2 Samuel 6DAVID BRINGS THE ARK TO JERUSALEM
RE-ESTABLISHING THE WORSHIP OF JEHOVAH 2 Samuel 6
INTRODUCTION
June 3, 2006 Michael Emmanuel Jr. celeb 6th birth with friends, family-Chuck E. Cheese-Boca Raton, FL. Party itself went fine. Problem came when over. All kids, adults climb into 3 different vehicles-head home. Everyone, that is, except Michael. Apparently, 6-year-old returnd to play area, & when party-goers depart, he=left behind. Employees found Michael wander around restaurant at 10 pm & called police. Michael's mom assumed son staying with grandmom, & didn't even realize missing until next morn. Lesson learned is that it is possible have joyful celebration & still forget guest of honor. Same-worship. Can fill auditorium, great music, great speakers-still forget guest of honor, God of universe.
PROPOSITION: Establishing the worship of Jehovah is crucial in a Christian’s life.
ORGANIZATIONAL SENTENCE: Establishing the worship of Jehovah is crucial in a Christian’s life and requires obedience to God’s word and dealing with opposition.
I. THE HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF THE ARK.
A. It was built in the wilderness.
Ark-a.k.a. Ark of the Covenant (Testimony), first refer to-Ex25:9 where God gave Moses-construction info. Chest, box & made of acacia wood. Rectangular, 3¾ ft long & 2¼ ft wide, high. Gold plated inside & out, with gold molding, was supported by 4 feet, each with golden ring, into which carrying poles of gold plated acacia wood were permanently inserted. Ark had covering plate of pure gold-corresponded to dimensions of Ark. Known as mercy seat. At its 2 ends & facing each other-2 hammered gold cherubim with wings overshadowing the plate & with faces toward it. Cherubim (angels) were presumably human in appearance. Conveyed idea of heavenly majesty.
B. Contents of the Ark.
Ex25:16: Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. The Testimony means stone tables of the covenant of the Lord (1 Kings 8:21). Later Moses’ full book of the law placed by the side of the ark of the covenant (Du31:26). Placing Law beside ark acted as witness against any break of covenant-treaty by Israel. Accord-Heb9:4 this later place inside Ark.
--Heb9:4-gold jar of manna & Aaron’s staff that had budded also found way into Ark, altho both origin placed beside, before Ark.
C. God’s presence in the Ark.
Ex25:22 There, above the cover between the 2 cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you & give you all my commands for the Israelites. The glory cloud in which he had wrought deliverance at the Exodus would regularly appear between the wings of the cherubim over mercy seat of Ark. Nu7:89When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the 2 cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. God acted thru Ark to guide, protect his people. Also symbol of invisible throne of God high, lifted up-Is6:1. For Israelites=center of faith. NT-Jesus = Presence!
II. DAVID MOVED THE ARK THE WRONG WAY.
A. The Ark is prepared.
During years Eli the priest, ark locate at Shiloh, then place of worship. Israelites held to opinion-magical presence of God in Ark so took into battle against Philis. God not kept in box & Philis defeat Israel-capture ark. However, brot great deal trouble so ship back to Israel. 1 Sa7 Ark as far as Kiriath-jearim (Baalah of Judah here). By time David became king, many years passed with ark forgotten by majority of people. David wanted to restore Ark to rightful place at center worship. Chuck Swindoll: Our worship today is open & realistic, but before Calvary it was symbolic & related to types & pictures. The people saw the images, but not the details. When the people looked upon the ark they viewed a piece of furniture (image) upon which the very glory of God rested above the golden grate…thus the piece of furniture was actually holy. 30,000 men chosen-move Ark. Placed on new cart-move in style. Unfortunately, violation God’s instruction for moving Ark. Disregard of holiness of ark. God instructed-ark made with rings thru which poles placed so ark carried on shoulders of Kohathites-Nu7:9. No hand ever to touch ark! Plenty-sing, dancing. Celebrating=to laugh, context determin positive or negative: here-force of unrestrain celebr in worship! 2 stringed instruments, rest were percussion.
B. The mission is aborted v6-11.
1. Uzziah died when he touched ark v6-7.
When oxen stumbled & ark threatened to fall off cart, Uzzah had normal reaction & reached out to steady it. Contact with God’s holiness brought instant death! Holy things not to be touched, except by special appointment. People had fresh recognition of power of God. While ark could be pushed around, the God who it symboliz not be taken lightly! Familiar tends breed contempt, carelessness. Some think-God at our beck & call. Uzzah learned instant lesson-God’s anger quickly aroused when we sin!
