2 Samuel Series - Week 5: Don’t Hold Back Your Praise

 Have you ever had one of those songs that just gets your foot to tap? Or a one that can turn your whole day around? Some songs can just get us singing, even when we’re down in the dumps. One of those songs for me is called Glorious Day. The song is basically about the moment Jesus calls to us and brings us out of the grave and into his eternal life. It’s a foot moving, uplifting song. 

Then there’s a more quiet one called, I Saw God Today, by George Straight. Where a young man is singing about his wife giving birth, and later how he saw a flower through concrete, and in those moments, he saw God at work. 

There are songs that move us to rock out in our cars, or sing loud in our showers. Some of which we can’t help but belt them out when we hear them.

And its that idea of not holding back when our song comes on that brings us back to our summer series, where we’ll be picking it back up in Second Samuel Chapter 6, verse 13. But before we jump back into Second Samuel 6:13, let’s remind ourselves where we are in the book.

In our first week we looked at the love that David had for Saul’s family. We saw three instances of this: David’s mourning over Saul’s death, his mourning over Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, and the taking in Saul’s grandson to take care of him. Through David’s love for Saul’s family, we understand that, God is calling us to be people seeking the good for others, even when they seek our harm. I’ve had several of you this past week tell me stories of how God is working through you in this very area. Though people may seek our downfall, we should still seek the blessings of God for them, the greatest of which is salvation through Jesus.

From the second week, we looked at the life of Abner, who, though he seemed to try to conduct himself in a righteous way, fell to the vengeance of Joab. From Abner’s life, we understood that, wickedness will come against God’s people, but he calls us to trust in his faithfulness when the wickedness comes against us. We can’t stop the wickedness of the world from coming at us, however, we can stand firm in Jesus, because he is faithful in all circumstances.

Then in our third week, we came to the moment where David is finally crowed king. God blesses him in many ways, but within that joyful moment, we saw that there were seeds of sin flowering in his life, through him being vindictive to his taking of many wives. Through God’s prescribed remedy for this, we understood that we are to starve our sinful desires by making God’s word a priority in our lives. By being in God’s word, we will be better able to stand against our sinful desires.

Finally, in our last week, we looked at a moment where God’s holiness was on display for the people. Uzzah kept the Ark of the Covenant from falling to the ground, which seems like a good thing, but God responded by striking the man down. When we examined the reasons why God did this, we could see that the people were not treating God as holy, but rather as an object for their own benefit. God’s holiness is his key attribute and by understanding that, we can better understand that reasons why God brings salvation through Jesus. Because of this, we walked away last week, with the understanding that, we need to remember that God is holy, and because of that holiness, he has bought us salvation. When we have a clear understanding of God’s holiness, we can then respond in the proper way.

With that in our minds, we can now read from Second Samuel 6:13-23.

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.

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.

20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

v.13-19 -This passage takes place as David brings the Ark of the Covenant up to the City of David. We covered some of the passage last week. Where David had originally brought the Ark as a trophy, he now has a better understanding of the holy prescriptions God had laid out, and he’s now following. David’s rejoicing reaches a point where he looses his “decorum” as king and dances before the Lord and the people. 

As the men, who are now carrying the Ark, move forward, David offers offerings to the Lord. This is most likely because he’s making atonement for his and the people’s sins for treating God as unholy. Then as the Ark continues its way up to Jerusalem, David begins to dance before the the Lord as he where’s a linen ephod. There can be a misunderstanding here, that David is basically dancing before God in his underwear. But the idea here is that David has removed his royal robes, and become like a commoner. The simple linen ephod was worn by the priests as a sign of simplicity before the Lord. So here, David is making a positional statement. He is not the king of Israel, God is, and in comparison to God, David is just a commoner, and his clothes reflect it. This is actually the issue that Michal will bring up, which we’ll look at in a little bit.

