In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith discusses the procession of the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. The Ark is brought into the tabernacle that David had prepared for it, and David offers bird and peace offerings before the Lord. After the offerings, David blesses the people and distributes bread and raisin cakes to everyone. The people then depart to their homes, rejoicing and singing songs of praise to the Lord.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you With His Spirit and His love Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul Oh, let Him have the things that hold you And His Spirit like a dove Will descend upon your life And make you whole As we pick up in 2 Samuel 6, verse 6. And now with today's message, here's Pastor Chuck Smith. Quite an assembly, quite a parade to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. 30,000 people, all of them singing, rejoicing, praising the Lord with these different types of instruments. As they're coming along towards Jerusalem. And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, and this was probably very close to Jerusalem, Uzzah put forth his hand to the Ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. Evidently there was a, you know, they went over a rough spot and the cart began to sort of shake and so Uzzah put forth his hands to steady the Ark of the Covenant. Again, a direct violation of the Law of God. No man is to touch it. And thus, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and God smote him there for his error. And he died by the Ark of God. So in the midst of this gala celebration, in the midst of the religious fervor and excitement, this fellow puts forth his hand and violates the Law of God by touching the Law of God. Up until this point, David did not have a deep respect for the Ark of God. Certainly by this experience, David realized how solemn was the worship of God and how important it was to follow the plans that God had set forth. David was angered because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah, which means the breach of Uzzah. And David was afraid of the Lord that day. He began to learn the respect, the fear of the Lord. We're talking about the holy, righteous creator of the universe who dwells there, surrounded by the cherubim who night and day cease not saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come. The awesome eternal creator. Thank God Jesus did bring us into a beautiful relationship of that of father and son but be careful of disrespect. David learned to respect God. He was sort of overwhelmed at this point of the awesomeness of God. David was afraid of the Lord that day and he said, How shall the Ark of the Lord come to me? He began to realize, Hey, I better not dwell near this place. I'm not too good a guy myself. And he was afraid of this thing. I don't want to get near it. You know, this thing is, this thing is dangerous. So David would not remove the Ark of the Lord unto him and to the city of David, but David carried it aside to the house of Obed-Edom, the Gittite. And the Ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-Edom for about three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all of his household. David just found the closest house of a Levite. And he just parked the Ark there. You guys take care of it. I can't handle this thing. And God began to bless the house of Obed-Edom. Word came to David, Hey, man, has that guy been blessed these last three months. And so it was told the king saying the Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that pertains to him because of the Ark of God. So David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom under the city of David with gladness. And it was so that when they that bear the Ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. Now this he should have done the first time. Now he's doing the same thing, but this time he's doing it the right way. He's having the priest Barrett on these staves. He is offering sacrifices as soon as they started to move it. They moved it about 30 feet and then they offered these sacrifices unto the Lord as they brought it then into Jerusalem, into the tent or the tabernacle that David had built. Again, they offered sacrifices before the Lord. And here we read where David danced before the Lord with all of his might. And this was a dance that was sort of spinning in half circles. And David was girded with a linen ephod. He had taken off his royal kingly garments. He had put on the garment of a slave, of a servant. He got out there with the common people. He there danced before the Lord, showing to the people that all of them were equal before God. I may be a king when I am before the people, but when I'm before God, I'm just like anybody else, David is declaring. We are all the same before God. God does not respect persons. So David and all of the house of Israel brought the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michelle, Saul's daughter, looked through the window and she saw her husband, King David, leaping and dancing before the Lord and she despised him in her heart. She was upset. Now David wrote two psalms for this occasion. And so these were the songs that the people were singing as they brought the ark of the covenant. The first is in Psalm 105 verses 1 to 15. They were singing, O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him. Talk ye of all of his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord in his strength. Seek his face forever more. Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth. O ye seed of Abraham, his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, the oath to Isaac. He confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, to Israel for everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance. When they were but a few men in number, yea, very few and strangers in it. And when they went forth one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, and he allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sake, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. The rest of the song that David composed for this event is the 96th Psalm, which followed after the first 15 verses here. The 96th Psalm, O sing unto the Lord a new song, and so forth. And this was the song David composed for this special occasion. You say, how do you know that? It's written in 1 Chronicles chapter 16. And if you read the psalm that David composed, you'll find out that they are the same as these two psalms. And so they took this psalm that David had composed for this occasion, put two of them together, and you have it in 1 Chronicles 16. But we've got trouble at home with Michelle. And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, or his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And as soon as David had made an end of the offering, the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts and he dealt among all of the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well as the women and men, to everyone a cake of bread, a good piece, you know, of flesh, as in italics, but no doubt just a good chunk of beef, and a flagon, and it's translated of wine, but a flagon is actually a cake of raisins. They would take the raisins and press them into blocks, and so it was a flagon, or a block of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house. Exciting, glorious