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1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. 3 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart 4 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. 5 David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; 13 and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with 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. 16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, 19 and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes. (2 Samuel 1-5, 12b-19 The Message Bible)
Church people are funny. Go ahead, admit it. There are several components of the church that must be present, or working, for you to "feel" that you truly worshiped. For some, the microphone must be working and at the right level, for worship to truly happen. For others, worship is not worship unless the piano/organ is working. Think back in history and remember that Christmas Eve in Austria when the organ was not working and the priest quickly grabbed a guitar and wrote what is one of the most loved and favorite of the Christmas hymns? Silent Night was written on a guitar by Franz Gruber to the lyrics by Joseph Mohr. Still others, the screens must be functioning or worship has not really occurred. And, some would even say if a certain person is not in worship then worship has not happened. Years ago when my nephews were of children's sermon age, the two went up and the pastor was the preacher of the mini-sermon and he then dismissed them and all the kids ran back to their parents except for the younger of the two of my nephews. He just sat there and the pastor noticed him and asked, "Alex, did I forget something?" Yes, Alex said, "You forgot to pray!" The pastor laughed and said, "You're right! I forgot to close the children's time with a prayer and called the kids back and then prayed, and all returned back to their parents again. The next Sunday after the pastor prayed the benediction, the pastor made sure to ask, "Alex, did I forget anything today?" Alex said, "Yes! You forgot your wife! She's not in church today!" The congregation laughed and the pastor explained that she was at an out-of-town UMW meeting.
For the Jews of David's day, there was an important component that needed to be present for true temple worship to take place, and that was the ark of the Covenant, which was the symbolic throne of God and inside it were the remains of the original Ten Commandments, and as the movie of Indiana Jones' fame showed that the ark of God had powers associated with it. The ark had an interesting history that included its falling into the wrong hands and battles fought over it and today's lesson finds us having King David victoriously bringing the ark of God back into Jerusalem. This was truly a momentous occasion as we read, and a cause for much celebration. For the people to receive the ark back into the temple was a reason for the celebration, including the risqué dance David put on "with all his might," and the disgust that brought to his wife, Michal, the daughter of King Saul. Apparently, she did not understand the dance as it might have been a "king thing," and her disgust may have caused her to not have any children, but's a topic for another day!
King David's desire was to always have a meaningful experience with God. His bringing the ark back showed that he, and the people of Israel, desired the presence of God. David understood the importance of having God at the center of the nation's life and worship. And as I jokingly mentioned at the start, the only thing we truly need at worship is God, not any one person or certain instruments or rituals. Worship without God is not worship. Worship is all about God and nothing and no one else.
David also desired wholehearted worship; nothing restrained in his worship; he held nothing back and showed his exuberance. The dance that he danced has been a discussion for many centuries, but the truth is that as he danced with abandon before God, he was showing that he deeply loved God and was showing, in his way, the severance that God deserves. This worship experience was genuine and showed the expression of his heart's overflow of gratitude and praise. I've often said that my years in ministry have shown me that when youth get together in large numbers and plan out worship events, they do the same thing. I can name any number of expressions and methods of showing their love towards God that might freak out us old folks back home
The arrival of the ark into Jerusalem celebrated God's blessings. These included the sacrifices, worship, and feasting that David believed was important to show the Lord. David acknowledged God's blessings upon Obed-Edom's household and desired to share those blessings to all of the nation of Israel. Our Sunday morning or whenever it is that we worship, should include experiences that are too good to keep quiet about; we should shout it from the rooftops!
PRAYER: Loving God, like King David, we long for Your presence in our lives and communities. Help us to worship You with hearts full of joy and gratitude, not holding back but giving You our whole selves. May our worship be pleasing to You, and may it draw others into Your presence. Thank You for the blessings You bestow upon us daily. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Think about the times you worship God, starting with your time now in this devotional time, your Sunday morning worship, or whatever time or date it takes place, and talk to others about how special that time spent with God is and how it has enriched your life. People are longing for more meaningful worship and your words might make all the difference in the world to them.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
