The Awe Factor

What is Awe?

We throw the word AWESOME around pretty liberally nowadays.

You probably said the steak you ate last week was awesome. Or the latest episode of your show was awesome. Or the triple steal De La Cruz had a week ago was awesome.

No doubt those things we cool, but were they really AWESOME?

It would be helpful to know what the word “Awesome” actually means in order for us to know if we have actually experienced something that can hold that label.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines it as: Fear mingled with reverence and wonder, a state of mind inspired by something terrible or glorious.

If you have ever looked over the side of a really high cliff, or out at the vastness of the ocean, or up at a enormous height of a mountain, then you have felt that mingling of fear, wonder, and reverence.

The beauty is undeniably satisfying and hard to take out eyes off, but the magnitude and vastness is frightening and humbling.

If we stumbled and fell there would be no hope. We are small, even insignificant in comparison.

In 2007, I had the opportunity to spend 4 weeks in the Himalayan mountains in Nepal, only a few days hike from Everest Base camp.

Early in the morning, shortly after sunrise, the skies would be clear enough that we could look around and see some of the tallest mountains in the world.

Staring at those mountain peaks was truly an awesome experience, mixed with wonder, amazement, and fear.

Many of you likely have similar experiences.

Awe is not only something we all long for, it is also something we all need.

There have been numerous physiological studies done on the physical and emotional benefits of experiencing awe.

People are healthier when they are exposed to awe-inspiring things and experiences.

Paul David Tripp says:

You and I were created to live our lives in the shadow of awe. Every word we speak, every action we take, every decision we make, and every desire we entertain was meant to be colored by awe. We were meant to live all of our lives with eyes gazing upward and outward. — Paul David Tripp

That desire to experience awe, Tripp is saying, is a God-given desire that is built into the core of who we are, and that draw toward awe finds it’s greatest fulfillment in us knowing and experiencing (looking up at) God.

Awe is the fuel of our worship (and I don’t mean music, but how we live our lives to honor God).

That is the focus of our passage today, examining David’s awe in God.

but what we will see in the passage are the ways we as broken people embrace counterfeit (phony/false) expressions of Awe.

Before we read, let’s be reminded of the context:

Recap of Chapter 5

After David is anointed King in all of Israel, he has two fairly quick and decisive victories.

First he decides to make Jerusalem the new capitol of Israel, since it served as a central point between the Northern and Southern ends of the kingdom.

The Jebusites, a group left over from the conquest from the time of Joshua, had built up quite a fortress in Jerusalem and were quite confident no one (even David) would be able to enter the city.

David shows his cunning and ingenuity by using their water shafts as an entry point to conquer the Jebusites and take over Jerusalem.

Not long after, David hears that the Philistines are plotting to take him out.

He inquires of the Lord whether he should attack the Philistines and the Lord tells David to go and assures he will be victorious.

Two battles are recorded in the last part of chapter 5, and David is victorious in both, just as God had said.

By the beginning of chapter 6, David has experienced great success and is likely feeling pretty good about where things are going.

2 Samuel 6 CSB

1 David again assembled all the fit young men in Israel: thirty thousand. 2 He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. The ark bears the Name, the name of the Lord of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart 4 and brought it with the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on the hill. Ahio walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all kinds of fir wood instruments, lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals. 6 When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God. 8 David was angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today. 9 David feared the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 10 So he was not willing to bring the ark of the Lord to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in his house three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his whole family. 12 It was reported to King David, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom’s house to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 When those carrying the ark of the Lord advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. 14 David was dancing with all his might before the Lord wearing a linen ephod. 15 He and the whole house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of the trumpet. 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the Lord’s presence. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Armies. 19 Then he distributed a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake to each one in the entire Israelite community, both men and women. Then all the people went home. 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.” 21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. I will dance before the Lord, 22 and I will dishonor myself and humble myself even more. However, by the slave girls you spoke about, I will be honored.” 23 And Saul’s daughter Michal had no child to the day of her death.

20 years before what we just read, the Israelites had brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle with the Philistines, hoping it would give them the edge in the battle, but instead, they lost the battle and the Ark of the Covenant was lost.

The Ark of the Covenant was created during the days of Moses and held the stone tables of the 10 commandments.

On top of the Ark, was the mercy seat, representing the dwelling place of God with His people.

The Ark represented God’s presence with His people and was central to many of the most important rituals and ceremonies of the people.

Obviously it was REALLY important, so it makes sense David would want it in Jerusalem.

For 20 years, after being recovered from the Philistines in a dramatic display of God’s power and the significance of the Ark, it had been stored in the house of Abinadab.

David wanted God’s to be in the center of Israel’s leadership.

So he commissioned 30,000 of his soldiers to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.