2. David reacted with anger and fear v8-11.
Anger at Lord’s intervention, punitive activity. Reaction toward God-thot be unfair-innocent man died doing God’s work. David possibly angry at self for not making sure ark transported as God commanded. Had overstepped authority-presumed upon relation with God. When occurs-become complacent & fail to observe regulations God set down to safe guard respect for his holiness. Privilege can’t become presumption. Uzzah death cuz disregard direct instruction Law-Num4:15 After Aaron & his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings & all the holy articles, & when the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. Likely his eternal standing with God not affected cuz not set out to sin against God. Not only David anger but also fearful. First thot-would never see ark in rightful place-Jerusalm.
C. Ark blessed home of Obed-Edom v10-11.
When became clear couldn’t continue moving ark-new cart, took to nearest house-Obed-Edom. The good news is that there was nothing special about him. The very thing he probably hated –the nasty bumpy road he lived on was going to change his life. For 3 months-home blessed by presence Ark. Wonder what Obed-Edom reaction when heard ark leaving? Same God whose anger burned against Uzzah now bless home-Obed-Edom. No details given but-1 Chr26:5-cuz God blessed him-had 8 sons with 62 descendants in all. Kind of bless Dave desire entire nation.
III.DAVID MOVED ARK THE RIGHT WAY 12-23.
A. David had done his homework v13.
No details here but 1 Chr15-prep right way. Paid attent to ritual requirements God’s law. As much enthusiasm as before but now realize-sincerity, enthusiasm not enough obey-God. After first 6 steps-procession stop offer sacrifice.
B. David rejoiced as ark is moved v14-19.
No one ever played baseball harder than Kansas City Royals star George Brett. Once, when a reporter asked the three-time batting champ and future Hall-of-Famer what he wanted to do in his last at-bat before retiring, he gave the following response: I want to hit a routine grounder to second and run all out to first base, then get thrown out by a half step. I want to leave an example to the young guys that that’s how you play the game: all out.
1. David led the procession v14-15.
David replaced royal robe for priestly robe of linen. Combined work as king with that of priest. Dancing only here=whirling. Dancing, shouting, sounds of trumpets expressions joy-Ps150! Trumpets=ram’s horns, often used for signaling. Kaufmann Kohler states in Jewish Encyclopedia that no language has as many words for joy & rejoicing as does Hebrew. In OT-13 Hebrew roots, found in 27 different words, used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship. While God loves spontaneous worship-also blessed by prepared hearts. Too often worship in hurry with no thot-prep. Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, & to play at their worship. As result, their meanings & values are distorted. Their relationships disintegrate faster than they can keep them in repair & their lifestyles resemble a cast of characters in search of a plot. When comes to attitud toward God in worship, Xians tend be like woman-Lexus TV com. On Xmas morn, finds full-sized luxury SUV in living room. Vehicle topped with gigantic, pict-perfect red ribbon. Turning to husband with look of astonishment on face, all think to ask-“Where did you get a bow that big?" Has fully equipped SUV in living room, yet transfixed by ornament. Decoration distract from real mystery. Is possible become focusd on incidentals when gather to celebrate all God has for us in JC?
2. Sacrifices & offerings given to Lord v17.
Tabernacle remain-Gibeon-1 Chr16:39. Yet Jerusalem=place God pleased to make self known. Place of worship=tent erect Jerus-later replaced with temple. Burnt offerings, fellowship offerings.
3. The people are blessed by David v18-19.
David again acts like priest as blessed people. A sign-God was now in midst & they were dedicated to living accord to covenant. Too often simply go thru motions. Following describe situat:
They bring their bodies to the house of prayer but not their
souls. Worship with their mouths but not in spirit, in truth.
Multitudes of professing Xians abstain from external acts of
violence, yet hesitate not to rob their neighbors of a good
name by spreading evil reports against them.
They contribute regularly to church but shrink not from
misrepresenting their goods & cheating their customers,
persuading themselves that business is business.
C. Micah did not approve David’s behavior.
1. She despised him v16, 20.
King should not mix with people but rather needs to be aloof & inaccessible. Despised the very qualities that made him great—devotion to God & spontaneity in worship. May have struggled with this relationship before. Michal is called daughter of Saul, rather than wife of David. Certainly not behaving like wife of David’s. Woman in the window-common art trad in Phoenicia. Michal once helped David escape thru window but now looked at him thru window & despised him! Imagine let down for David -God just blessed in move of ark, worship awesome & wife cuts him down. Note sarcasm-how king distinguished self today!
