Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(2 Samuel 6:6) And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen shook it.
After an intermission of parts of Psalm 78, we return to the story of moving the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to Jerusalem. The people had put the ark into a new cart, and the sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, drove the cart. When they came to a certain place, Nachon's threshing floor, the oxen shook the cart and the ark, and Uzzah put forth his hand and took hold of the ark to steady it.
(7) And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error, and there he died by the ark of God.
The Levites were forbidden to touch the ark upon pain of death according to the law in Numbers 4:15. This was the last straw, if you will, for the Lord. His ark was being carried in a common cart which was against the law, as it should have been borne on the shoulders of the priests (Numbers 7:9), but it had gone too far when Uzzah touched the holy ark. God struck him dead at that point.
(8) And David was displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah, and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.
David was upset that the Lord had struck down Uzzah. After all, he had only been trying to save the ark from falling. The Lord judges the heart of man, so if Uzzah's heart was for his Lord, then he surely is with the Lord now. However, it was a slippery slope that David's kingdom was on, and the Lord needed to teach David the sacredness of His law if he was to lead God's people. When little things are permitted to slide, it becomes easier to commit bigger transgressions, but it appears that David did not understand that at this point. The Lord had made a breach or a breaking forth upon Uzzah, so David called the place Perez Uzzah, which literally meant "the breach or break of Uzzah."
(9) And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, "How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?"
David was then afraid of the Lord, afraid of again offending the Lord in his attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem.
(10) So David would not remove the ark of the Lord to him into the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obed Edom, the Gittite.
David would not at that time move the ark to the city of David, not until he fully understood the Lord's actions regarding it. He turned aside and carried it into the house of Obed Edom, called a Gittite only because he was from Gath Rimmon, a Levitical city (Joshua 21:24), not because he was from Gath, a Philistine city. Obed Edom was a Levite as is made known to us later in scripture, so it was an appropriate place in which the ark be held.
(11) And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed Edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and all his household.
The ark of the Lord stayed in the house of Obed Edom for three months. Obed Edom had surely known the destruction the ark had made among the Philistines (1 Samuel 5:9) and had seen Uzzah struck dead, but he invited it into his house apparently without fear, surely knowing how to treat it, and the Lord greatly blessed him and all his household. The historian Josephus said that Obed Edom was very poor before but came into affluent circumstances, being blessed by the Lord.
(1 Chronicles 13:9) And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark for the oxen stumbled.
1 Chronicles 13 told of the same event, except that a different name is used for the owner of the threshing floor. He probably answered to two different names as was often the case with people at this time. The oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put forth his hand to steady the ark.
(10) And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark, and there he died before God. (11) And David was displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah; therefore that place is called Perez Uzzah to this day.
The Lord struck Uzzah dead for touching the ark which upset David. He named the place after Uzzah, specifically Perez Uzzah, meaning "break or breach of Uzzah."
(12) And David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How shall I bring the ark of God to me?" (13) So David did not bring the ark to himself, to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed Edom, the Gittite. (14) And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed Edom and all that he had.
David was afraid of what the Lord might do if he continued to try to bring the ark back to the city of David, so he turned aside and carried it into the house of Obed Edom where it remained for three months, and the Lord greatly blessed Obed Edom and his family.
The chronological Bible study structured by Skip Andrews now takes me to Psalm 68:
(Psalm 68:1) (To the Chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David) Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, let them also who hate Him flee before Him.
It is feasible that David could have written this psalm during the three months the ark was with Obed Edom, as he surely reflected on the incident and why God would be so angry. These were the same words used by Moses when the Levites took up the ark upon their shoulders (Numbers 10:35). As they raised up the ark, they proclaimed their Lord to be rising up and scattering all His enemies as those who hated Him fled from before Him.
(2) As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
As smoke is so easily moved by the slightest wind, David wished for the enemies of God to be as easily removed. As wax cannot withstand fire, so let the enemies of God melt away as easily.