day. The ark of the covenant is resting in the tabernacle. Everyone is celebrated. They've been singing. They've been rejoicing. You're on a spiritual high. You know, you're just really, nothing can touch me now, you know. Boy, I just so much victory, you know, and you feel like Satan can't touch you. And David, in this spiritual high, ecstasy, goes home now to bless his family. And Michelle, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David before he could get to the rest of the family, and she said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovers himself. Didn't you look cute out there in a linen robe of all things. What a disgrace, David. Not being regal and kingly and wearing your royal garments. Didn't you look cute? He thought nothing could touch him. You know, I sort of sometimes fear those special mountaintop experiences. Because you know that Satan is going to challenge. There's a valley coming as Satan lays his heavy trip on you. Sad. David turned to Michelle and it's interesting how that cutting words breed cutting words. If you take out the sword, your tongue, and begin to cut with it, you'll find that the other person will take out their sword and begin to cut back. Cutting words breed cutting words. And so David said to her, it was before the Lord which chose me above your father and before all of his house to appoint me the ruler over the people of the Lord over Israel and therefore I will play before the Lord. I wasn't doing it before the people. I was doing it before the Lord who chose me above your dad and his household. And I will be even more vile than this. And will be base in my own sight. And those maiden servant girls that you were talking about that you said that I had behaved so shamelessly in front of them, I shall be had by them in honor. And therefore Michelle, the daughter of Saul, had no child until the day of her death. Quite a price. It was a shame in that culture not to bear children. So it came to pass when the king sat in his house. Now the Ark of the Covenant is there. The enemies have been subdued. David has been prosperous. But the Ark of the Covenant is there in the tent that David had prepared for it. And so he was sitting in his own cedar palace. The Lord had given him rest from all of his enemies. And the king said to his friend Nathan, the prophet, look I'm dwelling in the house of cedar but the Ark of God is just covered with curtains. And Nathan said to the king, go and do all that is in your heart for the Lord is with you. David was expressing to Nathan his desire to build a temple. Here I'm dwelling in this beautiful cedar palace. God's Ark is dwelling in a tent. I'm going to build a house for God. A house for the people to worship God. A house to keep the Ark of the Covenant. And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying, go and tell my servant David, thus saith the Lord, shall you build me a house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt even to this day. But I've walked in a tent and in a tabernacle and all of the places wherein I have walked with all of the children of Israel. Did I ever speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people Israel saying, why built ye not me a house of cedar? All of the judges and all of those that God raised up to rule over the people, never once did God command them or ask them to build them a house. A house of cedar. Now therefore, this is what you're just saying to my servant David. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheep coat, from following the sheep to be the ruler over my people, over Israel. And I was with you whether so ever you went. And I've cut off all of your enemies out of your sight and I've made you a great name like the name of the great men that are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and I will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more as before time. And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused you to rest from all of your enemies, also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house. And when the days are fulfilled and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, which shall proceed out of your bowels and I will establish his kingdom and he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men, but my mercy shall not depart away from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. So here is David expressing to Nathan his desire to build a house for God and Nathan, without inquiring of the Lord, just off the top of his head said, Oh, splendid David, do all that's in your heart. God is with you. But that night the Lord awakened Nathan and said Nathan, you blew it. You encouraged David to build my house. Can't have it. David's hands are bloody. This guy has killed too many people. My God of peace. It wouldn't be consistent to have David build me a house. I can't allow him to do it. So you're going to have to go back and give David the sad news that he can't build a house for me. But you tell David, my servant, that I'll build him a house. I will establish his kingdom. So Nathan came back to David with the message. God took you, David, from the sheep coat, from following after. You had a humble beginning, David. You were nothing but a little shepherd boy and God made you king. God reminds us sometimes of our past. We were nothing. And yet God chose us to reign as kings and priests with him forever. I took you from the sheep coat, from following the sheep, made you the king over my people, over Israel. I was with you wherever you went. God reminds him how he was present with David. I've cut off all of your enemies. I've made your name great. Past. Future. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep, I will allow your son to sit upon the throne, establish the kingdom. With him, he will build the house. We'll return with more of our verse-by-verse study through the book of 2 Samuel in our next lesson as we learn more about God's covenant with David. And we do hope you'll make plans to join us. But right now, I'd like to remind you that if you missed any part of today's message, or perhaps you'd like to order a copy for that special friend or loved one, you can do so by simply contacting one of our customer service representatives, and they'd be more than happy to assist you with the ordering details. 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That's right here, on the next edition of The Word for Today. Now, once again, here's Pastor Chuck Smith. Looking forward to a glorious week as we wait to see what God has in store as we seek His will and as we open our hearts to Him. May God bless you and lead you and guide you according to His perfect plan as you walk with Him in Jesus' name. Our second resource is entitled The Gifts of the Holy Spirit and consists of 19 messages covering such subjects as healing, prophecy, and faith. Pastor Chuck not only explains how and why the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to the church today, but he also encourages believers to fully understand the working of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life. Once again, you'll be asking for The Person of the Holy Spirit and The Gifts of the Holy Spirit. For those of you wishing to call, our toll-free number is 1-800-272-9673. Once again, that's 1-800-272-WORD. This program has been sponsored by The Word for Today in Costa Mesa, California.