Part 31: FULL! Part 4 - Transferring the Glory

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Sheena Greene
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1 Part 31: FULL! Part 4 - Transferring the Glory Texts: 2 Samuel 6:12-15 (NKJV)- Now it was told King David, saying, The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. [13] And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. [14] Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. [15] So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV) - Now the Lord is the Spirit; and WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS, there is liberty. A. The excitement is really building! They tell us that we have only four more weeks until the first service in our new building! 1. Our new church will be in a prime location where we can really enlarge our congregation and build the Kingdom of God. So, we must be ready to impact and impress those who will attend Inspire Church for the first time. 2. An incredible number of volunteers came on Friday and Saturday to be trained for new programs that will soon be in effect. Speaking of impressing people Joke: How to Impress Her.

2 Boudreaux was standing in the gym beside his trainer when a beautiful girl walked by. Boudreaux asked the trainer, "Which machine should I use to impress her?" The trainer looked around the gym, then up and down at Boudreaux and back at the girl and finally said, "You should probably try the ATM at the front door!" Part 2 Welcoming God Into His New Dwelling Place B. We concluded our message last week with David s first attempt to transfer the Ark of the Glory of God from the house of Abinadab to Mount Zion. 1. After soundly defeating Israel, the Philistines had captured the Ark and placed it in Dagon s temple. But they couldn t do much celebrating when their nation was suddenly devastated by terrible plagues. 2. They finally realized, after seven months of suffering, that they had grieved the Mighty God Jehovah. To end the plagues, they decided to place the Ark of God s Presence on a new cart pulled by two calves. But as soon as the Ark was secure, the calves immediately went straight to the nearby border city of Israel at Beth-Shemesh. 3. The men of Beth-Shemesh were so delighted to see their sacred Ark, they ignored God s laws for handling it and another terrible plague broke out among their people. Terrified, the Ark was quickly moved to the house of Abinadab, where it remained for 70 years. 4. Because the Israelites were so fearful of what had happened when the Philistines captured the Ark, several generations of children and youth had grown up with no knowledge of the Ark of God s

3 Presence. Even though it was still in Israel, it remained in the house of Abinadab all those years. But once David, the worshiper, had replaced Saul as king of Israel, one of his first acts was to bring the Ark of God s Glory to a new tent he had erected in Mount Zion. 5. Unfortunately, in his haste to return it, David had made the tragic mistake of ignoring the protocols for handling the Ark. It was never to be touched by human hands. Poles were supposed to be inserted through rings on either side of the Ark and the priests were to carry it upon their shoulders, without touching it. C. From these stories about the Ark, several amazing truths apply to us today. 1. There was a reason why human hands were never allowed to touch the Ark. Fallen humanity had been banished from the presence of God. Much like Michelangelo s famous painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, although mankind was reaching for God, we could never quite touch Him. 2. When Uzzah touched the Ark, he broke the perfect type in scripture of man s separation from God. Only because of Jesus Christ, our Sacrifice and High Priest, can we have access to God s Presence. a. Hebrews 4:14a,16 (NKJV) - Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,. [V16] Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 3. Rather than obeying the protocols outlined in God s Law, David s first attempt to move the Ark was like that of the Philistines. After all, it had been many, many years since the Ark had been handled.

4 Now that times had changed, David assumed that God s Word could be adapted to the time in which they lived. Sounds like people we know today, doesn t it! 4. Like the Philistines, David placed the Ark on a cart. The procession hadn t gone very far until they came to a rough place in the road. When the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, Uzzah, one of Abinadab s sons, put his hand on the Ark to keep it from falling. While preventing the Ark from falling was an honorable thing, he died because man was not allowed to touch the Ark. After God had smitten Uzzah, David abandoned his plan to transfer the Ark to Mount Zion and quickly moved it to the home of Obed-Edom, the Gittite, which was a bit closer to Jerusalem than Abinadab s house. 5. The name Obed-Edom means: a servant or worker of Edom who is a Gittite. Notice that his name was: a worker of Edom, not a worker from Edom. That s important to understand, because a Gittite was a Philistine from Gath, one of the five major cities where the Ark was sent after leaving Dagon s temple. Since he was a Philistine, Obed-Edom would have been VERY well informed about capturing the Ark 70 years earlier in the battle at Ebenezer. He would have also known about the initial Philistine celebration (thinking their god had won the victory over Jehovah), and how God had then decapitated the head of Dagon and amputated both arms, signifying that their idol s strategies had been confounded and his strength broken. There is also no doubt that Obed-Edom s family once lived in Gath, his hometown. It s even possible that the reason they fled from Gath was because of the plague that occurred while the Ark was there.

