GOING AFTER GOD
2 Samuel 6:1-19
David is now secure in his position as King of Israel. The nation had gathered themselves around him and anointed him to be their king. While David was certainly grateful for the peace that existed in Israel in those days; he knew that Israel was still far away from the Lord.
During the days of Saul, Israel had lost sight of their relationship with the Lord. David wanted to make that situation right. He wanted to bring his people back to God.
To do this, David knew that he was going to have to lead the nation in going after God.
Our passage opens with David leading a massive army to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant from the house of a man named Abinadab who held it for 20 years. David knew that Israel would never be where they needed to be with the Lord spiritually until the Ark was restored as the centerpiece of Israelite worship and everyday life.
The Ark of the Covenant was built at the command of the Lord in Ex. 25:10-22 when God gave command for Moses to build the Tabernacle.
The word Ark means “chest or box.” The Ark was a box of wood that measured 45” long and 27” wide by 27” high.
This box was overlaid in pure gold. It was topped by a golden grate called the Mercy Seat. On either side of the Mercy Seat, were two golden cherubim.
Inside the Ark was a golden pot of manna; Aaron’s rod that budded and the two tables of the Law that was given to Moses at Mount Sinai.
It was here that God promised to meet with His people.
It was here that the blood of the atonement was placed on the Day of Atonement. It was here that the shekinah glory of God rested as the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness.
This Ark was vital to worship in Israel. It was symbolic of God’s presence among His people.
It was often carried into battle in front of the soldiers. It was central to their lives; their worship and their relationship with God.
But, the Ark had not been kept in the central position that it deserved; and, as a result, neither had God.
You see, way back in the days of Eli, some 100 years earlier, the Ark had been taken by the Philistines, 1 Sam. 4:11. and the Lord punished the Philistines the whole time the Ark was in their possession, 1 Sam. 5-6.
Their solution was to place the Ark on a new cart and allow the cattle that pulled the Ark to take the box back to Israel.
So, after 100 years, David is about to take 30,000 men from Israel and lead them by example in how to go after God.
Today we don't have an Ark like Israel did; but we have God's presence and like they needed God's presence we need the presence of God as well.
We need God in us, on us and around us...we need His power and manifested presence to be in our lives and our worship.
This is what this passage is saying to us about this subject of going after God and bringing back His presence and His power.
I. v. 1-2 THE DESIRE OF DAVID’S HEART - DAVID HAD A DESIRE
David as a man who cared about the things that God cared about; he loved what God loved; hated what God hated; his heart beat in time with God’s.
This aspect of David’s character is revealed in the desire of David’s heart.)
David’s desire was clear and simple. He wanted the Ark returned to its place as the centerpiece of worship and devotion in Israel. He wanted God to be placed back in the center of the national consciousness. David was seeking to unify a formerly divided nation with God as their true King once again. He desired God’s presence, God’s blessing and God’s guidance.
David wasn't motivated by any ulterior motives. He was not after glory or power; all David merely wanted to see was God restored to His proper place as the Sovereign God of the nation of Israel. He strongly desired that God would be glorified among the people of Israel.
David knew that neither he nor Israel would amount to anything without the presence and power of God.
David knew they did not possess the power or the ability to fend for themselves. They needed God.
Again , they needed His presence and His power.
Therefore, David sat out to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem to restore it to a place of prominence in the eyes of the nation.
We need hearts like David. We need a heart that beats after God, His power and His presence. We need to learn the lesson that we can do nothing without God, John 15:5.
We need His presence and His power if we are going to serve Him and carry out His will in our lives.
Like David and Israel, it is high time the church rose up and went after God!
After all we sing about it in our Worship services that......"I'm chasing after you...No matter what I have to do.... Cause I need you more and more.
If there is one thing that I have found out about most church folks it is this one thing:
We know how to go after Gods hand; but I am afraid that we do not know how to seek His face.
Seeking God's face is about knowing God, knowing who He is, knowing Him very closely. To walk with Him and to have a relationship with Him and this was David's desire.
So David’s motives in bringing the Ark to Jerusalem were proper; but his methods were faulty. Instead of being successful; David’s methods for transporting the Ark resulted in the death of a man named Uzzah.
This angered David, v. 8 and created fear within David’s heart toward the Lord, v. 9.
The Bible says that they “set the Ark of God upon a new cart…” David’s first problem was rooted in the fact that he either forgot or ignored the clear command of God as to how the Ark was to be transported. The Ark was to be lifted by means of two golden staves which were to be passed through golden rings fashioned on the corners of the Ark.(Ex. 25:14-15.)
The Ark was then to be lifted up and carried upon the shoulders of a family of Levites known as the Kohathites, (Num. 3:30; 14:15; 7:9). David made good plans and good preparations, but he neglected to do it God’s way and as a result he paid a high price for this decision.
Another flaw that mars David’s decision is the fact that he did not seek God before he made it. Up to this moment, David had always gone to the Lord for guidance and direction. Time and time again, David asked the Lord for help. Here, he does not seek the Lord, but he just assumes that God will bless him because he is doing a good thing.
Another problem David had is that his methods were the same methods that had been used by the world.
When the Philistines had the Ark and wanted to return it to Israel, they had placed it on a new cart as well. 1 Sam. 6:7-15.
Along the way they passed over a rough outcropping of stone, a threshing place belonging to Nacon (or Kidon; 1 Chron. 13:9), and the oxen stumbled, threatening to throw the ark from the cart.
