Angry About What?

We started talking about 2nd Samuel 6:1-9 which is a shocking passage of Scripture on Monday.  Monday we specifically looked at the first two verse and saw that David assumed that he should bring the Ark of God back but never sought God on it.  We talked about how we always need to seek out what God wants.   Tuesday we looked  verses 3-5 and saw the whole idea of total obedience and not having selective obedience. Yesterday we looked at the stumble and touch which was about intentions and obedience.

Today we look at the last of the posts on 2nd Samuel 6:1-9  by looking at verses 8-9.  8 David was angry because the LORD’s anger had blazed out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “outbreak against Uzzah”). It is still called that today. 9 David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?”

What does David get angry about? We aren’t told why he was angry on this day but there are some ideas: It could be that David was angry with himself because he should have known better than to carry the Ark on a cart, and his careless actions had brought about the death of a man. He could have been angry with the Lord for slaying Uzzah instead of honoring the Israelite’s hearts’ desire to serve and worship the Lord, regardless of the fact that they weren’t following God’s commands concerning the carrying of the Ark. It could be that David was angry just because the Lord did not allow him to have his way in this situation; after all he was worshipping the Lord with great passion. It could have been he couldn’t understand why his good intentions were not enough and understand why God would kill Uzzah. How many times have you had similar thoughts and had similar talks with God as some of these?

Here is what we need to get; God is concerned with both our intentions and our actions. The intentions of David and the people of Israel were good ones but the actions taken were poor, sloppy, full of assumptions, and disobedience. Just because you have good intentions does not mean everything is going to turn out right and the way you want too, especially when you factor in you did not go to God and you made assumptions.

Just be reminded that David wanted to bring the Ark back which was good.  David did not seek God, did not check the Law to see what needed to be done, acted in ways that went against God, and was flat out disobedient to the who, what, and how to move the Ark.  This a picture of a good  intentions and actions that were less than stellar.  We need to learn from this and not only have good intentions but have actions that match.

What do you think David was angry about?

I pray you were encouraged by looking at these verse this week and I got something special for you tomorrow.

The Stumble and Touch

We started talking about 2nd Samuel 6:1-9 which is a shocking passage of Scripture on Monday.  Monday we specifically looked at the first two verse and saw that David assumed that he should bring the Ark of God back but never sought God on it.  We talked about how we always need to seek out what God wants.  Yesterday we looked  verses 3-5 and saw the whole idea of total obedience and not having selective obedience.

Today we look at the stumble and touch in verses 6 and 7 – 6 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark of God. 7 Then the LORD’s anger blazed out against Uzzah for doing this, and God struck him dead beside the Ark of God.

The ox stumbles and the Ark is going to fall. What would you do? Most of us are going to do the same thing as Uzzah, reach out our hand and keep the Holy Ark of God from falling to the ground. Again where is the problem with this, we might ask?

Here is what we know: God had very specific requirements for the Ark and how it was to be transported. When the road became rough and the Ark threatened to overturn, Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark. And to the horror of the whole crowd, he fell to the ground and died on the spot.

It doesn’t sound fair, does it? David didn’t think so either and he was shaken and angry. It shook him up so badly that he stopped the procession and left the ark in the house of Obed-Edom for three months. We will talk about David’s reaction tomorrow.

Here is what we know about Uzzah.  Uzzah was a Levite, but only priests might touch the ark. The law was expressive concerning the those who were in charge of the Ark, that though they were to carry the ark by the poles, yet they must not touch any part of it or they would die. When Uzzah touched the Ark, God struck him dead for he did what he was not supposed to do – he was a Levite and should have known better. This touching of the Ark was strictly forbidden. Numbers 4:15 says, they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die.

Uzzah made a decision in a moment to disregard God’s command and do what seemed right to him. So what we see is that even our decisions made in a moment matter before God. Those snap decisions we make – we are responsible for and God will hold us accountable for them. This should cause us to pause and really think before we speak and act.

One of the key words and thoughts of the Bible is obedience. God expects obedience! Total and not selective obedience as mentioned yesterday. This is a hard and big principle to learn but it is one we must learn. We must be obedient to God – not to the past, not to people, not to tradition, not to current thoughts and trends, not to anything but God. How can we be obedient if we do not read His word or communicate with Him through prayer? This is why daily Bible reading and prayer are key to a strong relationship with God.  These things are key when the stumble happens and we want to touch that which we should not.

What is God showing you in your quiet time or what can I pray for or both?

Obedience?

Yesterday we started talking about 2nd Samuel 6:1-9 which is a shocking passage of Scripture.  We specifically looked yesterday at the first two verse and saw that David assumed that he should bring the Ark of God back but never sought God on it.  We talked about how we always need to seek out what God wants.

