The Joy and Fear of the Lord - 2 Samuel 6:1-15
August 15, 2024

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The Joy and Fear of the Lord

2 Samuel 6:1-15
Darrin Mariott, Lead Pastor

Big Idea: Big Idea: Recognizing God’s holiness sparks in us a healthy reverential fear of God and a tremendous joy in the Lord.

2 Samuel 6:1-15
1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.2 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.3 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 cart4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.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.7 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.8 And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?”10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.11 And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.12 And 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.13 And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

I. A Reverent Fear (vv. 1-11)

A. David has made Jerusalem the political capital of Israel. He now looks to make it the spiritual capital as well by bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city. Neglected under Saul’s reign, David understood the importance of the Ark to Israel’s worship, but he failed to consider God’s Word regarding handling the Ark and paid a high price as a result.

B. In David’s initial transport of the Ark, we see:

1. A failure to obey God’s Word (vv. 3-4; cf. Deut. 10:8; Num. 4:5-6; 15; 7:9) – God gave specific directions on handling and transporting the Ark, which David failed to consider.
Deuteronomy 10:8
8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD to stand before the LORD to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.

Numbers 4:5-6
5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it.6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.

Numbers 4:15
15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

Numbers 7:9
9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder.

2. A failure to take seriously God’s holiness (vv. 6-7; Lev. 19:1-2) – God’s holiness is an attribute we disregard to our own peril. It consists of:
Leviticus 19:1-2
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

a. His distinctiveness (cf. 1 Sam. 2:2).
1 Samuel 2:2
2 “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

b. His moral purity (cf. Isa. 6:1-3).
Isaiah 6:3
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

C. David’s reaction to this event is telling: First, he is angry (v. 8), then he is afraid (v. 9). David loved the Lord, but he failed to take His holiness and Word seriously enough. This event would change that as David would learn the power of God’s glory.

II. An Overwhelming Joy (vv. 10-15)

A. David learned a difficult lesson and rather than sulk or give up, we see him respond with:

1. Humility (vv. 10-13; see 1 Chr. 15:1-28) – David makes the necessary corrections to bring the Ark into the city properly
1 Chronicles 15:1-28
1 David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever.3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it.4 And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers.11 Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.13 Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.”14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah18 and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith.22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it.23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing.26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod.28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.

2. Rejoicing (vv. 13-15) – For David, God’s glory was not a cause for a dour attitude, but for worship and rejoicing.

B. God’s holiness is an occasion for both reverent fear and for joy. Reverent fear because we see the righteousness and glory of God, and joy because we also see God’s sovereignty and grace. We are reminded that sin and death do not have the last word, rather we have redemption and hope through Messiah Jesus.