Fear and Fearlessness
Notes
Transcript
Story about electrical light and alarm system. (Well-intentioned oops)
It says what? Spiel.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
How does this fit into the grand story of the Bible?
How does it communicate the truth of the gospel?
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim.
And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,
with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.
And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing.
And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing 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 horn.
We need to approach God with equal fear, and fearlessness.
God’s presence should cause us to have a deep seat-ed sense of joy, coupled with a deep-seated sense of awe and reverence, both of which should drive us to know Him more and desire relationship with Him.
Our first lesson is…
Fearless Rejoicing (vv. 1-5)
Fearless Rejoicing (vv. 1-5)
As we approach this text and consider how we need to approach God according to His Word, we need to get the back story:
So at this point David is King over all of Israel. If we look back a chapter before, we see his rule is established and subsequently they go and capture this city of Jerusalem, or what would have been known as Salem in times past. Otherwise known as Zion. It is one of those cities that lives on in history, and is seen even in the end as playing an integral role in Revelation.
Anyway, after this, David and his men wage war against the Philistines, who had heard of David’s new kingship and decided to pay him a visit. They are absolutely defeated.
This brings us to chapter six. David gathers “all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.” Most likely most if not all of these are part of the main defending force of Israel. This is no small tribe that has come together, but a renowned army. This group probably also included others too. David gathers them together, and together they head for Kiriath-jearim, otherwise known as Balle-judah, which was about 9 miles or 14.5 km from Jerusalem. They have one purpose: get the Ark of the Covenant, and bring it back to Jerusalem. Why is it that David and all the nation so desired to bring up the ark of God?
The Ark of the Covenant housed the decalogue, the ten commandments. Atop it were two golden cherubim (angels), and the place between them was known as the mercy seat
And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
This Ark, when first constructed, sat in the Holy of Holies. This was the inner place at the center of Israel’s place of worship - the Tabernacle. The Ark of the Covenant was God’s Throne on Earth at the time. The most highly revered object in Israel, because it was God’s earthly throne. However, we need to be careful in our thinking. The people did not worship the Ark. They simply understood it as the place where God - who cannot be captured in an object of wood or stone - chose to come and meet with His people. The way it is written here in this passage:
2 Samuel 6:2 (ESV)
…the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim.
God was not in the Ark, they did not worship the Ark. This terminology suggests an invisible throne between the Cherubim for the Most High God.
Here’s the problem: By the time of David the Ark is no longer dwelling is the awesome tabernacle, but in some out of the way settlement. 1 Chron 13 3 tells us why:
Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.”
Though the Ark was a cherished part of Israel, it had sat tucked away for years. David wanted to restore this - to take the Ark to Jerusalem - which was already the center of the government, and make it the religious center as well. Now, here’s something cool: Though David is crowned king and makes Jerusalem his “spot”, we don’t actually see the fanfare and “coronation” festivities for David. But, now as the earthly throne of God comes toward the city, there is great rejoicing.
So, they go and retrieve the Ark, this meeting spot between the Lord of Hosts and His people. But notice how they do that:
And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,
with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.
This is a gesture of honour - a new cart. This was often common practice for deities in ancient times. And David requires the two sons of Abinadab: Uzzah and Ahio, to take charge of getting the Ark from point A to point B safely. It seems like the perfect way to bring honor to God and rejoice in the Ark - God’s throne - coming to rest finally once again in prominence in Israel.
Often we are filled with a desire to honour God. I hope that for each of us we are growing in our want to worship God with our words, actions and lives. Certainly for David and all Israel there is this sense here of rejoicing, and a deep desire shared by both king and country to see Yahweh’s throne - this place where He had chosen to meet with His people - once again at the heart of the nation. Once again, Yahweh would be honored and served alone in Israel.
This is our first lesson then as we think about approaching God with fear, and fearlessness: It is good for us to desire connection to our God, to be close to Him, to grow in relationship with Him. We should approach Him with a fearless joy, a joy because we know the One true God and He has called us His own. He is our Saviour and friend.
