March 20, 2013
David Honors God
2nd Samuel 6:1-7:29
I David Brings the Ark Home 6:1- 23
II David Learns a Lesson 7:1- 29
During the 2004 Presidential election, our son, Griff, was a freshman in college. One Sunday, in October, we were there, visiting him and decided to go to the church on campus. They had a visiting preacher in the pulpit from Detroit, Michigan------I don’t remember his name, but I do remember his message.
He used this passage of scripture, in chapter 6, when David brought the Ark home, for his text. He compared the Ark of God, which was the representation of God, dwelling among His people, to John Carey and the Democratic Party, being restored to the White House.
I couldn’t believe what he was saying and I couldn’t believe that he would misuse this beautiful passage of scripture like that! The longer I sat there, the madder I got! When the service was over, I made my way to the door, where he was standing, greeting people (Dale and Griff, “chickens” about confrontation, went in the other direction.)
He very pleasantly stuck his hand out to shake mine, and I proceeded to let him know, in no uncertain words, that he should have been ashamed of how he had embarrassed the Lord, himself and me, for using God’s Word as a political platform, on those impressionable young people who were sitting there in that congregation.
To his credit----his feathers might have been ruffled on the inside----but on the outside----He just kept on smiling and thanked me for my concern. And then, the people behind me kind of pushed me out of the way and on down the stairs….
At the time, I felt so justified for my behavior----I thought I was correct and right to stand up for the Lord and to defend him, no mater who I was talking to or where we were.
I’ve since learned----that my heart and my motivation were in the right place, but my actions were not. God doesn’t need for me to defend Him, He defends me! God doesn’t need me, to try to take someone else to task, for their interpretation of scripture, the Holy Spirit is quite capable of taking care of that, for Himself. God doesn’t need me to be angry, if someone else misuses His Word, or His name, He’ll take care of correcting whatever the misuse is. God doesn’t need me to run interference for Him----He knows what the outcome of all things is going to be, because He created the future---and He will use everything------good and bad, ugly and beautiful, right interpretation of His Word and wrong-----to bring about His plan.
What God does need for us to do though, is to obey Him and to worship Him and to approach Him in the way that He has chosen for us to----which is through the blood of Jesus. And, He wants us to care more about our relationship with Him, than we do our programs and our activities and even, our service for Him-----not that those things aren’t important, they are----but our relationship with the Lord is more important than anything else-------He doesn’t need for us to do anything for Him----He’s God----He has done it all, already, for us------
I heard Dr. John Piper, theologian, author and pastor, speak on Sunday morning----and he said a lot that resonated with me---but I think the most profound thing that he said was that “God is the greatest blessing that we have----He gives us the fullest joy that we can have and He promises to give it to us forever. And that it can’t get any better than that, because there is nothing better. And, that because that’s what God has offered to us, that is what we need to offer the world----nothing else.” He said that his mission statement for his ministry is “I exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God, for all thing, for all people, through the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In other words, what I got from that, is that we should have such an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father, that we can’t help but love people into the kingdom, not judge them there.
In this lesson this week, David learned some valuable lessons about who God was and who He wasn’t and what God expected of him and what He didn’t------I never expected that God would teach me the exact same lesson, this week. But that’s how He is-----He knows what we need when we need it and He knows when we will best understand what He needs to teach us. He is our good God.
I David Brings the Ark Home 6:1-23
God gave very clear instructions about the Ark of the Covenant…and, he didn’t just give specific instructions about how it needed to be made, He also gave explicit instructions about how it should be carried when it was transported from place to place, and where it should be placed, when it was time for the people to worship.
That’s why it was no wonder that Uzzah was struck dead when he laid his hands on the Ark. The Ark was holy. It was not ever supposed to be touched. By using poles, the men carrying it could transport it without ever touching it, and as they walked in step with each other, on both sides of the Ark, it gave the Ark stability. The men carrying the Ark, not only had to be Levites, they had to be from the sect of Kohath. God’s stipulations could not have been any more clear.
For Uzzah and the other priests, to put the ark on the ox cart, made it more susceptible to the movements of the cart, which made it less stable and much more likely to fall off of the cart, if they went over a bump. The only way to keep it from falling off would have been to grab it or hold onto it. The death of Uzzah, is a reminder to us, that God is so holy, that we wouldn’t even be able to begin to approach Him, if He didn’t provide the means for us to do it.
