Sunday
Morning Bible Study
October 5, 2002
Now that I’m king …
Lessons about making decisions and
making mistakes
David has just been made king over the entire nation of Israel.
As king, he’s going to start making some decisions, guiding the nation.
I think that for all of us, we have times in our lives where we learn to
make decisions. There are things in our
lives that we have control over, choices that we make. I may be the head of a Fortune 500 company,
or I may be a young child living with my parents, but either way, I will make
decisions. Sometimes I make good
decisions, sometimes I make bad ones.
One of the first decisions that David makes concerns that Ark of the
Covenant.
This is that wooden box that is covered with gold that contains the stone
tablets with the Ten Commandments on them.
It had a solid gold lid on it that was called the “Mercy Seat”.
At one point, it had been the central focal point of Israelite worship. It
was supposed to be the place where God would meet with man.
But now, for almost a hundred years, the Ark
has sat in the city of Kirjath-jearim,
mostly forgotten.
The Israelites had taken the Ark
into battle and had lost it to the Philistines. When the Philistines took it
home with them, they developed a lot of strange problems and decided to send
the Ark back to Israel.
It was delivered by two cows pulling a cart. It first arrived at the city of Beth-shemesh,
but the people of Beth-shemesh were a curious sort, and when some of them peeked
into the Ark, a plague broke out
and 50,000 people were killed. The Ark
was then taken to Kirjath-jearim, where it has stayed, mostly forgotten.
David has a heart for God. He wants to be close to God. He wants the nation
to be close to God. And he comes up with this idea of bringing the Ark
home with him to his new capital in Jerusalem.
1Chronicles 13
:1 David consulted with the captains
Lesson
Now that I’m king … Stay Teachable
David took time to listen to counsel.
Just because you’re in charge doesn’t mean that you can’t listen to advice.
When you find yourself in a position where you are the one who is going to
make the decision (like being a king), you still need to listen to advice.
We would be foolish if we didn’t pay attention to good advice.
(Prov 12:15
KJV) The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that
hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
(Eccl 5:1 KJV) Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of
God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they
consider not that they do evil.
The fool doesn’t stop and think, “Hey, maybe I’ve done
something wrong”.
Note: David went to leaders to
ask advice. He went to other people who
were experienced in making decisions.
I think there are a lot of people in our lives that we can draw upon for
wisdom. Professional Christian
counselors are fine. Parents are good.
Look to people who display God’s wisdom.
It is good to get counsel from several viewpoints, from several counselors
(Prov 11:14
KJV) Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the
multitude of counsellors there is safety.
(Prov 15:22
KJV) Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the
multitude of counsellors they are established.
(Prov 20:18
KJV) Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good
advice make war.
Yet not everything that will come out of these counseling sessions that
David will have will be correct. Some of the decisions were good, some of them
were bad.
If David made a mistake here, it was in that he didn’t also ask advice from
the Lord. Later he will correct his
mistake by finding the answers in God’s Word.
(Prov 19:21
KJV) There are many
devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall
stand.
Does God’s Word say something about your situation?
:3 let us bring again the ark …
Saul seemed to be resistant to the things that God wanted to do. David
wants to change all that. What David
wants is a good thing. What David wants
is the right thing.
:5 from Shihor of Egypt
even unto the entering of Hamath,
From the farthest south to the farthest in the north.
:7 they carried the ark of God in a new cart
It seems kind of harmless, putting the Ark
on a cart. Yet it will cause great trouble.
Where did they get the idea of putting the Ark
on a cart?
The last time someone moved the Ark,
about a 100 years ago, the Philistines had put it on an oxcart (1Sam. 6). The problem is, God designed the Ark
to be carried by men, not pulled by oxen.
Lesson
Now that I’m king … Do the right
things the right way
It’s not just important to do the right thing, but sometimes it’s also
important how we do it.