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
It is good for us to rejoice in the presence of God. We should rejoicing - because God instills in us rejoicing. We should want to be in close relationship with God. We should desire deep connection with Him - a desire that is healthily sparked by our rejoicing in what God has done for us. God presence should elicite these things, and we should respond with rejoicing. But we also need to respond with another thing, which our passage shows us.
This brings us to our second lesson:
Humble Fear (vv. 6-11)
Humble Fear (vv. 6-11)
Let’s turn back to the story. We left off with David and the people’s well-intentioned desire to have Yahweh once again at the center of their nation. A healthy desire to be sure. So the people come down the road dancing and rejoicing and singing. They have the instruments out, they are going for it. Yet as we continue to read we read the following:
And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
Let’s stop right here for a moment. This is where we need to ask, wait.. why did David put this on a cart? If anyone is familiar with the Law in Exodus or Deuteronomy, you might be aware of this. God had actually made it very clear that the Ark and other tabernacle furnishings were supposed to be carried by people. In Exodus 25:15 we read:
The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
God has designed this earthly throne so that it was only to be carried by Priests with the poles. We read in Numbers:
Numbers 4:15 (ESV)
And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
The Law clearly said “carry the Ark on your shoulders.” Not only that, but this is only the job of certain Levites - Uzzah and Ahio are not them. But David and the people disregarded this law. Instead they stick it on a new ox cart. A similar gesture to what we find the ignorant Philistines doing in 1 Sam 6. Indeed, this is a gross violation of how God has told His people to treat this holy thing. The Ark is not God, nor should it be worshipped as God. However, it was at that time God’s throne on earth. But Uzzah’s unintentional reaching out and touching the Ark defiled it. Keep in mind, we’re pre-Jesus here. God is separated from the people still. His throne is holy, and not to be touched by a human, who is unholy. In the Law, only once a year did the high priest even enter into the holy of holies, and then only for a short period of time. This was after ritual cleansing and making atonement for sin. So yes, Uzzah’s actions were unintentional, and yes, maybe he didn’t really think before he moved. Regardless, in doing so, he and already the people showed a marked disrespect for God and His Word. And so we read:
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
This of course drastically changes the tone of the celebration, turning it from joyful celebration to fearful chaos. The next verse is somewhat peculiar though:
And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
All of a sudden his readiness to bring the ark to Jerusalem turns into fear of God. David asks “How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?” So instead he sends it to Obed-Edom’s house.
Interpretive Insights, Teach the Text, Chrisholm, Robert.
1 & 2 Samuel Interpretive Insights
David’s unfamiliarity with the law regulating transporting the ark has prompted God’s anger and elicited an appropriate response from David. He now has a healthy respect for the Lord’s holiness.
We need to understand this fear as healthy, because here David has learned a lesson. They were excited to be sure, which is an appropriate response to God and His nearness! Yet they lacked proper respect for God’s Law and who He is. They treated the Ark like any other religious item, instead of remembering who rested upon it.
What does this section teach us? We need to cultivate a humble fear of God. Fearing God means to act with devotion and live piously. Proverbs 9 10 says
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
To fear God, to keep His commandments, and to live in right relationship with Him should be the aim of every one of us.
If we say we know Him, if we desire to know Him, but refuse to heed what is in His Word, change it to suit our needs, or choose to only claim God as some big, snuggly, happy guy, we’ve missed the boat. Sin is serious, and it separated us from God. It is for this reason that there was a separation between God and man in the Old Testament - why God only met with people in one particular spot - the Tabernacle where His presence rested atop the Ark. Now, in Jesus that has changed. No longer are we estranged from God. But if you want to know God, If you want to have a relationship with Him, that is only happening through Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Only through the appropriate means - salvation in Jesus Christ - can we know God. We need to heed God’s Word, and realize that when we don’t there are consequences.