Moving the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem was a good thing, not a bad one, and David had the right heart motivation to do it. He wanted to establish, from the outset of his reign, for the Israelites and for any other people groups that they came in contact with---- that God was their God and that He was sovereign in all their affairs and that the people needed a central place to come and worship Him. And he wanted to ensure God’s blessing on the whole nation. The reason why there was a problem was because there is no mention that David asked God or that he asked one of the priests to ask God----that was the 1st thing and the second one was---that Uzzah was a priest-----he would have known how the Ark was supposed to be cared for and handled, or he would have at least had access to finding out from the scripture, how they were supposed to do it----- and it looks like he disregarded it. (We can’t do that----we can’t disregard, the truths that the bible teaches, for man-made traditions, no matter how good, or benevolent or merciful they may be. And, enthusiasm alone, is not enough when we are serving the Lord----our enthusasm has to be accompanied by obedience. (There is a church in Winston-Salem that has declared that they are not going to perform any more heterosexual marriages, until the State recognizes the validity of same-sex marriages-----the truth is, that is not what the scripture teaches-----loving people in spite of their sin, and not turning your back on them, is what the scripture teaches, but this church has perverted that teaching, by the stand they’ve chosen to take----and in the long run, it will only wind up hurting their ministry, and their influence in the community.)
David and Uzzah should have done their homework better. They honestly thought they could carry God, any way they wanted to, in that box-----so God had to show them that He wasn’t in that box and He had to show them that sin is serious and that He will not tolerate it, and that if we love Him and honor Him and worship Him, then we will obey Him. He needed to show them His power, and He needed for us to see that we can’t approach Him, except in the way that He has provided for us to, which is through the blood of Jesus.
The scripture says that David was angry. Most theologians believe that David was angry with himself, for not having talked to God before they ever tried to move the Ark and, angry at himself for the loss of Uzzah’s life, because it could have been avoided. Scripture also says that that he was struck with fear of the Lord, to the point, that he didn’t move the Ark any further. He let it stay at a house outside the city, with a man named Obed-edom, who was from Gath, and was one of the many Philistine men, who, over time, had pledged their loyalty to David. God’s blessing on the house of Obed-edom for the 3 months that the Ark rested there, assured David that the nearness of the Ark was a blessing----so, David, being the man after God’s own heart, that he was, found out what they needed to do and he made sure that they followed Gods’ directions to the letter----and he and 30,000 Israelite men saw the Ark, safely and honorably to Jerusalem.
The Levites carried the Ark six steps, and then David, most likely with the help of a priest (since only a priest could offer sacrifices---but a person who was ceremonially clean could help the priest do it) offered a sacrifice----David wanted to make sure that they were doing the right thing. Don’t you know those most have been the most tense, breath-holding steps, of the entire journey?
But as their journey continued, the men’s courage and joy increased, and by the time they got into the city, the whole entourage was dancing and singing and playing instruments and worshiping and offering sacrifices, to their great God. What a day of rejoicing that must have been?
(I loved the question that we had in our lesson, that asked us to remember a time when we have experienced that kind of all-out, glorious, joy-filled worship that makes our souls sing and our hearts rejoice----there have been many times on random Sunday mornings when I have felt that way----and many times when I’ve been driving down the road and felt it, when I see the beauty of the world that He’s given us, as the seasons change----or when I’ve been traveling, and I unexpectedly meet a Christian brother or sister and know that the Lord has connected us ------but there have been three very specific times that stand out for me------with our youth one summer at camp at Gardner-Webb; singing in the choir at the Franklin-Graham Crusade; and in Rome, at St. Peter’s Basilica on a Palm Sunday morning------those 3 times , I truly think I experienced what heaven is going to be like ----when people from every tribe and every nation will to raise their voices, and lose themselves, in worship to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.)
There was one person who wasn’t worshiping or joining in the celebration though----David’s first wife Michal-----1st Chronicles 15:29 tells us that she despised her husband in her heart, for his role in the celebration. It seemed like she was judging David for his joy. David had laid aside his royal robes and put on the clothes of the priest---the white garments and ephod that revealed his servant’s heart and his submission to the Lord God. She seemed to be mad because she thought he wasn’t acting like a king ----but he quickly made it clear to her, in no uncertain words, that he would humble himself even further, and make himself look like a fool, if I that’s what God wanted and needed for him to do. He wanted her to understand that, for Him, it was God first---always and forever---and after that, he was king----but he was only king, because God had decided that he was.
(It’s sad that Michal never had children----but whether it was because David never went near her again, after that, or because it was God’s punishment on her, for her disregard for His rightful worship-----the end result was, that she and David never had a child together, so Samuel’s prophecy to Saul, that his dynasty would end with him, held true-----one of David’s children would inherit the throne, but it would never be one of Saul’s grandchildren.)