(3) But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
The very same God who is a terror to His enemies is a source of joy for the people who follow Him, and they exceedingly rejoice in His goodness and mercy.
(4) Sing unto God, sing praises to His name, extol Him who rides upon the heavens by His name JAH, and rejoice before Him.
David called on people to sing praises to God, their Lord, to extol God who was exalted above the heavens. They were to extol Him by His Name, JAH, the abbreviated name for Jehovah, the self-existent eternal One, "I AM."
(5) A father of the fatherless and a judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.
From His holy habitation in heaven, God is the defender and protector of orphans and widows.
(6) God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound with chains, but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
God brings the solitary, the ones who are alone as with orphans and widows, into families. All those lonely ones can be brought into the Christian family, into Christ's church. He brings out all who are bound with chains, oppressed, and slaves to their own sins. However, the rebellious, who will not hear His call, remain in a dry land devoid of God's blessings.
(7) O God, when You went forth before Your people, when You did march through the wilderness, Selah; (8) The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
I am struck by the realization that even when His people were faithless and sinful, and God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, He never left them. Any perceived punishments by God upon His people were always intended to bring them back to Him, their only hope for salvation in a fallen world. Their God continued to go forth before His people in the wilderness. Selah meant a pause for effect, for the buildup to the grandeur of God who could make the earth itself shake and make the heavens drop at His command, whether it was rain and hailstones or manna from heaven. Even Mount Sinai quaked greatly at the presence of God (Exodus 19:18).
(9) You, O God, did send a plentiful rain, whereby You did confirm Your inheritance, when it was weary.
God sent plentiful rain in the desert, water leaped forward from rocks, manna fell from heaven, and His people were showered with blessings and refreshed when they were weary. They were His chosen heritage, and although for their good He allowed them to be weary, He watchfully tended to their needs.
(10) Your congregation has dwelt in it; You, O God, have prepared of Your goodness for the poor.
The Lord's congregation had dwelt in His inheritance in their promised land. The Lord had provided for His poor people when they had no resources of their own.
(11) The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who published it.
The Lord gave the word, His command, and His people, His prophets, carried it forth. This sounds like prophecy of Jesus Christ, the Word, whom the Lord gave to the world, and there was certainly a great company of those who proclaimed the news of the Messiah and His good news.
(12) Kings of armies did flee, and she who tarried at home divided the spoil. (13) Though you have lain among the pots, you will be as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her feathers with yellow gold.
Kings of the Canaanites and other pagan nations fled from before the Lord, and even those at home who did not go out to battle against those nations, shared in the bounty. Even those women at home toiling among the pots would be arrayed in silver and gold.
(14) When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was as snow in Salmon.
I believe the meaning is that when the Lord scattered the pagan kings, the land was pure as the driven snow. The meaning of "Salmon" is "shady," so perhaps as Salmon went from dark to white when it snowed, so the promised land went from darkness to light when the Lord scattered the kings from it.
(15) The hill of God, the hill of Bashan, a high hill the hill of Bashan.
This is a rather difficult verse. I don't believe David was calling the hill of Bashan the hill of God. I believe he meant the hill of God, Zion, was high and grand as the Bashan Mountains that were said to be grand, majestic, and imposing.
(16) Why do you leap, you high hills? The hill God desires to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell forever.
I purposely left out all the words the KJV added for context to try to determine the meaning of this verse. Why did the higher hills boast of superiority? I believe it represents the larger kingdoms that boasted of superiority. But the hill of God, the one He, the eternal God, chose in which to dwell, was out of the reach of those leaping high hills. They could not compare with the grandeur and majesty of the hill of God, His church.
(17) The chariots of God, twenty thousand, thousands of angels, the Lord is among them, Sinai, in the holy place.
The armies of God were an infinite number, as the original word "ribbo" that was translated as "twenty thousand" meant exactly "a myriad, a very great or indefinitely great number." The Lord's armies and angels are infinite, and He is among them no less gloriously than he was in Sinai, when He, attended with thousands of His angels, solemnly appeared to deliver the law (Deuteronomy 33:2).
