The Terrible Golden Container

III
The Terrible Golden Container
1.
THROUGHOUT MUCH of Israel's history, the Very Essence of God Yahweh was contained in the Ark of the Covenant, a small ( 3-3/4-foot x 2 1/2 wide c 2 1/4 high) golden box, which had wielded awesome and terrifying power since the Patriarch had placed the two tablets of the Law -- the Ten Commandments -- in it centuries earlier.
Its legendary power had often been translated into supreme confidence by anyone who had possessed it, even since the carpenter Bezalel had constructed it out of acacia wood and the tabernacle during the Moses-led trek across the Sinai Wilderness after fleeing the Egyptian oppressors towards the Promised Land of Canaan.
David was aware of the legends concerning it, from it being used in the conquest of Jericho, the stopping of the Jordan, to its devastation on Hebrew enemies. However, for generations the Ark had been neglected, if not ignored by the Israelites, terming it an ancient relic from the "old days."
However, the new king wanted to bring it home to Jerusalem, from Baal-judah, where it had been at the hillside home of Abinadah.
So David mobilized 30,000 special troops and the Ark was placed on a new cart and driven by Abindah's sons, Uzzah and Ahio, with Ahio walking in front and followed by David and other leaders of Israel, who were joyfully waving branches of juniper trees and playing every sort of musical instruments -- lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.
As they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacob, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. Suddenly, a flame shot out, killing him instantly. David was shocked and called the spot, The Place of Wrath Upon Uzzah.
"How can I ever bring the Ark home?" he cried into the heavens that night.
Fearing more incidents, he decided against bringing it into the City of David and had it carried into the home of Obed-edom, who had come from Gath. It remained there three months and stories reached David about how Obed-edom had prospered during this time.
Wearing priest's clothing, he led a great celebration into Jerusalem. After the men, who were carrying it, had gone six paces, they stopped and waited so that he could sacrifice an ox and a fat lamb.
And David danced naked before the Lord with all his might and as the procession came into the city, Saul's daughter, Michal, watched in disgust at her husband's antics.
A special tent had been placed in the Lower City and the monarch sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings and blessed the throngs in the name of the Lord of Heaven, and gave a present to everyone -- men and women alike -- of a loaf of bread, some wine, and a cake of raisins. When it was all over, and everyone had gone home, he returned to bless his own family.
"How glorious the king of Israel looked today," snapped Michal. "He exposed himself to the street girls like a common pervert."
David's joy couldn't be extinguished.
"Listen, Michal, I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and his family. He appointed me as leader of Israel, the people of the Lord! So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord. Yes, and I'm willing to look even more foolish that this, but I will be respected by the girls of whom you spoke."
From that moment on, their relationship completely deteriorated, so much so that David and Michal were childless.

2.

PROSPERITY and peace, however, spread across the region under David's rule, particularly, with the subjugation of the remaining Canaanite pockets of resistance in the coastal foothills, in the Plain of Sharon between Jaffa and Mount Carmel, and in the northern valleys.
There was also no outside interference, for Egypt was in domestic turmoil and far-off Assyria, whose brief bid for empire under Tilgath-pileser I had come to a halt, was now being pounded back to the walls of her chief city, Ashur, by invading Armameans.
His supremacy, either out of fear or being conquered, stretched into Moah, Hamath, Edom, Elat to the Euphrates River and David's finances reached into the billions by tribute which was paid to him.
He now controlled and could tax the users of the two main trade routes passing from Egypt and Arabia through his land's coastal Via Maris, over which fleeing slaves had feared once to pass, and the inland King's Highway, which some of the slaves and their children had avoided on their way to the land promised them by Yahweh with whom they covenanted at Sinai. He also took distant Jadmor, later called Palmyra, a dusty town halfway between Damascus and the Euphrates that was an income-yielding caravan stop.
So Moab, Ammon, Edom, Armaean Zobah and even Armaean Damascus, the oldest city in the known world, became David's vassals and only 20 years after Saul's death, the united kingdoms of Judah and Israel, under King David, was the greatest empire in the Near East.

