Sample

Now 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 to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim. ³ They placed the ark of God on a new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. ⁴ So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. ⁵ Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

⁶ But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. ⁷ And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸ David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. ⁹ So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹ Thus 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 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. ¹³ And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. ¹⁴ And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶ Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that 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 So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹ Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.

²⁰ But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” ²¹ So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.” ²³ Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

—2 Samuel 6:1-23

Sermon Outline

1. Realize God’s
2. Recognize Your
3. Request God’s

References

Weekly Study Guide

In the church today, we have inherited a significant misunderstanding of what the “Kingdom” is all about. My hope is that we will be able to go into this in much more depth later in this series. But one version of this misunderstanding is the idea that the Kingdom is here now. It is sometimes called “Kingdom Now Theology.” And there are a lot of reasons for this mistaken notion. No, the Kingdom is not here now. In scripture, the Kingdom is the 1,000-year reign of Christ that is coming to the earth, in the future, following His return. To properly understand the idea of the Kingdom, we must go all the way back to the beginning.

Andy Woods explains this well when he says that in the Garden of Eden God began His Kingdom program. This is where Adam and Eve were governing creation on God’s behalf. Sadly, they rebelled against God, and the moment that happened, the Kingdom was lost to this world. Subsequently, the goal of history is now seen in how that Kingdom is restored. Everything in scripture is simply the description of that journey from lost Kingdom to restored Kingdom. The process by which this restoration happens flows through the various covenants God makes with mankind.

But an essential aspect of that promised restoration is tied to the Mosaic Covenant. We must remember that the Kingdom is something that was promised to Israel. And here is where we return to something mentioned earlier, namely, that there is a difference between ownership of the land and promises, and possession of the land and promises. A few weeks ago, we were discussing how the Mosaic Covenant comes alongside the Abrahamic Covenant and does not replace it, but rather, serves as the administrator for how the people would be able to receive the promised blessings from God. The Abrahamic Covenant guaranteed that Israel would own the land forever, that the seed would come through them, and that spiritual blessings would be theirs. This is an unbreakable promise. Nothing Israel could do would ever disqualify them from these promises.

But then the Mosaic Covenant comes along when Israel becomes a nation. And this covenant was conditional, revealing that although Israel as a nation would always own those unconditional Abrahamic promises, the enjoyment or current possession of those promises was contingent upon their obedience. Again, there is a difference between ownership and possession. Another name for possession might be enjoyment. These are both legal terms describing the same thing. An example of this difference might be: if a man were to commit a crime and be sent to prison, does his being in prison mean that he no longer owns his home? No, he simply is prevented from possessing, or enjoying it for a time. The Abrahamic Covenant guarantees ownership of the land and the blessings forever, but enjoyment of those promises might be forfeited by any particular generation because of disobedience.

So, one might ask, if generation after generation of Israel was continually characterized by disobedience, so much so that God had to not only subjugate them to their enemies, but also remove them from their land, why would God not just sever that relationship, and start over with another chosen nation? Because God cannot. He has obligated Himself to Israel through the everlasting Abrahamic Covenant. And God keeps His word. Israel owns those blessings and she will always own those blessings. But whether any given generation possesses or enjoys what they own is based on their response to the Mosaic Covenant. Abrahamic Covenant speaks to ownership. And the Mosaic Covenant speaks to possession.

When we get to the prophets, we see them pointing the people back, time and time again, to the covenant they were breaking. Which covenant would that be? The Mosaic Covenant. The prophets tell the people: “You are being disobedient in these specific areas. And that is why you are under a curse. And you’re going to continue to be under a curse as long as you’re in disobedience.” But the prophets go on to warn the people that if they turn back to God and turn back to covenant loyalty then no longer will they be cursed, but be blessed. This is exactly what Moses told the people back in Leviticus 26. After describing the blessings and curses in that chapter, it ends with a description of what will happen when they eventually do repent.

