Beside Still Waters Ministries

David.  A shepherd boy.  A musician.  A warrior.  A poet.  A King.  A worshiper.  A man after God’s own heart.  Oh, and don’t think that he was perfect – he was also a murderer and an adulterer, among other things.  Saying that he was a man after God’s own heart just means that even when he sinned, he saw his wrong and fully repented (Psalm 51).  He knew that there was nothing worse than being out of God’s will, and that his purpose in life was to worship God.

I could spend all my posts for the next year on this one man, because second only to Jesus he gives us the best example of what it is to be a worshiper.  Think about it, one of the most important points of Jesus’ lineage is that he is descended from David.  If you are looking for something to study in the Bible, I would suggest studying David in 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Also, A Heart Like His by Beth Moore studies David, and I highly recommend it.  For now, though, we will look at just one story that is very telling about how this guy worships his God.

Read 2 Sam 6:12-22.  Wouldn’t you think that this would have been a solemn occasion?  Why all the shouting?  Why would David, the King of Israel be dancing?  Did David care about what people thought of him while he worshiped?

Let us not think, though, that we should not treat God with reverence.  Before this, in 2 Sam 6:1-12, a man died because he touched the Ark of the Covenant, and it was actually David’s fault.  See, the Kings of Israel were required to hand copy the Law of God, so that they would know every line.  David knew that the Ark was supposed to be carried by priests using poles through the rings on the Ark on their shoulders, but somehow he missed on just how holy God is because he defied that law by having a new cart made for carrying the Ark that was going to be pulled by two cows.  The Philistines employed this method for returning the Ark to the Israelites, and David stupidly followed the lead of pagans instead of obeying God’s law.  So, while they were dancing and celebrating, the Ark shifted on the cart, and one of the priests, Uzzah, reached out his hand to steady it – and died.  We cannot forget in our enthusiasm of worship that God is holy and needs to be treated with utmost reverence.

How do we perhaps not show enough reverence for God’s holiness?  How do we treat His temple – not just this church building, but also our own bodies and each other (1 Cor. 6:19)?  Worship is not just about what we do on Sunday morning before the Lord, it is also about how we treat other people each and every day.  Matt 25:40 says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

My challenge for you this coming week is to ask the Lord to show you how you might not only worship without worrying about what other people think, but also how you might better show reverence for Him by treating others as if they are Jesus right there in front of you – strangers, friends, family, church family.

For further reading:  Find all of the Psalms that David wrote, and read them, noting that he held nothing back from God, nor did he ever turn away from God.