They put the Ark on a new cart and began the 5ish mile journey to Jerusalem.

In front of the Ark, David the whole house of Israel we dancing before the Lord, singing and playing music.

It was like a mobile worship service parading through the countryside.

That was until disaster struck.

In a bumpy stretch of the path, the Oxen pulling the cart stumbled and the Ark looked like it was about to fall off the cart.

Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, reached out to keep the Ark from falling, but the moment he touched the Ark, we are told God’s anger burned against Uzzah and he was struck dead that very moment.

What had been a joyous/worshipful celebration, suddenly became a solemn and dark scene.

What happened? Why had God acted in such a way? Wasn’t David honoring and worshipping God?

It would seem as face value that David, Uzzah, and the people were expressing Awe toward God here.

But when we dig a bit deeper we start to see details that uncover some things about David’s AWE in God that reveal how easy it is to embrace counterfeit (false) awe.

First, David’s awe was MISGUIDED/MISINFORMED.

Counterfeit Awe

1) MISGUIDED Awe

When God commissioned the construction of the Ark in Exodus 25, He was very specific about it’s design, from the materials used, the dimensions, and even how it was to be transported.

Exodus 25:12–15 CSB

12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it.

David had the right intention in moving the Ark, and even went the extra mile to have a cart built specifically for the transportation of the Ark, but he didn’t follow God’s instruction.

It isn’t clear whether David had failed to search out how God intended the Ark to be moved, or if he just ignored it, thinking it really wasn’t that big of deal.

You might look at this and think “why is God so picky and particular? At least David was trying to get Ark to Jerusalem.”

But what might seem like a small misstep or overlook on David’s part points to something so deeply ingrained in all of us.

It isn’t that we don’t want to follow God and live lives of worship.

We just want to do it in ways that make the most sense to us or make the most sense according to how the world around us might do it.

If you look back at 1 Samuel 5 when the Philistines decided to give the Ark back to Israel, they put it on a cart.

It rolled into Abinadab’s house on a cart, so why not just go with what worked before?

What seemed like no big deal at first, and likely or a few miles down the road, suddenly turned into a mess.

It’s safe to say that most of us in this room love God and want to live lives of worship of Him, but where are we going to learn what it looks like to live such lives?

What makes sense in the world is often far from what God has revealed to us in His word.

When I was a kid, I can remember coming up with an elaborate, scripted prayer that I would say before I went to sleep. I can’t remember what I would say, but I would always end the prayer by turning over on my stomach and flipping the devil the bird.

My intentions were right, but I just didn’t know how to really express my awe in God. I didn’t really know Him.

David’s heart was right, but his Awe was misguided/misinformed.

2) MISUNDERSTOOD Awe

We don’t know a lot about Uzzah, just that he was the son of Abinadad, who was a Levite.

He didn’t seem like a bad guy, like someone God would strike down out of the blue.

But the moment he reached to keep the Ark from falling into the dirt, God’s anger raged against him, because of his irreverence.

Seems pretty harsh for simply touching the Ark huh?

I think we can all relate with David’s reactions in verses 8 and 9, anger and fear.

If I asked you all to raise your hands if you thought the punishment here didn’t fit the crime, 99% of you would likely raise your hand and other 1% would be lying.

But what might seem like a small thing in our eyes was an enormous thing in the eyes of God.

Uzzah doesn’t realize that his hand is far more filthy than the dirt is

The late RC Sproul’s words are really powerful here:

“Uzzah believed he was saving the Ark from being desecrated by falling into the mud. But what is mud other than the mixture of dirt and water? And when you mix water with dirt, it becomes mud, just as God designed. And in doing so, it obeys the Creator. And there is nothing evil about the mud.

The dirt had never rebelled against the authority of God; only sinful man had done that. It wasn’t the dirt on the ground that would defile the ark; it was the touch of man that would.

Like David, we struggle to see how repulsive and grievous our sin really is.

And because of that, we struggle we deal with the justice and wrath of God.

David’s awe in God was based on the ways he had brought him success, victory, and blessing, but now he saw a side of God he didn’t know how to deal with.

But remember our definition of Awe: a mix of wonder and FEAR...

David sends the Ark off to Obed-edom because he feared what bringing it to Jerusalem might mean.

David’s fear was warranted, Uzzah’s death had shown David that God is not someone to be trifled with, to be treated carelessly.

Fear of God is a misunderstood aspect of awe and worship. Though it doesn’t mean we are to tremble in paralyzing fear of God, it does mean that we are to know God in such a way that we see Him as the glorious creator and ruler that He is, and that we see ourselves in light of that.

After the Ark stays at Obed-edom’s house for 3 months, David find out that God has blessed Obed-edom for those 3 months.

It seems David now understands that God’s desire isn’t to harm David, but really is to bless him, if David decides to approach him how God has called him to do so.