Today we move on to verses 3-5 and see what other problems are here in this shocking passage.  Let us read these verses:  3 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the hillside home of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart 4 with the Ark of God on it, with Ahio walking in front. 5 David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

We read this and say, where is the problem here, other than maybe it sounds like a Holy Rock Concert? We have the Israelites who have built a new cart to carry the Ark, that cannot be wrong. If it was an old cart that could be a problem but this is a new one specifically made to carry the Ark. We have the people worshiping and celebrating before the Lord? Where is the problem in that?

We need to figure out what the problem is here.  The problem has to do with the idea of the cart  because it is the thing that is going against God’s way. Look at what David does, he has a brand new cart made to carry the Ark. This Holy Ark we would say deserves a new cart, but some very important detail has been over looked by David and the others. God in Numbers 4 and Exodus 25 give some specifics as too how the Ark is to be moved and a cart is not it. Where does the idea of a cart come from?  They are patterning the moving of the Ark after how the Philistines did it and not how God told them to move it. God does not care that they built a new cart because a new cart is not how he told them to move it. Look at Exodus 25:12-15 and how God said to move the Ark – 12 Cast four rings of gold for it, and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 13 Make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 Fit the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. 15 These carrying poles must never be taken from the rings; they are to be left there permanently.

The detail that David and the others forgot was that they were not to be moving the Ark by cart but that it was to be carried by the priest on poles. Now this just might seem like a small detail, but it shows a lack of not paying attention to God and not paying attention to His word. It shows a lack of obedience. Just think, they were patterning what they were doing after the ungodly rather than God.

How often is this us? How often do we get in trouble because we do not do things the way God says we should them? How often to do we get in trouble because we lack obedience to what God tells us to do? How often do we pattern our lives and what we do off how the world says to do it and try to fit God into it? We are not called to fit God into anything – He is God creator of all – we need to fit ourselves into Him.

Something else here is there is no such thing as selective obedience. Sometimes we harp on God ways to do things and the when God’s way does not fit our preference we do things after a worldly pattern. He is God and we are to be in full obedience to him and not selective obedience.

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you were lacking obedience to God and His ways or you had selective obedience?  Care to share?

Every Move I Make?

This week I want to deal with a passage that has always intrigued and I think there are some great truths found in it.  The first thing is that passage which is  2^nd Samuel 6: 1-9 – 1 Then David mobilized thirty thousand special troops. 2 He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring home the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the hillside home of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart 4 with the Ark of God on it, with Ahio walking in front. 5 David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. 6 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark of God. 7 Then the LORD’s anger blazed out against Uzzah for doing this, and God struck him dead beside the Ark of God. 8 David was angry because the LORD’s anger had blazed out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “outbreak against Uzzah”). It is still called that today. 9 David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?”

Let me ask you, do you find this shocking? David is bringing the Ark of God back home to where it needs to and the ox stumbles and the ark goes to fall off the cart and God kills the one who is keeping if from falling to the ground. This just does not seem right does it?

Do you you see why I find this so intriguing?  So what we will do is deal with little parts of this each day. Let us begin in with verses 1 and 2 which say: 1 Then David mobilized thirty thousand special troops. 2 He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring home the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim.

So far this is sounding great. David gathered up thirty thousand troops and they went to were the Ark was to get it to take it home. There can be nothing wrong here right? Before I answer that let us talk about the Ark of God.

Let me give a quick overview on the Ark of God. The Ark of God or the Ark of the Covenant was to be kept in the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, for it symbolized the glorious throne of God. There was a long period of time that the Ark was absent from the sanctuary in Shiloh. The Philistines stole the Ark of God when Eli was judge back in 1 Samuel 4 but realized that it was something that they did not have because of people dying who were trying to look in so they sent a message that they do not want it.  So since that time the Ark of God has been sitting in Abinadab’s home. Eleazar was not a priest but they set him apart and left him and his family in charge of the Ark. It stayed there for years and now David is going to get it and return it to where it needs to be and that is in the Holy of Holies and with the King of Israel and in the midst of the people of Israel who worship the Lord. This was a great move for David because it helped to unify the people. As we have seen in the past weeks, David is doing what he can to promote unity and bring back the Ark will really help.

So what we see is that David’s plan to bring the Ark to Jerusalem was a good thing, right? Wrong! You say, but this all sounds so good! God should want the Ark back where it belongs! Let me ask you this question, where did we read that David sought God on this matter? Do you see it there?

You see relocating the Ark to Jerusalem seemed a wise idea to David and David had built great enthusiasm behind doing it. One problem, David did not do what he has always done when he has been successful. He did not ask God for direction. He forgot that that what pleases him and seems right to him might not please God or have God’s blessing on it.

We must – I mean MUST – seek God in everything if we do not want to make a mess of things. Seek God in the things that are happening in your life. Seek Him and gain a heavenly perspective on life. David as we will see made a real mess of things in his lack of going to God in this situation.  We need to not make the mistake that David does – learn from his mistake and seek out God in every move you make.

