When David became king he wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, “So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, drove the new cart. Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD. And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled (the threshing floor was the flattest and smoothest place, WHO made them stumble). Then God STRUCK HIM THERE for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:3-7) David begins to research in the Torah about how the ark is supposed to be transported, and discovers: “No one but the LEVITES may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.” (1 Chronicles 15:2) “And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall PUT THE POLES INTO THE RINGS ON THE SIDES OF THE ARK, that the ark MAY BE CARRIED BY THEM. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.” (Exodus 25:13-15)
Once things were done IN GOD’S ORDER everyone was greatly blessed! “So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.” (2 Samuel 6:15) Things of God must be done in the PROPER ORDER, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority EXCEPT FROM GOD, and the authorities that exist are APPOINTED BY GOD.” (Romans 13:1)
Let’s look at a few things we neglect today,
- CHURCH ATTENDANCE: Of the almost two-thirds of people who attend church to learn more about God, only 6% say that they learned anything about God or Jesus the last time they attended. Translation: a whopping 94% of us didn’t get much out of Sunday’s meeting! According to Barna Group’s 2014 tracking data.
- FOOT WASHING: Very little mention of foot washing. This was a strange time for the disciples because they had been arguing over who was the greatest one among them while waiting for Jesus’ arrival. Instead of tending to each other, they were comparing and competing. When Jesus stepped in to wash their feet, all the disciples were STUNNED INTO SILENCE. Peter was profoundly against the Lord washing his feet, to which Jesus responded “unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8). This allowed Peter to be accepting of Jesus’ humility and love. Jesus went to EACH ONE, bowed down and prayerfully WASHED THEIR FEET connecting with them in AN ACT OF INTIMACY. Then He said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also OUGHT (opheilo: to be bound, be under obligation) TO WASH ONE ANOTHER’S FEET. For I have given you an example, that YOU SHOULD DO AS I HAVE DONE to you.” (John 13:14-15) According to THE WORD OF GOD.
WE MUST BE SURE TO DO WHAT WE DO FOR GOD IN THE PROPER ORDER…
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham