Praise in Dance

Devotional reading:

2 Samuel 6:12–19 KJV 1900

And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, 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 Obed-edom 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.

Background Scripture: 2 samuel 6

Scripture reading 2 Samuel 6:1-5 “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.”

2 Samuel 6:14-19 “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.”

.A ) A Hopeful Gesture

(2 Samuel 6:1-5 ) Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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

1.) David again brought together all the able young men of Israel-thrity thousand this is the second time he went up against the philistines because he lost the first time see 1 Samuel 4:10 “And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.”

So David reassembling the men of his Army . they Conquered jerusalem

after they had conquered Israel 2 Samuel 5:6 “6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.

And they also defeated the Philistine armies See 2 Samuel 5:20-25 “And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim. And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them. And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.” you see this fighting has been going on for a long time and but as you can see here ,it was God that gave him success read verses 6-10 in 2 Samuel 5:6-10

2 Samuel 5:6–10 KJV 1900

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.

but you see that david called on the lord twice see @ samuel 5:19 19 And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand

,2323 And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

but this time david did seek the advice of the lord on what he was about to do next he just assembled tht thirty thousand young men the same that were lost when the philistines deafeated them and captured the ark

1 samuel 4:10 “And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.”

2a.) 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.

so david and all his men went to Baalah ( or another name for Kiriath Jearim ) todays context plus Joshua 15:9 “And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim:” and 1 Chronicles 13:6 “And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the Lord, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.” so to get the ark from Baalah it was about 8 miles or a days walk there and back short distance . all in all the number thirty thousand is something to think about its what david first lost to the philistines and its 30,000+ that will be celebrating .

2b) this is the second part of that verse 2 where the are talking about the Ark and where the name lord came from and that is Yahweh was the personnel name of israels GOD see Genesis 4:26 “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” and Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” the many names of GOD .

And this other word used almighty meaning Definition of almighty (Entry 1 of 3)

1often capitalized : having absolute power over allAlmighty God 2a: relatively unlimited in poweran almighty board of directors b: having or regarded as having great power or importancethe almighty dollar 3informal : MIGHTY —used as an intensivean almighty shock but in the lesson its translated HOST as someone who serves the lord as he directs whoever GOD is talking to.... it could also refer to all his creations from everything we see from the earth we walk on to the stars moon sun in the sky that was made by him (God) see psalm 148:2 2  Praise ye him, all his angels:

Praise ye him, all his hosts

and Hebrews 1:13-14 “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” and in Nehemiah 9:6 “Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.” these words in verse 2 speaks of God fighting for his people of Israel or his chosen people but as you know we are also his chosen because of christ who made us children of God once we believe and except Christ in our lives ,dont we have a good GOD.and the last of that phrase enthroned between the cherubim or compare to psalm 80:1

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock;

Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

psalm 99:1 “The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: He sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.”

B.) acquiring the ARK ( v 3-4) 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. 4 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

lets revisit the Ark of the covenant

Ark of the Covenant - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant

📷 The Ark of the Covenant (Hebrew: אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית ʾărōn habbrīṯ; Koinē Greek: Κιβωτός της Διαθήκης, romanized: Kībōtós tis Diathíkis also known as the Ark of the Testimony, or the Ark of God), is the most sacred relic of the Israelites, it consisted of a pure gold-covered wooden chest with an elaborate lid called the Mercy seat. The Ark is described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments

Exodus 25:10–22

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

1 Samuel 4:3-4 “And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.”

and Hebrews 9:3-5 “And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.”

as you know that the ark has been guarded by the Levites but as we read David did not consult with them that's y the ark was placed on a cart and not the levites had done between two poles to keep it away from peoples touch and high above ground. we don't know if this took place all we see her is that David placed it on a cart to be transported from one place to another . and had he known then maybe it would not have been on a cart.

as you can see there is no rhyme or reason why he decided to take the ark in such a manner from that place Abinadads house which was on a hill or the place called Gibeah on a cart to Jerusalem but he did just that .isnt it odd that there are so many versons of this place gibeah which is a hill or the house on the hill see 1 Samuel 26:3 “And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.” we see that most of the houses of people in power were on a hill which is y abinadab house was on a hill and this is so the can see their enemies coming from a distance. thats just my opinion. anyway this is where the ark is located .

ll ‘see 1 Samuel 7:1 “And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.”

3b -4) Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. 4 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.

normally we would think that Abindab was a levite because he had the Ark at his house but this is only an assumption because in 1 Chronicles 15:12-13 “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.” now this means that once that cart was used to the transporting of the ark then we know that david was not thinking about the laws that were put in place during the arks first time on the scene back in the days of moses. back in the book of Numbers4:1-15 “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a cove…” so if you read the references about carrying the ark it was never done on a cart . which is a failure on davids part not inquiring how it should be carried i think that David was so happy that he problay forgot all about this and all he wanted to do was be able to give praises to God for bringing them to victory you know sometimes we are in a predicument where God will bring us out and belive me we forget rules also, but all we want to do is give praise to god no matter where we are or who we offend.

C.) celebrating the occasion

v5. 5 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.

So now David and all the people of Israel were partying but their partying was praising God with song and dance and David used all types of instruments to praise God ,

The New King James Version Chapter 6

fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

Sistrum

Musical Instrument

A sistrum is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 30 and 76 cm in width. When shaken, the small rings or loops of thin metal on its movable crossbars produce a sound that can be from a soft clank to a loud jangling. Its name in the ancient Egyptian lang

but as we read along to verse 14 we see that all the praising came to a complete stop once the cart that the ark was on moved and it could not be saved and uzzah lost his life by trying to save it see 2 Samuel 6:6-7 “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.” so the party was over > ive been at partys like that in my days but we were not partying for the Lord we were partying for ourselves and when something got broke the party was over and every one had to leave. only this party was praising god and the sacred ark had slid and one person tried to stablize it meaning grab it and that mad God mad so he Smote Uzzah just because he tried to grab it . i guess that shows that after the ark was built that no one could touch the ark.... .... and that ended the party. so the ark was left at the house of Obed-edom because David was displeased with what happen to Uzzah he left it there but as u read on from verse 6-14 u will see why and what happened and what david learened of the ark he became affariad of God and that fear made him respect God more than he did before moving the ark so in our next segiment you will understand better when david came back to get the ark>>>>>>

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