2. David explained the situation v21-22.
Defend self. David=chosen king while she is but daughter of rejected, dishonored king. Work against God, just as dad done. Saul not concern with ark-1 Ch13:3; neglect worship during reign & soul for vital faith died out in fam.
3. Consequences of opposing God’s plan v23.
As result of Michal’s criticism, God made her childless=ultimate tragedy in ancient times. Disgrace completed rejection of house of Saul. By childless-no succession to throne from Saul’s family. God used honor received from David to bring prosperty-national, international affairs. David never sought manipulate God by acts.
IV. GETTING IT INTO MY LIFE.
A. God’s instructions are to strictly obeyed.
Obedience is not most popular motivation today. Certainly not an act that most people accustomed to perform. Obed requires loss of freedom. In human situations it means entrusting part of our to someone else. In divine situation-means entrusting total will to God. Note-entrusting our will to God, not some individual who tries to manipulate, control-mark of cult. What God wants is strict obedience to Word. Nu33:55-56 what happens when disobey: But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes & thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them. In NT-Jn14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command. During Vietnam War, Captain Ray Baker flew for Strategic Air Command. Air Force trained him, along with all other pilots, run out of their barracks to planes at sound of buzzer. Couldn't begin to remember how many times dropped utensils during dinner & bolted to bomber. Then came home on furlough to CA. When arrived, family took him to favorite Mexican restaurant. Everything going great until Captain Baker jumped up without warning & ran out of building into parking lot. Catching up with him when finally stopped running, ask him in total puzzlement, "Where were you going?" "I was looking for my plane," was bewildered reply as searched horizon for B-52. "But what prompted you to run out here?" asked. "I heard the buzzer," he. Then realized directly above table was buzzer-kitchen used to call waiters to pick up meals. Obed speaks of unquestioned, immediate action. Is this not what JC wants from followers? Live in culture watering down Word. Jn14:6 clear-no other way but thru Jesus! Anyone who teaches anything else is false teacher. We fail in our obedience not because we make the gospel too good but because we don't make it good enough. Only when they see how utterly amazing & lovely is the grace of God are people thankful enough, motivated enough to give their hearts, souls, & minds to God. Xian obed not merely "This is the Law. Now obey it," rather, "This is God's desire for us. Now discover God himself, so you have the power to walk in obed, joy, & victory."
B. There will be opposition to God’s work.
There are two kinds of people:
1. Those who oppose God’s work: Be careful what you oppose & find fault with.
If it is of God your opposition will only result in your missing the blessing of God at best and receiving his curse at worst! Some people feel they have a God given gift of criticism-no matter what the elders or congregation decide, these people are against it. If this describes you, prayerfully confess and ask God to help you cooperate with getting his work done!
2. Those who do God’s work & are opposed by others. Opposition comes in form of criticism. Leading Your Church Through Conflict & Reconciliation: Fred Smith: Every leader has to develop a plan for handling criticism, because criticism will come in any dynamic organization. Capable people bring out friction & difference of opinion. In fact, if an organization is completely placid, I have found it's generally not very productive. Expect criticism whenever one or more of following is true: the change costs money; the change causes inconvenience; there is a shift in power or recognition. Can also count on criticism when you have an "inspirational program"—one that comes suddenly, that sends you into an emotional high. Criticism will likely come from those who have not had that thrill. Realize opposition will come. David opposed by Michal. Moses opposed by Israelites, Aaron, Miriam. Acts 11:1-3 The apostles & the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him & said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men & ate with them." Luke 7:33-34 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, & you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating & drinking, & you say, 'Here is a glutton & a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors & "sinners." ' Don’t let critics prevent ministry.
Are you one who obeys God’s word completely? Do you rejoice when God’s work gets done, even if it isn’t the way you would do it?
PRAYER & OFFERING
Among ways to deal with criticism is idea: A leader must know how to limit the criticism he or she accepts. I learned this from a day laborer who wanted to be a success in life. Many years ago he spent the day with me in Chicago & went over a simple plan he had written out, & he gave me a copy. Recently I read in the newspaper that this man had contributed $6 million to higher education. I immediately went back over the points of his program & saw how he had followed them so successfully. One of his points was, "I will accept criticism only from someone who has something to gain from my success." To him, those people were his family, his superiors, & his friends. By limiting his acceptable criticism, he no doubt missed some that might have been helpful, but he missed a great deal that would have been harmful. As he told me, "People think you ought to keep an open mind, but if you keep it too open, people throw garbage in."
