Carriers of God’s Presence

God's Presence

Wednesday 07/15/20 

Series: Thru the Bible

Message – Carriers of God’s Presence


***Video is HERE***

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Thru the Bible: 1Chron. 13-15; 2Sam. 6

Before we start however, I missed 2 areas of overlapping scripture in what we read last week so we will cover them now. They are found in 1Chron. 14:1-7 & 8-17, those overlap with 2Sam. 5:9-16, and 2Sam. 5:17-25.

David’s Wives and Children

1 Chronicles 14:1-7  

“(1) King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters to build a palace for him.  

(2)  Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been exalted for the sake of His people Israel.  

(3)  David took more wives in Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.  (4)  These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,  (5)  Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,  (6)  Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,  (7)  Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.”

Philistines Defeated

1Chron. 14:8-17

“(8)  When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of David; when David heard of this, he went out to face them.  (9)  Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the Valley of Rephaim,  (10)  so David inquired of God, “Should I go to war against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” The LORD replied, “Go, and I will hand them over to you.”  (11)  So the Israelites went up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.” Therefore, they named that place the Lord Bursts Out.  (12)  The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.  (13)  Once again the Philistines made a raid in the valley.  (14)  So David again inquired of God, and God answered him, “Do not pursue them directly. Circle down away from them and attack them opposite the balsam trees.  (15)  When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then march out to battle, for God will have marched out ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines.”  (16)  So David did exactly as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.  (17)  Then David’s fame spread throughout the lands, and the LORD caused all the nations to be terrified of him.”

—-

The last time we saw the Ark was in 1Samuel 7 when it was received from the Philistines who attempted to return it with a guilt offering to the Lord of gold molded into the shape of tumors to appease His anger and get God to remove the tumors He had placed upon them. We studied this on May 13th 2020 in a lesson called “Honoring God”.

This was at the end of the time of the judges, while Samuel was still prophet over Israel BEFORE Saul became king.

During Saul’s reign he made no known attempt to recover the ark.

Here is the passage were we last read about the Ark of the Covenant – 

1Sam. 7:1-2,

“(1) So the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.  (2)  Time went by until 20 years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel began to seek the LORD.” 

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem from Kiriath-Jearim

1 Chronicles 13:1-4

“(1) David consulted with all his leaders, the commanders of hundreds and of thousands.  

(2)  Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, AND if this is from the LORD our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.  (3)  Then let us bring back the ark of our God, for we did not inquire of Him in Saul’s days.”  

(4)  Since the proposal seemed right to all the people, the whole assembly agreed to do it.

2 Samuel 6:1-4  

“(1) David again assembled all the choice men in Israel, 30,000.  (2)  He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. The ark is called by the Name, the name of the LORD of Hosts Who dwells between the cherubim.” 

“(3) They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart  (4)  and brought it with the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on the hill. Ahio walked in front of the ark.”

Originally, the Elders of the Philistines who returned the Ark, had taken counsel together, and had determined that they would place the Ark on a cart pulled by cows. As a test to see if it was God Who had cursed them for taking the Ark or to see if the tumors were simply a coincidence. So they set the cows loose to see if they would take the ark back to Israel – the closest town of which was apparently Beth-shemesh. If they did, then they assumed, the curse from the God is Israel and they hoped their offering would be accepted to Him. As it turns out, the cows did in fact turn to Beth-shemesh and deliver the ark there. 

It seems that Beth-shemesh was the closest city of Israel to where the Philistines released the cart. This was a levitical city of Aaron in Judah. Joshua 21 verses 1-15 tells us about the allotment of lands given to the Levites in each tribe for them to live in, since the Levites were to have no natural inheritance in the land. To Aaron and his sons, several cities were given along with their pastureland. One of them was Beth-Shemesh. We learned about this on 1/15/20 in a lesson covering Joshua 19-21 called By Lot, Sword & Spirit of the Lord. So it follows, that the Levities were there to receive the ark when it arrived. (For the reason why the Levites were not to have any inheritance in the land visit the page linked above which also links to another message called, Counsel of My Sons from August 7, 2017 which further explains the reason).

The Ark arrived during the wheat harvest in the field of Joshua in Beth-Shemesh. However, after offering the cows to the Lord as burnt offerings, the men of Beth-Shemesh decided to look inside the Ark – something completely forbidden. So the Lord struck down 70 men out of the 50,000 there. 1Sam. 6:20-7:2 tells us that the men then called upon the people of Kiriath-Jearim to come get the ark, which they did and delivered it to the house of Abinadab, in the charge of his son Eleazar where it remained until this time in David’s reign.

It is a bit of a mystery as to why they took it to Kiriath-jearim unless it was because it was the closest town to them. Kiriath-jearim was not a levitical town but it is speculated that just the same, Abinadab may have been of the Levitical tribe, since it would have been unlikely for the descendants of Aaron to leave the ark in the care of anyone but one of the Priestly families – preferably one form the family of Kohath. More on that later.

Unfortunately, we do not know for certain if Abinadab and therefore his sons were of the family of Kohath.

Uzzah and the Ark

1Chron. 13:5-14

“(5)  So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.  (6)  David and all Israel went to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim), which belongs to Judah, to take from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD Who dwells between the cherubim.  

