Life of David Part 7: 2 Samuel 6
This Life of David series outlines my study for my current Sunday morning series for the middle school youth group I lead. This writing series will show how I broke down each chapter and what general points I used in teaching this to middle schoolers. Hopefully, it will help you in teaching something on the life of David.
When I was in high school, one of the superlatives we got to vote on was "Coolest Hangout Spot." The winner: a convenience store parking lot. Maybe all that says to you is that my town is boring, but to me, it shows that people will do just about anything if they enjoy the company of the people they do it with. My friends and I would literally drive around with no destination for our hangouts just because we enjoyed being with each other. Being in the presence of the right people matters.
2 Samuel 6 is all about getting in the presence of the right Person. It centers around the Ark of the Covenant and shows us how important it is to draw near to God's presence.
1. The Power of God's Presence (v. 1-7)
The chapter begins with David looking to bring the Ark of the Covenant back into the city of Jerusalem. Back in 1 Samuel, the people of Israel brought the ark out as something of a good luck charm to win a battle against the Philistines. They lost that battle, the ark was captured, and it had not returned to its rightful home since.
While David has good intentions in this chapter, what he lacked was obedience. God had given clear instructions about the right way to move the ark. David and the people essentially ignored those instructions and took the matter of moving the ark into their own hands.
Their great moment of not taking the ark seriously comes when Uzzah tries to steady it as it was getting ready to fall. God's anger comes against him in that moment and he dies. This is one of those moments critics of the Bible find repulsive, but it stands as a reminder that God's holy presence has a consuming power. God's holiness is so powerful that we, as sinners, are not normally welcomed in it. It's only through an atoning sacrifice, in our case, that of Jesus, that we are welcomed in. Taking God's presence lightly comes with dire consequences.
2. The Need for God's Presence (v. 8-15)
David finds this whole encounter frustrating and slows his plan to move the ark. They leave it in the house of Obed-Edom for 3 months as they strategized about how to move it, and in that time, Obed-Edom's household is blessed like crazy.
Many people have stories about how the church has hurt them or how church-people have let them down. Those stories make it understandable as to why they'd back away from God, but they do not diminish the blessing that comes from being in God's presence. When we think about meeting with God, we should not see it as a chore to accomplish but as a relationship to enjoy. When we remember the joy of God's presence, we'll do whatever it takes to enter in.
3. The Joy of God's Presence (v. 16-23)
Remembering the joy of God's presence invigorates David to bring the ark back to Jerusalem, this time taking many more precautions. As the ark came back, we see that David "danced mightily" before the Lord, which sounds like a nice way to describe really bad dancing. In his joy, Michal, his wife, looks down on him for being so unrestrained and not appearing like a mighty king.
As we draw near to God, there will be some who do not like it. They will want us to calm down and be less excited. The question for us will be if we're willing to give up our dignified reputation for the sake of knowing God. No joy is greater than the joy of God's presence, and if we must look like fools to the world to enjoy that, so be it.
The main principle of this chapter is clear: the closer we get to God's presence, the better. Is God's presence something that you keep toward the fringes of your life or is it at very center? Many things vie for our time, but nothing matters more than meeting with God. He loves to speak with those who call out to him, he simply waits for us to take up his offer of fellowship.