It was at this point, that Uzzah reached out his hand in an effort to steady the Ark and prevent it from falling after all it seemed like the logical thing to do, but it wasn't logical to God....the Levites could not touch the ark or even look in it because of its holiness.. God did not agree.
He killed Uzzah on the spot! You see, the Ark was not only supposed to be carried only on the shoulders of the Kohathites; it was never to be touched by human hands, Num. 4:15. The penalty for touching the Ark was death, as Uzzah and David quickly found out.
If this story teaches us anything, it teaches us that God is very interested in the details. We may think that God does not care about the little things in life; but He does! When God gives a command, He expects it to be followed to the letter.
God’s blessings come only through obedience and those who defy His Word and His will are going to pay a terribly high price. The best thing a child of God can do is align themselves with the Word of God and walk in humble obedience, John 14:15; Micah 6:8.
Failing to seek God’s will is just as dangerous as ignoring what He has already told you to do. His children should always pray before they make a move, Matt. 6:33.
Like Uzzah, we are often guilty of reaching out with our hands instead of reaching up with our hearts. We are guilty of trying to do spiritual work in the power of the flesh. We attempt to do the work of God with our hands and never really get under the burden. That will never work and God will not bless it, Jer. 29:13!
The Bible says that David became angry. He was angry with the Lord and more likely he was angry with himself and his own foolishness. But, instead of repenting and doing things the Lord’s way, David chose instead to forget the whole business. He dismissed the people and left the Ark where it was. David stopped praising and he started pouting.
We should not be surprised when God refuses to bless us when we leave the reservation. When we seek to do His business our way, He will not bless it. When we employ worldly methods in an attempt to do His work, He will not bless it. When we fail to seek His will, He will not bless us. When we operate in the power and energy of the flesh, He will not bless us. When we refuse to obey His precepts and principles, He will not bless us.
If you want to be disappointed in your walk with Jesus as an individual or as a church, just do everything your way, and watch Him refuse to honor it. Watch Him send judgment instead. If you want His blessings, then do His business His way and He will honor it and bring glory to Himself through it.
David was afraid to bring the Ark up, but a man named Obed-edom was glad to have it in his house. He knew that a man with a clean heart and a pure life had nothing to fear from the Lord. When David closed the door to God, Obed-edom opened his door and God blessed him as a result. When David hears about this, he experiences a change in attitude. He returns to the house of Obed-edom with a desire to carry out God’s will God’s way. Something happened in David’s heart that made him a candidate for what God wanted to do for him.
Look at v.11-12 David had forgotten the reasons why he went after the Ark in the first place. But he is reminded when he hears of the blessings being heaped upon the house of Obed-edom.
David goes after the Ark and brings it home.
v. 13 Apparently, during the three months that passed between the death of Uzzah and David’s decision to go get the Ark, he had been doing his homework. Either someone told David how the Ark was supposed to be moved, or he read the Law for himself, 1 Chron. 15:13-15. Either way, he went and got it and brought it home the right way. This time there would be no shortcuts and no disobedience; David would do it the right way. He would do it the Lord’s way! Just to be sure, the Levites would stop after they had gone six steps and they would sacrifice to the Lord. When the Lord did not destroy anyone, they were assured of His blessings and they carried the Ark on to Jerusalem.
v. 14-19 It seems that during this time that David had given up on music, v. 5, and had taken up dancing, v. 14. He has also laid the robes of his sovereignty and put on the humble ephod of a seeker.
He has laid aside his pouts and replaced them with shouts. David’s heart had been transformed and he is getting what he went after. He went after God and he is returning with the presence and power of God.
David’s life, and the nation of Israel, would never be the same again.
Conclusion:
JUST BECAUSE THE PAST WAS WRONG DOESN’T MEAN THE FUTURE CAN’T BE BETTER.
DAVID’S MISSION WAS COMPLETED You see, when all else fails read the instructions. During those three months that the Ark was Obed Edoms House David read his Bible for he comes to this conclusion, “ None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God.” ( 1 Chron 15:2 )
He discovered that God is: (a) CONCERNED ABOUT PROPER METHODS: He began by recognizing that the “ Ark,” should be carried only by Levites, he discovered that God’s work must be done in God’s way. ( 1 Chron 15:13 )
That God is concerned about our methods as well as our motives ! (b) CONCERNED ABOUT PURE LIVES: For he told the priests “ sanctify yourselves …. that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.” ( 1 Chron 15:12 ) Not only are the right men to do the work, but they are to be righteous men. When God’s work is done by God’s people in God’s way, its revival.
When we go after God with a heart and desire to know Him; and we seek His face according to His revealed will; we are going to receive that which we are after. When we stop trying to get it through fleshly means and through worldly shortcuts; and we go after God by honoring His Word and respecting His holiness, God will bless us with His presence and His power for His glory!
Doing things God’s way will put a shout in our heart, a song on our lips and glory in our soul. When we line up with God and go after God with all our hearts, we will be changed forever! We must learn the truth that there are no shortcuts to holiness and obedience.
David went after God the wrong way and he paid a high price for his disobedience. However, when he started doing things God’s way, his life was revolutionized. He was after God, and God’s presence and power, and he got it all when he did it God’s way.
What about you? Are you seeking God and His power and presence in your life? Are you seeking Him His way? Are you walking in obedience to His precepts and principles? If you have been hitting brick walls in your quest for God; let David’s example set you on the right path. Go after God with all you have, but be sure that you go after Him God's way.
Even So Come Lord Jesus
Apostle Charles C Jones D.D.
