Obed means “servant.” Edom is linked with red, and man, and blush, and blood. Ah, the mercy seat!
Often like our Christian lives, in fits and starts the ark was slowly making its way to its proper place. But also like our lives, it finally made it to the Holy City. All of the Lord’s people will make it, limping perhaps, but safely into the Sanctuary above. The ark had been in Philistia for seven months because the Israelites had treated it like a good luck charm, to turn the tide of battle. But God wouldn’t be manipulated like that. After the Philistines sent it back, it was left in Beth Shemesh until the men of that city looked inside. They should have known better, because this was a priestly city (Jos 21:16). Disaster ensued, with many killed (1 Sam 6:19), so at that point the people of Kirjath Jearim, a Gibeonite town, were asked to take the ark. There it remained all through the reign of Saul, who seemed to have no interest in spiritual matters. But after David’s failed first attempt and the death of Uzzah, the ark was then placed in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite (2 Sam 6:10). For the three months that the ark was there, the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his entire household. We’ll later discover that God blessed Obed-Edom with eight sons (1 Chron 26:4-6), giving them a role as protectors of the Lord’s House. In fact, including grandchildren, he provided sixty-two “able men with strength for the work” (v 8). Never underestimate the historic role of a man whose only claims to fame were giving God a place of honor in his home and raising his children for the Lord! When David heard that “the Lord has blessed the house of Obed- Edom and all that belongs to him” (2 Sam 6:12), he determined to bring the ark home—this time the right way—for the blessing of the whole nation. Good idea, David!