Then the prophets begin to give glimpses of what the future will be like when Israel is in full compliance with the Mosaic Covenant. It is then, after that repentance, that we will see the lifting of those curses. As Andy Woods puts it: once Israel is in full compliance with the Mosaic Covenant, they will not just be the owner, but also the possessor. And when Israel is both the owner and possessor, what materializes on planet Earth? The promised Kingdom! Thus, the tension or goal of history is how Israel is going to be brought into compliance with the Mosaic Covenant, and thus how the Kingdom will be established on earth. As long as Israel is owner and not possessor, the promised Kingdom is postponed.

This is the reason for the church age. Israel had the opportunity to accept Messiah and repent for their disobedience and unbelief when Jesus came. But they didn’t. They refused the offer of the Kingdom, so God then hardened them and the Kingdom was postponed (Rom 11:25). What did Jesus and John the Baptist say: the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand? It was within their grasp. The Kingdom could have materialized in the first century. This is where much of our modern misunderstanding about the Kingdom comes from. Jesus did not say, as certain theologies claim, that the Kingdom had come. He said it was at hand. It was so close; they could taste it. But what had to happen first? Israel had to come into compliance with the Mosaic Covenant and acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah. It did not happen then, but there will come a time in the future when this will happen.

What does Stephen tell us in his powerful sermon in Acts chapter 7? He highlights the truth that Israel always gets it right the second time. He points us to Joseph as an example. His brothers rejected him and his dream when Joseph was a young man and sold him into slavery. But when they got to Egypt, they found themselves bowing down to him. They got it right the second time. Stephen then points to Moses. Even though he was rejected by his people the first time, after his 40 years of self-exile, Moses returned and they finally received him as their deliverer. They got it right the second time. Later, Moses went up onto the mountain and received the Law of God. But what happened when he came down the mountain the first time? He smashed the tablets because of their idolatry. But the second time Moses came down from the mountain, they got it right. And then Stephen says the same thing is happening right now. He says that Israel was a stiff-necked people who were resisting the Holy Spirit. The promised Righteous One had come, and they had become his murderers. They missed it the first time, but they will get it right the second time. The Jews hated that message so much that they picked up stones and killed Stephen on the spot.

That’s why today the Kingdom is still postponed. Israel rejected the King they were promised. To understand the timing of it all, all we have to do is look at the nation of Israel. Remember, Israel is God’s timepiece. If you want to know what time it is in God’s economy, you look at Israel. Yes, they are still God’s chosen people, but are they in compliance with the Mosaic Covenant? Have they accepted Messiah? No, they are a Christ-rejecting nation. And as long as they are, the Kingdom will remain postponed. But that will not always be the case. Jeremiah 33:14 announces: “Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” Romans 11:25 tells us that a partial hardening has happened to Israel UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Other versions of that verse say that “…blindness in part has happened to Israel UNTIL…” After that trigger of the fullness of the Gentiles coming in, the hardening will cease, and the blindness will be lifted and then all Israel will be saved (Rom 11:26).

Zechariah chapter 12 tells us that after Israel is besieged and all the nations of the earth have come against her, “Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son” (Zech 12:10). In Hosea 5:15, God says that He will go away and return to His place, UNTIL Israel acknowledges their sin, their sin of rejecting Him as Messiah, and they seek His face. It says that, in their tribulation, they will seek Him. They will say, “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us. He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days. He will raise us up on the third day.” Jesus made this truth abundantly clear when He said, “You [Israel] will not see Me until you say, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matt 23:39). It is the petition of the Spirit-indwelt, revived nation of Israel that will usher in the Second Coming.

But what does it take to get Israel to that place of repentance? It will be the horrors of the tribulation wherein it will be a time of distress that is worse than anything that has happened in history. Israel will look to the antichrist at the beginning of the tribulation as their savior of sorts, but when he betrays them in the middle of the tribulation, desecrates the rebuilt temple, and mercilessly persecutes them, they will finally get to the point where they acknowledge that, for the last 2,000 years, they had it wrong. Jesus was indeed the Messiah. The purpose of the tribulation is to traumatize Israel so severely that they have nowhere to look but to God.