Have you ever moved without God like David does here?

Big P or little p?

My son again today wanted to go to the playground to play basketball.  He did the other day too and I wrote about that here.  Today was great because he was smiling from ear to ear when I said I would take him.  Once we got there he was just running and shooting with reckless abandon.  He was laughing and jumping and moving all over on the court.  He was asking questions and trying new things on the court.  He was quite frankly having a great time.  He got angry at one point because he missed a few shots but made one and was quickly over it. 

As I watched him I saw many things.  I saw a little boy having fun.  I saw a little boy who was excited about something new in his life.  I saw a little boy who was trying to put the new  things together that he was learning.  As I stood there, I saw PASSION.

I began to think about the passion.  I began to ask myself these questions.  Am I having fun?  Am I learning anything new and am I excited about it?  Am I putting together all the things I have learned?  I ask myself – do I have PASSION?

I can say that as I answered those questions that I do have passion but I do not have PASSION.  I have some work to do.  I want to be like my son and have big P PASSION and not little p passion.

Ask yourself the questions that I found myself asking.  Do you have big P PASSION or little p passion?  What is one thing you can do today to live with more PASSION?

Wooden Apples

I am not too sure where I got this from but came across it  today and had to share it.

There were two monkeys in the woods. They came across four apples. The apples looked good, but they had no smell and the monkeys could not bite into them. The problem was that they were wooden apples. Each monkey picked up two apples and went different directions.

The one monkey held onto the apples as tightly as he could. Other monkeys would look at them and he would hold them even tighter. He was afraid if he put them down someone would take them. He also now could not swing through the trees because he was holding the apples. He could not get any other food because he was holding onto the wooden apples. After a couple of days the monkey was so very hungry and he still would not put down the apples because he was so very proud of them. The apples began to feel heavier and heavier and the monkey became weaker and weaker. The monkey sat under a real apple tree and died of hunger because he would not put down his wooden apples. The monkey died with the pretty wooden apples in his hands. The wooden apples were pretty but they did nothing else.

The other monkey held on tightly to the apples. He was like the first monkey – being proud of his pretty apples and never being able to relax because he had to defend his apples from the other monkeys. Over time the wooden apples became heavy and he could not eat, climb or do anything else if he had these wooden apples in his hand. He began to think what would happen if he let the apples go. He began to think – if I let the apples go I could climb and eat. So now he was very tired and very hungry and the wooden apples became very heavy. The monkey was sitting under an apple tree. He let the wooden apples go and reached out and grabbed a real apple and began to eat.

The monkeys had a choice – they could let go of the apple or they could hold on to it. You can choose to hold onto your life or you can reach out for the real life, which is Christ Jesus. If you choose to hold on to your life you will die having been right were you could have reached out to the fruit which can give you eternal life.

I am reminded of this verse:  Luke 9:24 – For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Any thoughts today on the wooden apples?

Pointers and Reminders

My Son got out of school early today because of Parent/Teacher conferences.  He is doing well enough we did not need to go to them and so when he got home he did his homework.   After he finished his homework he asked me to take him to the park to play basketball.  Basketball has become his new thing he loves to do.  He is just discovering it and is really loving it.  It is fun for me because it was always “my thing”  growing up and I enjoy doing it with him.

We went to the park and  were shooting around – actually I was rebounding and he was shooting – but he was not making much.  He looked at me and asked why he was not making shots.  I gave him a few points and then he shot and it was nothing but net.  He looked at me with the biggest smile and in awe that a few pointers from Dad he was making shots.  As we would continue to He would go back to his old ways and then I would remind him and then he would starting making it again.

I am reminded of me and how I miss the mark and then ask my Heavenly Father  what am I doing wrong?  He looks at me with his loving eyes and points to His Word where I see it.  His Word reminds me of what I need to do and I read His Word with awe as I see what I need to do and begin to do the right things.  I begin to slip back into my ways and He lovingly reminds me of what I need to do and I start doing the right things again.

2 Samuel 22:31 – As for God, his way is perfect:  The LORD’s word is flawless;  he shields all who take refuge in him.

Does God give you loving pointers and reminders?  What and how does he share with you?

Breakthrough!

When I was reading and preparing to share this past weekend – I was was struck by the following verse:  2nd Samuel 5: 20 – So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. “The LORD has done it!” David exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” So David named that place Baal-perazim (which means “the Lord who bursts through”).

One of the things that struck me in this verse was how powerful some of the words are in it.  One word in particular is the use of the word “burst” – think about this word.  Here is what this verse means:   to break through or down or over, to breach. “Burst” is used a second time in the verse and this time it is more of the idea of bursting out. Picture this meaning in your in your minds eye; the Lord helped the Israelites break through the enemy lines like a flood bursting through. Here is a way to understand this:  see yourself standing in front of a wave at the beach and trying to hold it back. What would the wave do?  The would quite simply go right around you and through you like you were not even there. That is what happened here in this battle, the Israelites defeated Philistines by going right through them like they were not even there.  God and Israel broke through the Philistines!