(7)  At Abinadab’s house, they set the ark of God on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart.  (8)  David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before God with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.  

(9)  When they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to hold the ark, because the oxen had stumbled.  (10)  Then the LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him dead because he had reached out to the ark. So he died there in the presence of God.  

(11)  David was angry because of the LORD’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is still named today.  

(12)  David feared God that day, and said, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”  (13)  So David did not move the ark of God home to the city of David; instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 

(14)  The ark of God remained with Obed-edom’s family in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his family and all that he had.”

2 Samuel 6:5-11  

“(5) David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of fir wood instruments, lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.  

(6)  When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen had stumbled.  (7)  Then the LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God.  

Here it is called Nacon’s threshing floor whereas in Chronicles it is called Chidon’s. One appears to be the name of a place and the other the name of a person. 

“(8)  David was angry because of the LORD’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place an Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today.  (9)  David feared the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”  (10)  So he was not willing to move the ark of the LORD to the city of David; instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.  

(11)  The ark of the LORD remained in his house three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his whole family.”

As we will see in the next chapter, and you may remember this from our lessons on the Ark and the three families from Aaron that the Kohathites were the ones who were delegated with the authority and responsibility for transporting the Ark of the Covenant.

We learned about this on 04/04/18 in Part one of a teaching called, The Most Holy Place & the Ark of the Covenant

There was a method given by God for transporting the ark of the Covenant. It is mentioned in Numbers 4:1-6.

(1) Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:  (2) “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house,  (3) from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.  (4) “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things: (5) When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.  (6) Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles.”

So in order to move the Ark in a way which was acceptable to God, you had to be a Levite, but not just any Levite – you had to be a son of Aaron…but not just ANY son of Aaron…you had to be a son of Kohath…but not just any son of Kohath…you had to be a son of Kohath without deformity, between the ages of 25-50.

The method of transportation was – you had to cover the ark with the holy curtains and then insert the golden poles and carry it on your shoulders. You may remember that I taught you at this time that the phrase “shouldering a burden” or “responsibility rests upon your shoulders” came from this thinking. The shoulder was considered a place to carry burdens and was used to represent tasks for which authority had been delegated.

Since all of the instructions, methods, procedures and delegated authorities under the Old Covenant were types of shadows of the New Covenant, it is likely significant that the Kohathites were selected as the Carriers of God’s presence in Israel. Kohath means Assembly. In this tribe was representing all of Israel who were in themselves the representatives and carriers of God’s presence in the earth at that time as we are today.

In fact, the names and locations of the priestly family around the courtyard tells the story of redemption.

Beginning with Moses and Aaron in the east and working clockwise around the courtyard the meaning of the names of the families say the following:

In the circuit beginning from east to north it paints a picture of redemption…

Drawn out and bringing Light

  • God be Praised

To the assembly of My people

  • Behold a Son is born, He is the excellence of power, dignity & strength – the First of My Might

In Exile

  • He will be twice as fruitful in the assembly

It is bitter to the Lord

  • God has judged!

Understanding as we do that judgement means to separate, and that God judged Jesus on our behalf – separating Him from the Father for a moment on the cross – it was bitter to the Lord, but salvation to the world.

The Ark makes it’s spiritual return to Israel’s hearts

1 Chronicles 15:1-24,

“(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, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”  (3)  David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it.  (4)  Then he gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:  (5)  From the Kohathites, Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives;  (6)  from the Merarites, Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives;  (7)  from the Gershomites, Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives;  (8)  from the Elizaphanites, Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives;  (9)  from the Hebronites, Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives;  (10)  from the Uzzielites, Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.  (11)  David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.  (12)  He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.  (13)  For the LORD our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn’t inquire of Him about the proper procedures.”  (14)  So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.  (15)  Then the Levites carried the ark of God the way Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD: on their shoulders with the poles.  (16)  Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments–harps, lyres, and cymbals.  (17)  So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah.  (18)  With them were their relatives second in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.  (19)  The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;  (20)  Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth;  (21)  and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to the Sheminith.  (22)  Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music because he was skillful.  (23)  Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.  (24)  The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be gatekeepers for the ark.” 

The Ark makes its physical return to Jerusalem

1Chron15:25-29

“(25)  David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of the thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom.  (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)  Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.  (28)  So all Israel was bringing the ark of the covenant of the LORD up with shouts, the sound of the ram’s horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and the playing of harps and lyres.  (29)  As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.”

2 Samuel 6:12-23 
“(12) It was reported to King David: “The LORD has blessed Obed-edom’s family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom’s house to the city of David with rejoicing.  (13)  When those carrying the ark of the LORD advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.  (14)  David was dancing with all his might before the LORD wearing a linen ephod.  (15)  He and the whole house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of the ram’s horn.  (16)  As the ark of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.  (17)  They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent David had set up for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the LORD’s presence.  (18)  When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Hosts.  (19)  Then he distributed a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake to each one of the whole multitude of the people of Israel, both men and women. Then all the people left, each to his own home.”

David & Michal

“(20)  When David returned home to bless his household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”  (21)  David replied to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD,  (22)  and I will humble myself even more and humiliate myself. I will be honored by the slave girls you spoke about.”  (23)  And Saul’s daughter Michal had no child to the day of her death.”

Blessings!

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will be mentioned.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!