Reasons to Worship

2 Samuel 6:12-22

Under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Then Joshua replaced him as the leader, and he led the entrance and initial conquest of the promise land. When He died, however, the land was still enveloped with unrest and wars. The Israelites were unable to wipe out their enemies. The Philistines were the greatest opposition. This means that although the Israelites were already in the promise land, they still faced hardships from their enemies. God promised that Canaan was a land of abundance, but He did not say it would be peaceful. If they wanted peace, they had to obey God and defeat the settlers of the land.

For 400 years, since they settled the land, they continuously battled against their enemies. When Joshua died, there were other leaders who emerged, who we call the Judges. Sometimes the Israelites were defeated, and sometimes they would win and experience peace. The people thought that their losses were related to the fact that they did not have a king, so they asked the prophet Samuel to give them a king (1 Sam 8:1-22). Reluctantly, God gave them Saul (1 Sam 9:1-11:14). But Saul was not able to defeat all the enemies. It was only during the time of David that the Philistines were defeated and the whole of Canaan was taken over by the Israelites. We read David’s two decisive victories in 2 Samuel 5:17-25.

This sermon is about what happened immediately after the whole land was finally conquered by the Israelites. David’s first action when he secured peace in the land was to lead the people in bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. This is what we read in 2 Samuel 6:1-22. The story has several fascinating themes, but we will just focus on one element of worship in the passage.

David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificingthe burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

One the most immediate realizations we can have from the passage is the fact that David was a very enthusiastic worshipper. The passage narrates that “David was dancing before the Lord with all his might” (6:14) and he was “dancing and leaping before the Lord” (6:16). He was really into it that he did not notice how vulgar he had become (6:10). He was so enthusiastic that his wife criticized him: “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” (6:20). But when he received his wife’s rebuke, he was indifferent. He did not care. He even declared that for the sake of worshipping God: “I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes” (6:22).

I am not going to deal with the forms of worship this morning. For me, the old debates—between solemn and celebrative worship, or between silent and loud music, or between traditional and contemporary, or between singing hymns and choruses—are not fruitful. So I am not going to argue today that you are not worshipping unless you dance half naked (or completely naked, as in the case of Saul (1 Sam 19:23-24), or clap your hands joyfully, or dance around unashamedly. I am also not going to tell you are not a true worshipper unless you are completely silent at the sanctuary. Next week, I am going to talk a bit about undignified worship, but today, we are just going to answer one question: “What prompted David to express his worship to God unashamedly?”

We can only understand David’s joy and enthusiasm if we read Psalm 132 alongside 2 Samuel 6.

Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured.

² He swore an oath to the Lord,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
³ “I will not enter my house
or go to my bed,
⁴ I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob”

⁶ We heard it in Ephrathah,
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar.

⁸Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might (Ps 132:1-6, 8)

Worship God for Victories

In Psalm 132:1, David admits that he lived a very difficult life. Since Samuel anointed him (1 Sam 16:13), David experienced many hardships in life. He became the target of King Saul’s murderous plots (1 Sam 18:10-11; 19:1-17). Saul pursued him and he fled many times to different cities to that he can preserve his life (1 Sam 23:1-13, 26-29; 24:1-22). He carried the guilt of the death of the priests and residents of Nob, who were killed by Saul because they helped David (1 Sam 22:6-23). In order to preserve his life, he was forced to pretend to be mad at Gath (1 Sam 21:10-15). Then soon as he was crowned king, the Philistines united to pursue and kill him (2 Sam 5:17-25). David’s life was not a walk in the park; it was more like a swim in a piranha-filled river.

But in 2 Samuel 6, all of these difficulties are a thing of the past. Saul is dead, and the Philistines were already defeated. His enemies are gone. He can sleep at night without holding on to his sword. His political struggles are over. This is why we see in 2 Samuel 6 a joyful man, and whose shoulders are no longer filled with burden. He was once afraid, but now he is at peace. He feels liberated. He has a great life ahead of him, free from all the burdens he constantly faced before. God even promised him: “I will also give you rest from all your enemies” (2 Sam 7:11). How can he not worship God? Without a care about what others see or think, he just expressed his worship to God.