So when David comes to Obed-edom’s house, he comes with acacia poles to carry the Ark the way God instructed.

And we are told that after 6 steps, David stops the procession and sacrifices an ox and a calf before the Lord, likely sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat as an atonement for the sins of the people.

David now understood what awe and worship looked like.

David danced “with all his might before the Lord”, with a newfound understanding of how great and glorious God is. And a genuine fearful reverence for Him that caused him to make a fool of himself before the Lord.

Like David, we have grown accustomed to God’s grace to the point that we struggle to see how amazing it really is.

no longer do we have to slaughter animals to pay for our sin, since Christ, the Lamb of God was sacrificed once for all.

RC Sproul shares a powerful illustration of how we become so accustomed to God’s grace.

He was teaching a freshman level Intro to the Old and New testaments in which there were 250 students enrolled.

Throughout the semester, there would be three 5-8 page papers due over the course of this semester.

The first one would be due on September 30th, the second on October 30th, and on November the 30th.

On September 30th, 225 students turned in their papers and 25 students came to Dr Sproul confessing they had not yet made the transition from high school to college and had failed to budget their time and complete the paper by the due date.

Feeling gracious, Dr Sproul gave the students additional days to complete the papers and turn them in.

A month later, on October 30th, 200 students turn in their 2nd paper on the due date. The other 50 come to Dr Sproul asking for more time since they were overwhelmed with so much work from all their other classes and were unable to finish the assignment.

Again, feeling gracious, Dr Sproul gave them additional time.

When November 30th came, a mere 100 students came with completed papers. When the other 150 were asked where their papers were they said “Hey, prof, don’t worry. No sweat. I’ll have it for you in a couple of days.”

Sproul then picked up his grade book and began to mark each of the 150 students an F for their 3rd paper. And throughout the class there was the cry we are all so prone to yell “It’s not FAIR!”

What does this illustration shows us about our hearts:

We so easily grow accustomed to God grace, and we’re no longer amazed by grace.

What shocks us, what leaves us in confused and frustrated, is God’s justice. That is a misunderstanding of awe.

3) MISDIRECTED Awe

When David finally gets back to Jerusalem, his wife Michal sees him coming into the city, leaping and dancing before the Lord and we are told “she despised him in her heart.”

After David has the Ark placed in the tent set up for it and offers another sacrifice to God, he returns home to bless his household.

Michal is there to meet him.

Dripping with sarcasm, Michal says “how the king of Israel honored himself today!”

“You looked like a blubbering idiot out there dancing and singing with have your clothes off.”

Michal was a bitter and scarred woman. How could David act so absurdly foolish and claim it as worship.

Michal’s words reveal the true nature of her heart and her relationship with God.

In despising David, Michal likely was expressing the feelings she had toward God.

She had been tossed around from man to man, used for political advantage and ripped away from the men she had loved.

Her father and brothers had been killed and the kingdom ripped out of their hands.

How could David worship such a God?

Some of you might relate with Michal, having experience pain, suffering, and struggle in your life that you have let stain your impressions of God and His character.

We can read David’s response as a prideful “salt-on-the-wounds” comment.

2 Samuel 6:21–22 CSB

21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. I will dance before the Lord, 22 and I will dishonor myself and humble myself even more. However, by the slave girls you spoke about, I will be honored.”

But what David is expressing is the humble realization of God’s incredible grace and mercy.

“Michal, all I can do is praise God and show myself as the fool I am before the one who graciously called me and mercifully forgave me. He is worthy of all my praise and even more than I can ever give. I am no greater than the slave girls you say exposed myself to.”

The struggle Michael had that we all struggle with throughout our lives is the temptation to make ourselves the focus of our Awe.

To make ourselves or our situations bigger than God

Rather than seeing God as bigger than our circumstances and even working in our circumstances to accomplish a greater purpose.

“Here’s the reality: most people who are angry with God are angry with him for being God. They’re not angry because he has failed to deliver what he promised. They’re angry because he has failed to deliver what they have craved, expected, or demanded. When awe of self replaces awe of God, God ceases to be your Lord and is reduced to being your indentured servant.” ― Paul David Tripp

Where is our Awe pointing?

The question for us to ask ourselves today is where is our awe pointing?

Is your awe misguided, pointing at an image or idea about God that you believe to be true, but is misinformed?

It your awe misunderstood, struggling to make sense of who God is, who we are, and how He is working and what He calls us to?

Or is your awe misdirected, pointing at yourself, your lot in life, or someone or something else that isn’t God?

We recover awe when we recognize the glory in goodness of God, acknowledge the greatness of Christ sacrifice in the cross compared with the depth of our sin, and the height of his love and grace toward us who do not deserve anything we have.