3.

THE ARRIVAL of the Ark in Jerusalem wasn't without incident.
Respect for its awesome power had diminished somewhat since its construction some 570 years earlier under the mountains of the Sinai.
In their wandering desert life, the Israelites were shaped into a distinctive and well-organized community under Moses' leadership. They had a defined relatioship with Yahweh, a system of laws and a priesthood headed by Moses' brother, Aaron, and his two sons.
The Shekinah, the Divine Presence, the Glory of the King travelled with them and was associated with two sacred objects -- the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle -- that together formed a portable sanctuary.
The Ark, of course, was the container for the Tablets of the Law and was put in the care of the Tribe of Levi, which was exempted from military duties.

4.

BEFORE DAVID's well-publicized confrontation with the Philistine Goliath in the Valley of Elah where the youngster selected five stones from the brook, which runs through the center oif the valley, and used them to kill the giant, the Philistines had attacked the Israelites and killed 4,000 at Aphek.
There was despair, but they suddenly remembered the Ark and so they sent for it and brought it into their camp.
This time the Philistines, not only killed 30,000 Israelites, but they stole the Ark.
Taking it to their city of Ashdod, the Philistines put it in the temple of their god, Dagon, as a trophy.
The following morning, when they came to worship Dagon, they found their idol, which had a man's head and a fish's body, had fallen off its pedestal and prostrate before the Ark. Each time they set Dagon on the pedestal it toppled over.
Following its arrival in Ashdod, a loathsome dysentery swept the city, killing thousands and this was followed up by a horde of mice which ate up all the fruits and plants. The Philistines concluded that this Israelite religious object was cause of the troubles, but before they could get rid of it, it had made the rounds of all five Philistine cities, wreaking the same havoc as it did in Ashdod.
The mayors of the five cities devised a plan a plan of building a new cart for transporting it. They were to yoke to it two cows and drive it to a place where three roads met, and there they were to abandon it and if the cows headed for Israelite territory, then they would know the Ark was the cause of all their grief.

5.

THE CELEBRATION was dampened because 70 of them died for daring to approach the Ark, since they weren't priests they were forbidden to touch it.
Taken to the house of Abinadab, a righteous Levite in Kirjath-jearim, it remained there for 20 years, after having spent seven months among the Philistines.
Its return was a cause for the people to zealously turn to Yahweh with the Prophet Samuel urging them to recover their liberty from the Philistines and if they turned from their wicked ways, the prophet promised them blessings not obtainable by arms alone.
The Israelites gathered in mass at Mizpah, fasting and offering up public prayer, but their old enemy heard of it and attacked them with a large army.
Suddenly, the earth began to tremble and shake under their feet, then it yawned open to engulf the Philistines, while thunder deafened and lightning blinded them, striking the weapons from their hands.
Samuel and his people massacred them and in the subsequent victories, they recovered fromn the Philistines all the villages they had lost, humbling the enemies' pride.

6.

WITH THE great and terrible gold container now dwelling in the makeshift tent of badgerskins in Jerusalem some 20 years later, the hero-king felt a flood of guilt since he lived in the opulent splendor on the slope of The Ophel.

David (to the Prophet Nathan): Look, here I'm living in this beautiful cedar palace while the Ark's out there in a tent.
Nathan (without hesitation): Go ahead with whatever you have in mind for the Lord's with you.

Although the prophet had told him to go ahead with construction plans, the Lord appeared to him in a vision that night.

Voice: Tell my servant David not to do it, for I've never lived in a temple and have lived in a tent ever since I brought Israel out of Egypt and I never complained. Now, tell David that I chose him to be My People's leader ever since he was a mere shepherd. And tell him I'll make his name even greater. When he dies, I'll put one of his sons on the throne and he'll build My Temple.

