Image from compassc.org
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 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. 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 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. 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. It was told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed the household 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 rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lordhad gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 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. 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. 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, 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 6:1-5, 12b-19)
Good day dear Friend! I hope this finds you ready, willing, and excited about the day's opportunities and possibilities! "New every morning is the steadfast love and mercies of the Lord" says the book meant to lament all things! So, start the new day with God's love and mercy for us. What was yesterday stayed there as of midnight last night!
Ah, King David. Slays a giant for the Lord and his country, gets a lot of money, a life-long Get Out of Jail card from the king, and, he gets the king's daughter as a wife! The polls show him way up, and this is while he's still a boy! As he grows older, he's now king and as part of his efforts to unify the country, he turns to an important spiritual matter; the ark of the covenant. It's so important it inspired a series of movies with Indiana Jones! The ark was built as a throne or chair for God. God never wanted anything that would limit Him to one place; He wanted the world to know that He is everywhere (and He is!). At that point in their history, the Israelites were tent people and they wondered what they could do for God. God responds that they can build him a chair. The ark came to represent all that was holy about their faith and in this ark, they placed the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ark had wondered from place to place, David finds out where it is and believes it is his duty as king to retrieve it and place it in the holy city. So, with 30,000 of his best friends he heads to where the ark is located and brings it back. Remember, the ark is very holy. Only certain men would touch it and only certain people could walk in front of it. Everything was right in the world as David leads the procession of victory as the ark is being brought back into Jerusalem. The setting was ripe for a glorious parade; trumpets were blowing, people are cheering and waving palm branches, and David, moved by the excitement begins to dance. The graphic above shows how the king is dressed. It was a hot July day; Texas style, humid and hot. The king wears a linen ephod. He would not have been seated at most restaurants with the sign, No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service. David wore no shoes, nor a shirt, nor anything else; he was in a festive mood! He wanted to praise God and so as they approach Jerusalem, he begins to dance and leap! As they walk by the palace, the first lady, Michal, daughter of Saul, the grand prize for having slain Goliath, looks out and sees her husband jumping and leaping and praising God, and does not like what she sees. I'll leave it to your imagination or read further in this chapter to see what the conversation was like later at the parsonage, uh, I mean palace.
David had every right, I believe, to celebrate in the way he did. This was the long-awaited victory parade in downtown Jerusalem, with news bigger and better than the Astros winning the World Series! This was the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Championship, World Cup, and Fourth of July parades all meshed into one. Macy's store windows are not big enough to fill all that would have been in them for this special day. Yet, in the heart of one person, one from his own household; all was not right in the world. David was not yet aware of this, and so he continued the celebration. He led the sacrifices and religious obligations tied to it, then helped hand out a blessing to all the people, as well as bread for each, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Parade over, people happy; everyone went home.
Our worship celebrations center on God. It is the hope of most pastors to plan and lead those services which call people to worship and praise God, united the church into a common vision and purpose, and then to send all out into the mission field to serve the Lord. Humanly speaking, we know that not all people receive the same thing. I won't waste time listing whines and complaints that I have heard in my over 40 years experience as pastor; I simply say, Praise the Lord and set everything else aside.
PRAYER: Loving God, You call us to love and serve You. You invite us to worship You and You deserve it. May our celebrations bring us closer to You and closer to each other. Bless this dear reader with a renewed vision of purpose and hope; much yet still left to do. Help us accomplish that to which we are called. This we pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! When you have time, and nobody's watching, leap for the Lord (For some it may be only in your heart, but that counts too!)
Eradio Valverde
