God Will Not Be Managed Series

THE VERY RELATABLE LIFE OF KING DAVID

GOD WILL NOT BE MANAGED

2 SAMUEL 6:1-15

#kingdavid

INTRODUCTION

We are going to read and think about a passage of Scripture that leaves us scratching our heads many times and even after we dig a little and understand a little more, we still don’t like what we find. It is a passage about celebration, worship, tragedy, death, fear, and anger.

This passage comes after David is finally crowned king over all Israel. He was thirty years old (2 Samuel 5:3-5) when the running and civil war and issues all calmed down and David received what God promised. David, in one of his first acts, conquers Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-10). This came as a surprise to those living in Jerusalem since they taunted David that the blind and lame in their city could defend them against him. David makes this city that was not yet claimed by any tribe of Israel to be his new capitol as a way to step forward as a nation in a new direction. His family grows in number by leaps and bounds (2 Samuel 5:13-16). God gives David more victories against the Philistines which seem to be Israel’s go-to enemy (2 Samuel 5:17-25).

This then brings us to the time in David’s life that is all about celebration, worship, tragedy, death, fear, and anger. Things are going well finally and it is time to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the new capitol to solidify that David is God’s king and God is among His people and that a new chapter for God’s people is beginning. It does not end well as we will eventually read. Before we get to the passage, there are some ideas and words we need to think about and they all happen to begin with ‘re-.’

Religion

Repent

Rearrange

Renew

Responsibility

TRANSITION

Let’s look at these one at a time in no particular order and then read our passage for today, again, in 2 Samuel 6.

Religion

The first word, ‘religion,’ means “the particular system of belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God.” That is a dictionary definition that covers the word well. When we think about the Christian religion, for example, that word means the Holy Bible filled with the teachings of God and the life of Jesus and churches full of followers. It means times of worship and particular ways of thinking and living each day. It means certain special holidays or practices that are important in worshipping God. Religion is an umbrella term that can mean all Christian things.

For example, it is part of the Christian religion that a Sunday and even a season, usually in March or April, is set aside to remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Why? The death of Jesus on the cross is the central belief of Christianity. We believe His blood pays the debt for our sins and He gives us life. The burial of Jesus is important because it shows Jesus bodily died and physically was not alive for a period of time because He died for us. The resurrection of Jesus is supremely important because Jesus overcame sin and death and judgment for us and lives as proof. These beliefs are central to Christianity so we celebrate them in our religion.

The word ‘religion’ for some is a bad word. Maybe it is for you. I have heard people say that they love Jesus but they don’t like His religion. People say ‘organized religion’ is not for them. The Christian religion can be soured when judgment comes without grace and righteousness becomes self-righteousness and holiness becomes holier-than-thou. Those things can come to mean ‘religion,’ but the Christian religion really is “the particular and specific system of belief in Jesus Christ and corporate and personal worship of a personal God based on the Holy Bible.” Sometimes a person who complains about religion has a legitimate complaint and sometimes they just don’t want to talk about their sin and it’s an excuse.

There is religion in this passage with regards to commands on how God should be worshipped and so we should take note of for it is why David is doing what he is doing and his religion is his motivation.

Repent

The second word, ‘repent,’ is an important word when it comes to this passage. Repent means to change. Repent means to change away from sin and ungodliness and move towards righteousness and Christlikeness. I think repent is a religious word. In general, repentance is important as a human being because without repentance we just spiral down and down in destructive and selfish behavior and end up self-destructing. Repentance is turning away from what ails our souls. Specifically, Christians believe we must repent of sin.