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.
Sin happens in this passage and repentance is required. Sinners repent. Repentance is central to this passage because David and others sinned and they must acknowledge it and confess it and then move away from it. King David and the others must change from their sinful attitudes and actions and move towards God. David and the others ended up treating God as common and He is far from common.
Jesus talks about repentance often in His ministry and He tells us that sitting in our sin and not repenting leads to perishing. Repenting and moving away from sin leads to life.
READ LUKE 13:3 and 13:5 (ESV)
“I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
There is some sin in this passage that needs to be confessed and not repeated. We see this happen in David’s life over and over. One of the reasons David’s life is very relatable is that we absolutely see his sin. He sins. He sins regularly. He repents. He repents regularly. This passage shows us sin, but then shows repentance to make sure the sin is not repeated.
You and I need make sure repentance is a normal part of our lives. We sin. We must also repent. To be honest, if you are not a Christian then there is no need to repent. Repentance only works for our souls because the blood of Jesus covers over our sins when we repent. Unrepentant sin remains as a stain on our soul and we end up paying for our sin by spending eternity apart from God.
Rearrange
The word ‘rearrange’ comes to mind when I think about these verses. There are some of us that are planners and arrange things just the way we like them and we do not like it when plans go crazy. I personally call that ‘normal.’ David made plans in this passage. His plans did not go well. His plans were disastrous in fact and ended in death. In the end, we can make plans and make decisions, but as people of faith God must be in every step of our lives or what we plan will end in disaster. Following God’s will should be the default arrangement for a person of faith. This truth also means that when our plans are not His plans, we need to ‘rearrange.’
READ PROVERBS 16:9 (ESV)
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
READ LUKE 22:42 (ESV)
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Rearranging ourselves to align with God’s will is what a relationship (there’s another ‘re-‘ word) with the Almighty God is all about. We constantly rearrange our minds and hearts and lives to line up with His will and not our own. We rearrange to follow God’s plans and not our own. It can be unsettling, but God’s way is the best way in all things.
David had to do some rearranging in this passage. He had plans to march into his new capitol with the Ark of the Covenant in tow and it did not go as planned. David had to rearrange his plans to match the already expressed will of God.
Renew
Another important word (fourth of five) that describes this passage is ‘renew.’ When I think about this word, I think about synonyms for it like ‘reestablish’ or ‘redo.’ A phrase that goes along with this is a ‘do over.’ The golfing term for it is a ‘mulligan.’ Because the plan of David was sinful and disastrous, he needed a ‘do over.’
Fear crashed into David’s heart in these verses. One of the verses will show us that David was angry. I happen to think that verse shows us that David was angry with God. We also see in another verse that David was jealous of some blessings from God that were happening for another person. Fear and anger and jealously got in the way of David’s relationship with God. He needed a do-over and to renew a proper attitude with God. The awesome truth about God is that He absolutely allows do-overs.
READ PSALM 51:10 (ESV)
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
READ ISAIAH 40:30-31 (ESV)
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 4:16 (ESV)
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day
Again, I want to impress on you that God allows do-overs and is all about renewal. Our God is the God of second chances. He is love and grace and mercy. Jesus Christ offers us grace by His death and there is no sin or mistake or error that cannot be covered by the blood of Jesus.
Responsibility
The last word that we will find that describes this passage today is the word ‘responsibility.’ This is a word that by-in-large our current culture knows nothing about. It feels like no one takes responsibility for anything anymore. Blame is rampant. Suing others is common. Defensiveness is a disease.
I know we haven’t read the passage yet, but we will not see King David carrying on or blaming or pointing fingers or suing a cart maker or sending out a social media post asking for sympathy. David accepts what happens and accepts his roll in it. As I mentioned, he is angry about what happens, but his anger makes way for repentance and accepting responsibility. He stops to repent, rearranges plans, and accepts responsibility for the disaster.
READ PROVERBS 28:13 (ESV)
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Again, David did not blame he did not become defensive he accepted responsibility for the disaster and sought out mercy from God.