But David’s ecstatic joy for God overflows to blessing the people with food and a special blessing from the king of Israel under the authority of the Lord of hosts. The title for God is important here. It’s a recognizing that it is God who is the bringer of victory. He has brought David to this point, because God has won every victory for him.

v.16, 20-23 - However, though all of Israel is praising God, David’s first wife, Michal, isn’t. She’s seething, as she watches David. We’re told that she “despised him in her heart (v.16),” and at the first opportunity, she tells him that what he is doing is vulgar. This is where people get the idea that David was in his underwear, or even that he was naked, but there seems to be a different issue. Michal’s focus is on David as king saying, “How the king of Israel honored himself today … (v.20)” Michal’s focus is how the king honors himself. Her farther Saul’s whole focus was how he presented himself and honored himself as king.However, David’s focus was on how he would honor God, the true king of Israel. In this moment there’s a heart clash. David’s heart is for God, whereas Michal’s heart is for the position. She is a queen of Israel, she is Saul’s daughter, she has status, and she’s watching her husband, now king, act as a commoner. 

There’s probably also some underlying anger towards David, because she was given to him, but then was given to another, and in the interim, he married more women, got more concubines, and eventually David had her brought back to be his wife once again. She’s probably not happy with the situation she’s in, and has allowed her heart to harden towards God and David. 

It’s because of this hard-heartedness that the passage ends with letting us know that Michal didn’t have any children. This is seen as a divine judgment against Michal, letting us know that her heart wasn’t just set against David, but God as well.

And though the bigger thought continues on for another four chapters, we’ll stop here. From this passage we can walk away with the idea that, when we understand God’s holiness, we can express true worship. True worship is a stripping of our pretenses. True worship of the Lord, is from a place where we realize that he is deserving of every ounce of our lives. There is nothing we are to hold back from God. David brought sacrifices, stripped off his royal robes, danced, and was generous to the people around him. 

True worship is rooted in the holiness of God, and springs up in a way that seems strange to the world. Yet it’s this type of worship that we are called to. 

Psalm 100:4 states, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

Isaiah 12:4, “And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.’”

Jesus said this in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Colossians 3:16-17 states, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

The Hebrew writer writes in Hebrews 13:15, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

And finally, in Revelation 5:9-14, we’re told, “9 And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’ 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’

14 And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

We are to be a people of praise. We cannot hold it back, we must sing it out. It’s not for us that we sing, but every once of our praise should be in recognition of the Holy God, Creator and Sustainer of all things. The one who is Alph and Omega, who is the Lord of Hosts, the Bringer of All Good Gifts, the Triune God. He is worthy of our worship and as his people we are to proclaim it boldly and to all nations. When we hold back we are like Michal, allowing our own circumstances to harden us against the Lord. Let us be like David stripping off our titles, status,  and circumstances so that the proclamation of what the Lord has done can be heard through our lives. 

Today, my challenge for us is to praise God. We’re going to sing three more songs during this worship time. I want to challenge you to take your own instruments and join us. This isn’t rehearsed, this isn’t practiced, it’s spontaneous praise. It doesn’t matter if you’re on beat, or you if you get ahead or fall behind, what matters is that the praise of the Lord, which he is deserving of, is proclaimed by his people. 

So let’s praise the Lord, that we might show his goodness through our lives. Amen.

2 Samuel Series - Week 4: Honoring God’s Holiness

  For my fourth grade year, my parents moved from the little town of Fiddletown into the town proper of Ione. We moved into a neighborhood that was brand-new, and had lots of young families. Catty-corner to my houses there lived a family with three boys. They were pretty red-neck, rowdy, and I had a blast with them. They let me ride their dirt bikes, one of which I broke. They had a trampoline close to the house so that you could jump off the roof onto it. We'd built forts out in the fields close by. We’d swim in the creek when it was running. We did all sorts of things. 

When I first met the boys, I saw that something was different about their youngest. He was a year younger than me, and his skin was deformed on one side of his body. I asked him what had happened and he told me that when he was a few years younger his mom was cooking in the kitchen. She’d tell him to get out, but one time, when her back was turned, he reached up and grabbed a pot off the burner. It was boiling water and it fell on him. He was scarred for life, because he hadn’t listen to his mother to stay out of the kitchen. Though he was outwardly scarred, it didn’t slow him down. And we were pretty good friends for that year.

It’s this idea of not listening and experiencing the consequences that brings us back into our summer series where we’ll be picking it back up in Second Samuel, Chapter 6, starting in verse 1. And as we open up to Second Samuel 6:1, let’s review our last few weeks.

