The Ark: Excitement, Anger, & Joy
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In our passage last week, David is finally anointed king over all of Israel.
We saw that David captured Jerusalem, and established it as the political capital of Israel.
In our passage today, we’re going to see David’s heart. He wants to unite the political capital and the religious center.
For more than 100 years, the Ark of the Covenant has been in one place, while the temple—or places of worship—had been in a completely different place. David desires to reunite the two, while also making Jerusalem both the political center and the religious center of Israel.
So let’s begin looking at our passage today. If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me by turning to 2 Samuel chapter 6, and we’ll begin reading with verse 1.
David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand.
Headed to Baalah
Headed to Baalah
David gathers his fighting men. The term “young men” could be mean, “chosen men” or “select men” or “the best men.”
There were 30,000 of them.
He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.
So David and his men, 30,000 of them go to Baalah in Judah. Another name for Baalah is Kiriath-jearim. We know this from the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 13.
David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name.
They went there to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem.
Right Thing, Wrong Way
Right Thing, Wrong Way
David has a great plan. He has a “right” plan. But he goes about the plan in the wrong way. Look at verse 3.
They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it.
The Ark of God had been at the house of Abinadab since the Philistines returned it. You can read about that in 1 Samuel 4:1-7:1.
So they set the cart on a new cart—a wheeled cart.
The began the trip from Abinadab’s house (which was on a hill) to Jerusalem.
Abinadab’s two sons were guiding the cart.
His son’s names were Uzzah and Ahio.
We’re told that Ahio was walking in front of the cart.
David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
As they walk along there is a great celebration.
We’re told that David and ALL Israel were celebrating “with all their might. . .”
They had all kinds of instruments: castanets, harbs, lyres, timbrels (tambourines), sistrums (a kind of rattle), and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.
Things are going well, until they reached the threshing floor of Nakon. . .
There the oxen stumbled.
Apparently it looked like the Ark of God was going to fall off the cart.
So Uzzah reached up took hold of the cart to steady it—to keep it from falling!
You would think this was a good thing to do. You might even say the right thing to do.
The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
The Lord becomes angry at Uzzah for touching the Ark.
And God killed him right then and right there!
When we read this story, it is easy to feel like David felt when this happened. Look at verse 8.
Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
David is angry at God, because he killed Uzzah.
He was angry because from his perspective Uzzah was doing the right thing. He was doing a good thing.
But there’s a problem! NO ONE was to ever touch the Ark of God. Notice verse 7 says Yahweh was angry because of Uzzah’s irreverent act. Uzzah did what God has expressly said no one should do.
The fact is the ark should not have been on a cart in the first place.
To understand this story we have to look at two verses.
Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.
“After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.
David called the place “Perez Uzzah” which means, “Outburst against Uzzah”
POINT 1:
POINT 1:
There are a lot of things in this world that don’t look fair. To David, God was acting in an unfair manner. But God wasn’t unfair. He had clearly expressed what would happen if anyone touched the ark of God.
Today, people want to ignore God’s Word. They refuse to live life the way God says to live life, and then when God acts against them, they are angry and say, “That’s not fair!”
But the truth is God is fair. He is fair because He makes the rules. And He judges by those very rules!
LESSON LEARNED: What we do for God is important. But how we do what we do for God is also important!
The horrible events cause David to change his course of action. And it all changed because David was afraid. Look at verse 9.
David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”
Notice the verse tells us clearly that David was afraid of the Lord.
And he reasoned that if the Lord lashed out at Uzzah, it wasn’t safe for David to bring the ark into Jerusalem.
He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
So there’s a huge change of plans. The ark does not come to the place in Jersualem that David had prepared for it.
Instead it goes to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. He was a Levite from the family of Korah (1 Chron. 15:18).
Scholars believe his house was on the southwestern hill of Jerusalem.
The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.
For three months the ark of the Lord remained at Obed-Edom’s house.
And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his entire family. And apparently the blessing was noticeable! Look at the next verse.
Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.
