2025 2 Samuel 6, Doing the Right Thing the Wrong Way
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2025-05-04 15:52
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Doing the Right Thing the Wrong Way
2 Samuel 6
David finally became the king of Israel. What he would do at this moment was important. He could organize the national system, expand the territory or strengthen the royal authority. However, the first thing David did was to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. Verse 2 says, “The ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.” David’s desire was to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. He longed for God's presence. So he decided to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem.
After Israel was defeated by the Philistines, the Philistines moved the Ark of God to their temple but soon the temple was destroyed. God struck every Philistine city with a plague whenever the Ark was brought. Out of panic, finally the Philistines sent the Ark of God back to Israel. After that, the Ark of God was neglected for 20 years while Saul was king. Saul never tried to bring the Ark of God back to the capital city. On the other hand, as soon as David became king, he decided to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem.
Saul called the name Lord whenever he opened his mouth, but his actions told a different story. Do not judge a person’s faith and character by his words. See whether he acts in serving God. Faith without action is dead. David served God with his actions.
Look at verse 1. “David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand.” He also organized a big orchestra. (v 5) Moreover, David set the ark of God on a new cart. David’s passion was amazing. To bring the ark of God to Jerusalem, David directed a spectacular and impressive scene.
But a terrible incident occurred. Look at verse 6-7. “When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.” It would be natural for anyone to keep the ark from falling. Then why did God punish him?
God repeatedly commanded the Israelites how to handle the ark of God. Numbers 4:15 says that only the Kohathites are to carry the ark on their shoulders and must not touch it or they will die. This is the law of God. But David moved the Ark of God on a new cart. Why? David heard that there was no problem when the Philistines moved it on a cart. David followed the way of the Gentiles, not the law of God. Moreover, Uzzah touched the Ark of God. What was his problem?
The Ark of God was in the house of Uzzah’s heart for a long time. To him, the Ark of God must have been like his family treasure. He must have thought that he should protect it when it was going to fall. He must have thought that he was the guardian of the Ark of God. Now, in front of such large crowd and such splendid situation, he must have been proud as he carried the ark of God on a new cart. Pride and a desire to show off, these are sin. God punished Uzzah.
David's intention to bring the ark of God was admirable. But he did not pray. He did not consult the Law of Moses (Ex 25:12-16) before making his decision, and this was not pleasing to God.
He mobilized an army of 30,000 young men. He organized a spectacular orchestra. And he used the most modern cart. In his deep heart, there must have been a desire to show off his power and glory before all the Israelites. “Look! I am the real king. I unified the country. I conquered Jerusalem. Now I am bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem. I am the real king spiritually and politically.” Do you see one person’s pride and boast of his achievements? David was not such a person. But after big success and glory, he became deteriorated and degenerated. David was serving God in his own way. And the result was tragic. God warned and punished David’s pride and unbelief through Uzzah. This is Perez Uzzah.
‘Uzzah’ means strength. Both Uzzah and David boasted about human strength. God punished David and Uzzah’s pride, falsehood and boasting.
Zeal or passion or hard working attitude that ignores the word of God brings about disaster. David was a man of prayer, but when he decided to bring the Ark of God, he neither consulted with the priests nor prayed. David completely failed because he emphasized only human strength and zeal.
God’s Ark is where atonement takes place. It is where God’s presence is. This is where God meets people. When moving the Ark, it should be done by people, not by mechanical means like a cart. God wants his people to carry His Ark by themselves. This is the law of God.
A new cart represents modern conveniences or inventions such as nowadays Smartphone and online zoom. In our era, it is easy and convenient to move the ark by a new cart such as an online service or YouTube service. However, today’s incident, Perez Uzzah is a dramatic reminder to us of God’s holiness and of the necessity of approaching God only according to his revealed instruction.
We can worship God or serve Him in our own ways. But we learn from this incident that we are to follow the way of God. Some people worship God through on line in unavoidable circumstances (in hospital, in a remote area etc), but it is not biblical to worship online out of habit or to save time. After the pandemic, 2 million people have not returned to church to worship God. (South Korea)
A pastor was invited to a fancy restaurant. The food was so good. However, the one who invited him left a message saying, “Enjoy food. I am busy that I cannot come.” The pastor felt offended. He came to the restaurant not for just food but for the fellowship with him. He felt that he was treated like a beggar. Meeting in person is important and precious. Though it would be just sandwich and tea, it is joyful and meaningful to meet in person and eat together.
