Because HE Said So!!

I used to think it was a "bad" thing for a parent to answer a child with "because I said so!". Since I"ve had children of my own, I now fully understand that there are times when child NEEDS to do something JUST because I said so. There is nothing wrong with answering a child's questions, or explaining things to them. but sometimes, when you need to, it's OKAY to say "Because I SAID so!"

How do I know this? Because as christians, sometimes we do things JUST because God says so! I heard an EXCELLENT sermon this morning From 1 Chronicles 13. David is attempting to bring the Ark of the Covenant back into the temple so that the people of Israel can worship. David was an intelligent man, and he has access to the Scriptures that had been written at that time. He KNEW of the specific requirements for carrying the Ark that God has laid out in the book of Numbers. The ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests, on poles that were run through rings on the side of the ark. When the ark was carried this way, it was not necessary for any of the priests to touch the ark. That's good, because God had said that anyone who touched it would die.

But David had a better way. He decided it would be best to put the ark in a new wagon, or cart, instead of carrying it on the poles. So, they put the wagon in the cart and had it pulled by mules. One of the mules stumbled, causing the ark to tip, and when Uzziah reached out his hand to steady the ark, he was instantly struck dead!!

But why??!! Wasn't Uzziah doing a GOOD thing? Wasn't David just doing what he thought was best to set up a place for the Israelites to worship God? What went so very wrong?

Simple. David disobeyed. He did not transport the ark in the way God had commanded, and as a "domino effect" of David's disobedience, Uzziah also disobeyed, and died.

Why did the ark NEED to be carried on poles and not in a cart? Well, the only answer I can find in Scripture is BECAUSE GOD SAID SO.

I have a tendency to want to know WHY everything. What I'm (slowly!) learning is that there are times when God will show me why He has asked me to do a certain thing, and other times He is simply going to expect me to obey Him because He said so.

Thank God that He gives us the grace to do that!!
Vicki