How To Bless Your Household Series

Last week we saw from the poor example of Aachan, "How to be Your Own Worst Enemy At Home".

Now a better example from King David in 2 Samuel chapter 6. Pay close attention to the progression of "blessing" in this chapter:

2 Samuel 6:11 - "The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household."

2 Samuel 6:18 - "And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts."

2 Samuel 6:20a - "Then David returned to bless his household."

Did you see it?

1. God "blessed" Obed-Edom’s household because he revered the ark of the covenant.

2. David "blessed" others when he caught on to the truth that Obed-Edom knew.

3. David then returned to "bless" his own household.

This passage reminds us of a very helpful biblically based maxim - "we are blessed to be a blessing".

This may be observed in the lives of all the great saints of God and in today’s scripture, from the example of King David.

By the way, don’t forget that it is not only true that we are blessed to be a blessing, but when we are a blessing to others, our own life will be blessed!

Now let’s apply this to family life.

What was the truth that Obed-Edom knew that caused God to bless his household?

It seems to be this: he was not uncomfortable in the presence of God.

If you want to be a blessing to your household you must bring the presence of God into it.

When King David sought to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem something went wrong. One of the sons of Abinadab named Uzzah, touched this sacred box as it slipped off the ox cart they were transporting it on.

He was struck dead by God for his indiscretion. Perhaps he forgot how holy the ark was since it had been staying at his father Abinadab’s house for some time. In any case, God made him an example so the people would not lose respect for His presence.

You’ll remember that the ark was a symbol of the presence of God, a "type" of Christ.

David and most of the people improperly perceived the occurence of Uzzah’s death. David was "angry" (verse 8) and "afraid" of the LORD (verse 9).

But one man, Obed-Edom, was not afraid of the presence of God. He opened his doors to the ark of God where it remained for three months. In return God blessed "all his household".

King David initially stumbled over a truth he would eventually come to realize was foundational to spiritual success - especially at home.

In our homes we can make the presence of God a "cornerstone" or we can make it a "stumbling stone".

Listen to God’s Word on this from 2 Peter 2:7,8.

"Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ’The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’, and ’a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble being disobedient to the word..."

Uzzah had been disobedient to the word of God. The ark of the covenant was not supposed to be transported by an ox cart, but rather on the shoulders of the priests by the use of long poles. Their shoulders could touch the end of the poles but not the ark itself. The ark of God was so holy that no human was supposed to touch it.

When Uzzah touched the ark, he directly disobeyed a very important command of God. But God did not intend for King David and the people to be afraid of Him. Respect Him yes, but not be afraid to come into His presence.

We need a proper balance on the issue of the presence of God in our homes in order to be a blessing there.

We were reminded last week about some tangible things we need to do to honor God in our household. Things like having a Bible for every member of the family, having good Christian literature, art, and music. We talked about making our homes a place of hospitality, etc.

Today let’s quickly consider the less tangible aspects of family life that affect the presence of God in our households. Let’s think about the things that affect the "atmosphere" of our homes that make God willing to grace us with His presence.

Take the fruit of the Spirit for instance, found in Galatians 5:22,23.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Any household with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is going to be a great place to live!