Through failure, David learned that he should pray before doing anything. He was reminded that God is holy and he should follow the instruction of God. Through this incident, the fear of God was restored in David's heart.
David tries again a second time. Look at verse 9. “David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?’” This is necessary. Before, he thought that he deserved to move the ark the Lord. He boasted his zeal and power. He thought he was doing something good to God by brining the ark of God to Jerusalem. But now he had a fear of God. “I am undeserving sinner. Then, how can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” This is a holy fear.
Then he restored joy. On his second trial, when he did it with reverence, David was so joyful. Moreover, he followed the instruction of God to let the Levites carry the ark of God. Look at verse 13. “When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.” Look at verse 14. “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might.” Here we see a person’s joy and deep desire to praise the Lord with his whole body, mind and soul. This is a true worship in spirit and truth God is seeking. And this is a worship of thanksgiving.
Have you worshiped God to the point of dancing with reverence, joy and gratitude like David? We see here one person’s faith, obedience, humility and joy. Then God was pleased with David and blessed him to successfully bring the ark to Jerusalem.
In Psalm 27:4, David asked the Lord for one thing. “I want to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” David’s one aspiration is, “I like God more than achievements, success or money. The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing.” If you have this heart, you are the most blessed man in the world. David knows who man is. Man is to glorify God through worship according to his law. Only this remains forever.
Brothers, bring the ark of God to your heart. Bring the presence of God to you like King David. This is the secret of joy and blessings. If God is at the center of your life, the Lord will bless you.
After bringing the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem, what David did was to bless his people in the name of the LORD Almighty. He gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites. (V 18, 19) He let the blessings and joy from God flow to others. This is how David lived. That was why he was blessed more and became powerful.
But we see a severe quarrel and fighting between David and his wife, Michal. When God’s grace is flowing abundantly, there is attack from the devil. Do not forget. When you receive much grace from God after worship or Bible study or prayer, be careful not to fight with especially those who are close to you. There are not a few who fight on the day when they worship well and receive much grace.
Look at verse 16. “As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.” To her eyes, David looked ugly and lowly with no dignity as a king. She said to David, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
Why did she despise David? Because she did not know David’s worship, joy, devotion and reverence toward God. She just saw David dancing like an lowly man. “Is he really king? Is he crazy?” She despised the king and her husband lowly like a vulgar.
What was her problem? The Bible commented that she was a daughter of Saul. She had not learned worship, devotion and spiritual value from his father. While all others joined such joyful and glorious worship, she stayed home. She is not interested in the coming of the ark of God. She is not interested in God's glory and people’s joy from worship. She only did not want other women to look at her husband's nakedness. She wanted to monopolize David's love. She was very upset, “My husband exposes his body in front of many women!” Then she sarcastically mocked and humiliated her husband.
Do not forget that bystanders become critics. Do you know why you should attend worship service and participate in the gospel work? Then, you will never criticize or condemn other Christians who devote themselves to the Lord. Instead, you will honor those who fully worship God with devotion. However, if you become a bystander, if you stay at your home, if you are far away from worship, you will never understand Christians’ life and devotion. You will become a critic. You will lose the blessings of God.
Look at verse 21. David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” This is David’s confession of faith. He said he would be willing to be humiliated as long as God’s glory is revealed. Then paradoxically, he was more honored by people of the world.
Michal was Saul’s second daughter. She loved David. Still, out of his father, Saul’s manipulation, she married David. When David ran away, she was forced to divorce him by his father. Then he remarried and lived happily with her new husband for 17 years. When Abner wanted to reconcile with David, David demanded him to bring her back to him. Then she was forced to be separated from her husband again. Her life was full of sadness, wounds and pain. When a person is not in a good state, poison is created inside them. They should be healed before God, but she was not healed. Then she did something she must not do to her husband. This is why married life is difficult.
Many men say that they could endure and cover their wives’ (husbands’) wounds, but as they live, they get sick of the poison from their wives or husbands that they leave. Everyone has wounds like Michal. We need to be healed in God. Otherwise, such poisonous words like a razor blade, sarcastic, ridiculing, condemning words come of our mouths to kill others, ourselves and all relationships. Michal was ruined because of her poisonous words. Watch out your mouth. Avoid quarrelling.
We need healing. How? The grace of Christ is as deep as the ocean and as wide as the universe. Come to Jesus who is love, grace and forgiveness. And learn worship and do the gospel work with God’s people (especially with your spouses.)