5 6. So, let s put this altogether. Obed-Edom was a servant, or someone who served in Edom, but was originally a Philistine from Gath. Why was the Ark placed in his home after Uzzah was killed? David and his men must have surmised that if God was upset and thousands would possibly die as they had 70 years earlier, they would rather it happen in a Philistine home, rather than an Israelite. But instead of the expected curse upon Obed-Edom s household, God blessed and smiled upon his family the very opposite of what had happened to Uzzah. 7. The reason for the strange ending to this story is that Obed-Edom, a Philistine, had such awe and reverence for the Ark of God s Presence, everything in his house began to prosper. No matter your age, ethnicity, where you went to school, or how much you ve deposited in a 401K, if you ll reverence and serve God, you will be blessed! Even if you re a thousand miles from where you should be, if you ll begin to honor and serve Him today, I promise you ll be so blessed, you ll become the envy of those who have been in the church for years! D. Because David was a worshiper of God, he never gave up his dream of returning God s Presence to Jerusalem. 1. Three months had passed since the death of Uzzah. By now, the priests would have explained to David that Uzzah died for touching the Ark which no one was supposed to do. They would also have informed him of the mistake of using a cart, as the Philistines had done, and that the Ark of God s Presence must be carried upon the priests shoulders, who had been consecrated for that purpose.

6 2. When David heard about God s blessings upon Obed-Edom, he decided it was time to move the Ark to the tent he had prepared for the Tabernacle at Mount Zion. 3. All of that happened in BC. In answer to the genuine concern some have expressed about leaving our present location where we were visited by the Glory of God, you have probably noticed an important similarity to this story. The Ark of God s Presence was moved seven different times before it finally came to rest in the Tabernacle David had built at Mount Zion in the center of the nation. That s where it remained throughout the reign of King David and a portion of King Solomon s reign while the Temple was being erected. 4. On the eighth move, the Ark was finally transferred to a permanent location in Solomon s Temple on Mount Moriah. Notice that each time the Ark was moved, instead of losing its Glory, the Glory increased. At the dedication of Solomon s Temple, the anointing was so great, the priests could not stand to minister! E. When David attempted to move the Ark a second time, he was very careful to do it God s way! 1. Three things were involved in this second attempt: (1) extravagant worship, (2) extraordinary sacrifice, and (3) lots of fire! The same three were also administered at the dedication of Moses Tabernacle and Solomon s Temple. 2. David was determined not to make the same mistake twice. As the Ark was carried on the shoulders of the priest, the worship was so extravagant, David danced before the Lord with all his might, from

7 the house of Obed-Edom to Jerusalem which was approximately 8½ miles away. That was a lot of dancing! 3. In addition to his extravagant worship, an extraordinary sacrifice was offered with lots of fire! For worship to be real, an element of sacrifice must be included. When worship accompanies sacrifice, God always smiles on the worshiper! 4. Every six paces, David would stop, build an altar, and sacrifice a bullock and a fattened calf. The average length of an adult male s stride is about 2½ feet; so, every six paces, or 15 feet, they would stop, build an altar and offer two sacrifices! 5. I ve learned that to have the favor of God upon my life, I must never go very far without offering something of value as a sacrifice. This is why fasting and giving offerings are so important in our devotional life. This principle of sacrifice touches God! 6. Since the distance from Obed-Edom s house to Mount Zion was 8½ miles, they stopped, built an altar, and offered sacrifices at least 2,992 times. By offering a bull and a fattened calf on 2,992 different altars, David offered 5,984 animals while bringing the Ark to Zion. 7. But think about Solomon s dedication of the Temple. He offered an incredible 142,000 animals as sacrifices: 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep and goats. Do you realize how much barbecue that would have made? When you contrast that with Moses sacrifices at the Tabernacle dedication (Numbers 7:88), not nearly as many animals were offered: 24 oxen, 60 rams, 60 male goats, and 60 year-old male lambs. That s only 204 animals. But, since they had just recently been freed from slavery, they had not yet built their flocks. So, at the dedication of Moses Tabernacle, 204 animals were

