Life of David – 2 Samuel 6 – Scripture Supply

David, “Getting the Cart Before the Servant”

2 Samuel 6:1–12.

Vs. 1-5 A new cart

Vs. 6-8 A bump in the road

Vs. 9-12 A simple servant blessed

Intro.

In Psalm 132:6–9, we have what motivated David to bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. It seems as though David was sitting in the house that Hiram was building him, and he said, “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of the woods. Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool. Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.” What could be wrong with this?

Well, notice that David does not inquire of the Lord and asks the question, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” until the 9th verse of the chapter. When we consider a dead church service, we often do so imagining one that is devoid of enthusiasm and emotion, though that may be the case. Some of the times here we see that dead worship was not because it lacked those two things, nor was it dead because it sought the wrong thing, the presence of God. No, it was dead because even though it had the right motive and excitement, it lacked what God wanted. Dead worship is to be found whenever we make the pursuit of it more important than the personal presence of the Lord.

A new cart

Vs. 1-2 To set this in context in the fifth chapter, you will remember that David becomes king over all of Israel, and he decides to make Jerusalem the capital of the nation, so Hiram builds David’s palace there. Then the Lord works through David in defeating the Philistines on all sides.

But something wonderful happened in David’s heart based upon Psalm 132, as David says, “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” Apparently David recalled the story of the ark of God (constructed 400 years before his time; that 3 feet 9 inches long, 2 feet 3 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches box with its lid called the mercy seat completely covered with gold), the Ark that had been kept in the Holy of Holies in Shiloh but hadn’t been there for 70 plus years. Again, we have David’s heart recorded for us in Psalm 132, as he says, “We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of the woods.” You see the ark of God lay some 13 miles away in the “city of forests” (Kirjath-jearim) in the house of Abinadab, where it had been since coming back from being in the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:1). Once again, Psalm 132 records the heart of David as it says, “Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool. Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.”

Why was it so important for David to bring the ark of God into Jerusalem? Well, two scriptures shed light upon this: In Lev. 16:2, we are told that God’s presence would “appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.” Then in Ex. 25:22, the Lord spoke to the people, saying, “I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim, which are on the ark of the testimony.” What David desired for the nation was for them to experience personally the glory of God in the presence of God among them. He wanted to bring the Ark into Jerusalem to honor the Lord as the true King, making Jerusalem the city where the sanctuary would be, causing them to be truly “one nation under God.” According to 1 Chron 13:5, David gathered the nation from its furthest borders to unite around the presence of God (the gathering of his best 30,000 soldiers was a part of this). What was that all about? Well, it was a desire for the people to put down their petty differences and come together to glorify the Lord.

Hey saint, there is nothing of greater importance for the people of God than the presence of God. Without the presence of God, our hearts grow weak, our hands become feeble, and our steps are unsure, so above all else, we need the continual conscious presence of the Lord in our lives. That was what was on the heart of David and what he wanted for the people of God (the continual presence of the Lord). So he thought, “I’ll bring the ark from obscurity to prominence, then the city will be alive with the presence and glory of God.” So what could be wrong with this?

Vs. 3-4 Well based upon Exodus 25:12–15 and Numbers 4:15, the ark was to be carried only by the family of Koath from the tribe of Levi and not transported on a cart. What’s the “big deal” as to the specifics of the moving of the ark? It seems as though the Lord wanted nothing about the worship of Him to be mechanical nor based upon His children approaching Him based upon their own terms. The Lord wanted the Levites, His servants, to carry the burden of moving the presence of the Lord, and they were to do so prayerfully and thoughtfully with great care, effort, and labor. All of which has to do with the right heart, does it not?

What we have here is a clear example of doing the right thing the wrong way. Where did David get the idea of placing the ark of a new cart? Well, when the Philistines took the ark of the Lord, they hadn’t counted on everywhere the ark went, their people would break out in boils. So they finally brought that ark to Ekron, and the people said, “We don’t want the thing; it’s a curse.” So the Philistines decided to set the ark on a cart, and they had a couple of oxen pulling the cart.