In our first week, we looked at the love David had for Saul’s family, and we saw how that showed, through David’s mourning of both Saul and his son Ish-bosheth, even though, both were out to kill him. That love even extended to Saul’s grandson, who, if David wanted to follow what kings normally did, would have killed him to secure his dynasty. Instead, David brings the boy into his care and provides for him. From David’s love for Saul’s family, we walked away with the understanding that God is calling us to be people seeking the good for others, even when they seek our harm.

In the second week, we then looked at the last days of Abner, who seemed to try to act in righteousness. He did this by making sure the next heir of Saul was made king, and by trying to avoid unneeded bloodshed. Yet, he was killed in a wicked act of vengeance. We walked away for his life with the understanding that, wickedness will come against God’s people, but he calls us to trust in his faithfulness, when the wickedness comes against us.

Finally, last week, we looked at the monumental occasion when David finally becomes king of Israel. After several decades of waiting, and a whole book leading up to the moment, we finally saw the fulfillment of Ruth’s hope. Yet even though God was with David as king, we also saw the seeds of sin in David’s life start to flower. We saw how he was vindictive against those who mocked him, and how he was in direct violation of God’s command for kings to not take many wives. We saw in God’s address to how kings were to keep their hearts with God, that, we are to starve our sinful desires by making God’s word a priority in our lives. God’s word keeps us aware of our sin and focused on him to overcome it. Something we’ll see doesn’t happen in David’s life.

Now, that we’re refreshed on the last few weeks, we can dive into Second Samuel 6, where we’re going to take the chapter in a part one and part two. Part one this week, and part two next week. It’s one thought, but deals with two issues that we need to zero in on separately. Let’s read together starting in 6:1.

1 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 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.

Let’s stop there for this week. David is on an upswing. He’s been made king, his internal enemies have been dealt with, his external enemies have been routed, and other nations are making peace with him. David is sitting as undisputed and the only recognized king of the once land of Canaan, now the land of Israel.  He’s loved by his people and feared by his enemies. 

So, David decides to bring the symbol of God’s presence and favor, the Ark of the Covenant, to the new capital city of Israel. If you don’t remember, back in First Samuel chapters 4-6, the ark had been captured by the Philistines, just for God to bring it back to the Israelites. The Israelites feared the Lord, and so anointed the son of Abinadab, Eleazar, to watch over the ark. And there it sat until David came and got it.

But we see that on the ark’s way to David’s city, an ox stumbles, and the ark begins to slide off the cart that was carrying it. A son of Abinadab, Uzzah, tries to keep it from hitting the ground, but is struck down by God. 

Now, the question that should pop up in our heads should be, “Why?” Why would God be angry at Uzzah? He was trying to keep God’s ark from hitting the ground, isn’t that a good thing?

This is where we need to take a step back and realize what is happening. See there are issues at play, that if we don’t know the whole context of the Scriptures, will go right over our heads. The primary issue here is that the people, including David are not treating God as holy, but instead treating the ark as a trophy.

See God gave specific instructions about the ark through his law. By not following those instructions the people are downplaying the holiness of God. Something that God adamantly instructs them to focus on (need Scripture verse). God’s holiness is the primary issue of the Old Testament. In order to understand the grace that is found in Jesus, we must first understand the weight of sin. Sin is rebellion against God’s will and purpose. And since God is holy, meaning he perfect in all things, that sin has to be dealt with. The only two options is that sin is either dealt within the person who sins, or by proxy of something else. This was the purpose of the sacrificial system. It showed God’s willingness to extend grace to people, by placing their sin on another. In this way, when Jesus comes to pay the sin, there’s an understanding of the weight of his sacrifice. He’s our proxy who takes on our sin, which satisfies God’s holiness and his grace. 

Knowing that, we can see that there are two problems that are within the text. First, back in the book of Numbers (see Num. 3:3, 4:15; 7:9), God gave specific instructions on who was to take care of and transport the ark. The family of Kohath were the only ones designated to take care of and transport the ark. Though Abinadab’s son was designated to watch over the ark, he wasn’t a son of Kohath. So when Abinadab’s sons, most likely grandsons at this point, try to take on that role, they are in violation of God’s commands. Since Uzzah isn’t from the family of Kohath, he is not permitted to touch the ark, so when he does, he dies. 

