Right thing the wrong way Pt 4
Sincerely wrong
When King David Moved the ark
Introduction
A. We are continuing our sermon series, “Doing the right thing the wrong way.” A right thing done in a wrong way can be as disastrous as either not doing it at all or even doing a wrong thing. God wants us to do the right thing, but He wants us to do it the right way. This has a lot to do with the attitude of our hearts.
B. We looked at the two men who prayed. One prayed the right way and one prayed the wrong way. It was not the words that they said that made it right or wrong. It was the condition of their hearts that determined whether they prayed the right way or the wrong way.
C. We looked at the two people who questioned God. It is all right to question God but there is a right way to do it and a wrong way.
D. Today we want to talk about be zealous for God. God wants us to be zealous for Him and His ways. Often we refer to this as being ‘on fire for God.” We are going to look at a story about King David in the Old Testament and when he was zealous for God and wanted to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem so worship of Jehovah God would be in the center of the nation. His zeal was good. He was doing the right thing but he did it the wrong way. We will be reading in I Chronicles today but before we do…
Honor God’s Word
Psalm 119:14 “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.”
Text Poll
We are going to be talking about following instructions today, so our text poll is:
When you buy something new do you read the instruction manual first?
Sometimes
Never
Always
A. How important is it to read instruction manuals? Sometimes I do wonder about who the people are who write them. The English is usually broken and often times it does not even make sense.
B. We have been told that men don’t read instruction manuals but women do. I read instruction manuals most of the time when I am putting stuff together.
C. I read an interesting piece of research about following instructions. It was addressing the question, “Is there any difference between men and women?” The results from studying 200 high school students show that women who expect to be more able than men and men who expect to be more able than women outperformed their counterparts. It had more to do with their expectations than whether they were male or female.
D. CORRECT: Always. If you want to do things right, follow the instructions. Listen to Proverbs 8:33. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.
E. Let’s read what God thinks about following instructions. Read the story first in 2 Samuel 6:1-15, then read it again in I Chronicles 13.
David did the right thing 2 Samuel 6:1-15, I Chronicles 13:1-6
A. This story says beyond question that God is as interested about how a thing is done as He is about having it done at all. Doing the right thing the wrong way has been a problem mankind has faced for ages. David learned this principle when he tried by his own devices to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem his own way. It was a costly mistake that cost a man his life. It was the right thing to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but it was wrong the way he did it. When he looked to the scripture for direction the task was completed successfully. You see he was trying to do the right thing, he was simply going about it the wrong way.
B. Do you do it right? Or do you do the right thing? Or do you do the right thing right? There is a big difference between doing the right thing and doing the right thing the right way.
C. I can rob a convenience store but if I do it “right,” I get away with it. It’s the wrong thing done right. Or I can give five bucks to a beggar but if he buys drugs with it, I’ve done the right thing (charity) in the wrong way. We must figure out how to do the right things in the right way.
D. Does it matter how we serve and worship God? We see from our text that it does.
E. Is God only concerned with sincerity, or is He also concerned with obedience to His commands and the truth of His Word? These men in our text were sincere, but they weren't obedient to God's Word.
F. Does it matter to the Lord if we serve and worship Him in accordance with His Word; or can we just worship Him any way we want to?
G. Whenever God calls a man to serve Him, God will also equip and instruct him in how he is to serve the Lord. God is a God of order and He has a plan that He desires to execute through the lives of those He chooses. Too often though, when God raises up a man, there is the desire and temptation to ‘do it your own way’ and in the power of the flesh. The heart might be right. The motives might be right. But to do ‘the right thing, the wrong way’ will always have devastating consequences. This is what happened to King David. God had called him and instructed him to bring back the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, yet David did not obey the Lord in the way in which he transported the Ark.
H. Often times, our ‘great ideas’ turn into disaster and not only affect the lives of those around us, our failures can very easily discourage us from serving the Lord; even when we have the right motives.
What was the Ark of God?
A. It was a wooden box that was about 4’ long and about 2½’ wide and 2½’ deep. It was overlade with gold and had a crown of gold around the top. It had a solid gold mercy seat on the lid and on either side were two golden cherubim that covered the mercy seat with their wings.
B. The ark had four gold rings in the corners and two wooden staves that were overlade with gold that went through the gold rings, and were used to carry the ark upon the shoulders when it had to be moved.
C. The ark contained the two stone tables of the law, Aaron's rod that budded, and a golden pot of manna.
D. The represented the presence of God. It represented God's throne in Heaven. It represented God's Holiness.
E. God gave clear instructions how the Ark was to be moved. It was to be carried on the shoulders of the Kohathites. It was not to be moved by just anyone or in just any manner. It was not to be touched or looked into because God is Holy and man is sinful!
F. After David had taken Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it the capital of the then united Israel and Judah, he was eager to make it the religious center as well. This could not be done, however, till the ark of the covenant was returned to a permanent resting place in Jerusalem. The Philistines had captured the ark at Shiloh, exhibited it for several months in Philistia, and then returned it to Israel where it was housed at Beth Shemesh and Kiriath Jearim for about 100 years, from about 1104 to 1003 BC.
G. It was good that they were attempting to be bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem (or Zion). It was the capital of the nation and it was to be the designated place of worshipping God in national Israel. By moving the ark to Jerusalem, God would be worshipped in the right place, by the right people, and with all the necessary furnishings and instruments to best represent and typify the true worship of God in Heaven. Later, in Solomon's time, Jerusalem was the place where the temple was built, which was to be the permanent resting place of the Ark of God.