Hear me out, Christian; that’s not the way God in His Word spoke of transporting the ark of the covenant. According to scripture, the ark of God was to be covered so that no man could look upon it, then transported by the priest by two gold-covered poles slipped through the rings on the ark resting upon their shoulders so that no man would touch it. God spoke to Moses in Numbers Ch. 4, giving him and the nation specific instructions on how to put up, tear down, and transport the tabernacle. So the problem was not to be found in their motivation but rather in their methodology, as they did not seek the word; instead, they sought to copy the world by following the worldly example of the Philistines. Two things needed to be considered:

The Philistines were trying to get rid of the presence of God, not trying to approach God on their own terms.
God didn’t want His people to get their example from the world but rather from the Word.

So many people think that “If it blesses me, then it will bless God,” but God’s work must be done God’s way in order to have God’s blessing. Hey, saint, it is not by experience or emotion that we ascertain the will of God but rather by the Word of God! Hey saint, no amount of ecumenical unity, professionalism, or enthusiasm will ever compensate for disobedience. Oh, don’t get me wrong, crowds may approve and applaud, but the end will be death without the true worship of God. It was for this reason that Aaron was told “not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die.”.

I’m not speaking with any one church in mind but rather just an observation of the Lord’s church here in America in general, as so much of our service for the Lord is being done with a “New Cart.” A new cart? Yeah, you know a couple of “big wheels,” which provide motion for a bunch of “boards,” if you catch my meaning (big wheel and boards). And what do big wheels and boards produce? Why, “Big Productions.” Furthermore, we are told that two sons (grandsons) of Abinadab are recruited to drive the “New Cart.”.

You see, Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, whom David appointed to drive the cart, have interesting names. Uzzah means “strength,” and Ahio means “friendly.” Did you get that? “Friendly” went in front of the arc while “Strength” walked beside it to support it. Do you get the picture “Strength” is propping everything up and “Friendly” out front (many churches today even call themselves “seeker friendly”). Man, does that not sound like a church? With all the technology being used to attract the world in the quest to be relative to this “new generation,” they are doing so “in our own strength” alongside.

So what’s wrong with this? I kind of like Big Productions by Big Wheels and Boards! Well, the primary problem has to do with human effort instead of the move of the Spirit, as we saw last week. I mean, where is the inquiring of the Lord? You see, in this ministry style, God isn’t needed any more; instead, all that is needed is a consultation with our media consultant. Let me again say I think the Church is on the mark concerning wanting to bring the “presence of the Lord” into the city in which they dwell. What is wrong is the methodology that is being employed. Yeah, but didn’t David pray for God’s blessing on this big production? Yes, but he never inquired of God regarding the production itself.

Hey, listen up, Christian; there are a lot of people who approach God using “a new cart.” “Man, this will bless the Lord; we will impress Him with “new technology and lots of money” that will make up for our disobedient heart.” On one side of this equation, the attempt to want God’s presence near where we live is a great thing, and the attempts to approach him with our fancy carts demonstrate this. Yet when we do so apart from a righteous heart, then it is an abomination to Him. Far too often, in our desperation to want more of God, we put forth our hands but not our hearts (verse 6).

We needn’t seek God with “new things” in order to have more of Him in our lives. The key to approaching Him is to do so with a “new heart,” not a “new cart.” Consider the book of Acts as we are told in Acts 2:42, 47, “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers… And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” There were no slick sales presentations, no light shows, or movie clips and skits. If His Church still seeks to make Him the center of their lives, then He will be able to do what He wants to do in and through us.

It’s God’s job to cause His body to grow, and it’s our job to gather together and be open to His transformation in our lives. In Matt. 16:18 Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Why is the church trying to do Jesus’ job instead of allowing Him to do His work in our hearts and lives?