When he heard about Nathan's vision, which included an everlasting covenant with David and his descendants, the king went and worshipped the Ark.

7.

THE VISION of yet another covenant and Yahweh and the Israelites wasn't surprising, for the Lord had covenanted with Noah never again to destroy the world by flood and gave a sign -- a rainbow. There was a convenant with Abraham to give his offspring the land of Canaan, with circumcision being the sign. Moses was given a covenant in God's own handwriting in the Ten Commandments and sealed in a gold container, the Ark of the Covenant. And now David was given an everlasting dynasty.
However, with the promises came a severe warning.
Breaking covenant with the Almighty brought retribution.
Bolstered by Nathan's words, David's character, however, changed from the golden lad, the composer of exquisite lyrical poetry, the adventurous bandit, the king and conqueror to that of a conniver and murderer, by proxy.
Believing his invincibility, now that he'd heard from the Lord through the Prophet Nathan, and now that he possessed the Ark, David marched against the Philistines and annexed much of their territory, including their largest city, Gath, his old stomping grounds when he was running from Saul.
He followed this up by massacring two-thirds of the Moabite army and then he and his troops swept across the Euphrates, defeating neighboring monarchs, including the king of Damascus, and stationed garrisonsin Syria and Isumea.
The Ammonites suffered their greatest defeat and it came as a result of a few harsh words. After the death of the Ammonite king, Nahash, his son, Hanum, replaced him and David indicated he was to be given special respect because of Nahash's past loyalty. So David sent ambassadors to Hanum to tell him his sadness over his father's death, but Hanum's officers questioned the envoys' motives and said, "These men aren't here to honor your father. David has sent them to spy out the city before attacking it." The furious Hanum shaved off half their beards and cut their robes off at the buttocks and sent them back to Jerusalem half naked. Realizing their embarrassment, David shipped them to Jericho until their beards grew out.
The Ammonites knew it had been a serious breach of conduct so they hired 20,000 Syrian mercenaries from Rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from Maacah and 10,000 from Tob. When David heard about this, he was livid and told the Israelites' top general, Joab, to take the entuire army and attack the Ammonites.

8.

IN THE spring of the following year, at the time when the wars begin, the city of Rabbah was under siege by Joab and his men while David stayed in Jerusalem.
On a warm night, he couldn't sleep and went out for a stroll on the Palace roof on The Ophel. As he looked over his city, he watched a beautiful woman taking her bath.
David, who had a wandering eye and admired all women, found out her name was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, and the wife of the Hittite soldier, Uriah.
Nonplussed, the king brought her to the Palace and slept with her, just after she had completed the purification rites, following her menstruation period. After returning to her home, Bathsheba found herself pregnant and sent David a message, telling him of her condition.
During this time, kings were considered diety; so to have intercourse with his subjects was considered to be a privilege of the throne.

9.

A TROUBLED David sent a memo to General Joab, ordering him to send Uriah to Jerusalem.
When he arrived the hardened warrior was curious as to the reason the king was concerned about him. Uriah was sent home to Bathsheba, but he wouldn't budge from staying with the other servants at the Palace gates.

David (to Uriah): What's the matter with you? Why didn't you go home to your wife last night? After all, you've been away a long time.
Uriah: The Ark and the armies and the general and his officers are camping out in the fields, so why should I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife. I swear I'll never be guilty of acting like that.
David: Well, stay here tonight and tomorrow you can go back to your army platoon.

So Uriah stayed close to the Palace and the king invited him to dinner and proceeded to get him drunk. Again he stayed by the gates and he didn't go home to Bathsheba.
David's plans to ease his conscience and make people believe Uriah had sired a child on army leave had failed.

10.

THE NEXT morning, a frustrated David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to a hung-over Uriah to deliver. In it, the general was told to put the Hittite at the hottest spot of the battle and then to pull back and leave him there to die.
Joab did as he was ordered.
Uriah was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.
When Bathsheba heard of her husband's death, a wave of guilt swept over her, but David brought her to the Palace to become one of his numerous wives and she had a son.
David's treachery was later repaid.