For example – take the laundry – it’s important to do the laundry, but
sometimes it’s also important how you
do the laundry:
Illustration
LAUNDRY CRISIS
Copyright 2000 W. Bruce Cameron http://www.wbrucecameron.com
As usual, I’m the one who was blamed for the recent family crisis, even
though, as readers of this column well know, I am a sensitive and humble
husband who is right pretty much 100 percent of the time. I do admit that when
it comes to the system that runs the laundry at the Cameron house, I have been
a tad...oblivious. By “system” I mean, of course, my wife, who takes care of
washing clothes for the rest of us without complaint—until recently, as you
will soon see. My oldest daughter has never mastered the tricky mechanism
required to open and shut her dresser drawers, with the result that her clean
laundry winds up right where my wife has stacked it—on the bed, where it tips
onto the floor and mingles with the dirty clothes residing there. “I have
nothing to wear!” she’ll shriek every once in awhile, despite the fact that she
is standing ankle deep in her entire wardrobe. When I get tired of this
ransacked condition and advise her she can’t go to a friend’s party until her
room is cleaned up, ignoring her claim that “these are the most important
people in my life I PROMISED I’d be there,” she’ll take care of the problem by
gathering up everything and trucking it down to the laundry room, even if my
wife just washed it that very day. For my youngest daughter, the issue is the
competency of the laundress. “I told you that this blouse has to be washed
separately,” she’ll scold. “You’re supposed to soak it in rain water and then
dry it with cotton balls!” Apparently everything she owns was hand-sewn by
movie stars out of butterfly silk, and my wife is constantly “ruining” things
by not treating them with gentle cycles and soft murmurs. My son never gripes
about clothes—as far as he is concerned, the laundry area could be converted
into a video game room. He generally wears the same outfit until it becomes
toxic; the EPA has been to our house twice to see if his clothing should be
awarded Superfund status. Often, peering at the condition of his attire, I
realize he has more dirt on him than I have in my yard. Cleaning his apparel
causes the washing machine to make a grinding, gritty noise, as if sand has
gotten into the bearings. Against all this, my complaint seems a pretty mild
irritant: I’ve begun noticing that whatever wash cycle she is employing, my
wife is causing my pants to shrink around the waist. “You’re shrinking them so
bad, I can barely button them,” I grumble. “Look at this!” She regards me
wearily. “Those are new pants. I haven’t even washed them yet,” she advises.
“What’s your point?” I demand. Sometimes she can’t seem to stay focused.
“Meaning, I couldn’t have done anything to shrink them. They came like that.”
“Defective trousers?” I sputter. How much more am I supposed to endure? She
pokes me lightly in the stomach. “No, they’re the right size,” she claims. “So
you did shrink them!” I accuse. Now, even though all I am doing is serving in
my prosecutorial capacity as the man of the family, she completely over-reacts.
“You know what? You’re right. I must not know what I am doing. So from now on,
everyone in the family has to wash their own clothes. I am through doing
laundry!” At first I believe this is a bluff. Each of us have our family
responsibilities, after all—for her not to take care of the clothes would be
like me no longer bothering to decide what we will watch on television. But
when, after a few days, it becomes apparent that she has no intention of
calling off her unauthorized labor action, I summon the children for an
emergency session of arguing over who should take over laundry duties. We
decide on a system based on blame and denial. This leads to a minor disaster in
which everyone’s clothing somehow becomes pink, and a demand from my children,
“How are you going to get Mom back in the laundry business?” I don’t know, but
I suspect it will involve a lot of chocolate.
The Cameron Column,
a free Internet newsletter; copyright W. Bruce Cameron 2000
God isn’t just concerned that we do the right things.
He is also concerned how we do it
and why we do it.
Paul wrote,
(1 Cor 13:1-3 NLT) If I
could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I
would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.
{2} If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the
future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good
would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain
and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. {3} If I gave
everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about
it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
God is concerned that all we do is done in love. If we don’t do things in love, they are
worthless.
Is there an issue in your life of doing the “right thing”?
God is concerned with how you do it and why you do it.
(Prov 12:18 NASB)
There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the
tongue of the wise brings healing.
It’s not just what you say, but how you say it that
counts.
:10 anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza
Why? Because he, being a sinner, put his hand on the Ark,
which was holy.
One commentator wrote (K&D) - “he had no idea of the unapproachable
holiness of the ark of God, and had to expiate his offense with his life, as a warning
to all the Israelites.”
You might ask me, “Well, would it have been better if Uzza had let the ark
fall off?”
Actually Uzza was in a “no-win” situation. The problem started long before
the cart started to wobble. The moment
they put the ark on an oxcart, they were headed for trouble.
Lesson
Now that I’m king … Respect God’s Holiness
Holiness is that quality about God describing His absolute purity, glory,
power, and absence of sin.
Lev.9:22 - 10:3 Nadab and Abihu. The tabernacle had just been set up, God
sent fire upon the sacrifice, and Nadab and Abihu thought they as priests
needed to be doing something. They rushed into the Holy of Holies to offer some
kind of unprescribed incense, and were killed instantly. They were out of order.
