You Must Do It God’s Way

YOU MUST DO IT GOD’S WAY (THE LESSONS OF UZZAH)

1 Chron. 13:1-14, 15:1-2

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. Sometimes, good intentions don’t quite get the job done!

2. A businessman was scheduled for a very important meeting that required him to take a late-night train to his destination.

3. Knowing he would most certainly be asleep when the train came to his stop, he spoke with one of the attendants.

4. “I have the most important meeting of my life in the morning and I can’t afford to miss it. When the train pulls into Chattanooga at 2 a.m., wake me up and help me off the train. “I will be grumpy and beg for sleep, but do whatever it takes to get me off the train!”

5. The next morning when he awoke, he was still on the train and had missed his stop. He became livid and raged all over the porter who was supposed to wake him up. He disembarked at the next stop.

6. Another passenger, who had witnessed the tirade, said, “In all my life I have never seen anybody so upset!”

7. The porter said, “That ain’t nothin. You should have seen the guy I threw off the train at 2 a.m. in Chattanooga!” [The Best of ‘In Other Words,’ Raymond McHenry, # 1058]

B. TEXT

David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. 3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” 4 The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people. 5 So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. 6 David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name. 7 They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. 8 David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets. 9 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. 11 Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. 12 David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” 13 He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 14 The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.

C. THESIS

1. A preacher said to the congregation, “Crying babies and disruptive children, like good intentions, should be carried out immediately.”

2. Today we’re looking at an episode of David’s life where he learned an important lesson that all of us be aware of: good intentions aren’t good enough; obeying God is what God requires.

3. The title of this message is, “You Must Do It God’s Way.”

I. DAVID’S GOOD INTENTION

A. RECENT HISTORY OF THE ARK

1. The Ark was a gold-covered box about 2 foot square and 4 feet long with a gold lid with two angels on it. Moses had it built at God’s direction in the wilderness.

2. The Ark was the center of God’s manifest presence on the Earth. Now if you’re right with God, the presence of God is a blessing, but if you’re in sin, the presence of God will bring judgment.

3. That’s exactly what happened when the Philistines captured the Ark in battle. God sent terrible plagues on their cities, so they sent back the Ark on a cart pulled by two cows.

4. It arrived in Israeli territory at Besh-Shemesh, where 50,000 Israelites died for looking inside/touching it.

5. It was sent to Kiriath-Jearim (1 Sam. 6:21) to Abinadab’s house where it stayed for 70 years! During all the reign of King Saul, the Ark of God was neglected, unsought and forgotten!