The Unexpected source of trouble...

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household. And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn. (2 Samuel 6:1-15 ESV)
David was moving forward in establishing his people as a unified nation. After routing the Philistines out of their land, the next step was to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to a place of safety and prominence. Notice that he took 30,000 soldiers to do a job that was designated for a handful of priests. Why? He expected and wanted to protect from the Philistines. But they were the least of his problems. Due to a lack of diligence and sufficient humility before God's holiness, Uzzah died and the project came to a standstill. No one was going to move the Ark until it was done right. As if often the case, our worst enemy is us: not searching the scriptures for God's instructions, charging ahead with our agenda instead of His, wanting his Holy Presence and Power, without comprehending how great and awesome He really is. May we not seek to go through this day without seeking Him and acknowledging Him first. Every day has enough trouble of its own, without us bringing more on ourselves.