We will find that the closer we get to God, to more we realize that we
aren’t like Him at all.
We down here on earth really have no idea what it is to be holy. It's
getting so bad, that people now even have the gall to say that man is basically
good.
The difference between us and God in holiness:
It's like being invited to a dinner party. You open the door and every body
is dressed extremely formally. You think you're at a fashion show. Then you
look at yourself and realize that you wore your dirty overalls and are covered
with grease and dirt from changing your car's oil that afternoon, you're filthy,
slimy, and you stink.
Jesus told a story about this:
(Mat 22:2-14 KJV) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain
king, which made a marriage for his son, {3} And sent forth his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. {4} Again,
he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I
have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are
ready: come unto the marriage. {5} But they made light of it, and went their
ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: {6} And the remnant took his
servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. {7} But when the king
heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those
murderers, and burned up their city. {8} Then saith he to his servants, The
wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. {9} Go ye
therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
{10} So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as
many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with
guests. {11} And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man
which had not on a wedding garment: {12} And he saith unto him, Friend, how
camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. {13}
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
{14} For many are called, but few are chosen.
God is going to have a wedding feast one day. You’ll have to be dressed appropriately to
get in the door. If you are counting on
wearing what you have on right now, you’re going to have a problem.
You need new clothes. You need new
clothes that have been washed correctly, by someone who knows how to do the laundry. The Bible tells us that when Jesus died on
the cross, He paid for our sins and made it possible for us to be clean. The
Bible tells us that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
It’s only with Jesus that we have the right clothes for
God’s wedding feast.
:11 David was displeased
NASB - "David became angry"
Lesson
Now that I’m king … Don’t be angry
at what you don’t understand
It’s funny how we can get angry with God when things go wrong, when the
actual fault doesn’t lie with God, but in us because we are being disobedient.
David was angry at God for Uzzah dying, yet David actually owned part of
the blame because he has been moving the Ark
improperly.
Sometimes anger comes not just because we don’t understand what God is
doing, but because we don’t take time to understand each other.
(Prov 18:13 KJV) He that answereth a matter before he
heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
Be careful not to overreact and do something stupid.
Illustration
A couple of New Jersey
hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t
seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. “The other guy
whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the
operator: ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ “The operator, in a calm,
soothing voice, says: ‘Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure
he’s dead.’ “There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes
back on the line. He says: ‘OK, now what?’
I think we ought to be careful that we don’t end up shooting each other,
especially if we’ve misunderstood each other.
A king needs to learn to understand. It will take David three months, but
he will find out that they made a mistake in trying to move the Ark
by oxcart.
:13 David brought not the ark home to himself
Lesson
Now that I’m king … Don’t let
difficult times drive you away from the Lord.
We can get discouraged, but we need to keep pressing on.
David’s desire had been to bring the Ark
home so he could be closer to God, and now he is temporarily abandoning that
hope.
:14 the LORD blessed the house of Obededom,
Obed-edom was a Levite, from the family of Korah, whose responsibility it
was to take care of the ark of the covenant. (1Chron.26:4)
The parallel passage states:
(2 Sam 6:11 KJV) And the ark of the LORD continued in
the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom,
and all his household.
Just how did God bless Obededom? How could David tell that God had blessed
him?
(1 Chr 26:4-5 KJV) Moreover
the sons of Obededom were, Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah
the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth, {5} Ammiel the sixth,
Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth: for
God blessed him.
God blessed Obededom with lots of kids.
I wonder if Obededom’s wife and daughters-in-law didn’t all become
pregnant while the Ark was at his
house.
Lesson
Now that I’m king … Let God bless
you!
Sometimes we can get a little frightened with the power of God. Sometimes
we go through difficult times and can think, “If this is what I get for
following the Lord, I’m not sure I’m going to do this!”
Beloved, it is the right thing to follow the Lord.
There are great blessings in following the Lord.
Jesus said,
(John 10:10 KJV)
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
We had a wedding yesterday. It was a
wonderful time. There was even a wedding
feast filled with guests who were dressed for the occasion.
But it all started last May when a guy named Caleb asked a gal named Kim to
marry him. He was in love. He wanted her to be with him forever. After he asked her, she responded by saying,
“Yes”.
Jesus is in love with you. He wants
you to live with Him forever. He wants
you to come to His wedding feast. Will
you say “Yes”?
Now that I’m king … I realize that there is another King. He invites me to come and follow Him.