Vs. 5 Judging by the differing musical instruments, this was quite a worship team assembled. Don’t misunderstand me now. I’m certain that the place was rocking with anticipation, and folks were excited about bringing the Ark of God’s presence into their home town. Far too often, we judge our worship experience by how it makes us feel instead of whether or not it pleases God. We can be certain if what we are doing in worship of the Lord is not in accordance with His Word, then it isn’t pleasing to His ears. I realize that in consumer-oriented culture we are accustomed to think things are about us, but worship is not about what pleases us but rather what pleases Him.

“Hey, I know! We will throw God a parade to sell tickets for a stadium, and He will come down just because we have gone to all the trouble and effort.” Ah, but how do we get God to come? Well, I know we can use our technology and advertise just like the world does, and then God will show up. Well, to do so, we will need to structure! Structure? Yeh, a new cart made up of some “Big Wheels” and “Boards,” and they can appoint someone “Friendly” to go ahead of the cart and someone “Strong” who is a “hands-on” kind of guy to keep the whole thing running the way we want it to. And then we can hire a really great band to play some great music; why it will be great, powerful, and impressive? Man, God couldn’t refuse such a display of our greatness!

A bump in the road

Vs. 6 Nachon’s threshing floor was probably very close to Jerusalem, so they were almost home when Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God to stabilize it as the oxen went over something, causing it to rattle a bit. In the midst of this joyous celebration surrounded by religious fervor and excitement, Uzzah is struck by God for his error. I mean, you talk about putting a damper on your religious service.

Now I find that very interesting in light of two things given us in the text:

Nachon’s name means “prepared, ready, or sure.” So? Well here they are jumping, shouting, and spinning about; they are “certain” that what they are doing is pleasing to the Lord.
Ah, but all of this changes when they come into the threshing floor. You see, at a threshing floor, you take the whole stalks of wheat that are gathered, and you beat the wheat until you separate the chaff from the wheat. And in spite of having a few “Big Wheels” and some “Boards,” with “Friendly” and “Strength” leading the way, there was a lot of chaff in this big production, and God blew it apart with the chaff hitting the floor.

Think of this now, dear saint, worship:

No matter how big a production
How many on the worship team
How seeker friendly
How many big wheels and boards do we have behind it?

In the end, if it is done in our own “strength,” it will be deadly! Oh, don’t get me wrong, it may be impressive to man, but it won’t be pleasing to the Lord.

Vs. 7 Uzzah had a reflex action, but he was in that position because he thought that he could approach the Lord on His terms. There are two things that need to be brought out:

Uzzah knew all about the ark because the ark had been in his father’s Abinadab’s house for 70 years.
Uzzah also made the mistake of thinking that God couldn’t take care of the ark of Himself and that the ground of Nachon’s threshing floor was less holy than his own hand.

You see in Numbers 4:15 those that transported the ark were warned that “they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” That means that Uzzah made a decision in a moment to disregard God’s command and do what seemed right to him. Now what would have happened if Uzzah hadn’t reached out and touched that ark? Well, it may have fallen to the ground. Follow me on this:

I’m not saying that they didn’t have the right idea about wanting the presence of God near the city in which they lived.
I’m not saying that Uzzah, in reaching out to keep the ark from falling, did the wrong thing.
What I am saying is that he should not have been in that situation to begin with. Even our decisions made in a moment matter before God, and they can cost us our lives.

Vs. 8: David was angered because the Lord broke through man “Strength,” so he named the place Perez-Uzzah. “It’s not fair; all I wanted was you, so what if I want Your presence on my terms? Why did a man have to die?” Had David simply inquired of the Lord as he had in battle with the Philistines, he would have been directed to the word of God. Why judge a man for doing that which was natural in the first place?