2 Samuel 6
David finally became the king of Israel. What he would do at this moment was important. He could organize the national system, expand the territory or strengthen the royal authority. However, the first thing David did was to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. Verse 2 says, “The ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.” David’s desire was to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. He longed for God's presence. So he decided to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem.
After Israel was defeated by the Philistines, the Philistines moved the Ark of God to their temple but soon the temple was destroyed. God struck every Philistine city with a plague whenever the Ark was brought. Out of panic, finally the Philistines sent the Ark of God back to Israel. After that, the Ark of God was neglected for 20 years while Saul was king. Saul never tried to bring the Ark of God back to the capital city. On the other hand, as soon as David became king, he decided to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem.
Saul called the name Lord whenever he opened his mouth, but his actions told a different story. Do not judge a person’s faith and character by his words. See whether he acts in serving God. Faith without action is dead. David served God with his actions.
Look at verse 1. “David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand.” He also organized a big orchestra. (v 5) Moreover, David set the ark of God on a new cart. David’s passion was amazing. To bring the ark of God to Jerusalem, David directed a spectacular and impressive scene.
But a terrible incident occurred. Look at verse 6-7. “When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.” It would be natural for anyone to keep the ark from falling. Then why did God punish him?
God repeatedly commanded the Israelites how to handle the ark of God. Numbers 4:15 says that only the Kohathites are to carry the ark on their shoulders and must not touch it or they will die. This is the law of God. But David moved the Ark of God on a new cart. Why? David heard that there was no problem when the Philistines moved it on a cart. David followed the way of the Gentiles, not the law of God. Moreover, Uzzah touched the Ark of God. What was his problem?
The Ark of God was in the house of Uzzah’s heart for a long time. To him, the Ark of God must have been like his family treasure. He must have thought that he should protect it when it was going to fall. He must have thought that he was the guardian of the Ark of God. Now, in front of such large crowd and such splendid situation, he must have been proud as he carried the ark of God on a new cart. Pride and a desire to show off, these are sin. God punished Uzzah.
David's intention to bring the ark of God was admirable. But he did not pray. He did not consult the Law of Moses (Ex 25:12-16) before making his decision, and this was not pleasing to God.
He mobilized an army of 30,000 young men. He organized a spectacular orchestra. And he used the most modern cart. In his deep heart, there must have been a desire to show off his power and glory before all the Israelites. “Look! I am the real king. I unified the country. I conquered Jerusalem. Now I am bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem. I am the real king spiritually and politically.” Do you see one person’s pride and boast of his achievements? David was not such a person. But after big success and glory, he became deteriorated and degenerated. David was serving God in his own way. And the result was tragic. God warned and punished David’s pride and unbelief through Uzzah. This is Perez Uzzah.
‘Uzzah’ means strength. Both Uzzah and David boasted about human strength. God punished David and Uzzah’s pride, falsehood and boasting.
Zeal or passion or hard working attitude that ignores the word of God brings about disaster. David was a man of prayer, but when he decided to bring the Ark of God, he neither consulted with the priests nor prayed. David completely failed because he emphasized only human strength and zeal.
God’s Ark is where atonement takes place. It is where God’s presence is. This is where God meets people. When moving the Ark, it should be done by people, not by mechanical means like a cart. God wants his people to carry His Ark by themselves. This is the law of God.
A new cart represents modern conveniences or inventions such as nowadays Smartphone and online zoom. In our era, it is easy and convenient to move the ark by a new cart such as an online service or YouTube service. However, today’s incident, Perez Uzzah is a dramatic reminder to us of God’s holiness and of the necessity of approaching God only according to his revealed instruction.
We can worship God or serve Him in our own ways. But we learn from this incident that we are to follow the way of God. Some people worship God through on line in unavoidable circumstances (in hospital, in a remote area etc), but it is not biblical to worship online out of habit or to save time. After the pandemic, 2 million people have not returned to church to worship God. (South Korea)
A pastor was invited to a fancy restaurant. The food was so good. However, the one who invited him left a message saying, “Enjoy food. I am busy that I cannot come.” The pastor felt offended. He came to the restaurant not for just food but for the fellowship with him. He felt that he was treated like a beggar. Meeting in person is important and precious. Though it would be just sandwich and tea, it is joyful and meaningful to meet in person and eat together.
