Today we will briefly study the life of a man that the Apostle Paul said God declared to be “a man after my own heart.”
(Acts 13:22) This man is King David.
We first meet David in 1 Samuel 16. The prophet Samuel is sent by God to the household of a man named Jesse. There, he is to anoint one of Jesse’s eight sons to become King of Israel after the death of King Saul. After looking at seven of these young men, the youngest and smallest of the eight comes in sight. God tells Samuel, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” From that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.
Sometime afterwards, an evil spirit from the Lord began to torment King Saul. The only relief he could find from his torment was the soothing music of a harp. Word got back to the King of a young shepherd named David who played the harp better than anyone in the kingdom. King Saul sent for David and David entered into his service. But David did live in the palace but rather went back and forth between the palace and his father’s house.
David’s brothers had entered into the military service of Israel to fight against the Philistines. His father sent him with some food to check on them. When he arrived, the army was in retreat from one giant man named Goliath. David was appalled. He declared that he would face this giant with nothing but his sling and five smooth stones. With one shot he slew the giant and gave victory to Israel over the Philistines.
David moved in to the palace. He became friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. He married Saul’s daughter, Michal. (My-cha). But King Saul soon became jealous of David. He began to plot against him and seek ways to kill him. Jonathan warns David so David flees. Saul began to pursue David, killing anyone who helped him.
King Saul became so entrenched with his passion to kill David that he forgot about his natural enemy, the Philistines. It was at Mount Gilboa that King Saul would take his own life rather than to be captured. Along with Saul his son Jonathan also died.
When the news of Saul and Jonathan’s death reached David, he sorrowed deeply. He next inquired of the Lord what he should do. The Lord instructed him to go to Hebron where the men of Judah anointed him to be king. Fifteen years has passed from the time he was anointed to be king by Samuel and actually became king.
The houses of Saul and David went to war against each other. Several key military leaders from both houses would die. After ruling for seven years, the elders of Israel would ask David to be their king also. For the first time in over three hundred years the nation of Israel was united.
King David and his men would march to Jerusalem and conquer the city from the Jebusites. King David would establish his residence there. He would also completely defeat the Philistines that were still in the land.
King David’s success came from the fact that he inquired of the Lord about everything before he acted. However, one day he would make a decision before inquiring of the Lord that would strain their relationship.
1 Chronicles 13:1-4 “David consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army. Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: “If you approve and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.”
The whole assembly agreed to this, for the people could see it was the right thing to do.”
Let’s briefly talk about the Ark of the Covenant. It was created in the wilderness by those who had been liberated from Egypt. It was built with very specific instructions. Inside it held the commandments written in stone that were given to Moses. It also had Aaron’s staff that budded, a walking staff that had no roots yet budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds. Also it had a jar of manna, the mysterious food that fell like dew every morning to feed the Jews while they were in the wilderness.
The Ark was lifted by means of two golden staves which were to be passed through golden rings located on the corners of the Ark. The Ark was to be lifted up and carried upon the shoulders of a family of Levites. Once in the land of Canaan, the ark was at Gilgal before being moved to Shilo where it stayed for 300 to 400 years. The ark was carried into a battle with the Philistines to insure victory. However, they lost the battle and the ark was taken.
After seven months of he Philistines being afflicted with tumors and rats, they decided to return it to Israel. They loaded it on a new cart and hitched it to two cows. The cows carried the cart into Israel to Beth Shemesh. There the Levites unloaded it onto a rock. They chopped up the wood and killed the cows to offer a sacrifice to God.
But seventy of the men looked into the ark and God put them to death. So messengers went to the people of Kiriath Jearin (quiryath-ye arim) and asked them to come get it. So the men came and got it. They took it to the home of Abinadab where it remained for twenty years until David decided to bring it to Jerusalem.
Let’s follow the story. 2 Samuel 6:3-8 “They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah (ooh-zah) and Ahio (Ah-ee-oo), Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart as it left the house, carrying the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God.
David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.
Can you understand David’s anger? His desire was to bring the Ark of God back to his home in Jerusalem because he thought God would be pleased. Paul said that David was a man after God’s own heart.” He cared about the thing that God cared about. He loved what God loved; hated what God hated.
