I recently read a Facebook post by our good friend and former boss Nancy Goudie (we do still read your posts Nancy) about how God blessed a man called Obed-Edom, in whose home King David left the Ark of the Covenant for about 3 months. This comes as a direct result of a man called Uzzah being killed for touching the Ark with his hand (see 2 Samuel 6:7) it reminded me of a blog we wrote about 2 years ago called Not Quite Indiana Jones, But Just As Deadly!
I’ve been fascinated with this story for years and keep discovering more background and a fuller picture each time I read through the Bible. So what fresh insights have I had in the last 2 years?
Prior to David putting the Ark on the cart to transport it, it had been housed at the home of Abinadab and his sons Eleazar, Uzzah, and Ahio for many years since being captured by the Philistines and returned to Israel. Abindab’s second son, Uzzah is also the one who died from touching the Ark. Had he become too familiar with the Ark, whilst having it for so long in his home? Interestingly, there’s no mention of Abinadab and his household being blessed by God while the Ark was his home, in the way that Obed-Edom was. Was this because of how they responded to having the ark in their homes? For one it was a high honour, while the other it was more of a nuisance, God rewarded the right attitude.
Despite knowing about Uzzah’s fate, Obed-Edom welcomed the ark and seemed to have no misgivings about having it in his home. One of the ways that God blessed Obed-Edom was in giving him 8 sons. You can find a list of all 8 sons in Chronicles 26:4-6, who along with Obed-Edom are referred to a gatekeepers (or doorkeepers) in God’s temple.
So what exactly was a gatekeeper in God’s temple? The title gatekeeper, is the same used to describe the cherubim in Genesis who stood guard by the entrance to the garden of Eden after the fall. Gatekeepers as the name indicates, were Levites stationed at the gates of God’s house. They opened the gates on a morning and closed them again on a night, but more than that, they were there to receive the tithes and gifts that the Israelites brought, guarding the storerooms and the treasury. They were also responsible for ensuring that no unclean person could enter God’s house. It’s not a glamorous role, standing around all day long, but a vital one that is mentioned in Psalm 84:10 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
Psalm 84 is attributed to the sons of Korah, the gatekeepers and musicians. Who is Korah I hear you ask? He was in the wilderness with Moses, he rebelled against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16), saying that any of the people should be able to offer the incense before the Lord, not just the priests. The earth swallowed Korah and another couple of men up and 250 of his followers were consumed by fire! His children were unharmed and are later given this position. It’s ironic that the descendants of the man who wanted free access to God become the people responsible for keeping people out! The words of Psalm 84 reflect that they’d rather be gatekeepers than follow their forefather Korah. As a young boy/man Samuel was a gatekeeper (1 Samuel 3), he was a descendant of Korah, as was Obed-Edom.
When Jesus overturned the tables of the money lenders, he was being the ultimate gatekeeper, throwing out those not worthy to enter the temple. The gatekeepers were still around in Jesus’ day, we see them mentioned in various passages, often referred to as the temple guard.
Once Obed-Edom had been in the presence of God (the Ark), he wasn’t the same again.That encounter he had was life changing, he couldn’t get enough, he willing left his home and followed to Jerusalem.
Read our blog