Seek First

SEEK FIRST

"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, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set 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, drove the new cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals." 2 Samuel 6:2-5.

The Ark was vital to worship in Israel. It was symbolic of God’s glory, power and presence among His people. The Ark was central to their lives; their worship and their relationship with God. Some years earlier, in the days of Eli the priest, the Ark had been captured by the Philistines. The account in 1 Samuel 4 describes the sons of Eli taking it into a battle against the Philistines, attempting to use the Ark like a good luck charm to secure victory. Israel loses the battle, 30,000 men perish, and the Philistines capture the Ark. When David became king and defeated the Philistines as recorded in 2 Samuel 5, he purposed in his heart to take the Ark back to Jerusalem. David was a God-seeker. The first thing he did after becoming king was to bring back the Ark

We do not have an Ark like the ancient nation of Israel; but we still need the presence of God just as much as they did then. We need His manifest power in our lives today.

"3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 1 Kings 3:3-15.

The first thing Solomon did after becoming Israel's third king was to sacrifice to God. He wanted to establish a relationship with God before he begins reigning over Israel. Solomon sacrificed to God 1000 animals. This made God to seek and to bless him.

Sacrifice has power. There is no greater power in this world than what is available to us through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. He gave his life sacrificially. Jesus humbled himself so that we all can have unhindered access into the presence of God.

"3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper." 2 Chronicles 26:3-5.

Being a young king, Uzziah didn’t act out of his youth and lack of experience. He sought the Lord, and “…as long as He sought the Lord, God made him prosper.” As long as we seek the Lord, He will make us prosper. We don’t have to chase after the things we need; we just need to follow God and He will take care of the rest.

"In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them." 2 Chronicles 29:3.

In the years before his reign, the people of Judah had turned away from God. They had put out the lamps in the Temple, stopped offering sacrifices to God, and had closed up the doors. So the first thing Hezekiah did in the first month was to repair God’s house. He opened the doors of the temple so that the worship of God could proceed. By doing this, Hezekiah was demonstrating a desire to usher back the presence of God.

"2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, 3 for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him." 2 Chronicles 14:2-5.