Oh to be a Gatekeeper

In the old testament, you read of how the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the children of Israel.  Then you read how David sent a cart to retrieve the Ark and how  Uzzah and Ahio were struck dead when they stretched forth their hand to steady the Ark. If you quickly read on, you skip a short two verses there in 2 Samuel 6:10-12, "So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household. And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness."

If you just read through and not pay attention, you skip the mention of Obed-Edom, the Gittite. But who were the Gittites? According to the AI overview, The Gittites were people from the Philistine city of Gath, known for their formidable stature (like Goliath) and often serving as skilled warriors, notably forming a loyal contingent under Ittai who followed King David during his exile, showing a complex relationship between Philistines and Israelites that included both conflict and unexpected loyalty. Imagine that, a man from Gath coming to house the Ark, the presence of God.  And as scripture records, it wasn't there a day but remained in his home for three months. During that time, Obed-Edom and his household were blessed. 

After three months, David had made the necessary preparations to bring the Ark back into the city. He sent men with poles to carry the Ark upon the shoulders of the Levites, stopping every six paces to offer sacrifice. Also, there was appointed musicians and singers. When you read 1 Chronicles 15, you find the account chronicling this journey. Starting with verse 14 we read, "So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord. And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters. So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass; And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth; And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel. And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful. And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark. And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark. So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obededom with joy."

Ok, wait a minute? Didn't we just read in Samuel's account that Obed-Edom was a Gittite, a Philistine from the city of Gath? How is he now being counted among the Levites to play a musical instrument for worship and as a singer to praise God? How is he a doorkeeper for the Ark? There was something that happened in those three months that the Ark was in the home of Obed-Edom that changed him forever. Having experienced the presence of God, how could he not be anywhere else. 

I imagine this is a close approximation of what could have lead King David to write the words in Psalm 139:7-12, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

Obed-Edom had been so enamored by being in the presence of God, without even knowing what he was experiencing really, that he could not imagine his life going back to the way things had been. He just had to be in the presence. 

I liken this to my own experience of when I first was in the presence of God. I was a teenager off at a week long music school. After a concert performed by the legendary Dottie Rambo where the Holy Ghost flowed, it was as if a blanket of His presence had fallen upon us there in that chapel. Not a soul wanted to leave from where we sat. From that moment on, I continued to try to find my way back into His presence.  It wasn't until I was much older and went through a lot more issues in my life that I was finally able to find that presence again.

Folks think I'm silly for sitting around at the end of the services, waiting until the last person has left the building before I will leave. It's not about the house, it's about the presence. If I can just tend the flame that is upon the altar, to not let the fire die, then I will stay a doorkeeper. I will protect that which is sacred and keep it from being violated in anyway. Like Obed-Edom, His presence has wrecked me from who I was and I cannot go back.