Worship God in His Ways

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we're going to be at 1 Chronicles chapter 13. We're going to talk about David bringing the ark, or at least trying to bring the ark, into Jerusalem. What happens, though? Some details you may want to look back at 2 Samuel chapter 6 video, where we talked about that before.
So let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. God, you are a remarkably gracious and wonderful God. You are compassionate and merciful, even in giving us your word. You are a good king. We pray that you would please help us. Help us, Lord, to understand your word. Help it to be applied to our lives. We pray in Jesus's name. Amen. 1 Chronicles chapter 13.
Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds and with every leader and David said to all the assembly of Israel if it seems good to you and if it is of Jehovah our God Let us send out our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common lands and that they may gather together to us, and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired of it since the days of Saul. Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
So David gathered all Israel together, from Sihur in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath-Jarim. And David and all Israel went up to Bala, to Kirdarath-Jerim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord, who dwells between the cherubim, where his name is proclaimed.
So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab. And Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart. Then David and all Israel played the music before God, with all their might, with singing on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.
And when they came to Chidon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to hold the ark, and the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of Jehovah was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him because he had put his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. And David became angry because of Jehovah's outbreak against Uzzah. Therefore, that place is called Perez-Uzzah to that day.
David was afraid of God that day, saying, how can I bring the ark of God to me? So David would not move the ark with him into the city of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom, the Gittite. The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. Jehovah blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had." We need to ask ourselves our three questions. A, what is this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do in response to these words? So, A, what's this about, right?
Well, this is David desiring to bring the ark of God into the city of David. It seems right to all the people. It seems right Definitely to the captains of thousands and of hundreds and to their leaders, right? They're all, yeah, let's do it. They're all there anyway.
So let's bring up the arc. Let's bring up the arc, right? And they're bringing up the arc. And here we find out more details. Now, I think it's helpful here that we understand, right? It's Uzzah and Ohio who are driving the arc, right? They're, they're leading the arc.
And this is in an honor-shame culture. There's more than just honor-shame in the Old Testament, but it's definitely an honor-shame culture. And the Ark is supposed to be the throne of God, right? Where he sits in between the cherubim, enthroned upon the cherubim, right? His name is proclaimed, he is holy, and he is the Lord of hosts. And so, when the oxen stumbles, and Uzzah reaches out to almost hold the Ark, It's an offense to the king.
It's kind of hard for me to put this into, have you ever seen the movie Mulan? There's a point to Mulan in the Disney version when I was a kid, I don't know, back in the 90s or something. The dad who's old and has already been injured in war, his name is called and he's supposed to go. and take his inscription notice. And as he's walking, he kind of limps, and he almost falls. And Mulan runs out and chases him, and almost tries to pick him up.
And the point here is that, no, I'm strong. And he looks at her like, you shouldn't shame me like this. At least give me my honor and dignity to know I'm strong enough to do this. Now, the Lord's not a sinful character like Mulan's father, but the point is, right, The Lord doesn't need us as help.
The Ark was nothing more than just a symbol of his presence and of his grandeur and of his holiness, of his exalted place above all the people. That's why it was acacia wood, hammered out in gold, ornate, supposed to be covered over with the linens of the tabernacle. limited access to him, and yet here they are driving it on an ark.
Other dies, and David is angry. But David hasn't honored the Lord either. Even though David did all this with his own sincerity, right? He thought what he was doing was good. He was even out there with all of his might, dancing like a wild man, and playing the music, and singing, and yet This isn't how the Lord designed it, and it's not glorifying God.
There's many things, and I'm just going to jump in to see calling, right? There's many things that we can do that we think are sincere and good, and yet do not please our Heavenly Father. He's sovereign. He's the one who says how he is to be worshipped, how he is to be served, how he's supposed to be treated. And here, where we find is Though they had good intents. And the Lord will allow the ark to be brought into Jerusalem. We'll get there. But not this way. Not however they want to serve Him. But as He's prescribed. Because it's His prerogative. It's His glory. So maybe we should take a step back.
And think about how we serve Him. both in this life, but especially in worship. Do we serve Him the way that He's told us to, or do we think our sincerity gives us a bypass to do what we want? Let's pray. Father, we do desire to bring You glory. And we know when we try to do that by our own pathways, It is not glorifying to you, but it's setting ourselves up and our wills as sovereign. Lord, we pray that you would please help us to walk in your paths, to trust in you, to go in your ways, to honor you and glorify you all of our lives. Lord, you are such a wonderful God. How privileged it is that we even get to be called your servants and to be a part of your kingdom. Father, please help us to serve you well. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well may God bless you. May you walk in the joy and in the peace of Jesus Christ. And I'll see you next time. Bye.