Through failure, David learned that he should pray before doing anything. He was reminded that God is holy and he should follow the instruction of God. Through this incident, the fear of God was restored in David's heart.
David tries again a second time. Look at verse 9. “David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?’” This is necessary. Before, he thought that he deserved to move the ark the Lord. He boasted his zeal and power. He thought he was doing something good to God by brining the ark of God to Jerusalem. But now he had a fear of God. “I am undeserving sinner. Then, how can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” This is a holy fear.
Then he restored joy. On his second trial, when he did it with reverence, David was so joyful. Moreover, he followed the instruction of God to let the Levites carry the ark of God. Look at verse 13. “When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.” Look at verse 14. “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might.” Here we see a person’s joy and deep desire to praise the Lord with his whole body, mind and soul. This is a true worship in spirit and truth God is seeking. And this is a worship of thanksgiving.
Have you worshiped God to the point of dancing with reverence, joy and gratitude like David? We see here one person’s faith, obedience, humility and joy. Then God was pleased with David and blessed him to successfully bring the ark to Jerusalem.
In Psalm 27:4, David asked the Lord for one thing. “I want to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” David’s one aspiration is, “I like God more than achievements, success or money. The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing.” If you have this heart, you are the most blessed man in the world. David knows who man is. Man is to glorify God through worship according to his law. Only this remains forever.
Brothers, bring the ark of God to your heart. Bring the presence of God to you like King David. This is the secret of joy and blessings. If God is at the center of your life, the Lord will bless you.
After bringing the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem, what David did was to bless his people in the name of the LORD Almighty. He gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites. (V 18, 19) He let the blessings and joy from God flow to others. This is how David lived. That was why he was blessed more and became powerful.
But we see a severe quarrel and fighting between David and his wife, Michal. When God’s grace is flowing abundantly, there is attack from the devil. Do not forget. When you receive much grace from God after worship or Bible study or prayer, be careful not to fight with especially those who are close to you. There are not a few who fight on the day when they worship well and receive much grace.
Look at verse 16. “As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.” To her eyes, David looked ugly and lowly with no dignity as a king. She said to David, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
Why did she despise David? Because she did not know David’s worship, joy, devotion and reverence toward God. She just saw David dancing like an lowly man. “Is he really king? Is he crazy?” She despised the king and her husband lowly like a vulgar.
What was her problem? The Bible commented that she was a daughter of Saul. She had not learned worship, devotion and spiritual value from his father. While all others joined such joyful and glorious worship, she stayed home. She is not interested in the coming of the ark of God. She is not interested in God's glory and people’s joy from worship. She only did not want other women to look at her husband's nakedness. She wanted to monopolize David's love. She was very upset, “My husband exposes his body in front of many women!” Then she sarcastically mocked and humiliated her husband.
Do not forget that bystanders become critics. Do you know why you should attend worship service and participate in the gospel work? Then, you will never criticize or condemn other Christians who devote themselves to the Lord. Instead, you will honor those who fully worship God with devotion. However, if you become a bystander, if you stay at your home, if you are far away from worship, you will never understand Christians’ life and devotion. You will become a critic. You will lose the blessings of God.
Look at verse 21. David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” This is David’s confession of faith. He said he would be willing to be humiliated as long as God’s glory is revealed. Then paradoxically, he was more honored by people of the world.
Michal was Saul’s second daughter. She loved David. Still, out of his father, Saul’s manipulation, she married David. When David ran away, she was forced to divorce him by his father. Then he remarried and lived happily with her new husband for 17 years. When Abner wanted to reconcile with David, David demanded him to bring her back to him. Then she was forced to be separated from her husband again. Her life was full of sadness, wounds and pain. When a person is not in a good state, poison is created inside them. They should be healed before God, but she was not healed. Then she did something she must not do to her husband. This is why married life is difficult.
Many men say that they could endure and cover their wives’ (husbands’) wounds, but as they live, they get sick of the poison from their wives or husbands that they leave. Everyone has wounds like Michal. We need to be healed in God. Otherwise, such poisonous words like a razor blade, sarcastic, ridiculing, condemning words come of our mouths to kill others, ourselves and all relationships. Michal was ruined because of her poisonous words. Watch out your mouth. Avoid quarrelling.
We need healing. How? The grace of Christ is as deep as the ocean and as wide as the universe. Come to Jesus who is love, grace and forgiveness. And learn worship and do the gospel work with God’s people (especially with your spouses.)