( John Wesley, the great Christian theologian, preacher and reformer, was one of the most influential personalities in eighteenth century England. Due in part to his busy ministry, he waited until he was 48 years old to marry. In January 1751, Wesley married Molly Vazeille, a widow that he said that he greatly admired “for her indefatigable industry, exact frugality and uncommon neatness and cleanness both in person, clothes and all things around.”
But, within a month of the wedding, it became apparent that the marriage was going to be a difficult one. When John was away speaking, Molly only wrote him infrequently. Later, she agreed for a time, to travel with him and to help out with his service to the poor. But she stopped, when she realized that his schedule was too exhausting for her. John encouraged her to continue traveling with him but she refused to. Frustrated with her husband’s long periods away from home, she became increasingly resentful and angry.
After a while, she began to express her frustration in hurtful ways. She destroyed some of his writings and she began to criticize him publically. She even accused him of adultery several times.
After 20 years of this she finally left him for a time---about 3 years. She did come back---but it never got any better, and they eventually separated for good.
John Wesley experienced hurt and pain and misunderstanding from a wife who didn’t support his God-given calling------and how often do we do the same thing?------it doesn’t matter whether our husbands or our sons, are in full-time Christian service or whether they work in a job, out in the secular world------they all deserve for us to support them and build them up and encourage them to be the spiritual head of our households, who set the example and lead our whole family in the worship of God the Father.)
II David Learns a Lesson 7:1-29
To the people of Israel (and to the non-Israelites too) David was the highest authority in the land. But in relation to God, David knew that he was just a servant---a servant to God, and to his people. And so, it hurt David---- to his way of thinking, he was living in a palace and God was living in a tent. (Although, He knew that God wasn’t living in the Ark, that it was just the place where He would come to meet His people---David still felt like the Ark needed to be treated with more honor and respect, than the way people treated him, even if he was the king.)
Sweet David wanted to give God a helping hand, like I did, when I tried to take that visiting preacher to task, in a church that wasn’t even mine. But, God didn’t need me to fight that battle, and He didn’t need David to build him a house. God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 12:13, “Don’t burn your sacrifices where I haven’t told you to.” And that’s what He was telling David, hundreds of years later; and that’s what He tells us today----I don’t care how wonderful or lofty or benevolent or tender our plans are or our behavior is----if God hasn’t told us to do something, then we shouldn’t do it.
God had given the Tabernacle to Israel-----the temple was David’s idea. God explained to David, that the Creator of all things neither required, nor could be confined, in a dwelling made by human hands. God didn’t need a Temple and He didn’t ask for one, but because He loved the Israelites, and wanted to give them, what they needed to feel like they were worshiping Him, the way they should, He did give them a physical Temple some years later, which He allowed Soloman to build. (David was a man of war---he had to have so much bloodshed on his hands, to be able to destroy Israel’s enemies, and he had so much work to do, to create unity among the tribes and to establish the kingdom ----that God didn’t give him the job of building the temple. That was Solomon’s job, God called Solomon to be the king to build it, because he ruled in a time of great peace and prosperity for the Israelites. Each man left a legacy----they were just different. We each have different jobs to do in the kingdom, too, and each church has a different job that they’re called to, too------that’s why we’re are called the body-------the church is made up of many people, but we function as a unit, as everyone does the job they are called to—and the Lord Jesus is our head, telling us all what to do)
In His conversation with David, God made it clear, with a gentle rebuke, that He needed to help David------not the other way around---It was kind of like He was saying, “David, son, who do you think I am----I’m big, I’m really, really big-----just wait on Me, trust Me, and see what I can do! I think about the times we told our children, “I’m the parent and you’re the child; let me worry about that for you, you don’t need to…” I think that’s the way God was with David.
God reminded David that He had been behind all of his successes and that God was going to build him a house that would bring him even greater glory. God made a covenant with David, that scholars call, The Davidic Covenant----the essence of which, was that David would have many sons and those sons would become sons of God and they would rule over Israel. But there would be one very special son, and through Him, all the promises that God had ever made to His children, would be fulfilled, either in His first coming or in His return to earth. And it’s in that Son, that all of David’s hopes and all of Israel’s hopes and all of humanity’s hopes would be fulfilled.
After pointing out, all that He had done for David and Israel, in the past, God went on to tell David that He hadn’t seen the best of what was in store for them, yet. God promised to appoint a place for His people where they would be planted. It would be a place of their own and they would dwell in peace there, forever, because the wicked, would no longer be present to afflict them. Of course, He was talking about two kingdoms---the one on this earth that would be ruled by David’s descendants here, and the heavenly kingdom that would be ruled by, forever, by David’s greatest descendant, the Lord Jesus.
