first commandment is i shall love the lord by god with all my heart soul mind and strength. There are lots of missionaries that don't love god.

But a lot of ministries should have returned to the from the field six months after they got there. They're doing a thing mechanically. And it's hard to enjoy that kind of good when you're doing it mechanically.

But when they do it under the anointing of god when they do it with the love of god. Can you imagine this profession stopping. Hmm. They have harps and paltry's and timbers and cornets. And they're having a great time.

And suddenly death came. He wondered that david was angry. They're afraid. And he said how shall the ark of the lord come unto me. Verse 12. It was told king david saying the lord blessed the house of obedied edom and all that pertaineth unto him because of the ark of god.

So david went and brought up there brought up the ark of god from the house of obedied edom into the city of david with gladness. And it was so that when they that bear the ark of the lord had gone six paces.

He sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And david danced before the lord with all his might. And he was girded with an ephod. Now notice what he danced with. He danced with all his might. Didn't say dance with a girl.

He said. He danced with all his might. He danced in the presence of god. There's nothing sensuous about it. He isn't linked up with some woman in his arms. He's dancing in god's presence. God has turned his sorrow into joy.

He started off in joy. There comes bereavement. They come sorrow. They disobeyed god. They've hurt god. They've transgressed against god. Do you ever wonder if you're getting insensitive to what god's trying to say to you.

Do you ever wonder when when a certain thing has happened somewhere in your nervousness you put your hand up to steady the ark. And somehow that sensitivity went and the compassion you had went and and the concern you had went again.

“Steadying” the Ark Through Human Methods

This man didn't take an axe and split up the ark. He didn't say we've carried this thing long enough. We need. No no no no. All he did was try to steady the ark of god. Oh mercy. How we're trying to steady the ark of god these days.

We want to do some new thing. We wouldn't we wouldn't. We wouldn't just steady it. We paint it. We paint it. We put a musical box inside of it. We put the priest in some new garment. We try and make it more acceptable.

You know there's nothing nothing. This generation needs more than a baptism. An old-fashioned hellfire preaching. I'm sure of that. The power and the presence of god were resting on that tabernacle. And while they were obedient they had success.

Doesn't matter if you have to get a city down again. The most ridiculous thing. And they stood all the criticism and scorning. And they'd on that final day when because they'd obeyed god the whole place came tumbling down.

Well uh let's not be too critical about them. Because you know you and i again have more um we've more transfer for than they have. We've seen the mighty workings of god. I don't know anybody that's pulling jericho's down.

Do you can you think about obligation that we have as a nation with all our bibles all our broadcast. Well are we studying the ark of god in the way of presenting the gospel these days. The gospel is still the power of god unto salvation to all who believe.

The Gospel Must Be Presented as the Power of God

And when i hear people i heard somebody say well you know there's a different approach today. Isn't there. Isn't it really. You go tell a woman who's just lost the child. Well these are modern days. You don't have to weep over it and groan over it.

I mean they did that in the bible days that of course women were women then. But nowadays doesn't matter. All they've done is lost the child. Is there any difference between the grief of somebody who's heartbroken today than there was in the grief of somebody three thousand years ago.

We say human nature is changed. Human nature has not changed. Human nature is still a sinful nature. Human nature still needs god. And i think there are times when god tries to stop the business. You know when i think of again they all they did was put his hand up to the ark.

He didn't curse god. He didn't take a hammer and smash it. He didn't say now you're all lunatics for going this way. Uh this is too old-fashioned. Well do you think that god maybe has been speaking. Have you noticed how many tragedies we've had this winter.

One whole town swept away with a mudslide. Just like that people went into eternity. Mississippi has covered more area than ever. We came down past there just the other day. Acres. Hundreds of acres. Just just little bits of roofs standing up out of the water.

And all you could see it looked like you could see for 50 miles just straight to the water and some farms. Just uh standing on a little island. They'll never get any crops in there this year that sludge will be left behind.

They can't do with cattle. It seems though god is trying to check us. But we we won't take the checking. We won't take the warning. And uh again i say to you the most distressing area i believe is the area of the church itself.

We're trying to study the ark. We don't want god almighty to govern the whole thing. We want a little bit of flesh in it. Want a little bit of humanism in it. Want a little bit of organization in it. Want some of our skill in it.

And god holds off. Want to do it in the flesh by the word of god said some trust in chariots and some trust in horses. But we will trust in the name of god alone. Oh i'm aching on the inside to see somebody that will really really really have no confidence in the flesh won't try to organize.

It's a horrible one. He's trying to subsidize god's cause with a few dollars in a collection there and something else. Now either god is god or he isn't. As i've said before this book is either absolute or it's obsolete.

There's no middle cause. It either has all the answers or it has no answers. I've got to get to the place where i say lord you can strip everything else away from me. And on christ the solid rock i stand all of the ground is sinking sound.

Following God Beyond Organization and Fleshly Confidence

I'm not going to study the ark. I'm convinced god's going to do a new work. I've thought the last two or three days with a brother i love very dearly. And these are the crossroads in his life. And i know others who are men that you think are at the top of the tree.

You think they should be satisfied with what they've got. And they're not. They're suddenly realizing there's a new dimension that god wants to bring to our generation a new revelation a new unfolding of the word of god.

If you like men that don't try to study the out by organization and saying you must do it this way you must do it that way. You must do it. Say no listen. We're going to follow. If it takes us we have to follow those loin oxen.

They look pretty scruffy things. But before long you remember that david he went and slew the oxen and and he took the fatlings and he made a sacrifice to god. And then he danced before god. Why. Because he got rid of many of his obstructions.

The lord is very merciful. You know merciful here. He's so merciful. He'll strip us right down to the place where we have the thing to stand on. We have the thing to lean on. We're cast in nakedness. And we we say in despair.

You know the church that was rich and increased in good. That's where the church is today. She's rich. She's increased in good. She's need of nothing. Which church was it jesus spewed out of his mouth.