It is so easy to bring God into the court of your judgment; it's so easy to judge Him as perhaps being unfaithful, unloving, unkind, having turned His back on His promises to you. Think about this with me for a moment. When is the last time God left you confused? Some of you are smiling - must be recently. Be honest this evening. When is the last time you were mad at God? When is the last time in your mind as you try to hold on to your faith, you were thinking, "What in the world is going on? Could this be the God that I have placed my hope in?
Bringing God Into Your Court
Could this be the God that I have placed my trust in? This doesn't seem like the God I know." When's the last time you brought God into the temporary court of your own judgment? I'd like for you to turn in your Bibles, or in the pew for a church Bible to II Samuel, chapter 6. I'm asking you to do that because I want you to see the verses that precede the text that we just looked at together. This is one of those, 'what in the world is going on' passages. This is a passage that, as you're reading through the verses, you think you know where the story is going.
I would say to you, if you were reading this passage for the first time, you would be sure to hit a moment of shock and consternation. If you've got feelings in you at all, if you read the Bible in something less than a sort of mental spiritual monotone, you're shocked by this passage. Now, I want to say this to you; I think that's why it's in the Bible. This passage is meant to shock you, but not for the reasons that you think. You can't really understand this passage without understanding the setup, let me, let me read for you, 2 Samuel 6, 1 through 4.
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.
(ESV) Now here's the scene. Some 50 years earlier, the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, the Bible says these were evil men, decided to take the Ark into battle because they thought that that would assure victory. Now what is this Ark of the Covenant? The Ark of the Covenant was the most significant, physical symbol of the uniqueness of Israel's relationship to God that there was. Constructed in the days of Moses, in the Ark were the Ten Commandments. And on the Ark was the mercy seat that would be sprinkled with blood on the Day of Atonement.
This was a symbol of God's presence, a symbol of His holiness, a symbol of His grace, a symbol that pointed to the person and work of the Lamb that would someday come. There was no more important religious object in the history of Israel than this Ark. And these guys treated it like a rabbit's foot and took it into battle - a horrible thing to do. It was captured by the Philistines; oh, they had no idea what they were in for. Taken to Ashdod, brought into the temple of Dagon and all of a sudden, plagues started to fall on Philistia.
They were messing with Almighty God! They couldn't get that Ark out of there fast enough...loaded it on a cart and sent it in to Israel where it was kept virtually forgotten for about 50 years by Abinadab, guarded by his two sons, Ahio and Uzzah. David, once he begins to consolidate power in Israel, and once the nation begins to move towards being united, his mind right away goes to worship - that's a wonderful thing, the worship of God. And he remembers the Ark, and he wants to bring the Ark to Jerusalem so that, on the Mount Zion, the Ark would once again be the symbol of the presence of God, the holiness of God, the grace of God, that would unite the worship of Israel.
Now it looks like this man has got it right. It looks like he's doing a wonderful thing. But I want to give you principle here, suitable for your refrigerator. I mean that. In a fallen world, things are not always what they seem to be. In a fallen world, things are not always what they seem to be. In a fallen world, things are not always what they seem to be. Look at verse 5, let me just read a little further, "And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating (making merry) before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals."
The Old Testament Marching Band
This was a parade - marching band, Old Testament Israel Marching Band. And these weren't sort of clowns who sort of fake happiness. These people were filled with joy; the Ark was coming back to Jerusalem. It's a wonderful moment in many ways. You think that this celebration is just going to continue its crescendo, and then you hit verse 6. "And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God."
What in the world is going on? This is one of those passages where you're actually tempted to say, and I'm going to say this, because I think we need to be honest, "Is this really a God that I would choose to serve?" The oxen stumble, the cart tips, this man did what would probably be what any one of us would've done if we would have been on the scene. He reaches out his hand, and he stops the Ark from falling, and he is immediately stricken dead. David has a response that many of us would've had, look at verse 8, "And David was angry because the LORD had broken out (burst forth) against Uzzah.
And that place is called Perez-uzzah (bursting against Uzzah, it means); 'to this day'. And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, 'How can the ark of the LORD come to me?' So, David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David" (and it ends up again in a private home). David's angry. And he's angry at God. David's brought God into the court of his judgment and judged Him unworthy. And David says, "I'm not taking this Ark any further. If this is what is going to happen, forget it."
And the Ark ends up in the home of Obed-edom. Now we've got to step back from this passage and ask this question, "What is going on?" Let me repeat the principle again, "In a fallen world, things are not always what they seem to be." This was a very significant symbol of the character and plan of God, and because it was such a significant symbol of the plan and the character of God, God was very specific about the way that His Ark was to be treated and transported. This passage that seems to be about a needless death is actually a case study in the holiness of God.