What is wrong with stretching out your hand to keep that which is Holy steady? First of all, that which is Holy is what keeps us steady and not the other way around, and in this you have the fundamental problem that being the ark should not have been in the cart in the first place. The presence of the Lord is only to be carried on the hearts of those who are separate from Him; do you hear me? We cannot hitch His presence to some fancy cart, add Him to our club, and drive Him around, parading Him around as our trophy when we are the trophy of His grace! What a tragedy to die right alongside the mercy of God, slain by the hand of God because we engaged our hands to work before our hearts.

A simple servant blessed

Vs. 9-10 The word for fear here is “reverenced,” so David stopped showing reverence towards doing things in his own strength and started respecting doing things God’s way.

I find it interesting that David scraps the idea of wanting the presence of the Lord near the people of God because it couldn’t be done in His own strength. Far too often we stop desiring the right things because they can’t be accomplished through our own strength. So the parade stops as Mr. Strength literally “fell apart.” Bummer, how will the presence of God ever come nearer to my heart if it isn’t done my way?

Now David did a good thing here, as we are told that he “took it aside” (Vs. 10) into the house of Obed-Edom. Ah, hear me out, as this fellow’s name means “servant,” and according to 1 Chronicles 26:4, he was of the tribe Levi and, more importantly, of the family of Koath, who according to Num. 4:15 was the family within the tribe of Levi that God had commanded to transport and take care of the ark. When David’s heart switched from “in my strength” to “in His service,” blessings were poured out.

Vs. 11-12: Edom means “ruddy,” and it was what was said of David; thus, he was a “Ruddy Servant,” so David was brought back to the time when he was nothing, not a worship leader, not a giant killer, nor a conquering general, not a king of a nation, just a worshiper, and all that he wanted was the Lord more in his life, and it was not a production.

Notice as well that upon the first attempt, 3 months pass and David goes back to the word, and when he did bring up the ark, there was just as much, if not more, joy. In 1 Chronicles 15:13, David explains why the first attempt led to death as he tells the priest, “Because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us because we did not consult Him about the proper order.” Hey saint, when we worship the Lord the way that He has prescribed in His word, it will still be filled with gladness and joy. Oftentimes we think that if we do it God’s way, it will be boring and dull, not so!

There was a big production the first time they tried this, but did you notice that it never says that there was any joy? Why is that? Well, it is because they were doing so with a couple of “Big Wheels” and some “Boards” in their own “Strength,” and even though “Friendly” was upfront, it was nothing more than a production. Ah, but when their focus became “in His service,” well, then it became joyous for all. Exodus 25:14 specifies that the ark was to be carried by Levites, who inserted gold-covered poles and bore it upon their shoulders, simply humbly, no big wheels, boards, or bands, just servants who wanted to do it God’s way. Do you hear me, saints? David’s production was impressive, but it took away from God’s glory; the production became the object of worship rather than God, whom the production was supposed to be for!

David, “The king’s new clothes.”

2 Samuel 6:13-23

Vs. 13-19 A broken heart instead of a new cart

Vs. 20-23 Michal or a Maidservant

Intro.

In 1 Chronicles 15:14–15, we are told that David specifically commanded “the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.” Far too often we think that a “new cart” with a P.R., a man named “friendly,” and a hands-on guy named “strength,” is the way to bring the presence of God to the people of God. But based upon the above passage, God wanted His presence to rest upon the shoulders of those who were brokenhearted, obedient, praising, and set apart men. And he has not changed his standards.

So many people have traded in the presence of the Lord for a parade that emphasizes what we have to offer Him instead of who He offered for us, and many can’t figure out why they are not getting much out of their church.

Hey, did you notice that this was still a big production? In fact, quite honestly, in many ways, it was a bigger production than the first attempt. So what was the problem with the first attempt? Well, two things:

The first one came from the world’s example and man’s strength, and the second came from the Word’s example and men with broken hearts operating in God’s strength and not their own.
And most importantly, what made the second one a greater production was the sacrifice after the sixth step.

A broken heart instead of a new cart

Vs. 13 The 2nd attempt to bring the ark of the Lord into Jerusalem is given a greater amount of space in 1 Chron. 15:1-16:3, as Chronicles are written from a priestly point of view. What is plain is that David is determined to do God’s work God’s way, so he now sends the Levites a few miles to bring the ark of the Lord to the people of God.