(18) You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts for men, yea, the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell there.
This appears to be a prophetic statement about Jesus Christ. Paul quoted this about Jesus in Ephesians 4:8. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and bound captivity. No longer did people have to be held captive by their sins. Once Jesus defeated death and rose to heaven, He sent the gift of the Holy Spirit. He gave this gift even to the rebellious, as most all people are, as we are all sinners. "But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Because of Jesus and His gift of salvation and of the Holy Spirit, God is able to dwell among us.
(19) Blessed the Lord who daily loads us, the God of our salvation. Selah
The KJV translators added the words "with benefits" after "loads us." While it is true that the Lord gives His people daily blessings and benefits, David's meaning might have been that the Lord carries us as the original word "amas" translated as "load" also means "carry a load." Either way, the Lord is certainly the God of our salvation. "Selah" means a pause.
(20) Our God is the God of salvation, and to God the Lord belong the issues from death.
The Lord is the God of our salvation, and only He is the author of life and death. And if it's not your time, meaning God's time, then He will make escapes and deliverances from death.
(21) But God shall wound the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of such a one as goes on still in his trespasses.
God shall wound the head of His enemies, seemingly a reference to God putting enmity between Eve's posterity and the serpent Satan whereby it would bruise his head (Genesis 3:15), that hairy head, or disheveled head, as it also means. That disheveled messed-up sinner who persists in his sins, God will wound. Note it doesn't say "kill." Although God could certainly kill at any instant anyone He wishes as He is the only author of life and death, I believe He wounds to give sinners a chance to repent.
(22) The Lord said, "I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring again from the depths of the sea, (23) That your foot may be dipped in the blood of enemies, the tongue of your dogs in the same."
The KJV translators added the words "My people" after "bring," and as the Lord definitely delivers His people from the highest heights and the lowest depths, from wherever and whatever their situation, I tend to think of it as originally written and still speaking of His enemies. He will bring His enemies from wherever they might be hiding. It is similar to what God said in Amos 9: "Though they dig into hell...though they climb up to heaven...though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel...though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the sea..." they would not escape His judgment. Such imagery as from verse 23 always makes me uncomfortable, but the sense is that vengeance shall be awarded to the oppressed people, and so overwhelming should be the defeat of the enemy that they would have to wade in their blood and dogs would lick it.
(24) They have seen Your goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
The enemies of God had seen His actions in the destruction of enemies and the deliverance of His people, and in His procession to the sanctuary, which might allude to His permanent place in His people's promised land.
(25) The singers went before, the players on instruments after, among the damsels playing with timbrels.
This seems to refer to a procession after a victory over their enemies, or perhaps to the eventual procession of the ark to the sanctuary. It was or would be a joyous procession of singers, musicians, and dancers.
(26) Bless you God in the congregations, the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
David exhorted people to praise the Lord in congregations, not only as individuals, but in public assemblies and processions. They praised the Lord who would come from the patriarch Jacob, called Israel (Isaiah 48:1), and that was their coming Messiah.
(27) There little Benjamin, their ruler, the princes of Judah, their council, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
This again seems to allude to a victorious procession where little Benjamin, the smallest of all the tribes, led the congregation. The princes of Judah, the largest of the tribes, and their company, as well as princes from Zebulun and Naphtali, two tribes of the ones farthest away, also participated. I believe the sense is that all of Israel, now united, came together to praise the Lord. Perhaps the more pertinent purpose was to bring them all together for the procession to bring the ark to Zion.
(28) Your God has commanded your strength; strengthen, O God, that which You have wrought for us.
Israel's God had ordained their nation strong. May He continue to strengthen them to fulfill what He had purposed for them.
(29) Because of Your temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents to You.
David may have been looking forward to the Lord's temple being built in Jerusalem where kings would bring presents to Him to honor Him and His religion. Indeed, when David's son Solomon built the temple, this was so.