See, it got back to David that the Lord was blessing Obed-Edom and blessing everything that the man had.
This blessing was directly accredited to the presence of the ark of God.
So David makes a second attempt to bring the ark into the City of David.
Apparently, David has done a bit of studying, because he changes the way he has the ark transported.
When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.
Notice that they are carrying the ark—apparently using polls inserted into the ark’s rings—just like God prescribed.
When they had taken six steps, David had a bull and a fatten calf sacrificed.
Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,
David wore a linen ephod—like a priest would wear. He is acting as both a political leader and as spiritual leader of Israel.
And he is dancing (lit. whirling) before the Lord.
And he is giving it his all! With all his might!
while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
Once again, David and ALL Israel were bring the ark of the Lord up.
There was a lot of shouting.
And they were blowing trumpets.
As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
As the ark comes into the City of David (proper) there is a lot of fanfare. And Michal (Saul’s daughter) watched the event from a window.
She saw David’s behavior—leaping and dancing before the Lord.
And she despised him in her heart—she hated him, filled with contempt for him, was disgusted with him, are all possible meanings.
They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.
The get the ark of the Lord to the place that David had prepared for it.
Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.
When the sacrifices are finished—David blesses the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.
Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
And David gives a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins to each person in the crowd.
Notice it was given to everyone—both men and women.
Then the people left and returned to their homes.
What a beautiful sight! The rejoicing and the excitement of all that took place in Jerusalem that day!
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
David returns home, and his plan is to bless his entire household!
But before he can, Michal comes out to meet him. And he is angry.
First, we get the sarcasm. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today.”
There he was going around half-naked in full view of his servants—in other words, he showed the people too much of himself to the people!
She accuses him of being vulgar by accusing him of acting like a vulgar person.
David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord.
David tells her that he was celebrating before Yahweh—not before the people.
He was celebrating because Yahweh chose him over her father and over anyone from her father’s household.
Yahweh chose him to be the ruler of Yahweh’s people, Israel!
He also confirms to her that he will keep celebrating before the Lord!
I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
In fact, David goes on to say that is willing to become even more “undignified.”
He is willing to humiliate himself before the Lord!
And the slave girls the she mentioned—well, in their eyes he will be held in honor!
In the last verse of the chapter we are told of God’s punishment of Michal. Look at verse 23.
And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
God’s judgment on her was that she was childless.
POINT 2:
POINT 2:
When we worship the Lord—we need to focus on Him. It is not how we sound to those around us when we sing. It is not how we appear when we praise the Lord. My worship of the Lord is between me and the Lord Almighty.
How I wish that I could learn to worship the Lord with all my might! Honestly, most of the time that I worship, I don’t expend much energy. I’m reserved, cautious, keenly aware of the people around me. And honestly, my worship does not usually cost me very much.
For David, his worship was expressive, it energetic, it was full of excitement.
For David, his worship cost him—it cost him animals to sacrifice. It cost him loaves of bread, cakes of dates, and cakes of raisins.
The the biggest cost was that David was willing to please God rather than be dignified before mankind. He was more interested in what Yahweh thought of him, than what those onlookers might think.
LESSON LEARNED: Even today, our worship needs to focus on pleasing God rather than pleasing or impressing those around us. You and I need to be willing to be undignified before the Lord as we worship with all our might!
SO WHAT?
SO WHAT?
Well, I hope that you caught the “So What’s” as we were going through the story. But just in case you didn’t, let me remind us of the two lessons that we learn.
We just talked about one of them.
When we worship, we need to focus on Jesus. We are worshiping Him, not impressing the people around us. And we need to be willing to humiliate ourselves for the Lord Jesus’ sake—I need to be willing to be undignified before The Lord!
The other lessen that we learned earlier is that God is often less concerned about what we do for Him, and more concerned about how we do it. That’s right the how’s in life matter. For the Lord, our character is incredibly important.
So today, I want to challenge us to worship the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. I want to challenge us to focus on our character—the how we serve him, and not just the service.