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Does Your Shoulder Lean?
Ask your neighbor… “Does Your Shoulder Lean?”
I had this question asked to me when listening to a sermon by Chris Hill and I wasn’t sure how to answer it at first…but when we read 2 Samuel 6:1-14… since then my daily motivation is…”Does My Shoulder Lean?”
When Pastor asked me to teach tonight – this immediately came to my mind and I haven’t been able to shack it since.
To give you a little back story…
-Many Chapters ago in 1 Samuel – the Ark of God had been stolen by the Philistines.
-David has been anointed King and decided he wanted the Ark of God back.
Read: 2 Samuel 6:1 & 2 (NIV) – “1David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.”
To understand why it was so important to David to have the Ark of God back in Jerusalem…we have to understand what the Ark of God represented.
WHAT THE ARK MEANT TO GOD'S PEOPLE: (Show Picture of the Ark)
• The ark became the focus of God's presence among his people - God would regularly appear in a cloud of glory on the mercy seat of the ark.
Ex. 25:22 (NLT) - I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.
• A person who came before the ark was entering into God's presence.
Lev. 16:2 (NLT) - The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.
• The imagery of the ark expressed the people's longing to feel safe in God's protecting arms: "... under his wings you will find refuge"
Ps. 91:4(NLT) - He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
• The ark provided evidence that the Holy God of Abraham was a protecting, forgiving presence in the lives of his people.
• The ark also gave assurance that the Lord was sovereign over all things.
• The people saw the box as God's footstool
1 Chron. 28:2(NLT) - David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it.
• What was there to fear when God was on his throne attended by the cherubim?
Ps. 99:1 (NLT) - The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake!
David was passionate about getting the Ark of God back to Jerusalem.
He knew the importance of being in God’s presence. There is nothing he long for more.
He was so hungry for the presence of God that he made 30,000 people hunger for God, also.
Read: 2 Samuel 6:1 & 2 (NIV) – “1David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.”
David’s passion for God and God’s presence was contagious. 30,000 people were willing to lay down their lives to get to the Presence of God that David longed for.
Who are you infecting?
• If we prioritize the presence of God in our lives, we will affect more than we will destroy and our family, friends, nation, generation will be changed.
• Prayer and Fasting helps me prioritize God in my life. I want God’s presences in my life more than anything, submitting my fleshly needs (or wants) to go help me focus on Him, check my motivation for the days design…
• It is easy for me to focus on myself, what I want, what I am doing…me, me, me…but in the Presence of God – all the “I”s in me diminish and I focus more on God and others. Does this passion for God I have infect anyone else?
Read: 2 Samuel 6:3-7 (NIV) – 3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
6When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
God had given the Israelites many rules concerning the Ark of the Covenant.
• It was to be kept in the Most Holy Place in the temple, hidden from view by a curtain
-Ex 26:33 (NLT) - Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
• Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and then only after he had undergone ceremonial cleansing, made sacrifices to atone for his sins and the nation's sins, and burned incense to conceal the atonement cover (Lev 16).
• When the ark was moved, it was covered with at least 3 layers of cloth by the priests to protect others from seeing it
-Num 4:5-6, 15, 18-20 (NLT) - 5When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant with it. 6Then they must cover the inner curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single piece of blue cloth. 15The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry. 18Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites! 19This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person. 20The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.”
• Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the Ark in place; the priests/Levites carried it and everyone else had to stay about a thousand yards away
-Ex 25:14-15 (NLT) - 14Insert the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. 15These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them.
-Josh 3:4 (NLT) - Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about a half mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”
• These laws enforced the concept of God's holiness: sinful people couldn't be in his presence, not even the high priest.
Hence, when Uzzah touched the ark, he was profaning it and disobeying God; he should have grabbed the poles used for carrying the ark instead, for that was their purpose.
When Uzzah died David was mad and became afraid
Read: 2 Samuel 6:8-11 (NIV) - 8Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
9David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" 10He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
In pursuit of the presence of God you will have to step over some dead things.
• Don’t be delayed by fear.
• David hears about the blessings on the house of Obed-Edom because of the Ark being there and he his passion for the presence of God was renewed. He wanted the blessing; he wanted the presence of God.
Read: 2 Samuel 6:12-14 (NIV) - 12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might.
David had to go back and carry the Ark of the Covenant the right way.
The ark shouldn't have been on a cart, but should have been carried on people's shoulders.
• 1 Chr 15:15 (NLT) - Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
God is looking for somebody who ways… “I will be the one who will carry the presence of God.”
• Will you be a carrier?
• Does your Shoulder lean?
Man was created to carry the ark – is there a weight on you – the weight of Glory that causes you to go in a certain way?
The presence of God that causes your shoulder to lean?