Though positional, it was the presence of God that moved to where the people of God lived; in reality, based upon the sacrificing after the sixth step (1 Chron. 15:26 informs us that they waited to see if God was pleased with their heart before continuing on), it was the people of God that moved to where the presence of God was.

Hey, did you notice that when David first sought the presence of the Lord amongst the people of God, there was no sacrifice; now he won’t move a second step without one? What this tells us is very important:

That God is altogether holy and we are altogether sinful
That the only way to the presence of God is upon a path sprinkled in the blood of One who was innocent and who has been sacrificed on our behalf.

In Psalm 24:3-4, David asked and answered a question, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart and has not lifted his heart to an idol.” We live in a time in which many well-meaning Christians fail to realize that no one can know the presence of God in their life until they first accept that innocent blood has been applied to their heart. We shall not know of the joy of the Lord until we have come to know of His holiness and been washed by the blood of the Lamb.

Sacrificing animals was no easy task; it required effort as well as being quite messy (something you hunters know well). My point? Well, David did this every sixth step! Moving the ark of the Lord in a “new cart” made practical sense as it was the most efficient way of transportation. But listen up, saint, God never prizes “efficiency” above obedience. Yes, it was true that placing the ark of the Lord was the “right thing,” but sacrificing an animal every sixth step was the “right way”!

Far too much of our Christian experience boils down to us sacrificing the “right way” for the “right thing,” and the results may impress man, but they will never impress God. Just consider our Lord. What if He just came to earth one day and said he was the Savior of the world and did a few miracles to show that He was who He claimed to be, went out to a hill on Bethany, and ascended? Well, it would have been more “efficient.” It would have been the “right thing,” but it would not have been the “right way!”!

Of further interest to me is that the number six in scripture is the number of man, the number of our flesh that says, “Look at me, how impressive I am, how important I am.” That’s our flesh! So what a great picture this is, as at the end of the sixth step, flesh was dying, blood was being shed, and man was being “altered.”

Hey, Christian, that is what we need to do in our lives every time we are being drawn towards walking in our own strength and self-reliance. It’s time to die to self by remembering His sacrifice. How much more joyful and fulfilling would our lives be if regularly we stopped and built an altar? Then laid our dreams and ambitions on that altar and remembered His sacrifice on our behalf? “Lord, I’ve forgotten; I’ve been walking in my own strength, and I have failed to realize that I’ve been bought with a price, and my life doesn’t belong to me; it belongs to You, so what do you want me to do today?” Oh, to lay down our fleshly tendencies every sixth step every day in sweet confession, that is how to make sure you are going the “right way” and not just doing the “right thing.”.

Vs. 14 In Chron. 15:27 we are told that David “was clothed with a robe of fine linen, but also wore a linen ephod.” What this reveals is that his royalty was clothed in his servanthood. Hey, who does that sound like? Well, in Philippians . 2:6-7, we are told of Jesus, who “being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” Jesus the “Son of David” clothed His royalty in the form of a bondservant.

In so dancing before the Lord with all of his might, he had covered his royal kingly garments by putting on the garment of a servant. Yeh so? Well, this demonstrated two things about David’s heart:

It showed, as far as God is concerned, we are equal before God; from a king to a slave, we are all the same before the Lord. The Lord does not say, “Man, that rich believer, that famous servant of mine, I’m so impressed.” No, David wrote in Psalm 51:17. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart; these, O God, You will not despise.” No matter who you are, when we come before the Lord with a “broken and a contrite heart,” we are stripping ourselves from any earthly importance. God is not into our robes of righteousness, but He desires to clothes us with His righteousness, which is only in Christ.
Secondly, when we consider that David regularly wore kingly clothes, an outfit that told everyone that saw him that he was a powerful man, he was royalty. But David set those clothes aside and wore the clothes of a servant of the Lord. Why? Well, hear me out, because he cared more about who he worshiped than who worshipped him! “Oh, look at him, look at her; aren’t they impressive, man? If I could just be like them.” How sad is it that a lot of times church becomes a place where God’s people come to impress others of their importance instead of a place where we all come together and are impressed with God’s importance! Do you hear me? Let’s take off our “filthy rags” of our self-importance and gird our heart with that of a servant and allow Him to clothe us in the royal garments of His righteousness!