Once every year the Ark achieved its ultimate sacramental significance in the Day of Atonement service. After insuring his personal safety thru a protecting cloud of incense before it, Aaron would sprinkle the Ark’s cover, or mercy seat, 7 times; first with the blood of a bull, slain as a sin offering for himself, & then with that of a goat for the people. In pictorial fashion, grace (blood of the testament) thus became an intervening cover between the holiness of God (the glory cloud) & the verdict of divine justice upon the conduct of man.
Theodore Roosevelt: It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points of how the strong man stumbles or how the doer deeds might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with sweat & dust & blood; who strives valiantly, who errs & comes short again & again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, & spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, that his place shall never be with those cold & timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Practicing lawyer loved to attack opponents thru letters printed in newspapers. In 1842, ridiculed wrong man. James Shields not take kindly to anonymous writer who lampooned him in Springfield Journal. Mr. Shields tracked down attorney who had publicly embarrassed him & challenged him to duel. Man was writer, not fighter, but could not get out of duel without losing his honor. Given choice of weapons & chose swords in hopes of using his long arms to his advantage. Trained with West Point grad as prepared to fight to death. On appointed day he met Mr. Shields on sandbar in Mississippi River. At last minute-friends intervened & convinced men to stop duel. Lawyer returned to practice as changed man. Never again did he openly criticize anyone. In fact, years later when heard wife criticize southern people of Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln said, "Don’t criticize them; they are just what we would be under similar circumstances." Do you have a critical spirit? Lincoln did, but he changed. Make the change today so you, like Lincoln, can be known more for your tolerance than your criticism.
1. I truly believe things happen in our lives so that we can grow spiritually! – It is all how you view it!
2. God has always used broken things to accomplish great things!
Several years ago, Reader’s Digest told of a young couple who had just bought a water bed. While assembling the bed, the couple realized they would need a hose to fill it with – and they didn’t own one. So, the husband went to the hardware store and bought one.
They attached the hose to the bed, ran it through the apartment to the kitchen tap and - knowing it would take over an hour for the bed to fill – they left their apartment to run an errand.
About an hour later they returned to check on its progress. And that’s when they discovered that the husband had bought a sprinkler hose
The first funeral I ever conducted was for a beautiful three-year-old. She was the first child born to a couple in our church, and the first grandchild in their extended family. Unfortunately, she was spoiled. While visiting the little girl's home one day, I observed that she loved to ignore her parents' instructions. When they told her to come, she went. When they said, "sit down," she stood up. Her parents laughed, finding her behavior cute.
One day their front gate was inadvertently left open. The parents saw their child escaping out of the yard and heading toward the road. To their horror, a car was racing down the street. As she ran out between two parked cars, they both screamed at her to stop and turn back. She paused for a second, looked back at her parents, then gleefully laughed as she turned and ran directly into the path of the oncoming car. The parents rushed their little girl to the hospital, but she died from her injuries.
As a young pastor, this was a profound lesson for me. I realized I must teach God's people not only to recognize His voice but also immediately to obey His voice when they hear it. It is life. Henry Blackaby,
The movie Fiddler on the Roof is about a poor Jewish father's struggle to cling to tradition in an ever-changing world. The main character, Tevye, is a father of five girls who scrapes out a meager living delivering milk. Most troubling for Tevye are the choices his daughters make concerning marriage. Tradition dictated that marriages would be arranged. But Tevye's oldest daughter desires to choose her own husband. After much discussion, Tevye reluctantly agrees.
Tevye's second daughter, Hodel, decides that she, too, will choose her own husband, a young revolutionary named Perchik. Perchik has no use for tradition, and, true to his character, asks Hodel to marry him without consulting Tevye. Hodel and Perchik are radiant with glee; the sun is the only thing brighter than the newly engaged couple as they stroll hand in hand down an old dirt road. Their countenances change quickly, however, as they unexpectedly run into Tevye. Tevye looks askance at the two lovers holding hands as he sets down his cart.
Perchik, nervous, begins the awkward conversation. "I have some bad news," Perchik tells Tevye. "I must leave here."
"When?" asks Tevye, looking truly dismayed.
Smiling, Perchik tells Tevye, "You'll have to congratulate me!"
Tevye broadly smiles and extends his hand to shake Perchik's hand before he hears the news. "What for?" Tevye asks, shaking Perchik's hand vigorously.
Perchik drops the bomb: "We are engaged!"
