2 Samuel 5 – David Anointed as Israel’s
King
David
was king of Judah. Now the people of
Israel wanted him to be their king – King of all Israel. They told David that he was their own flesh
and blood. He had led their army and had
been their shepherd. All the elders
anointed David king. He was 30 years old
and reigned for 40 years. He reigned
over Judah for 7 years and 6 months and reigned over all Israel and Judah for
33 years.
David
and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites who were living
there. David conquered Jerusalem and
made his residence there. He called it
the City of David. He became more and
more powerful because the Lord God was with him. Hiram king of Tyre built a palace for
David. David knew that the Lord was the
one who established him as king and exalted his kingdom for the sake of His
people Israel. David took more
concubines and wives and had more sons and daughters.
All of
these wives were taken in direct disobedience for a king. Deut.
17:17 – “You must not take many wives or his heart
will be led astray.” David may
have thought all these wives and many children were signs of God’s blessings,
but he would find out that they would cause David a lot of trouble in the
future.
When
the Philistines heard of David being made king, they searched for him. David inquired of the Lord if he should go
and attack them and if the Lord would give him victory. The Lord said to go and He would hand them
over to David. So David did what the
Lord said and defeated the Philistines taking their abandoned idols.
When
have you asked God for guidance and then obeyed Him? What was the outcome?
2 Samuel 6 – David Brings the Ark to
Jerusalem
David
wanted to bring the ark to Jerusalem, because he wanted to make the worship of
God central in the lives of Israel. The
ark was a rectangular box that contained the 10 commandments. It was the symbol of God’s presence with the
people. We gather to worship today in
churches, but do we act like we are gathering in God’s holy presence? True worship involves focusing on the fact
that the Holy God is there.
David
built a new ox cart to carry the ark. He
didn’t think to consult God or the Levite priest, even the priests didn't consult God. They did as the Philistines had done when
they captured the ark carrying it on an ox cart. The cart became unsteady and Uzzah reached
for the ark to steady it. He touched it,
which was strictly forbidden. “they must not touch the holy things or they will die.”
– Num. 4:15. God struck him dead because of his irreverent
act. In the book of Leviticus there
were specific and detailed instructions on how to handle and move the ark of
God. Only the Levite priests were to do
this.
It was
David’s fault that the Levites were not asked to move the ark. Maybe he assumed God was so much on his side
that he could get away with anything. So
it was really David’s fault that all this happened. David learned that serving God is never
enough. Things must be done God’s way to
accomplish His will.
Was God
being too harsh on Uzzah? He had the
best intentions. He was only trying to
help. I think Uzzah saw no difference
between the ark and any other valuable article.
He took it for granted. It was
probably just commonplace to him.
However he should have known God’s rules about handling the ark. Many people are like that today. They grew up going to church and know God’s
commands. They have taken church and God
for granted. They don’t take Him
seriously.
Principle: God expects us to obey His commands.
David
was angry as to what God had done. Then
he became afraid and maybe a little embarrassed in front of the crowd. God had not done things David’s way. God did them His way. God’s Word is clear as to how the ark was to
be carried and David should have known this.
Out of fear David had the ark stored at the house of Obed-Edom. It remained there for 3 months. While the ark was there, David learned the
house of Obed-Edom was blessed because of the presence of the ark.
David
was glad that the presence of the ark had brought blessings so he decided to
bring the ark to Jerusalem. This time he
did it the proper way, God’s way with the Levites carrying it. When they had gone 6 steps they stopped and
sacrificed an oxen and a fatted sheep. When
it was set in its place, they offered more sacrifices and sang and danced with
joy celebrating the ark’s return.
David’s wife Michal saw David dancing without his ephod. When she’s saw him, she didn’t appreciate his
exuberant worship and despised him in her heart.
David
was not immodest. He simply took off his
royal robe. He was dressed just like
everyone else in the procession. His
dancing was appropriate. It was a parade
with everyone celebrating this joyous occasion.
When David
returned home, Michal told David that he was a king acting vulgar in the sight of
the slave girls. She was angry that he
took off his kingly robe and identified with his people. David didn’t let her criticism ruin his
day. Instead he explained that he did it
for God and not for her and that he would be even more undignified and be
humble in his own sight. He would
celebrate before the Lord.
The
chapter ends by saying Michal would have no children. Maybe their marriage ended and they no longer
lived together as husband and wife. We
really don’t know what happened to her.
Principle: Worshipping God is nothing to be ashamed of.
Do you
worship God with enthusiasm?
Is your
worship central to your identity and priority?
When you
worship do you expect to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit?
David
is a picture of Jesus Christ. His reign
was a picture of Jesus in the millennium.
David went through a time when he was rejected, persecuted and harassed. In the time he was in exile he gathered men
around him who became commanders and generals for when he became king of
Israel. He would come to establish his
kingdom. David identified with his
people by becoming as one of them when he danced and worshiped just as Jesus
identified when He came to us in human form.
David is also a picture of what happens in a Christian’s life when he
gives it to God. Christians are offered
a kingdom just like David was offered a kingdom. There are enemies that threaten us from all
sides. David was never able to totally
get rid of his enemies – the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Jebusites,
etc. We as Christians are never able to
totally get rid of our enemies. Enemies
like jealousy, envy, resentment, bitterness, lust, worry, etc. All these enemies afflict us in our daily
walk. But the Holy Spirit is working in
us to bring us to the place of reigning in our lives through Jesus.
Next
time we will continue in the book of 2
Samuel. See you here next time.
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