Now David didn’t dance out of obligation or for a show, nor did he do so halfheartedly. No way David gave all he had as his own expression of worship. What are we to make of this dance of David? Now, fellows, you don’t think it’s weird watching a ball player dance when they hit a game-winning home run or when some player scores a go-ahead touchdown. Sports not your thing? How about when you would attend a concert or what about you ladies when you went to the and the item you wanted to purchase had gone on sale at 50% off? What do you do when you get home? Why is it that David’s expression of joy at the presence of God among the people of God is seen as weird? It seems that there are two errors that we make in regards to our emotions as it relates to worship of God:

Making the emotions the center of our experience and the qualifying mark of our worship.
Or the other extreme thinking that any display of emotion is not befitting the Christian life.

Hey saint, our worship must not be manipulated or repressed; no, it ought to be genuine!

In 1 Chronicles 15:27, we are told that “David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark.” Some have wrongly thought that David was dancing in his underwear when in fact he was simply dressed just like all the other priests and Levites in this procession. So what this is telling us is that David’s dance was not a solo and that he took off his royal robes and rejoiced as a simple man, not a king. It was a celebration like being in a parade, and nothing was done that would have been out of “step” (pardon the pun) with what was going on.

He wasn’t naked trying to draw attention to himself, and his action was not a disruption to what the Lord was doing! So much of what is passed off as worship dancing is not what David did and is out of context to what is going on. In 1 Cor 14:32, Paul wrote that “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” The principal Paul is expounding is that the true work of the Holy Spirit will not disrupt what the Holy Spirit is already doing; it won’t be out of control nor out of our control but will draw attention to the Lord Jesus and not the gift nor the instrument of His choosing.

Vs. 15 So there was this great celebration as if an enemy had been defeated. Hey, come to think of it, the Lord had just defeated a great enemy, the enemy of the flesh, as His presence was now dwelling in the midst of His people. Notice that in the 2nd attempt of bringing the presence of the Lord amongst the people of God, David is not the king out front; he is just one of the servants, as the Levites are carrying the true king, to be amongst His people. Simply put, David was no longer fitting God into his program but instead wanted to fit into God’s program.

Hey, look for a moment to verse 5 and look at the instruments that David used to bring in the ark the first time while in the “new cart” as compared with the instruments used to bring in the ark with sacrifice.

The first list of instruments is all played with the hand: Thus the first attempt was impressed with what they were doing to be near the Lord.
The second list is all played with breath: The 2nd attempt was a “sacrifice of praise” and was a move of the Spirit, as breath is always a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Does that ever illustrate the difference between the two attempts to bring the presence of God amongst the people of God? So often people are seeking to “move” God near to where we are by the work of our hands. Ah, but when the Holy Spirit moves us, it will always be to where He is, which will enviably be a “sacrifice of praise” where He inhabits the praise of His people instead of just being brought along for the ride!

Vs. 16Now Michal Saul’s daughter, David’s first wife, looked through a window, and she saw her husband dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. So she apparently felt it wasn’t dignified for the King of Israel to express his emotions before God as a common man. But it is apparent based upon verses 20 and 22 that her complaint was to be found not in dancing but rather that the king stripped himself of his royalty to worship him, who alone is royal. Hey saint, remember that you will always have those who mock your worship of the Lord, as does Michal, especially after you have gotten your heart right.