The main lesson here is this: We need to approach God with a humble reverence and awe. Just as God’s nearness should bring rejoicing, God’s presence should equally elicit this healthy fear of the Lord, that recognizes how great God is, and the seriousness of being in His presence. As much as we rejoicing, we also get on our knees in humble reverence and submission. It’s not some superficial relationship, in which it’s just about being happy. If we actually value our relationship with God, we will show Him and His Word the respect due! We need to approach God with a fear of the Lord - which proverbs says is the beginning of knowledge - that leads us into true wonderment and whole-life devotion. Our fear of God - if we claim to have it - should drive us to want to know all we can about how to serve our God well and grow closer to Him.
Conclusion: Fear AND Fearlessness (vv. 12-15)
Conclusion: Fear AND Fearlessness (vv. 12-15)
So, let’s get to the end of the story:
David drops the Ark off at Obed-Edom’s place, and it stays there for 3 months. During that time, Obed-Edom’s household experiences blessing! This is in stark contrast to the judgement that Uzzah received. Originally David is afraid, and little wonder. This punishment is hard. I’m sure we sit there as we read this and go “wait, what?” David planned to bring the ark into the city, but then changed his mind. Maybe this is because He fears that further disobedience might have negative effects on the new capital city. Yet, when David sees that a proper Levitical household experienced blessing, he too thought that the city would benefit from the Ark behind its walls. Only this time, David has learned his lesson.
So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.
And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
In 1 Chronicles 15, we read that David makes the decree: only the Levites can carry the Ark. Likewise, He tells the Levites who gather to purify themselves and be ready to serve, according to how the Law prescribes.
Again, we find ourselves on the road to Jerusalem, with the people and King David rejoicing. But this time, it is different. The Ark is carried six steps, and then costly sacrifices are made. These sacrifices, an ox and a fattened animal. David appoints singers and instrument players. Together the people rejoice. David himself strips off the kingly garments he is wearing, and instead settles for a linen garment of priests: an ephod. And David dances before the Lord.
We need to approach God with equal fear and fearlessness.
With Fearless Rejoicing
With Humble Fear
“when people are no longer awed, respectful, or fearful of God’s holiness, the community is put at risk.” (Brueggemann; NAC). We can struggle with this as Christians. In our efforts to make God “friend,” we forget “fear.” Not negative fear, but the healthy fear that reminds us of the awesomeness of God.
We need to balance humble fear and fearless rejoicing. Sometimes we are happy to be excited before Him, but we can lose that deep sense of awe as we stand in His presence. We lose the reverence that should come with a right understanding of our small standing compared to the King of Kings. Or we swing the other way and we’re so afraid of getting hit with a lightning bolt and tripping over ourselves apologizing that we miss the joy of the Lord. In what ways can this play out in everyday life?
Too often we are more than happy to call Jesus “friend,” even “Saviour.” But how often do we balance that with “Lord” and “King?” God becomes the genie in the bottle we turn to for whatever we want, rather than praying according to His will. We choose only to allow God’s Words to really penetrate our hearts when it’s not hard, or when it doesn’t make us uncomfortable. We develop complacency.
It can manifest itself in other ways: We’re happy to take God when He’s seemingly nice to us, but when He’s not or we think He’s not, we begin to walk away from Him.
Often people are willing to admit there’s a God. But they won’t admit there’s a Jesus, because that means they get faced with the whole reality that is in the Bible. That means they would have to submit to the God of the universe, and really admit they are wrong, and in need of God’s mercy and grace.
In all of these ways, we choose to forsake Scripture when it comes to approaching God. We need to be careful to remember Jesus as our friend, and our Lord. Therefore, He holds the closest place in our lives2: one in which we allow Him access the the deepest part of ourselves, and allow Him to work on those deep places and transform us.
Salvation call
Know the Joy of the Lord
Understand your predicament when not right with the Almighty God.
Ending:
Communion
Communion
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