Look at what David calls this place: he calls it Baal-perazim, which means “lord of the breaks” or even better “lord of the breakthrough”. There is such an amazing lesson in this for us.  Following what we just learned here, we serve the God of breakthroughs.   Man do I find encouragement in this!

Think about this; there is absolutely nothing that is too difficult for God. God reminds us of this is Jeremiah 32 when he says, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? Jesus too reminds us of this truth in Mark 10 when He tells us, And Jesus looking upon them said, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. I believe we need to be praying for the “breakthroughs” and understand that nothing is impossible.

I think we need breakthroughs in marriages, relationships, organizations,lives and churches. We need God to come bursting through! We need to be praying this way!

Where do you need to God to “breakthrough” ?  What breakthrough can I and others be praying for?

The Stronghold

2^nd Samuel 5:17: 17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming and went into the stronghold.

I covered this verse in preaching yesterday morning and it really struck a nerve with me as I was studying it.   Let me first give a quick idea about what the stronghold is.  I believe that the stronghold was the the Cave of Adullam.  What is the Cave of Adullam?  It was at the cave  that David’s family and many of his fighting men came to him back when he was on the run from Saul which you can read about in 1 Samuel 22. The Cave is not very far at all from Bethlehem it is only about 12 miles southwest.  It was in the the Cave of Adullam that David gathered his first 600 men, his misfits, the ones that became his army, and where his mighty fighting men came from.

In this story here in 2nd Samuel, David just has been anointed King over all of Israel and now the Philistines are attacking.  So what does David do?  He goes back to this sacred spot as he prepares for his first major kingdom conflict as King of the entire nation. I call it a sacred spot because it was in the Cave of Adullam where David was discouraged when he first entered but left it an encouraged man.  He found great support from family, friends, and God there.

Imagine when David goes back into the cave for the first time.  He probably had some hard memories there but I believe that it held many more great memories of what God has done for him, how God has provided for him and how God made it a place of safety for him.

Let me ask you? Do you have a place or something  that is a stronghold for you? Maybe for you it is a song or a verse or a Christian writing? Do you have something like that in your life?

I remember when I was in college and it was a time when I was really struggling in my faith. I went to the Christian book store and had them order some tapes that I had when I was younger that I wore out – literally wore out as they would no longer play. They were some contemporary Christian music groups that reminded me of how great God was, they reminded me of what God has done for me, they reminded me of how God has provided for me. I remember listening to them after I got them and how I was take back in my mind to the times when I was closer to Christ. Listening to those tapes became a stronghold for me – they were a catalyst to my recapturing and remembering how great God is.  Music has been and still is a stronghold for me.  You see I learned  that when I go to the stronghold that God is there – He has not moved. When I feel far away from God – it is not God who has moved – it is me. Has there been a time that you were closer to God than you are right now? God has not moved – run to the stronghold – run back to God right now!

Do you have a place, a song, a verse, a Christian writing, or something else that is a stronghold for you that reminds you of how great God is, what God has done for you, and how God has provided for you?

Be Positive? Really?

We have spent the week talking about smiling and laughing.  We have been looking at and talking about Proverbs 17:22 -  A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Some people live life in a positive manor and others in a negative manor.  For those who live in a negative manor let me ask you this:  What do you get from being negative? Being negative gets you angry, frustrated, and depressed.  Positivity and negativity are contagious.  My choice is to be around those who see the glass half full. 

Negative people are thinking about negative things –what does Paul tell us in Phil. 4:8 about what to think about? 

Phil 4:8 – One version puts it this way – Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious–the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse

The New King James puts it like this - Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.

We can see from this verse is that we need to be looking to the positive side of things.  We need to be filling our minds with things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious–the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Am I saying that we should run around with smiles and laughing at everything that happens?  Certainly not.  There will be and are sad times in life – but we cannot allow those things to run our lives.  We need to learn that even in sad times we can have joy.  Paul was in prison writing rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.

Here is what I know.  A positive attitude is more than running around with a smile on your face, it is understanding that there will always be times when things are looking bad but our focus should always be on Christ and with him we should always have a positive outlook.  It comes down to your focus – you can focus on the negative or you can focus on the positives in life.  People with cheerful hearts and minds focus on the positive.

Summing up the week – Laugh and smile, do not take yourself too seriously, enjoy life now, and have a positive outlook.  Let us all take a moment today to be as positive as we possibly can and if we are then we will laugh and smile and we will enjoy life and we will not take ourselves too seriously.

Who is the most positive person you know?