Joy #38: Joy & the Fear of the Lord

Here was one of the most fascinating passages I studied this whole semester. Are you familiar with this story?

The Israelites lost the precious ark of the covenant—the chest containing the Law handed down to Moses before their entrance into the promised land, the holy symbol of God’s own presence with His people—in battle. They had in battle— ‘used’ it as a luck charm, and God was not obliging. The Philistines soon want to get rid of it (they experience tumors and problems galore once they’ve captured it), and King David can’t wait to bring it back to Jerusalem. In transit, Uzza reaches out to settle the tipsy ark, and the Lord strikes him dead. The joyful celebration comes to a halt as we read,

“Then David became angry because of the LORD'S outburst against Uzza…David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How can I bring the ark of God home to me?"

Three months later, David attempts to bring the ark back again. This time, he is very serious about following every detail the Lord has instructed about the handling of the ark. But that’s not all that is different…

“Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.”

In fact, it tells us David was leaping and dancing!

Now, follow me here. Something very significant happened in David’s heart during those 3 months. Something that caused him to move from being afraid of God, to reverencing God while at the same time leaping in joyful celebration!

I submit that ‘something’ is the fear of the Lord. Far from a kill-joy, legalistic view of God, David’s realization of the awesome holiness of God brought Him ever greater confidence and trust in God as he lead the celebration bringing the ark back. David experienced that the fear of the Lord brings greater joy!