What did David do wrong? I Chron 13:7-14, Numbers 4:5-15 and 7:9
A. First, they set the Ark of God on a new cart (verse 3). This seemed like a good idea. It would be easier. It might have even seemed better than the old fashioned way. This is the logic of many in our churches today! Oh, this new way seems like a good thing. The Scriptural way is old fashion. It is out of touch. We need a new way to look at things. But is God in it?
B. God spelled it out clearly in the Mosiac Law how the Ark was to be moved. Every priest knew this! The ark was only to be carried by wooden staves upon the shoulders. We might ask, why? Why does it matter how the Ark is carried? What is the big deal!
C. There may be others reasons, but I will give just two. First it was God's prescribed way. That was the way God wanted it to be done! That is enough for me. That reason alone was sufficient! God doesn’t always tell us why something must be done a certain way, but His commandments are good enough reason for us to obey them as best and as precisely as we know how. I think the second reason might have been that God wanted the ark to be carried on the shoulders of men, because God’s Holy Spirit dwelt in MEN. He wanted to be connected to mankind. He did not want to carried by animals. He wanted to be carried by men.
D. The second wrong thing they did was to touch the ark. Uzzah touched the Ark (verse 6) What was wrong with touching the Ark? Wasn't Uzzah doing a good thing by protecting the Ark from possibly falling to the ground? It was a violation of God's Word. No one was allowed to touch the Ark of God. It was a violation of God's Holiness for sinful man to touch the ark under any circumstances.
E. Obedience to God’s commands is more important than doing what seems right in our minds. God doesn’t need man’s human reasoning to help Him out; but what God wants and expects is our obedience. Whether we understand it or not. Whether we like it or not. Whether everyone else thinks it is a good idea or not. God expects us to obey him.
F. Of course if the Ark hadn’t been placed on the cart in the first place, the oxen wouldn’t have stumbled with it, and Uzzah wouldn’t have touched it, and God wouldn’t have killed him. So we see that one act of disobedience leads to only more disobedience. Once we depart from God’s ways and God’s pattern, we get into more and more trouble.
G. Even King David would have known how the Ark of God should have been moved but apparently he felt it was not that important to God. It is interesting in I Chronicles 13:1 we read that King David “conferred with each of his officers.” There was no need to consult these men. God had already given clear instructions in Numbers 4:5-15 and 7:9 as to how to move the ark. It should be covered with a veil, to shield the holiness of God from any kind of rash intrusion, and then carried on poles on the shoulders of the Levites. God said in His law (Numbers 4:15) that if anyone touched this Ark they would SURELY DIE! God not only keeps his promises, but also fulfills his threats!
H. God had plainly revealed his will, but David thought he had a better idea. We always must stay with Scriptural methods, and proven and tried methods for serving and worshipping the Lord. We are not in bondage- we have liberty to serve the Lord and to use our God given minds, and skills, and talents; but let us make sure that what we do is in accordance with the Word of God and not in direct violation of it. Let us not in our zeal and haste do what otherwise would be a good thing, and the right thing, and do it in a wrong way, and thereby bring God's judgment upon us rather than His blessings.
I. There is another story found in Leviticus 10:1-3 that talks about two priests who thought it really did not matter how they offered the animal sacrifices for God. Their names were Nadab and Abihu. They were the sons of the high priest Aaron and did not want to completely do what God told them to do regarding how to offer sacrifices. They were doing the right thing, but they were doing it the wrong way. The offense was no trivial matter. Nor was it accidental. As a result fire comes from the presence of the Lord and consumed Nadab and Abihu.
J. The fact that they are ministers of God makes them doubly accountable and responsible. Moses then used this as an occasion to teach a powerful lesson on the holiness and worship of God (Leviticus 10:3)
Sincerity is not enough Romans 10:1
1. There are a lot of people who are zealous to be good. There are a lot of good religious people. But if they are doing it the wrong way, God won’t accept them just because they are sincere. There is only one way to get to God, and that is through Jesus Christ.
2. Many may complain that God was unfair to Uzzah. Wasn’t he just trying to protect the ark from falling to the ground? Wasn’t he sincere?
3. It may appear to be unfair, but it was not unjust. God had clearly warned them never to touch the ark and if anyone did touch the ark they would SURELY die. Uzzah disobeyed and God was just in taking his life.
4. David was zealous for God, but it was the wrong way.
5. In the same way God has given clear instructions on the way to heaven. Jesus gave clear instructions: “I AM WAY…” People who follow other religions may be zealous. They may be sincere. The Jewish people are zealous. They are sincere, but they are sincerely wrong!
6. There difference between people who do not know any better and people who refuse to obey God’s ways. People who don’t know better, God gives grace. Like when the Philistines captured the Ark of God. They touched it, they put on cart and moved it around. God did not strike them dead for touching it or moving it on a cart. Now God did judge them for their idolatry, but it was not as severe as how God judged Uzzah. They did not know any better. People who refuse to obey will be held accountable. To whom much is given, much is required.
7. How can we be zealous WITH KNOWLEDGE? How can a person know what God wants him or her to do in a particular situation? God has given us His Word and He has freely poured out His Holy Spirit to anyone who wants to know. All we have to do is open our hearts and listen.
Summary
A. David’s desire to move the Ark of God was a good thing. He just did it the wrong way. God expects us to obey Him, even if we think we have a better idea.
B. God’s Word never changes. It is always good, current and relevant. New ideas are good, being creative is good, but it always needs to be in agreement with God’s Word.
C. God may not always explain Himself. We may not always understand His reasons, but remember this. Sincerity is good, but obedience is better.