Immediately Tevye pulls his hand, and his smile quickly turns to a glower. "Oh, no, you're not," says Tevye. He says to his daughter, "I know you like him and he likes you, but you're going away, Perchik, and, [Hodel], you're staying here. So have a nice trip, Perchik, and I hope you'll be very happy, and my answer is no!"
A tearful Hodel pleads with her father, but Tevye stands firm in his decision. All of the bickering quickly ceases, however, when Perchik declares, "But, Tevye, we are not asking for your permission, only your blessing." Tevye seems barely aware of his surroundings as he attempts to absorb what Perchik has just said.
Astonished, Tevye looks at the couple and asks, "You're not asking for my permission?"
Hodel responds, "But we would like your blessing, Papa."
"I can't believe my ears," says Tevye. "My blessing? For what? For going over my head? Impossible! At least with Tzietel and Motel they asked me. They begged me. But now, if I like it or not, you marry him?"
In a similar way, we may deal with God as Perchik dealt with Tevye. We ask for our Father's blessing rather than his permission.
Chuck Yeager, the famed test pilot, was flying an F-86 Sabre over a lake in the Sierras when he decided to buzz a friend's house near the edge of the lake. During a slow roll, he suddenly felt his aileron lock. Says Yeager, "It was a hairy moment, flying about 150 feet off the ground and upside down."
A lesser pilot might have panicked with fatal results, but Yeager let off on the G's, pushed up the nose, and sure enough, the aileron unlocked. Climbing to 15,000 feet, where it was safer, Yeager tried the maneuver again. Every time that he rolled, the problem reoccurred.
Yeager knew three or four pilots had died under similar circumstances, but to date, investigators were puzzled as to the source of the Sabre's fatal flaw. Yeager went to his superior with a report, and the inspectors went to work. They found that a bolt on the aileron cylinder was installed upside down.
Eventually, the culprit was found in a North American plant. He was an older man on the assembly line who ignored instructions about how to insert that bolt, because, by golly, he knew that bolts were supposed to be placed head up, not head down. In a sad commentary, Yeager says that nobody ever told the man how many pilots he had killed."
The San Jose Mercury News once included the following item in their "News of the Weird" column: James Kelley of Washington, D.C., is one of a small group at his local church who are enthusiastic Episcopalians, but who do not believe in God. Said Kelley, "We all love the incense, the stained-glass windows, the organ music, the vestments and all of that. It's drama. It's aesthetics. It's the ritual. That's neat stuff. I don't want to give all that up just because I don't believe in God."
Haddon Robinson writes about something the apostle Paul could certainly identify with, namely, the tendency of the law to put ideas in our heads:
The law can prompt us to sin. I am told that several years ago a high-rise hotel was built in Galveston, Texas, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, they sank pilings into the gulf and built the structure out over the water. When the hotel was about to have its grand opening, someone thought, What if people decide to fish out the hotel windows? So they placed signs in the hotel rooms, "No fishing out the hotel windows." Many people ignored the signs, however, and it created a difficult problem. Lines got snarled. People in the dining room saw fish flapping against the picture windows. The manager of the hotel solved it all by taking down those little signs. No one checks into a hotel room thinking about fishing out of the windows. The law, although well-intentioned, created the problem.
I remember BBI and the instructions given on the night of the senior student/faculty dinner-don’t do anything foolish like….and several ideas were planted in the minds of mischievous students!
Dallas Willard writes about a 2-and-a-half-year-old girl in her backyard who one day discovered the secret to making mud (which she called "warm chocolate"). Her grandmother had been reading and was facing away from the action, but after cleaning up what was to her a mess, she told little Larissa not to make any more chocolate and turned her chair around so as to be facing her granddaughter.
The little girl soon resumed her "warm chocolate" routine, with one request posed as sweetly as a 2-and-a-half-year-old can make it: "Don't look at me, Nana. Okay?" Nana (being a little co-dependent) of course agreed.
Larissa continued to manufacture warm chocolate. Three times she said, as she continued her work, "Don't look at me, Nana. Okay?"
Then Willard writes: "Thus the tender soul of a little child shows us how necessary it is to us that we be unobserved in our wrong."
Any time we choose to do wrong or to withhold doing right, we choose hiddenness as well. It may be that out of all the prayers that are ever spoken, the most common one—the quietest one; the one that we least acknowledge making—is simply this: Don't look at me, God.
It was the very first prayer spoken after the Fall. God came to walk in the garden, to be with the man and the woman, and called, "Where are you?"
"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid," Adam answered, "so I hid." Don't look at me, God.