11.

THE GUILT in his heart remained, but the smile, nevertheless, cut a slash across David's face as his personal seer entered the throne room.
The king put his trust in Nathan, but this day he would be crushed by his words, which took on an air of indictment against him.

Nathan (looking directly at David): There were two rich men in a certain city. One very rich, owning many flocks of sheep and herds of goats; and the other very poor, owning nothing but a little lamb he managed to buy. It was his children's pet, feeding it from his own plate. He cuddled it in his arms, like a baby daughter. Recently, a guest arrived at the rich man's home, but instead of a lamb from his own flocks for food for the traveler, he took the poor man's lamb and roasted it and served it.
David (indignantly): I swear by the living God, any man who would do such a thing like that should be put to death; he will repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.

Slowly, a scowling Nathan turned towards him, and said heavily: "You are that rich man!"
David began to shudder and then cry as the seer started to prophesy.

Nathan: The Lord God says 'I made you king of Israel and saved you from Saul's power. I gave you his palace and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and if that hadn't been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then have you despised the laws of God and done this horrible deed.? You've murdered Uriah and stolen his wife and from now on, murder must be a constant threat in your family from this time on, because you've insulted Me by taking Uriah's wife.' The Lord also says, 'I vow because what you've done I will cause your household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I'll do this openly, in the sight of Israel.'
David (wailing): I have sinned against the Lord.
Nathan: Yes, you've sinned, but the Lord has forgiven you. You won't die for this sin, but you've given great opportunity for the enemies of the Lord to despise you and blaspheme you, so your child will die.

When the prophet returned home, the new-born baby grew deathly ill and seven days later, died.
Soon afterwards, Bathsheba conceived again. This time a healthy son, they named Solomon, was born. His father gave him his nickname, Jedidiah, meaning "beloved of Jehovah."

12.

SOLOMON'S RISE to power was nearly impended by the trickery of his half-brother, Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith.
In his old age, David, the ruler of the greatest empire in the Near East, was confined with double pneumonia and no matter how many blankets were heaped on him, he was still shivering.
"The cure for this is to find a young virgin to be your concubine and nurse," his aides told him. "She'll lie in your arms and keep you warm."
Searching the country from one end to the other, they found the extremely beautiful Abishag, from Shunam, and she lay in his arms to warm him. They didn't have any sexual relations because he was feeble and withered.
With his father sick, Adonijah schemed and decided to crown himself and even went so far as to hire chariots and drivers and recruited 50 men to run down the streets before him as royal footmen.
This spoiled son, who never had so much as a scolding from his doting father, began gathering allies for his plans; recruiting General Joab and Abiathar, the priest, but David had his loyal followers in the priests Zadok and Benaiah, the prophet Nathan, Shine-i, Rei, and David's army chiefs, who refused to endorse Adonijah.
The wayward son went to En-rogel where he sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fat young goats at the Serpent's Stone. Then he summoned all his brothers -- the other sons of King David -- and all the royal officers of Judah, asking them to come to his coronation, but he didn't invite Nathan, Benaiah, the loyal officers or his half-brother, Solomon.

13.

THE CONNIVING troubled Nathan and he went to Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, and asked her: "Do you realize that Haggith's son, Adonijah, is now the king and David doesn't even know about it?" Then he added, "if you want to save your own life and Solomon's life, as well, do exactly as I say."
Bathsheba listened carefully to the prophet's every word.

Nathan: Listen to me, go to the king and ask him if he didn't promise you that your son, Solomon, would be next to sit on his throne. Then ask him why Adonijah is flaunting himself as the new king and while you're still talking to him, I'll come in and confirm everything you've said.

Bathsheba entered the old man's bedroom and bowed low.