TRANSITION
This passage from 2 Samuel 6 is all about:
Religion
Repent
Rearrange
Renew
Responsibility
Before we read the first half of 2 Samuel 6, I want to prep you on a few of the names because there are a lot of them:
* Baale-Judah in the ESV is the same as Baalah in Judah in the NIV.
* Abinadab’s two sons are Uzzah and Ahio… not Ohio like the state east of us, but “Ah-high-oh”
* And the threshing floor belongs to Nacon (Nakon, NIV), the older brother of Bacon who was famous for slicing pigs up into little strips in order to jazz up lettuce and tomato sandwiches.
Let’s read from 2 Samuel 6:1-15.
READ 2 SAMUEL 6:1-15 (ESV)
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name of the LORD of Hosts, Who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. 5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs[c] and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-Uzzah to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household. 12 And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
Part of King David’s religion was worshipping God Almighty and the Ark of the Covenant was the symbol of the Presence of God. It was a holy object. It was not just any ‘ol box, but was a fixture in the minds of the Israelites that symbolized that they were God’s people. David conquered Jerusalem and made it the political capitol and by bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem he was making it the religious center as well. It was to be carried by four priests using long poles, but the plan was to use a new cart pulled by oxen to transport the Ark of the Covenant.
This was a sin. Anytime we treat something holy that is dedicated to God as commonplace we sin. The oxen stumbled and the Ark was going to fall. The Ark was in danger because the people treated it differently than what God prescribed. They did what they wanted instead of what God wanted. Uzzah reached out to help. As a result, Uzzah died. By the way, his death was not an accident. God judged him and struck him down. Verse 7 is not unclear. God was angry and in His holy righteous anger, Uzzah died. Yes, God is loving and gracious and merciful, but He is also holy and wrathful and unimaginably powerful. David was afraid and angry all at the same time. He needed to repent of not treating the Ark as God commanded. He had to completely rearrange his plans to match plans that would honor the commands of God and not repeat the same sin.
God allows do-overs and David committed himself to properly worshipping as he brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. He took responsibility by repenting and rearranging plans so that God’s will was followed and not his own will.
Religion
Repent
Rearrange
Renew
Responsibility
APPLICATION
What does this passage have to do with you and me? You and I were not there and this event will not be repeated. Our church does not have a holy object like the Ark of the Covenant. So, what does this passage have to do with you and me?
I believe this passage applies to us because God will not be managed.
I believe this passage applies to us because we can have the same sin as David.
There is some clear absolute Truth presented in this passage that we must take to heart.
* God is not a common religious vending machine deity that can be brought out when we want him, dusted off, used, and then book back on the shelf until later. Religion is not just for Christmas and Easter or Sunday mornings only. Our God is the Personal God of the Universe Who wants a continual abiding relationship with His creation that gives life.
* God’s will and commands are not suggestions for our lives that we can obey when we want and disregard when it suits us. That’s sinful hypocrisy. Living as though God doesn’t matter is ungodliness and it’s a sin. Sin requires repentance. Repentance is not an option. Every sin we have must be confessed and laid at the feet of Jesus.
* Every plan we make and every step and every decision is not ours alone if we believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. God’s will always always always comes before our own will. His Word should always always always rearrange our thoughts, plans, beliefs, and way we live. When there is a conflict between what the Bible says and what I believe, then I am wrong. Always. I must rearrange to align with God.
* There is no sin that God cannot forgive. God is about renewal. If you are sitting here today and you think too much time has passed or too much sin has happened or too much damage has been done, you are not believing correctly. God is about renewal. God sent His Son Jesus to pay for all sin. Please accept the blood of Jesus that will renew your soul.
* As you and I think about our lives, we may be tempted to blame. We may be tempted to be defensive. Maybe we are angry at God for something He did or did not do or allowed to happen. Maybe we claim to be mad at Christians or the Church. Stop blaming. Stop being defensive. We must take responsibility for our actions and submit ourselves to Jesus.
KEY THOUGHT: God. Will. Not. Be. Managed.
PRAYER
