1 Chronicles 13:2 He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us.
Have you ever noticed that “the best laid plans of mice and men” (Robert Burns, To A Mouse) often don’t come to full fruition? Something along the way gets the project sidetracked. Or some unforeseen or perhaps impossible to know circumstance arises which alters the circumstances to such a degree that the plan goes out the window. Think COVID-19!
Life is not something that can be fully planned. We can do our best to guide our ships, but there are too many outside variables to make perfect plans. Human plans will fail. Sometimes we are able to bring about the desired outcome, but often things get altered and we end at a slightly different place than we had originally planned.
David, soon to be king, wanted to reunited Israel again under one umbrella. The most important part of that unification was setting up worship in Jerusalem. The period of the Judges before David had been a lesson in what not to do. They had allowed idolatry to infiltrate the people of God. They had failed to fully surrender to the LORD and had suffered.
Some of their leaders had been good, but some had not been so good. So David wants to bring everyone back together and bring them all into covenant compliance. So he wants to get the people as a whole to buy into his plan for reestablishing worship. Not a bad idea.
So he gathers the votes and they win the day. The vote brought them together on the plan as a whole. But they had missed some details. David was so focused on getting the Ark back to Jerusalem that he didn’t develop a good transportation plan. He threw something together. He didn’t consult the “Ark Movement Guide” that the LORD had given them.
Just like most men, he didn’t read the instruction manual! So instead of having the Levites carry the Ark themselves he let it be placed on a new cart. This seemed like a good plan. Why make people carry the Ark when we have improved technology. We know a way that requires less effort.
The consultants got it wrong. If only David had gotten all the experts to help with the transportation plan, things might have gone more smoothly. I guess that is one problem with working by consensus!
We as Christians were never meant to work by consensus. We were always to submit to His guidance first. This is the mistake of the Garden Fruit. Even listened to an outside voice and decided she knew best. She ignored Adam, her husband, and did as she saw fit. She relied on her own knowledge and maybe even her gut feelings. She got it wrong.
So next time you need to make decisions, go to the LORD first. Search His Word. Stay in prayer. Don’t be in a rush. Take your time. Great decisions are rarely made hastily. Then after you have heard from the LORD, then present what you have heard to consensus advice. This will keep you from self deception.
What decisions are you facing at the moment? Have you sought Him? Searched the Word? Prayed? Gone at a slow pace? Heard from Him?
The Arnold Journey 