(30) Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, everyone submit himself with pieces of silver; scatter you the people who delight in war.
Spearmen and bulls appear to represent fierce and warlike enemies of God; they, with their nations of people, would eventually come into submission to God and offer gifts or tribute and become subject to Him.
(31) Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God.
This appears to be prophecy about Jesus Christ when salvation would be available to all Gentiles from the farthest reaches of the world. All people would come to know God, from princes to slaves.
(32) Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises to the Lord; Selah.
All kingdoms of the world would sing praises to the Lord for their redemption and salvation, "which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10).
(33) To Him who rides upon the heavens of heavens of old, lo, He does send out His voice, a mighty voice.
Sing praises to the One who dwells in the highest heavens that have existed since the beginning of time! The Lord sends out His mighty voice as a mighty thunder, but perhaps the meaning is rather that He sends out His gospel of salvation to the world, and that is a very mighty voice that has the power to change and save lives.
(34) Ascribe you strength to God, His excellency over Israel and His strength in the clouds.
Acknowledge that the Lord is all powerful and able to do whatever He pleases, and it pleased Him to make Israel His people (1 Samuel 12:22). His power sustained and protected His people but was not confined to men on earth. His excellent, infinite, omnipresent, omniscient, power was over the entire universe.
(35) O God, terrible out of Your holy places, the God of Israel, He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God.
In this day and age, we always think of terrible as bad, but in Biblical context, it meant awesome, and yes, it was terrible to those enemies of God. The God of Israel inspired awe and fear; His saints to whom He gave strength and power, obeyed with fear and trembling, and His enemies fled in horror. Blessed be our God! Amen!
I must say this was one of the hardest chapters of the Bible I've ever attempted to study. I am ashamed to say that it even brought dread every time I read a complicated verse. Now I am delighted to read that Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote:
I know not how to undertake a comment on this Psalm: it is the most difficult in the whole Psalter; and I cannot help adopting the opinion of Simon De Muis...“In this Psalm there are as many precipices and labyrinths as there are verses or words. It may not be improperly termed, the torture of critics, and the reproach of commentators.” To attempt any thing new on it would be dangerous; and to say what has been so often said would be unsatisfactory. I am truly afraid to fall over one of those precipices, or be endlessly entangled and lost in one of these labyrinths. There are customs here referred to which I do not fully understand; there are words whose meaning I cannot, to my own satisfaction, ascertain; and allusions which are to me inexplicable. Yet of the composition itself I have the highest opinion: it is sublime beyond all comparison; it is constructed with an art truly admirable; it possesses all the dignity of the sacred language; none but David could have composed it; and, at this lapse of time, it would require no small influence of the Spirit that was upon him, to give its true interpretation.
I see that I am in good company! And I trust that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the mind and spirit of those who read this psalm with whatever He deems pertinent at the time.
In The Treasury of David by C. H. Spurgeon, he quoted R. H. Ryland, British clergyman and antiquarian, who pointed out something I had not seen in the psalm, perhaps because my mind was somewhat closed because of the difficulty of it all. The psalm speaks of God and the Lord all through it. However, David, undoubtedly by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, actually spoke of Elohim (verse 2), Adonai (verse 11), Shaddai (verse 14), Jehovah (verse 16), Jah (verse 18), and AI (verse 19).
All these Hebrew names of God have distinct meanings; no one name could encompass all that the Lord God is, except perhaps for "I AM" which is what God Himself told Moses was His name (Exodus 3:14). Elohim meant "ruler, god;" Adonai, "lord;" Shaddai, "almighty, most powerful;" Jehovah, "self-existent, eternal;" Jah, short for Jehovah; and AI short for Ayil meaning "strong, mighty, almighty." The eye-opening name for me was AI. AI was a shortened name of Ayil as Jah was for Jehovah. AI being a name for God is quite interesting as men are now trying to create an AI god.