(The whole time I’ve studied this week, I can’t help but think about how God’s plan for His temple was so much greater than a place that would have been made with wood and marble and gold----because His Temple really, is the heart of every person who believes-----and He has come to dwell there, in our hearts, forever, to never leave us nor forsake us-----the magnitude of the glory of that, is unfathomable to me----I don’t know how David could have even begun to comprehend it, except for the fact that the same Holy Spirit was upon him, who lives in us. )
David accepted his part in God’s plan and didn’t even try to go beyond it. Sometimes God does say no to our plans-----when He does, we need to look around and see where we are, then we need to step in and utilize the opportunities where we are. God was directing David to a greater purpose-----we need to remember when God tells us no, it doesn’t mean that He is rejecting us, it means that He has something better planned for us to do. The truth is---to accept God’s no’s, requires more faith, than carrying out His yes’s.
David’s prayer was beautiful!!!!!! It exemplified the proper response of a believer to God’s will. Instead of complaining about the fact that he wasn’t going to get to build God a Temple----he rejoiced in the promise of God’s future blessing and He acknowledged and praised Him for His greatness.
He stood in awe of the fact that it was God who had taken him from shepherd boy to king, because that’s what God had chosen to do. David couldn’t earn it, he couldn’t decide it, he couldn’t buy it and he couldn’t have planned it---it was all God. David was able to see his standing and his status as Israel’s king, as the result of God’s sovereign grace, and not, as a recognition of his past, present or potential greatness. Pride and arrogance can distort our thinking----God helped David to understand, that humility, is the starting point for wisdom. We need to be on guard against our own prideful thoughts about our contribution to the kingdom. It is always God who is carrying us; it is never us, carrying Him. It’s so easy for us to focus on what we have done and can do for God, rather than all He has done and will do for and through us. (Another thing that John Piper said Sunday that stuck with me, is that he didn’t hesitate to ask the pastor of the church where he was preaching, if his vision for the church’s ministry, was his vision alone, or was it a vision that God had given to their whole church. I was impressed by that, because Dr. Piper was holding him accountable for burning his sacrifice only where the Lord had called him and his church to----and he was reminding him that the successes, that they had seen as a church, and will continue to see, really have nothing to do with them, other than being willing bodies--- it has been all God and it will be always, only God-----I thought he asked him a very humbling question----just like God asked David, through Nathan, “are you the one who should build my house?)
God had done great things for David, but they weren’t done for David alone----God had worked through David and in David to bring about the fulfillment of His promises to the nation of Israel and to all of mankind.
The presumptuous, misguided self-confidence that prompted David to think that He needed to build God a house, was replaced by a humble confidence in an Almighty God, who had given him everything he had.
(One of the most famous Southern Baptist musicians of the 20th century was B.B. McKinney. He served on the music faculty at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, became the first music editor of the Baptist Sunday School Board and the first secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention’s church music department. He started composing Christian in 1915 and throughout his career he was responsible for authoring the words and music to about 180 hymns, the tunes for 185 and the texts for an additional sixteen.
One Saturday afternoon, during his tenure at Southwestern, McKinney began reflecting on what God had done for him throughout history-----his work as Savior, comforter, and friend. On that afternoon, God’s work in his life seemed immensely satisfying----more than it ever had before. And at the same time, he felt equally dissatisfied with his own life. Motivated by those two conflicting streams of emotion, McKinney was motivated to write one of the best-known hymns of his career, “Satisfied With Jesus”. Published in 1926, it has been included in every Baptist Hymnal that has been published since then.
Just like in the case of King David prayer, thousands of years ago----when B.B. McKinney took time to ponder the greatness of God’s work in his life---the deepest pools of emotion in his soul began to stir. Both men gave testimony to the presence of two vital ingredients in the life of a mature believer-----a sense of unworthiness before God and love and devotion to the God who loves us anyway. )
Satisfied With Jesus
I am satisfied with Jesus, He has done so much for me
He has suffered to redeem me, He has died to set me free
He is with me in my trials, best of friends, of all is He
I can always count on Jesus, can He always count on me
I can hear the voice of Jesus, calling out so pleadingly
Go and win the lost and straying, is He satisfied with me
When my work on earth is ended, and I cross the mystic sea
Oh that I could hear Him saying, I am satisfied with thee.
Chorus:
I am satisfied, I am satisfied I am satisfied with Jesus, but the question comes to me, as I think of Calvary, is my master satisfied with me?
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