Too Comfortable?
This morning, I was reminded in 2 Samuel 6 of the fact that we can, at times, get comfortable in the presence of God and lose our awe, our reverence, our fear of Him. We get so familiar with Him, claiming to be a ‘friend’ of God and we forget He is our creator and life sustainer.
David was a man after God’s own heart. He loved to sing and play musical instruments in praise to God’s greatness. But in this chapter, we see where even David had gotten too comfortable and had lost a level of reverence.
In 2 Samuel 6 it starts off with David planning to bring the ark back to his home, but in the process of moving it, the oxen stumbled and one of David’s priest, Uzziah, reached up to stabilize the ark and was immediately stricken dead by the hand of God. David became angry at God…
In Numbers 4:15 we are reminded that there was specific instruction given to those who carried the holy objects (the Ark of the Covenant)… “do not touch the holy objects or you die.” That’s pretty clear, right?
As I read this, I saw how we can so easily get comfortable with God and in that place, stop fearing His presence, our reverence for Him is gone. When this happens, we stop concerning ourselves with the instructions He has given us to which there are great consequences. The consequence of losing the fear of God is spiritual or even physical death and destruction.
The funny thing about our human nature is that we always want to blame someone else for our consequences just as David became angry at God – God had already warned them, this was Uzziah’s fault, not Gods’.
Moving on … After David’s anger rage, he stopped and realized that he wasn’t ready to host the presence of God in his homeland. It says, “So, David was afraid of the Lord that day.”
Here’s where we see David had lost the fear of God and it took a drastic situation to bring him back to that place. God had plans for David, the king, and he had to be in the right place spiritually. He needed to see the importance of following instruction in alignment with the fear of God.
So, in David’s growing fear of God, he sent the ark to Obed-Edom the Gittite where it remained for 3 months. While there, the house of Obed-Edom was blessed abundantly because he feared the Lord and hosted His presence appropriately.
Where His presence is revered and honored, there is great blessings on all under that household.
Holy Spirit began to speak to me:
“Are you experiencing blessings or destruction in your life right now? How about your church body, is it experiencing blessings or destruction? Because where My presence is, blessings are what follows. Honor My presence and I will honor you.”
After the 3 months, David heard of the blessings of Obed-Edom, and he decided he was ready to host the presence of God with gladness. It says once it was back in his possession, they walked 6 paces and stopped to make a sacrifice to God.
When we once again realize our need for God and that our lives must be built on a foundation of the fear of God, we do things differently. David was sacrificing oxen and fatlings… but Jesus became that sacrifice for us, now He asks for one sacrifice you and I.
6 is the number of man, this is symbolic of our lives fully surrendered and yielded to Him.
So, David went after the presence of God… It says that David then danced before the Lord with all his might… leaping and whirling… he shouted with joy… the trumpets blew… He was ALL IN and once again knew his place before the Lord.
When was the last time you went after the presence of God… unashamedly… instead of sitting around waiting on Him to show up? Whining and begging Him to do something, to talk to you, to ‘come to you’? David was notorious for going after the presence of God!
When was the last time you blessed the Lord with all you were and let Him use you to bless others? We must be reminded that God doesn’t bless us abundantly to hoard it, He blesses us abundantly so we can advance His kingdom and that’s what David did here. He blessed the Lord with the sacrifice, and he blessed every person in his kingdom. WOW!
I believe this next part is a call to the body of Christ, a challenge, a measuring rod as to where we stand…
It didn’t take long for someone very close to David to begin to ridicule him for what he was doing. His own wife, Michal – the daughter of Saul who David fought for, began to attempt to shame him. “Oh, you were real distinguished today!” This is where most people would pick up the shame and wear it for the rest of their lives. They would pull back, embarrassed to praise God with all they are and in turn walk in the fear of man over the fear of God… this is where MANY in the Church are today – this is what has built the man-made kingdoms, the celebrity preachers, the performance driven pulpit peddlers… the very lost church of this generation. Shame drives pride, acceptance and arrogance! But the measuring rod is changing!
Let’s look at what David did! He stood strong!
David turns to her and says this… “It was before GOD who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore, I WILL CELEBRATE (or I WILL PLAY MUSIC) BEFORE THE LORD…”
His identity was solid! David knew who had chosen him! He knew God was the one who brought him to this place. The shame she attempted to put on him was immediately cast off by the truth and solidity of his identity in God.
He goes on – here’s my favorite part -
“and I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight…”
The word undignified isn’t in the original text… it is the Hebrew word qalal translating as vile or whet. The word whet means to sharpen the blade, to smooth or polish, to stimulate. Qalal also means to be shaken, be swift or do be despised.
The NET version says, “I am willing to shame and humiliate myself even more than this!”
Translators believe David was telling her, “say all you want, go ahead and despise me but for MY GOD I will completely let go and be all in no matter what anyone thinks!” This my friend is fearing God more than man!
AHHH if we could get this truth into our lives, we would be such a different people. The church would be so very different today!
Holy Spirit spoke to me throughout this whole reading time this morning… here is more of what He said…
“To fear the Lord is to lose the fear of man, your worship totally submerged in the fear of God sharpens you, polishes you, shakes you up and keeps you humble because when you fear God you do not care what your service to His kingdom looks like..”
When we go all in as David did, fearing God and honoring His presence in our lives once again… when we stop looking at Him as a friend who we holler at when we’re bored or need someone to hang out with… when we start seeing Him once again as the sustainer of our lives and the ONE Who calls us into being… we will once again be able to serve Him, worship Him whole heartedly and follow His mandate to the end without concern of what anyone will think.
Lastly, let’s look at one more important point of fearing God!
Michal… the wife of David… someone he loved, we are told in vs 16 that she saw him praising and she despised him. She condemned him, she spoke against his praise and reverence for God – she did NOT fear God! In turn, she was cursed with a baron womb.
Lesson here: Don’t judge a person’s undignified praise! You do not know where they’ve come from, you do not know where they stand but what you best know is that their praise is between them and God! Your judgement comes with a consequence! God will not tolerate it.
Michal said to David, “You uncovered yourself in the eyes of your servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” (David was NOT naked – vs 14 tells us he was wearing a linen ephod.) David said, “…as for the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”
Holy Spirit went on…
“those who judge and curse you, I will handle and those who honor you, I will honor.”
I pray that this word from God plants deep into your soul and that it calls you back to the fear and admonition of Him!
Father, I repent for becoming so comfortable with You that I’ve stopped fearing You. I’ve stopped seeking You. I’ve stopped asking You what You think about choices I am making. I’ve stopped holding myself accountable to Your Word because I’ve stopped hosting Your presence with honor and reverence. Holy Spirit, help me to stay humble in my own sight, praise with all my might and no longer allow the thoughts of mans judgement be my measuring rod… may the fear of God be my measuring rod once again. In Jesus name, amen.