His desire was to return the Ark to its place as the centerpiece of worship and devotion in Israel. He had no ulterior motives. He was not after power and glory. He wanted to see God restored to his proper place as the Sovereign God of the nation of Israel. He knew that Israel did not have the power or the ability to fend for themselves. Now a man laid dead and David became afraid of the Lord that day. (Verse 9)
What happened? What went wrong? First, David did not seek God before deciding to do this. Throughout David’s life we read that he inquired of the Lord before making decisions. This time he assumes God will bless him because he is doing a good thing. Instead he sought the affirmation from man. “The whole assembly agreed to this, for the people could see it was the right thing to do.”
Secondly, he mishandled God’s instructions. God made it clear how the Ark was to be moved. He also made it clear that no one could touch it. Instead of moving the Ark as instructed by God, he chose to use the method that the Philistines had used. Just like this heathen nation, David put the Ark on a new cart and proceeded to travel with it. David’s forgetfulness, neglect, or ignorance cost the life of Uzzah.
Because of David’s actions he reacted in a fleshly display.
2 Samuel 6:9-10 “David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, ‘How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?’ So David decided not to move the Ark of the Lord into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.”
After David became angry be became filed with fear. Never before had he feared God. Rather than repent and do things God’s way, he choose instead to forget the whole business. He stopped praising and began pouting. He sent everyone home and deposited the Ark at the home of Obed-Edom. It remained there for three months and Obed-Edom household was blessed the entire time.
The Ark of God was eventually moved to Jerusalem and was placed in the Temple after it was built. It remained there for four hundred years until the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and took the Ark. It has not been seen since.
The question is “What can we learn from David? David made two huge mistakes. The first one was he did not seek God before moving the Ark of God. We would be wise to begin each day with this prayer. Psalm 25:4-5 “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.”
Each day we should seek his will for us for that day. Begin your day by asking him to guide your path. Let him lead you by what you know to be the truth of God’s Word. Learn from your mistakes and do not repeat them. Put your faith in God that He will indeed direct your path. If David had done so, Uzzah would not have died.
That was David’s second mistake. He forgot that God was interested in the details. We have a tendency to divide sins into small sins and greater sins. A little white lie is nothing compared to murder. Reality is when God gives a command; He expects it to be followed to the letter.
We have a belief that we are safe speeding as long as it is no more than nine miles over the speed limit. We do not worry about the police. But if God says the speed limit is 55 and we do 56, that is unacceptable to him. Those little things that we think do not matter may matter a whole lot to God.
Micah 6:8 “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Uzzah was trying to do a good thing. But what he did was not the right thing. God honors obedience and judges disobedience.
David was trying to do a good thing but was using the methods of the world. Instead of following God’s instructions he tried the same method as the Philistines. Sometimes we may be guilty of trying to do spiritual work in the power of the flesh. We should reach up before we reach out.
Finally, realize who you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”
We are the temple. Our bodies are the shrine, or the sacred place in which the Spirit of God dwells. In the old Temple, God was worshiped, revered, and honored. We now should do those things within ourselves.
When King Solomon completed the Temple, it was given over to God for his unique possession. We are to give ourselves over to him as his unique possession.
God took possession of His temple and indwelt it so He could bless His people and they in turn bless the world. He now dwells in us to bless us so we can bless the world around us.
The Temple held the Ark of the Covenant which inside were the Tablets of the Law, the Rod of Aaron, and the Manna. We now hold the Ark within ourselves. We have the God’s law engrained within us to guide and direct. We have our spirit that once was dead, now alive, budding, blossoming, and producing fruit. We have the Manna of the living word, feeding us daily if we take the time to gather it.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
The price God paid for you was the life of his Son. He did so, not only for your salvation, but to make you a temple of the Most High God. Everything we do with our hands must honor him. Where we go, what we see must honor him. Our speech, our actions must honor him. He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit and we must not grieve him. Let us leave here recommitted to being the temple of God, obeying him, and seeking him in all we do.