A freed human ought to worship God. A human who found new life ought to worship God. Like David, all of us have experienced freedom from suffering as well. For some of us, sickness and death may have been pursuing us lately, and yet here we are: alive and well. For some of us, financial problems may have overtaken us lately, and we experienced God’s blessing. For some of us, sorrow may have been looming like dark clouds over us, and then we experienced God’s sunlight. For some of us, iron balls of busy schedule and exhaustion may have been tied around our feet, but we have been liberated. We have all faced difficulties over the last few days weeks, but when we received freedom from them, have we liberally worshipped God?

Worship God for Accomplishments

When we read Psalm 132:2-6, we realize that David actually made a vow to God that he would not rest until the ark finds its place in the house of God. As an Israelite, he knew the significance of the ark and its embarrassing history.[1] There was even a time when the ark as captured by the enemies (1 Sam 4:11). He knew that the ark has been resting at Kiriath Jearim for seventy years already (1 Sam 7:1). His dream was to move the ark to Jerusalem, the capital city. In the time of Saul, Jerusalem was still in the hands of the Jebusites. It is only in 2 Samuel 5:6-15 that David finally captured Jerusalem.

In 2 Samuel 6, David was now moving it to Jerusalem. From the day David was anointed to the moment when the ark is being moved to Jerusalem is a staggering 24-year period. Moving the ark to Jerusalem was a 24-year dream! It was 24-year project! It took David twenty-four years in order to fulfill his vow to the Lord. In between these 24 years were bitter struggles and near-death experiences. Therefore, moving the ark to Jerusalem, for David, was a massive accomplishment. He struggled for 24 years, and right now in 2 Samuel 6, he was witnessing the fruits of his labors and sacrifices. How can he not worship God?

God has given us victories. He has empowered us to accomplish our dreams. We do not come to worship God as if He has done nothing in our lives. The church is not a gathering of people with amnesia, people who have forgotten about God’s great blessings upon them. We are a gathering of people who remember God’s goodness and greatness. May God open our eyes so that we can see the victories He is granting us, both great and small. Our response to all these things is worship.

Worship God for New Beginnings

David was not only thankful. He was also excited. In the history of the ark, whenever the ark moved, miracles and victories happen. When Joshua led the Israelites to cross the Jordan river, the ark was right in front (Josh 3:6). When they caused Jericho’s wall to crumble, the ark was also at the front of the procession (Josh 6:13). When David and his people were moving the ark, “the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household” (2 Sam 6:11). David knew that when the ark moves, blessings come with it. So he was excited!

This excitement is evident in Psalm 132:8, “Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might (Ps 132: 8). The prayer for God to “Arise” is repeatedly found in the OT (Num 10:35; 2 Chron 6:41; Ps 17:13; 68:1). For God to rise meant for Him to move in a new way. It is for God to make decisive actions and interventions. Interestingly, Solomon used the same words when the ark was brought to the Temple in 2 Chronicles 6:41, “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.”

In both Psalm 132:8 and 2 Chronicles 6:41, there was a great sense of anticipation. Both David and Solomon felt it. Something awesome was about to happen. When the ark moves, not only victories happen. When the ark moves, people are “clothed with salvation” (2 Chron 6:41). In the time of David, the ark was on the move. The Lord was again going before them. The future is full of abundant blessings. If David did not worship with gladness and excitement, we can only call him a fool. He had reasons to celebrate, so he celebrated without reserve.

Conclusions

2 Samuel 6 represents a turning point in David’s life. He already accomplished a lot. The complete fulfilment of the Lord’s promise to Abraham was reached through his leadership. Are you a grateful worshipper? But David was not only worshipping because of these past victories. He was also worshipping because he was excited about what God would do next. Are you excited about God’s work in your lives?

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[1] God commissioned its creation in Exodus 25:10-22. He anointed Bezalel and other craftsmen to make the ark (Exo 31:1-5). The ark would stay at the Holy of Holies, within in the Tabernacle. When the Israelites entered the promise land, the ark was kept at Shiloh (1 Sam 3:3), but when the Philistine army came to attack the Israelites, they thought that bringing the ark to battle would give them victory (1 Sam 4:1-4). Unfortunately, they were defeated and the ark was captured (1 Sam 4:11). It remained at the hands of their enemies for seven months (1 Sam 6:1) but when the Philistines were afflicted with a plague, they returned the ark to the Israelites (1 Sam 6:1-21).