Secondly, the way in which the ark was transported is in violation of God’s commands. The ark was supposed to be carried with wooden poles by people (see Ex.25:12-25). But here it is put on a new cart. This might seem frivolous, but the Israelites are actually following a pagan example rather than a biblical one. God called them to carry the ark with poles, instead they’re doing what the Philistines did back in First Samuel. The Philistines would carry their idols on new carts, and to get rid of the ark, the Philistines put it on a new cart to deliver back to the Israelites. Instead of following God’s commands, they were following pagan practices. This is another reason of why what is going on is in direct opposition to God’s holiness. The Israelites are acting as pagans, rather than in keeping with their holy God.

The result of this sends a holy reverent fear into David. Something that needed to happen, because he had already begun to sway from God. We talked about David’s seeds of sin flowering last week. God will sometimes send things to shock us back to the right path, and it seems, at least a little bit, in this case it works. David is so fearful that he sends the ark to Obed-edom a Gittie. Now that word, Gittite has two possible interpretations, but is most likely a reference to the town of Gath-rimmon, which is a Levitical city later on referenced in First Chronicles 15.

In other words, David sends the ark to the priests where it should have went originally. And God blesses the house of Obed-edom, in a sign that David did the right thing. 

Dropping down to verses 12-15, we find out that when David hears of God blessing Obed-edom, he seeks to bring the ark to the city of David once again. Except this time he does it right. In verse 13, it references, “those who bore” the ark, meaning, it wasn’t on a cart this time, it was being carried, most likely by the priests. Since David and the people are now trying to do as God commanded, there is a lot of rejoicing and David dances in front of the ark as it proceeds into the city. That dancing is going to get David into trouble with his wife, but we’ll leave that for next week.

For now, let’s see what we can walk away with this week. Though, we as believers in Jesus, live under the new covenant of grace, God is still holy. He is still to be revered. We are still to have a reverent fear of God. Not that we cower before him, but that we understand that he is God, and we are not. He is completely perfect and only through Jesus are we. 

See the cross represents the collision of God’s holiness with his love. In that moment God provided a pathway for sinful humanity to be forgiven and to enter into his holiness.

Yet, even after the cross, when Ananias and Sapphira tried to deceive the Church, the Holy Spirit struck them down. We read the result in Acts 5:11, “And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.” Just like what happened to David, a holy reverent fear came over the Church (see Acts 5:1-11).

In his letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul addresses how the communion table was being taken in an unworthy manner and because of that some in the congregation became sick. He writes this, “ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Cor. 11:27-32)”

Though we have access to the Father through Jesus and are forgiven because of his work, though we can call on our Father and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we must still understand that God is holy, and not think that we can be frivolous with him.

Today we are approaching the table of the Lord in communion. As we pass the elements today, we need to first examine ourselves. This is a moment were we intentionally approach God in something he has prescribed for us.

Just as God prescribed who and how the ark was to be carried, Jesus prescribed the Lord’s supper for us. Paul writes in First Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

This is your challenge for this week. As we partake in communion, before we pass the elements, let’s take a moment and go before the Lord and seek him in his holiness. Let us not treat this as something that we do, because we do it, but remember the holy act it represents. God’s punishment for our sin was placed on another. Jesus bore our guilt and shame that we may bear his eternal life. Let us not make that payment cheap by seeking after things that are not of God. 

Let us not treat the table of the Lord as the Israelites were treating the ark, as something that represents God, but without respect for God who spoke how to treat it. Instead, let us seek God to reveal and deal with the sin that still holds on to us. That when we come to the table we are not being deceitful of who we are, but we are honest with the Lord.

We can still take communion, even if we are struggling with sin, because its our honesty the Lord seeks. If we have already accepted what Jesus has done for us, then that sin has been paid for, but we need to still not try to hide it from God, who already knows it. Instead, let us be honest at the Lord’s table today. 

And if you feel like you’re taking the elements in an unworthy manner, it would be better for you not to take it, then to be dishonest. There is no judgment for those who seek the Lord in honesty. So when the elements are passed, only take them if you believe you are taking them to honor God in holiness. But also, if you know that you would be taking in an unworthy manner, let it pass by, and then in that act, you too will be honoring God in his holiness. 

God is seeking us to be holy as he is holy. Our holiness comes through the work of Jesus, and he calls us to act in that holiness as we read and follow his word. Let us be his holy people this week. Amen.