Now I want you to hear me say this: You are here tonight, whether you understand it or not, to worship a God who is absolutely holy in everything He does. He is uncompromising in His holiness. He is zealous in His holiness. Can I say this? He's holy in his holiness. The Ark was constructed with brackets on the four corners that had holes in them to place rods through poles through so it could be carried on the shoulders of men without being touched. That's how it was to be transported. It was to be transported by priests, and it was to be covered in transit.
David, in the midst of doing something that appears to be good, is desecrating the very thing that he's transporting. And where did he get the idea of placing it on a cart? Not from wise counsel, but from copying the Philistine plan. Now I'm about to say something that will shock some of you, but I think it's important. "This moment of tragedy is an awesome moment of grace." You see, God knew what was going on in Israel. This nation had drifted far from their service of God. They had been deeply enculturated by the surrounding nations.
They were beginning even to give their heart to the worship of their idols. Remember, the previous king went so far as to seek a witch for counsel. God knew something about David. David's heart had drifted. This man, who was appointed to be king, now was quite comfortable with being a polygamist, a direct disobedience to God's command. This is a loving God calling His people back to a real consistent, heartfelt service of Him. Hear me say this, "Everybody in this room has a problem." Your heart is prone to wander...
Oh to grace how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be! Let that grace, now like a fetter (a chain), Bind my wandering heart to thee: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here's my heart, O take and seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above. ...because you and I have a wandering heart, because we're all often more attracted to our way than God's way, because we'll bend the truth, because we'll step outside of God's boundaries, because we'll even do God's things in our way.
The Holiness of God Is Our Hope
The holiness of God (are you ready for this?) is our hope, because in God's holiness, He's serious about your sin. In His holiness, God is absolutely driven to rescue you and me from you and me. Because, brothers and sisters, I've said this to you again and again, and I will say it again and again, because I think we forget it, "Your greatest problem in all of life exists inside of you, not outside of you." I want to write my own story. I want to make up my own laws. I want to serve my own kingdom.
I want my way. Now if you don't understand this moment, let me talk to you as a parent. A wise father has a clear understanding of what is right and good for his children, and when a wise father gives his child a command, if he actually loves that child, he will not compromise that command. He will not be worn down. He will not say, "Okay, do whatever you want to do." That may make him popular, but it means he doesn't actually love those children. Hebrews 12 says, "That God is a father to us and He disciplines us in order to produce in us a harvest of righteousness."
Hear this: you don't want to serve a God who's willing to compromise His law. You don't want to serve a God who will let you do anything you want to do. You want to serve an uncompromisingly holy God who will draw you back again, and again, and again, who will say to you, 'No I will not let you do that, I love you too much.' God's zeal for His Law is, in itself, a grace - because I need it! I can be so selfish; I can be so impatient; I can be so unkind; I can be so proud; I can be such a sorry selfsovereign.
In a fallen world, things are not always what they appear to be. This is not a moment of divine failure; this is a moment of sweet, perseverant, patient, divine grace. God is shocking His people with the needed realization of the depth of their disloyalty, the depth of their rebellion, and calling them back to serve Him and Him alone. Well, the passage ends with clear indication of a turn in David's heart. Look at verse 13, the house that houses the Ark in Israel is uniquely blessed of God. That causes David to reconsider and to finish the journey.
And, verse 13 says, "And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fatted animal." Do you get what is happening here? No longer a cart - it is being borne the way God had commanded it to be borne. Here's the deceitfulness of our hearts. There are moments when you have played outside of God's circle, and in grace, He is disciplining you, and you'll turn and call Him unfaithful when He's actually being the wise, loving, holy, faithful Father that He promised you to be.
I would ask you this evening, "What kind of God do you want to serve?" Be honest...a God who will endorse your kingdom, a God who will sign approval to your law, a God who will willingly compromise so you get 10 minutes of happiness that bleeds away as fast as you got it, a God who will let you wander into messes of your own making? Or a God who, in gracious holiness, will say no to you, to draw you back? That holiness marched humanity to the cross. The death of Uzzah predicts the death of another man who died willingly because God is holy.
On the cross, the absolute holiness and the transforming grace of Jesus, kiss. Holiness required sin be dealt with. Grace demanded a sacrifice be made. God did both. That is our hope. You want to serve a God who is uncompromising in His holiness. That is our only hope. Let's Pray: Thank you, Lord, for this striking passage. Thank you for the way it exposes our hearts, but more importantly, how it points us to Jesus and the meeting on His shoulders of holiness and grace, in that transforming moment on the cross. Oh, we would pray, draw our hearts once more back to You. In Jesus's name, Amen.
