David seeks God's will - 2 Samuel 5:17 - 6:11
Prayer: Lord God, sometimes we get confused by you. One day, we'll know clearly what you want, and clearly see your hand in what we're doing. Next thing you know, we think we're doing your will only to have something happen that stops us in our tracks. Then we scratch our heads & ask ourselves if we were really following you or doing your will, or were we just following our own hearts. I suspect that's what David was going through in the events we're going to study this week, help us as we study to see your hand at work even in David's moments of confusion. Amen.
Quickly Form Groups:
1. Briefly have each person share about a new challenge they're facing (think single sentence), say a brief (think single sentence) prayer for each. (share, pray, share, pray, ....)
David is now ruling all Israel, and his kingdom is being bolstered by God - God will make Israel strong, God will bring wealth and honor to the land and it's king. But it's not a case of David sitting back & putting up his feet & thinking he can coast because he's finally where God said he'd be. Quite the opposite, David is going to be used by God to bring about the power and the wealth, God chose David & has spent quite a bit of time preparing David for the work ahead.
Challenge #1 - the Physical well being of Israel - the Philistines - 2 Samuel 5 v17-18 & 1 Chronicles 14:8-9: Let's rewind a bit and remind ourselves what's happened previously. For a while David & his entourage lived in a town in the Philistine lands, the Philistine king thought he had David & his fighting men under his service & available to do his bidding - even to the point of going to war against Israel. When the Philistines had come against Israel God worked it out so that David & his fighting men would be excluded from the battle. The Philistines warred against Israel, they killed King Saul, and the war resulted in crippling Israel and making it weak. Then David left Philistine territory to return home to his tribal lands, and was made King of the tribe of Judah. Apparently the Philistines weren't feeling threatened at that time, because they didn't do anything about David when he was ruling Judah. At that time Israel as a whole was still defeated and without a strong king.
Suddenly the Philistines get the news that all of Israel has made David their King and pledged their fighting men to his service. The Philistines were well aware of David's abilities, and now they hear of his new fighting force, they would naturally assume David and his armies were a threat. They decided not to wait, but to deal with this immediately. Let's pause for a second and realize that we're not 100% certain when this happened, it may have happened either before or after the conquering of Jerusalem, so we're not sure if David started out from Jerusalem or from Hebron. In either case the 2nd Samuel passage indicates David went to some sort of stronghold from which to determine his next move, but the 1 Chronicles passage says he went out to meet them (Philistines) - these are both true, and this leads me to believe that the stronghold may have been a strategic location (perhaps an outlook) somewhere near the Valley of Rephaim. From these two passages we learn that this valley was both a staging area for further battle since the Philistines had spread out through the valley, and that they had raided the area. So this is not simply a military presence, but a conquest to take control of the valley, and a direct attack on Israelite peoples & territory.
2 Samuel 5 v19-21 & 1 Chronicles 14:10-12: David is following a familiar pattern, he inquires of God about going into battle - likely through the Urim & Thumim, David leads his men into battle per God's instructions, is victorious, and gives God the glory for the victory. The battle took place at a location that was renamed to Baal Perazim which means "the lord who breaks out". Apparently when they defeated the Philistines in this location the Philistine forces were so overwhelmed that in order to escape they left their idols behind. These idols were taken by David & his men, and 1 Chronicles tells us David ordered the idols be burned.
2 Samuel 5 v22-25 & 1 Chronicles 14:13-17: The Philistines weren't completely routed after a single battle. This is interesting, we'd assume that if God gave the victory it would be complete. But let's think about how this relates to our lives: we may have a victory in an area of struggle, but that doesn't mean the struggle will never come again. So once again the Philistines are in the valley, once again David inquires of God, and once again God provides instruction & victory. This time the Philistines are routed from Israel, and they would eventually become subdued during David's reign.
Challenge #2 - the Spiritual well being of Israel - moving the Ark of the Covenant (part 1) in order to re-establish the tabernacle & the sacrificial system - 2 Samuel 6 v1-5 & 1 Chronicles 13:1-8: David calls together an assembly of the leadership of Israel, he has in mind to bring the Ark to Jerusalem and to establish the tabernacle there in the capital city. He speaks to the assembly about how God's Ark has been neglected, that none have gone to worship or make sacrifices during the time of Saul. The assembly unanimously agree with David, people are gathered from all over Israel, and 30,000 men are chosen to accompany David on his journey.
The large entourage travels to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to the house of Abinadab where the Ark has been faithfully guarded by this family for several years (1 Samuel 7:1). The Ark is put onto a new cart, with 2 members of the family of Abinadab to guide it, and the entourage starts the journey back to Jerusalem. This must have been an amazing site, 30,000 men celebrating & singing songs - like a massive parade to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.
Anyone notice something wrong? If David or the others in his entourage had known their scriptures they'd have known that you don't put the Ark on a cart! The Ark was made with special rings & carrying poles, and was supposed to be carried by the poles on the shoulders of the priests. It speaks to the Spiritual state of the nation that nobody brought this to David's attention, it's possible that they didn't know. But this is a grave error, and not knowing God's law is no excuse for breaking God's law, when God's law is broken consequences are going to result.
2 Samuel 6 v6-7 (& 1 Chronicles 13:9-10): It seems like an innocent mistake, Uzzah isn't trying to sin, Uzzah's intention is to protect the Ark from harm when the oxen stumbled. Don't get me wrong, God cares about our intentions, about the attitudes of our hearts, but God is perfect & His perfect Justice required that this irreverent act of touching the Ark be punished. God indicated when he instructed the Ark to be built that this was His Ark, it bore His name, it was for Him to occupy, and no human should touch it - thus the poles were to be used, and then only by the priests, for the purposes of moving the Ark. Sometimes I think we are so accustomed to the Grace of God that we take it for granted, we fail to see how even the tiniest offense is a grave offense to a Holy God. We must remember that our sense of Justice is perverted, and God's is perfect.
2 Samuel 6 v8-11 (& 1 Chronicles 13:11-14): David's response is very much like our gut response is to the death of Uzzah, he's angry about what God has done. He's so angry that he names the place Perez Uzzah, which means "outbreak against Uzzah". David quickly transitions from his initial response of anger to a response of fear, he was confused, he thought he was doing what God wanted and suddenly this good man has been struck down. David questions whether he was really doing the will of God, and so he decides to stop this journey and leave the Ark in the care of the family of Obed-Edom - who are a family in the tribe of Levi (priestly tribe). The family of Obed-Edom are blessed during the time they cared for the Ark.
Closing Prayer: God, we thank you that you reveal your will to us - even though sometimes we're confused by it. Lord help us to remember that we're only dust, that our thinking isn't your thinking, and that our sinful nature clouds our judgment. Help us to always come to you first, seeking what you want in our lives rather than seeking what we want you to do in our lives. Amen!
Quickly Form Groups Again:
2. We saw from the example with the Philistines that sometimes God has to help us battle an enemy more than once. What was the same, and what were the differences between the events of the two battles? (2 Samuel 5:17-21 & 22-25) What does this tell you about how God might work in your life & battles?
3. What was your gut reaction to God striking Uzzah? Do you think David was in God's will moving the Ark to Jerusalem (give your reasoning)? Have you ever been confused by God?
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