2 Samuel 6:1-23 (KJV)
Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.
And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.
And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
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.
And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.
And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
Perhaps little demonstrates David’s heart after God’s more than his desire to bring the Ark of God back to the center place of Israel.
For close to four hundred years that Ark had been key in the worship of the living God.
· Israel had camped around it in the wilderness under Moses and
· They had followed it across the Jordan River under Joshua
Throughout the period of the judges, the Ark had resided at Shiloh under the ministry of the High Priests.
· It was there that Hannah prayed and God granted her petition for a son, Samuel.
· It was there she gave Samuel to the Lord and
· It was there he was raised under the hand of the High Priest, Eli
Eli’s sons unwisely took the Ark onto the battlefield while Israel fought the Philistines, and it had been taken as spoils by them.
The Philistines found it “too hot to handle” and sent it packing back to Israel.
And then, for more than twenty years, it rested in the home of Abinadab.
But David, having seen the nation
· United under his rule
· Victorious over the Philistines and
· Possessing Jerusalem as a capital for the kingdom
Gathered thirty thousand chosen men and went to fetch the Ark to Jerusalem and make it once again the focus of worship for Israel.
· There were historical reasons to bring back the Ark
· There were political reasons to bring it back[1]and
· There were spiritual reasons to bring it back[2]
Frankly I have heard every part of this chapter preached at one time or another – but I do not recall ever having heard or read a message that brings all of the parts of this chapter together.
I want to attempt that for you this morning.
Notice first with me then,
I. A SINCERE HEART FOR GOD CAN MAKE MISTAKES
2 Samuel 6:1-10 (KJV)
Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.
And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.
And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
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.
This is an example of doing the right thing the wrong way.
What David wants is right.
But David went about it the wrong way.
The first lesson I see then is
A. The value of studying the scriptures.
David could have easily seen that God’s plan was for the priests to bare the ark.
Numbers 1:50 (KJV)
But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.
The second time David went to fetch the Ark, he had done some study. In the parallel account of this in 1 Chronicles 15:2 (KJV) the Bible says,
Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
B. The value of obeying the Word of God
We don’t knowhow Eli’s sons had gotten the ark onto the battlefield where it had been stolen, but it is difficult to believe that they would have done it the Scriptural way – yet we don’t know of anyone who died then.
We do knowthat the Philistines did use an ox-cart to return the Ark to Israel and to the home of Abinadab, and no one died then.
The issue wouldn’t have been an issueso long as the ox hadn’t shaken and Uzzah hadn’t put out his hand to steady it.
Truth is, we get away with a lot of things today, not because it is ok with God for us to do them the way we do, but because we live in a fairly “forgiving” set of circumstances.
The time when the importance of absolute obedience becomes obvious is during times of difficulty.
It’s when you world starts to shake around you that you will wish you had been more careful to obey the Bible.
Did you se that
C. David was not the one who was injured because of this breach.
· Uzzah died and
· David was upset about it
But it did not hurt his reign in any way, shape or form.
His heart was still a heart after God’s.
When someone messes up, why don’t you forgive them?
God is more than capable of correcting them if He chooses to do so.
Our place today is to encourage people to turn to the Lord – not judge them for their mistakes.
A sincere heart can make mistakes.
Notice secondly
II. A SINCERE HEART FOR GOD CAN BE MISUNDERSTOOD
2 Samuel 6:14-16 (KJV)
And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
2 Samuel 6:20 (KJV)
Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
I am skipping to the last section of the account and will come back to the second so that I may end on a more positive note.
A. The thing about dancing
Put away any ideas that this means going to dances and dance parties is Biblically acceptable.
Neither does this give any credibility to those groups who practice interpretive dances in church.
David was doing nothing provocative and he wasn’t trying to attract attention to himself. David and his men were celebrating.
Their attention was on God and what He had done not on themselves and what they were doing.
B. Michal misunderstood and despised David in her heart
Keep in mind that Michal already had reason (in her mind anyway) to be upset with David.
During the years he fled from her father, Saul Michal had been given to marry another man.
In the mean time, David had taken other wives to himself
When David became king, He brought her back.
My point is not to argue the morality of his actions but to point out that she likely had some hard feelings.
When you already have hard feelings towards someone, it’s easy to see bad in just about everything they do.
It happens all the time in churches:
· Some people love their church and only talk about the positive things
· Other people see nothing positive about their church and constantly point out what they don’t like.
The difference between the two is a matter of attitude.
· The negative was there all the time but the positive attitude refused to focus on it
· The positive was there all the time but the negative attitude refused to see it
How many of you understand that there is not a perfect person in this room?
Not even your pastor.
That does not mean they have no heart for God.
· It means that they will not behave perfectly and
· It means you will not interpret their actions perfectly
Why don’t you just go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt?
· Why don’t you show some grace?
· Why don’t you extend some mercy?
You know that you have received both – give both.
Notice thirdly that
III. A SINCERE HEART FOR GOD WILL KEEP AFTER GOD
2 Samuel 6:11-15 (KJV)
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.
And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
2 Samuel 6:17-19 (KJV)
And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
What I want to point out here is that, though David was displeased with what happened to Uzzah, he did not give up on doing the right thing.
There was a three month span between David’s first attempt to bring back the ark and his second attempt.
In those three months,
· David ought the Lord through the Word of God
· He set up a Tabernacle and
· He sanctified the priests to do the work
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 (KJV)
And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.
Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it.
And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:
Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty:
Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:
Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty:
Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:
Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:
Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,
And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
All I am saying is,
· Don’t give up
· Don’t quit
You are going to make mistakes, people around you will too.
You will be misunderstood and youwill probably won’t understand everything other people are trying to do for the Lord
· You will be displeased sometimes
· You will see people hurt sometimes
· You might even get hurt sometimes
Don’t give up.
Every difficulty we endure is an opportunity to growin grace and in our fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
You are not going to find a perfect environment in this world.
If you found one, you wouldn’t be challenged to grow their anyway.
· What you need is to be in the place God put you
· You need to be faithful to that place and
· You need to be a sanctified servant in that place
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