Cautions, Counsels and Consequences lessons learned from Old Testament passages.

Introduction:
In December of 2017 the US became the first major country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital since the Jewish state was created in 1948. The President criticized the stance of his predecessors, saying: “We cannot solve our problems by repeating the same failed strategies of the past. The President will move the American Embassy to this city that is recognize by God as it rightful capital and eternal city— Psalms 132:11-14. Three thousand years ago another leader, King David made the city of Zion Israel’s capital from where he ruled for 33 years. That day was declared by the King with great fanfare and the moving of Ark of God the seat of Israel’s power but his first attempt failed. David made a great decision to change the capital from Hebron to God’s own desire for Zion. However, he did not do it God’s way.
God does desire that we do what is right but never by ungodly means.

Choices have consequences, so we need to choose wisely. It isn’t easy to choose against the world. We make that choice first when we come to Christ and choose to follow Him and abide by His principles and avoid the temptations of Satan. The man or woman of God chooses God’s way and is blessed. As Christians we need to learn how to make Godly choices.

We are bombarded almost daily with choices; many of the choices we are faced with in life are incidental. However others choices can chart the course that may last a lifetime. It is paramount that we learn how to make the right choices in life because they may have grave consequences for others and us. The story of David and the Art of the covenant is a great example of this. We will begin today looking at first…

I Never Make an Ungodly Choice. – II Samuel 6:1-15

1. David wanted this incident to be a festive one. It was of great importance to summon a general assembly of the people. Many of them might have had little or no opportunity of knowing any¬thing of the Ark, which had been al¬lowed to remain in obscurity and neglect about 70 years.

2. In David’s mind this was obviously a mat¬ter of such great importance that he wanted the whole nation to be aware of it. The Ark of the Covenant of God had been the primary symbol of God’s presence with Israel throughout their wilderness experiences. It was the seat of God’s power. The ark was taken to the battlefield when Israel was fighting the Philistines & others. Remember God gave Moses and Arron instructions on the tabernacle vessels and how to treat them and move them, including the Ark of the Covenant.

3. David and the thousands with him were celebrating with all their heart before God in II Samuel 6:5, when the oxen stumbled. Uzzah [Use-zuh], one of Abinadad’s sons, reached out and grabbed hold of the Ark to steady it. At that precise moment God struck him down and he died. You may wonder why did God strike down Uzzah? There are at least two reasons.

4. First, touching the Ark was an irreverent act because it desecrated God’s holiness. The way they were moving the ark displayed too informal an atti¬tude toward the holiness of God. The way they were approaching this violate God’s word and instructions. To David it seemed like the right way to move it. However, to do things God’s way, we must always consult God’s Word as per Isaiah 55:8, 9. We should never disobey God to do right and believe that is good.

5. God had forewarned that they may not touch the holy things or they will die, note vv.15 of Numbers chapter 4. This entire chapter set the God’s holy standard for the temple artifacts.
It is surprising that the Lord punished only one irreverent lawbreaker. This was not a harsh act on God’s part; it was a holy act. Even though you and I think it’s not fair, God is holy… and must be true to his nature and Word. God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; – Romans 3:4

You might say, “Pastor, it was David’s idea to transport the ark on a cart.” Yes and here is one of the most important principles in this passage. When we make an ungodly choice a sinful choice, innocent people may very well suffer in the wake of our disobedience.

Illustration:
People make bad choices all the time that affect others. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data showing there were 10,497 deaths in 2016 involving drivers and motorcycle operators with blood alcohol levels of .08 or higher. No-one would think it is ok to drive a car drunk because you are going to the grocery store to buy food for a needy person.

6. Second, touching the ark was an act of disobedience to God’s Word. Sometimes we forget God means what He says. However, we are responsible to do things God’s way, we must obey as in written in the scripture. Look with me at Joshua 1:7-8 & Duet. 6:4-8.
The people of God had become lacks in there following His precepts and laws. We too are responsible to search the Word of God before making choices. Acts 17:10-11

When Uzzah was struck down, David became angry and afraid (6:8-9). He was the King and was responsible for the making the right choices. His failure resulted in the death of a man and the cancellation of this celebration. – One reason David was a man after God’s own heart is even when God did things he did not understand or seemed unfair, instead of becoming bitter toward God, he would seek more insight in God’s Word and God’s ways.

II Search out the Way of the Lord.

1. David being afraid to take the ark to Jerusalem left it in the house of Obed¬ Edom for three months (6:11). In a parallel passage we find that David went back to Jerusalem and did some Bible research. He discovered God’s way to transport the ark, and he summoned the priests who were the heads of the Levitical families and told them to consecrate themselves and bring the ark to Jerusalem. David’s actions revealed his understanding that they had not done this properly the last time they tried to move the ark. Look at 1 Chronicles 15:11-15; 25-28.

2. He saw no difference between the ark and any other valuable article. His intention to help was right enough; but there was a profound insensibility to the awful sacredness of the ark, on which even its Levitical bearers were forbidden to lay hands.” (Dr. Maclaren)

III Application of godly choices.

1. Most of the bad decisions you will make in life can be avoided by simply heeded God’s word. The greatest decision is to trust Christ as your Savior! —- A gospel invitation:
Decisions can be life changing or life ending. How many people do you know who have ruined their lives or ended them because they made a ungodly decision? Do not choices have consequences?

2. This generation has bought into “situation ethics” lock, stock and barrel or as it is better known today as Situational ethics. It was developed by American theologian Joseph F. Fletcher, whose book Situation Ethics: The New Morality (1966) arose from his objections to moral absolutism (the view that there are no fixed moral principles). Folks the Bible is and so is God. Yes, we will as human beings struggle with this concept in various situations but the truth as taught in this passage is that God will not change His standard of holiness. Advocates of this include existentialist philosophers Sartre and Jaspers.

3. Have you been tempted to give a donation to your church or some organization and lie about giving all of it yet you kept back a good portion for you? Your thinking was I did a good thing. Maybe your pastor counseled you not to marry that partner because he or she was not saved (according to scriptures) but your thinking is I am able to change them and make them better and they could get saved. So your thinking is it is ok I am disobeying God but I am doing it for good. I wish I had $100 for the folks who told me this. How is that working for you? If God’s Word declares it then obeys it and if you cannot obey it do not lower God standard of truth and holiness because of your failure to be forthright.

I lied because my husband asked me if his outfit looked good on him, she lovely doesn’t want to hurt his feeling but you know he looks like a clown…

Conclusion:

“We looked at II Samuel 6:1-15 concerning David’s moving the Ark and saw touching the ark was an irreverent act because it desecrated God’s holiness. The way they were moving the ark displayed too informal an atti¬tude toward the holiness of God. To David it seemed like the right way to move it. We learned, “it is never right to do wrong to do right!”