The national repentance of Israel and the acceptance of Jesus as their king is the sole condition upon which Israel becomes not only the owner, but the possessor, and the Kingdom comes to the earth. This is the hidden importance of the Mosaic Covenant. Sometimes when we look at the Law all we see is a list of do’s and don’ts. Even reading through the Law can sometimes seem like a chore—a drudgery we try to avoid. But there is so much more there than we can even imagine. In this covenant with Israel, we see the keys to understanding a roadmap for the ages—both the mechanism for how God mediated blessing to His people prior to Messiah, and also the key for triggering the second coming of Christ. The key to understand the return of Christ to the earth is not found in the book of Revelation. In fact, we have not even mentioned that book once. The key is to look at the covenants God made with Israel and the Kingdom that was promised to her.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the biggest celebration you have ever been part of (a Superbowl parade, presidential rally, a large wedding).

2. What are your first thoughts when reading through this passage about the death of Uzzah? Does the punishment fit the crime? We can imagine the men might be thinking, “God will be so pleased with the new cart we have made for His Ark”—and then this happens. What was really the issue in this situation? How had God commanded His people to transport the ark—His earthly throne (Ex 25:10-16; Num 4:15)? Why would God punish Uzzah and not the Philistines, who had also transported the Ark on a cart (1 Sam 6:6-8)? What was David communicating by ignoring the clear commands of God in how the Ark was transported? How were they treating God?

3. What does such burning anger by God reveal about His holiness? Why would God be so jealous for His holiness to be protected? Why do you think David became angry at how God dealt with Uzzah? What does it reveal about us that we are shocked at such displays of God’s holy wrath? Why do you think we comprehend so little about what it means for God to be holy? If you could summarize the lessons we gleaned from this chapter, what do we learn about mankind’s approach to God, and what do we learn about the holiness of God?

4. Are all religious acts acceptable if they’re done sincerely or with good intentions? Why or why not? What are some ways that God is “worshipped” today that may not align with His expressed desires? Why do you think the way in which God is worshipped is important to Him? Evaluate these common beliefs: “God doesn’t care how I worship Him, as long as I worship Him.” “I worship God in my own way.” “I can worship God in front of my TV at home just as well as when I’m at church on Sunday.”

5. What does the phrase “the fear of the Lord” mean? In your own private worship, do you tend more toward “reverential awe” of the Almighty God, or “familiarity” with your Heavenly Father? Do you think we tend to judge a worship experience by the way it makes us feel? Why is this tempting and why is it so wrong? How might we reevaluate the way we approach worship this week? What are some steps we can take to more clearly reflect the holiness of God in our lives and in our worship?

Going Deeper

1. What differences do you see in the way David went about transporting the Ark the second time? Read 1 Chronicles 15: 1-2, 11-15. What specific commands does David give the priests? Why do you think God desired His throne to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites? How was the worship different in this story when it was done in the proper order? What do you think about the emotion David expressed in his worship?

2. What was the mistake David, Uzzah, and the people made? Clearly, they misunderstood what the holiness of God was all about. They believed that the dirt on the ground would somehow defile something holy, more than the touch of a sinful human hand. The dirt was created by God and has no moral standing. It just is. So why do we think that it’s justified to disobey the clear command of God and touch His throne with sinful hands—so that it will not get some dirt on it? Why did it matter who carried the Ark and why did it matter how it was transported? What does it mean for something to be sacred? In what ways do we take God for granted?

Transformational Activity

Worship

When we approach God, we must approach Him in the way He desires. We must treat Him as holy. Worship must be in accord with the character and nature of God. We cannot just worship however we please. Worship is not about us or the effect it has on us. Do you think it’s easy and tempting to become overly “familiar” with God? Do you think this is what happened to Uzzah, having the Ark of God sitting at his house for 20 years? Or with David, having finally achieved all that he desired? Take some time this week to ask your Heavenly Father—the Almighty God—to reveal the ways you might not be treating Him as holy. Then spend some time worshipping that holy God in the ways He desires.