8 sacrificed and 5,984 animals at the Tabernacle of David. But when Solomon s Temple was dedicated, there was an astonishing, almost unbelievable 142,000 animals sacrificed: 20,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep! To have offered such a huge sacrifice, Israel had moved to a much higher level of abundance and ability! F. Our ability to give is attached to a very important principle. 1. If your possessions are presently limited, you only have so much to sacrifice. But when you begin to truly honor and reverence God s Presence, He will move you to a much higher level of abundance and ability. 2. An amazing principle emerges from a close observation of the sacrifices and devotion of Moses, David, and Solomon: a worshiper who sacrifices according to their ability to give can never out-give God, or move into a state of want! 3. In my own life, I ve learned that when I sacrifice, God will multiply what I m about to offer by increasing what I possess. When you sacrifice according to your ability, He will bless you with greater possessions so that you ll have more to give. God is not only looking for someone who will become a conduit to pour out His blessings, He wants to increase the grace of giving in your life so that your willing heart is enabled to sacrifice even more. 4. Here is a great wealth-building principle: never approach this subject from the perspective of having more, but having more to give! G. There are two final things I want to point out about sacrificial giving.

9 1. As you sacrifice more, you will be rewarded with experiencing more of His Glory. When He reveals more of His Glory and His Presence becomes more attractive than this world, your love for the things of this world begins to diminish. He will bless you with more because you can be trusted with greater possessions. 2. My second point is the amount of blood contained in their sacrificial offerings. The average bull has 10.3 gallons of blood, while the average sheep and goat have about 4 gallons. If you multiply those figures by the number of bulls, sheep and goats that were offered, the total is a river of 686,000 gallons of blood! Solomon s offering contained an incredible 12,473 fifty-five gallon barrels of blood. His sacrifice had such a pronounced effect upon heaven, God s Glory completely filled Solomon s Temple! 3. Blood represents our protection and covering. The greater honor you exhibit for God and His Presence, the more effective His blood covering over you will become. H. We can learn some other AMAZING facts from this story! 1. Even though Obed-Edom was a Philistine from Gath, when David moved the Ark to Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Obed-Edom and his sons followed along. Because of their reverence for the Ark of God s Presence, from that day forward they were consecrated to be priests to the Lord and door-keepers in David s Tabernacle. 2. You can advance in God s Kingdom as far as you wish to go! No matter who your parents are, the house where you were born, the school you attended, or your net worth, if you will reverence God like Obed-Edom and his family, God will elevate and promote you.

10 3. When David moved the Ark to Mount Zion and every other time it was moved, the people sang Psalm 68 to the Lord. Here are a few of those verses: a. Psalm 68:1-6 (NKJV) - Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. [2] As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. [3] But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. [4] Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him. [5] A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. [6] God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. b. He will bring out those who are bound; He will bring them into prosperity! 4. We should also note that the place where Obed-Edom lived in Mount Zion was all uphill. God loves to elevate our lives! We must go up to the House of God, not down. Climbing is involved. I. In conclusion, there are more lessons to be learned about the history of the Ark and God s Manifest Presence. 1. It isn t the place or the name of a location that matters. It s how you reverence and honor God. If you want His favor and blessing upon you, your family and all you do, become serious about your relationship with Him.

11 2. If there is anything the Ark teaches, it is this: He wants to bless us. The history of the Ark throughout the ages is about God s initiative of reaching out to us. 3. Never take advantage of God s desire to have a relationship with you as if it s a lucky rabbit s foot to get what you want. Never take Him for granted! 4. Make certain that you always attach value to God s ways and honor His Law. May God help us live every day in obedience to Him. a. Psalm 19:7-9 (NKJV) - The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; [8] The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; [9] The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 5. Never stop worshiping Him. For His Glory to abide with us, we must worship, reverence, and give Him Glory. We were created to praise Him! J. Life Application Points: What can we learn from this study of the Ark? 1. The principle is clear: those who honor God s Presence and live by His Divine Law will be blessed. 2. The transfer of God s Glory is a serious matter and not to be taken lightly. 3. God s Presence moves from place to place, but it must be done according to His plan. He is all about Divine Order and for His Glory to remain with us.

12 4. As a believer, a family, or a church, God s Presence must be in the center of all we do. 5. Just as the moving of the Ark to Mount Zion brought Israel a new era of prosperity and favor, the members of Inspire Church/ Christian Tabernacle are moving into a new era of prosperity and favor. In fact, we are in the second week of seven weeks of breakthrough. Take advantage of this opportunity for a breakthrough in your life. Are you ready?

The Obedience of Obed-edom 2 Samuel 6: 10-12

The Obedience of Obed-edom 2 Samuel 6: 10-12 Our text today records an event that transpired while David sought to move the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and place it within the Tabernacle. Many years