2Samuel 6:1-11
Right Desire, Wrong Methods
The kingdom now belongs to David and he wants to do right. The worship in Israel
has not been right in many years, probably around 80 years. (Through all of the
rule of Samuel and Saul, as well as the first years of David’s reign in Hebron.)
I. Background - \\#1Sam 4:1-11\\ - Back in the last days of Eli, Israel
brought the Ark on the battlefield as a "good luck charm." The
Philistines defeated Israel and took it.
A. That episode did several things.
1. That episode placed the Ark of the Covenant in enemy hands.
a. The Ark represented the presence and power of God.
Exodus 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from
above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the
testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children
of Israel.
b. Like our 9/11, the capturing of the Ark of Israel by the
Philistines was a symbolic message that the presence and
power of God is no longer among His people.
2. It separated the Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle.
a. The Tabernacle was the holy tent that Israel made to shelter
the Ark.
b. The Ark should have never been taken from the Tabernacle.
Where one was, the other should have been as well.
c. Once these two religious tools were separated, it would have
been impossible to worship as God had commanded.
B. From this point, the two travel different paths.
1. The Ark goes to Philistia for seven months \\#1Sam 6:1\\, but God
curses every Philistine city that attempts to house it.
a. \\#1Sam 5:1-7\\ Ashdod
b. \\#1Sam 5:8-9\\ Gath
c. \\#1Sam 5:10-12\\ Then they tried to send it to Ekron but
its citizens refused to let it be brought into the city.
d. Instead, the Philistines told their leaders to send it back
to Israel, which they eventually do.
e. After seven months, the Ark is brought to Bethshemesh in
Israel.
1Sam 6:10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the
cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice
of gold and the images of their emerods.
12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along
the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to
the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of
Bethshemesh.
13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and
they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there,
where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered
the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with
it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men
of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day
unto the LORD.
f. \\#1Sam 6:19-21\\ However, the people of Bethshemesh
attempted to open the Ark and look inside it. When they
did, God slew thousands of them.
g. \\#1Sam 7:1-2\\ So the people of Kirjathjearim come get the
Ark and keep it.
(1) That is the city where David will go fetch it from.
(2) \\#2Sam 6:2\\ The city is called Baale of Judah when
David goes to get it.
(3) Baale means LORDS so the city was called The Lords of
Judah.
2. The Bible doesn’t tell us what happened to the Tabernacle.
a. That would mean the Tabernacle, as beautiful as it was, was
only special because it housed the Ark.
b. A building used for worship is only four walls and a roof is
God’s presence is not there!
(1) The Tabernacle apparently ceased to have significance
once God’s presence departed.
(2) The Temple, though religion continued to be performed
inside it, apparently ceased to have significance after
God’s presence departed from it.
(3) A church, no matter how large, apparently ceases to have
significance if God’s presence has departed from it.
c. We speculate that the Tabernacle was moved to Nob since
priests were there and they had holy bread \\#1Sam 21:3\\.
C. What I find interesting is that these two religious tools were not
that far apart (and it really would not have mattered if they were!)
1. Kiriath-Jearim was only 8 miles from Jerusalem.
2. While we are not certain where Nob is, it is believed that it was
fairly close to Jerusalem.
3. Yet, in 80 to 100 years, no one ever put the two back together and
returned Israel to their proper and complete form of worship.
a. Why?
b. One would just have to figure that it just didn’t mean that
much to the people!
II. David goes to get the Ark.
A. After taking Zion, Jerusalem becomes the new capital and it is David’s
desire to have the presence of God in the capital city.
1. This was a good desire that should have been done a long time ago.
2. This was a case of doing the right things in the wrong way.
a. He puts the Ark on a NEW cart - just like the Philistines did.
b. He has HIS CHOSEN MEN doing the transporting.
B. The Bible gave specific commands to the children of Israel of HOW to
transport the Ark.
Ex 25:10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half
shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a
cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou
overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four
corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in
the other side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that
the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
C. The Bible gave specific commands as to WHO was to transport the Ark.
Numbers 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the
sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward;
after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch
any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath
in the tabernacle of the congregation.
D. The end result is that the Ark begins to fall and Uzzah tried to
steady it.
1. God smote Uzzah for touching the Ark.
2. Sadly, Uzzah was the son of the man who had been keeping the Ark.
3. He had been blessed all those years and along comes David and
immediately his off spring dies!
III. What can we learn from this?
A. Right is not optional.
1. The problem was not that David did not put effort or grandeur into
moving the Ark.
a. He had singers and musicians.
b. He had 30,000 hand-picked men there.
c. He even made a new cart.
2. The problem was he didn’t obey God. He didn’t do what was RIGHT.
3. Notice, even the king must do right! David represents the people
of God and God expects His own to do right.
4. There are few things more important to God than obedience.
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey
is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
5. The world has an expression, "The end justifies the means."
a. Not to God.
b. God is more concerning about the means than He is the ends.
c. When we do wrong to get to a good end, we display a lack of
faith in God.
B. God has a "Don’t ask; don’t tell" program.
1. If you do not ask Him something, He will not tell you.
2. Uzzah died because David did not ask God for instructions.
3. Joshua 9 - Joshua had a similar situation when the Gibeonites
tricked him into making a treaty with them.
4. If we do not seek God’s direction, God will not give it.
5. Remember, prayer is both asking and listening.
C. Others may. We may not.
1. Apparently, David got the idea of how to transport the Ark from
the Philistines.
a. It would have been about 500 years since Israel came into the
Promised Land.
b. The nation had turned, in large part, to idols.
c. The Word of God was limited.
d. Apparently the priests and Levites weren’t doing their job.
2. Somebody says, "God’s not fair. The Philistines did it that way!"
a. God expects more from His people than from the lost.
b. God even may expect more from you than He does the remainder of
His people.
(1) God makes us all unique for His purpose.
(2) I have three key rings with a lot of keys.
(3) No two keys are alike.
(4) Some have more hills and valleys, some less.
(5) Some have more teeth and some less.
(6) Each key is different because it is for a different
purpose.
C. It is God’s option to show mercy to the heathen and to expect
righteousness from the godly.
D. Some times all you can do is go back to the beginning and start over,
doing things right this time.
1. \\# 2Sam 6:12-15\\ Notice that \\# 13\\ says "when they that bare
the ark... had gone six paces...."
a. No more cart and oxen.
b. Men are carrying the Ark.
c. The text doesn't say it but I am pretty sure those who bore it
were sons of Kohath!
d. God is not pleased because offering are being made or because
David dances well. He is pleased because David did his
homework and is doing things right this time!
2. \\# 2Sam 6:17-18\\ For the first time in decades, Israel was able
to worship God has they had been instructed.
a. See what happens when you do it right?
b. Not only do you get the right ends but you bring glory to God
by reaching it with the right means.
3. Starting over can be tough, but some times it is the only thing
to do.
a. David could have spent the remainder of his reign pouting!
b. \\# 8\\ says that David was displeased.
(1) I'll bet he was displeased with God.
(2) It is amazing how quickly we get angry with God when we
do wrong and He does right.
(3) But David got over it and started over.
c. If God will give you the opportunity to begin again, do it!
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