2 Sam 5:11-6:23; 1 Chr 13-16 (4th May) - Alvin

BREAK OUT!!

God’s Way or Man’s Way??

2 Sam 5:11-6:23; 1 Chr 13-16 are two accounts of the same story, something like the Gospels in which you will find similar stories told differently to emphasize different angles and things that God wants us to learn.

This is the Year of Victory. And this year we want to BREAK OUT!! It’s interesting that in these two passages we see 2 different examples of God “Breaking Out”.

In 2 Samuel 5:20 and 1 Chronicles 14:11, we see the first example of God Breaking Out.

“So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand." So that place was called Baal Perazim”

God broke out against the enemies of Israel.

In 2 Samuel 6:8 and 1 Chronicles 13:11, we see the other example of God Breaking Out.

“Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.”

This time we see God breaking out against His people.

What’s the difference? What happened that caused God to break out once against His enemies and once against His people. Before we go further, let me clarify some things before hand. In both examples, we see clearly God’s will and plans were the objectives of David’s heart and mind. It is God’s will to defeat the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. It is also God’s will for the Ark of the Covenant to once again dwell in the midst of the Israelites.

1 Chronicles 13:1-4 tells us, “David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our brothers throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul." The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.”

The intention and purpose was correct, to inquire of God. And they strongly believed it’s God’s will. And it seemed right to all the people to bring the Ark back. And does God intent to once again bless His people wherever His presence is? Yes!! 1 Chronicles 13:14 records, “The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his household and everything he had.” We see that the blessings of God follow wherever His presence is. And we also see that David did not do it flippantly but had a huge assembly of people and musicians to accompany the Ark which was placed on a brand new cart and David himself followed too.

Why then did the tragedy to Uzzah happen? Quite simply, because they did not do it God’s way! God’s way was to have the Levites carry the Ark on poles. David in all his good intentions and passion and enthusiasm did not inquire of God as to how to bring the Ark back to Israel. But the second time when they did as the Law required, the Ark returned.

Just a side note, in case you are wondering why would a loving God strike a man down for doing an instinctive thing such as to prevent the Ark from falling of a cart, well let’s remember our God is to be feared! He is a Holy God, so holy that only the High Priest only can enter into the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the people before the Ark of the Covenant. And now, someone who’s not a Levite, (the chosen ministers of the Tabernacle) dared to touch the Ark. So let us always remember that our God is to be revered and that we need to keep the holy things and the sacred things of God holy and sacred.

However in the other example, when the Philistines attacked, looked at what David did.

1 Chronicles 14:8-11, “When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them. Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of God: "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, I will hand them over to you." So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand." So that place was called Baal Perazim.”

Imagine you are David, and all your scouts came back with a report that the Philistines (the army that destroyed Saul and his troops) had assembled and are marching out against Israel, what would your instant reaction be? Would you not naturally gather your forces and march out against them? But what did David do? Amazingly he inquired of God and asked God if he should fight!!!! God said yes and David did. And God BROKE OUT against the Philistines. The story didn’t end. The Philistines retreated and then reorganized themselves and marched out again. If I’m David, I’ll quickly launch a counter attack against an army that was recently wounded and defeated and drive them away, but David didn’t!! And what did he do?

1 Chronicles 14:14-16 records, “so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, "Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.”

David inquired of God AGAIN! And this time God gave him a different strategy, and David won again.

What is the lesson here? In both examples, we know what God’s will is. And we know the heart of David was to please the Lord and do His will. However, it is definitely possible for us still to do God’s will in our own way instead of God’s way. And what’s the warning then. You can have God either Breaking Out for us or against us. Which do you want?

How then do we ensure that we do it God’s way then? I believe the answer is in inquiring of God. We need to pray. I believe in this Year of Victory where there are many battles ahead, to see God Breaking Out against the enemies’ plans against our lives, our families, our ministry, our church, our relationships, our careers etc, we need to do His will His way. And it starts from PRAYER!! We need to engage God strongly again. (Of course when we inquire of God, we must also be accountable and under cover before we carry out what we think is God’s will, so always tell your spiritual leaders what you sensed God is telling you to do and have them pray along with you)

Therefore Livingstones, let’s lay hold of God once more in intercession and prayer. It is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God spoken in prayer. Let’s remember what we have been learning over the last few weeks, Ephesians 6:10-20:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

Pray, pray, pray, because the battles ahead in this Year of Victory are not against flesh and blood.

One last thing before I end. The last time I blogged was on 1 Chronicles 10 and this was what was said of Saul, “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” The word “but” if you read the NKJV Bible suggests that the reason for Saul’s downfall was that He did not inquire of God. His disobedience and that he sought mediums resulted that the kingdom was turned over to David, but I believed God was merciful towards Saul and gave him a chance to repent, so that though he lost his throne, he shall not lose his life. But Saul did not inquire of God and eventually God killed him.

Let us LOOK FAR now through prayer.

Agape