David (wheezing): What do you want?
Bathsheba: My lord, you vowed to me by the Lord your God that my son, Solomon, would be the next king, but instead, Adonijah is the new king, and you don't even know about it. He's celebrated his coronation by sacrificing oxen and sheep and has invited everyone ... your sons, Abiathar, General Joab, but not Solomon. Now, everyone's waiting for your decision as to whether Adonijah is to succeed you. If you don't act, Solomon and I will be arrested and executed as criminals as soon as you're dead.

As she was talking, the king's aides informed him that Nathan was in the outer chamber.

Nathan (bluntly): Have you appointed Adonijah the next king? Today he's celebrating his coronation and has invited your sons, Abiathar, General Joab and they're eating and drinking and shouting: 'Long live King Adonijah!' But Zadok, the priest, Benaiah, Solomon and me weren't invited. So what are you going to do?

A shadow fell across his pained face and, with great difficulty, David cried: "Get Bathsheba back in here."
As she stood nervously before him, the king said: "As the Lord lives who has rescued me from every danger, I decree that your son, Solomon, will be the next king and will sit on my throne, just as I swore to you before the Lord God of Israel."
Bathsheba was garetful.
The crisis seemed to breathe new life into the old man and he lifted himself off the bed and began barking orders: "Call Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah, now."
When they arrived, he told them to take Solomon and his special troops to Gihon.,

David: Solomon's to ride on my personal mule and Zadok and Nathan are to anoint him there as the king of Israel. Then blow the trumpets and shout, 'Long live King Solomon.' When you bring him back here, place him on my throne as the new king, for I've appointed him king of Israel and Judah.

Adonijah was consumed in a drunken haze when a messenger arrived with the news that Solomon had assumed the throne in the Palace. He started to shake in fear as his so-called friends began to forsake him.
When Solomon heard Adonijah was gripping the horns of the altar and sobbing in the sanctuary, he sent for him. He was let off the hook, but Solomon told him to behave himself in the future.

14.

WITH RENEWED vigor, David set up a proper administrative staff with the chiefs, priests and Levite families given specific duties as well as setting out regulations for the army and the treasury.
Following this, he summoned all the leaders to the Palace and introduced Solomon as his successor and explained to them that his son would build the Temple, which would be the new home of the Ark of the Covenant.
Solomon was then handed the plans for the majestic structure and David asked the Levites to help him. When he'd finished speaking, many of the priests and Levites came forward and promised him quantities of gold and silver, iron and jewels. This was followed by a great celebration.
Before he died in 971 B.C.E. at the age of 70, the old king took Solomon aside.

David (in almost a whisper): Remember the crime of Joab, who through envy killed two brave generals. Avenge their deaths in whatsoever way you think best, since Joab has so far escaped punishment. And as for Shem-ei, who cursed me, but received a pledge for the time being that he wouldn't be harmed ... find a reasonable excuse to punish him.

15.

BEFORE PUTTING his signature on his reign, Solomon had some unfinished business, including his half-brother, Adonijah, who came back to haunt him.
The troublemaker went to Bathsheba, asking that she talk to Solomon to give him Abishag in marriage since their father, David, hadn't had intercourse with her and she remained a virgin.
Abishag had been David's nurse.
Bathsheba did so, but Solomon rejected the plea, claiming Adonijah was still plotting to overthrow him with the aid of his powerful allies, Joab and Abiathar.
He sent for the chief of the bodyguards, Banaias, and ordered him to kill Adonijah. He also relieved Abiathar of the high priesthood and transferred it to the family of Zadok.
Following Adonijah's execution, Joab tried to find refuge in front of the sanctuary's altar. However, Solomon ordered Banaias to cut off his head there. He then appointed Banaias the new army commander.
Banaias wasn't finished with his executioner's role.
Solomon ordered Shem-ei to take an oath to never leave Jerusalem. However, three years later, two of his slaves escaped to Gath, and Shem-ei set out after them.
When he returned with them, the king was informed and Banaias put Shem-ei to the sword.