Vs. 17-18 After so many years, the ark of the Lord, the visible manifestation of the presence of God among the people of God, had finally come to be where it was designed to be. And according to 1 Chron. 16:6-7, we are told that “the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God. On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the LORD: ” And then it mentions one psalm that later on was divided into two psalms:

Psalm 105:1-15 Part of which says, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.”.
Psalm 96: Part of which says, “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name, and proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.”

David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. Now burnt offerings were offerings that symbolize being set apart, while peace offerings were fellowship offerings. Hey, Saint Paul tells us that we are “the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Vs. 19 Furthermore, they had a great barbeque after that would put to shame “Famous Dave’s.” All of this reminds me of what we are told in Rev. 19:9: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!‘”

What a great picture of “communion,” as David distributed before all the people three items:

A loaf of bread: Ah, that’s easy. Jesus is the bread of life, and He took up the unleavened bread and broke it, saying this is my body given for you.
A cake of raisins: A cake of raisins, well, that would be the fruit of the vine to which Jesus said this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.
A piece of meat: But what is this piece of meat? Well, in Hebrews 5, it refers to the Bible as the “meat of the Word,” and Jesus is the word.

So as these folks went back to their homes, they partook of the Lord and were “altered” by the sacrifice of praise. Furthermore, based upon 1 Chron. 16:1, when the presence of the Lord reached its final destination, the priests offered even more sacrifices.

Michal or a maidservant

Vs. 20-23 What a great and glorious day for the nation! David must have been thinking, “Nothing can stop me now; nothing can bring me low!” But there is the enemy right there as David goes to bless his own house and Michal comes with biting sarcasm, “What a dumb thing for a king to do to go out and make himself nothing!” Michal says, “You call yourself a king why you looked just like a servant!” But David fires right back, “Man, I didn’t do this to spite you or bless you and did it to glorify the Lord.” “Woman, whatever you may think of me, is far too great for such a low man.” “Those little servant girls who worshiped the Lord with me will be more fruitful in their lives than you who will not humble yourself before the Lord.” Isn’t that like the world to tempt us, “Man, you’ve worked so hard and waited so long to get to the top; you deserve to live a little; after all, you are just a little better than everybody else!”

David saw himself not as over the people but rather as ruler over the people of the Lord. David’s stripping himself of his royal robes was an act of humbling himself before His royal king and not an act to show how spiritual he was; it was not about him. David told Michal that however humiliated she was of him ought not to be more than he saw himself before the Lord. She was upset as the lack of his greatness reflected upon her, but David wasn’t concerned in the slightest of his greatness; he was concerned with the Lord’s greatness. Spurgeon said, “Brother, if any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be.” In 1 Chron. 13:3, David commented upon her father’s barrenness of the presence of the Lord in Saul’s life, saying that the nation had “not inquired at it since the days of Saul,” and apparently the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree as Michal’s physical barrenness matched her spiritual barrenness.

Hey saint, there is a difference between the types of instruments used to praise, and there are differing types of people who praise.

Michal: Who will despise her husband for being a broken-hearted servant?
Vs. 20&22 Maidservant: Who will honor the Lord instead of worshiping a king?

We will either be a Michal or a Maidservant when it comes to whom we worship, the works of our hands or the works of His hands, fruitless and barren or fruitful and worshipful! God doesn’t want our parades, the works of our hands, or our hearts as servants who sacrifice our importance for His. Hey folks, let’s today every sixth step lay down our lives and allow Him to move us to where He is instead of trying to get Him to where we are!

Ah, but did you notice that David offered a sacrifice of praise before the Lord (verse 17) before he ever blessed the people (verse 18), and that is always the way of the Lord? We must always be people who offer a sacrifice of praise before the Lord before we can ever be a blessing before His people. Far too often we Christians think that our blessing to the people is a sacrifice of praise before the Lord, “Oh, I’m right with God, you see, I’m serving in Sunday school!” God wants our hearts before He ever desires our service; only after we have spent time praising Him can we be a true blessing to others!