Does Your Shoulder Lean?
Ask your neighbor… “Does Your Shoulder Lean?”
I had this question asked to me when listening to a sermon by Chris Hill and I wasn’t sure how to answer it at first…but when we read 2 Samuel 6:1-14… since then my daily motivation is…”Does My Shoulder Lean?”
When Pastor asked me to teach tonight – this immediately came to my mind and I haven’t been able to shack it since.
To give you a little back story…
-Many Chapters ago in 1 Samuel – the Ark of God had been stolen by the Philistines.
-David has been anointed King and decided he wanted the Ark of God back.
Read: 2 Samuel 6:1 & 2 (NIV) – “1David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.”
To understand why it was so important to David to have the Ark of God back in Jerusalem…we have to understand what the Ark of God represented.
WHAT THE ARK MEANT TO GOD'S PEOPLE: (Show Picture of the Ark)
• The ark became the focus of God's presence among his people - God would regularly appear in a cloud of glory on the mercy seat of the ark.
Ex. 25:22 (NLT) - I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.
• A person who came before the ark was entering into God's presence.
Lev. 16:2 (NLT) - The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.
• The imagery of the ark expressed the people's longing to feel safe in God's protecting arms: "... under his wings you will find refuge"
Ps. 91:4(NLT) - He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
• The ark provided evidence that the Holy God of Abraham was a protecting, forgiving presence in the lives of his people.
• The ark also gave assurance that the Lord was sovereign over all things.
• The people saw the box as God's footstool
1 Chron. 28:2(NLT) - David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it.
• What was there to fear when God was on his throne attended by the cherubim?
Ps. 99:1 (NLT) - The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake!
David was passionate about getting the Ark of God back to Jerusalem.
He knew the importance of being in God’s presence. There is nothing he long for more.
He was so hungry for the presence of God that he made 30,000 people hunger for God, also.
Read: 2 Samuel 6:1 & 2 (NIV) – “1David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.”
David’s passion for God and God’s presence was contagious. 30,000 people were willing to lay down their lives to get to the Presence of God that David longed for.
Who are you infecting?
• If we prioritize the presence of God in our lives, we will affect more than we will destroy and our family, friends, nation, generation will be changed.
• Prayer and Fasting helps me prioritize God in my life. I want God’s presences in my life more than anything, submitting my fleshly needs (or wants) to go help me focus on Him, check my motivation for the days design…
• It is easy for me to focus on myself, what I want, what I am doing…me, me, me…but in the Presence of God – all the “I”s in me diminish and I focus more on God and others. Does this passion for God I have infect anyone else?
Read: 2 Samuel 6:3-7 (NIV) – 3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
6When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
God had given the Israelites many rules concerning the Ark of the Covenant.
• It was to be kept in the Most Holy Place in the temple, hidden from view by a curtain
-Ex 26:33 (NLT) - Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
• Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and then only after he had undergone ceremonial cleansing, made sacrifices to atone for his sins and the nation's sins, and burned incense to conceal the atonement cover (Lev 16).
• When the ark was moved, it was covered with at least 3 layers of cloth by the priests to protect others from seeing it
-Num 4:5-6, 15, 18-20 (NLT) - 5When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant with it. 6Then they must cover the inner curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single piece of blue cloth. 15The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry. 18Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites! 19This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person. 20The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.”
• Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the Ark in place; the priests/Levites carried it and everyone else had to stay about a thousand yards away
-Ex 25:14-15 (NLT) - 14Insert the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. 15These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them.
-Josh 3:4 (NLT) - Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about a half mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”
• These laws enforced the concept of God's holiness: sinful people couldn't be in his presence, not even the high priest.
Hence, when Uzzah touched the ark, he was profaning it and disobeying God; he should have grabbed the poles used for carrying the ark instead, for that was their purpose.
When Uzzah died David was mad and became afraid
Read: 2 Samuel 6:8-11 (NIV) - 8Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
9David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" 10He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
In pursuit of the presence of God you will have to step over some dead things.
• Don’t be delayed by fear.
• David hears about the blessings on the house of Obed-Edom because of the Ark being there and he his passion for the presence of God was renewed. He wanted the blessing; he wanted the presence of God.
Read: 2 Samuel 6:12-14 (NIV) - 12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might.
David had to go back and carry the Ark of the Covenant the right way.
The ark shouldn't have been on a cart, but should have been carried on people's shoulders.
• 1 Chr 15:15 (NLT) - Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
God is looking for somebody who ways… “I will be the one who will carry the presence of God.”
• Will you be a carrier?
• Does your Shoulder lean?
Man was created to carry the ark – is there a weight on you – the weight of Glory that causes you to go in a certain way?
The presence of God that causes your shoulder to lean?
