We all desire to please God, each for our own unique reasons. It could be to seek deliverance, to seek His blessings, or simply out of pure love and reverence for Him. Hence, there are many reasons why we want to please God.
David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. 2 Samuel 6:1,2
The ark of God was a sacred chest. It was made by Bezalel according to the instructions that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The people of Israel sometimes carried the ark of God in their wars, believing that it would bring them victory. However, they failed to realize that their success or failure depended not on the ark, but on their obedience and relationship with God. If they disobeyed God or worshiped other gods, the ark could not save them from defeat.
The people of Israel once brought the ark of God, to a war against the Philistines. However, they were defeated and the ark was captured by the Philistines. The ark of God caused plagues and calamities to afflict the Philistine land. Therefore, they decided to send it back to the Israelites with offerings of gold. The people of Israel rejoiced when they saw the ark of God returning to them. But some of them violated the law and looked inside the ark of God, which was forbidden. As a result, they died because of God’s wrath and judgment.
This heavy blow by God, frightened the Israelites and they neglected the ark of the Lord. For many years it stayed in the house of Abinadab. No one cared about it. During the reign of Saul, no one even consulted the ark of the Lord. After a long time of neglect, one man remembered the ark of the Lord and wanted to bring it back to its place.
David gathered his thirty thousand men for this purpose. He usually assembled these men for wars. But this time he wanted to celebrate the return of the ark of the Lord. However, he did not seek God’s will or follow his instructions. He repeated the same mistake as before. One of his men, Uzzah, touched the ark of the Lord and tried to steady it, and God’s wrath flared against Uzzah and he died.
Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. 2 Samuel 6:8
This incident reflects how sometimes our efforts to please God can backfire, leading to fear, anger, and distance from Him. Before acting, it’s essential to seek God’s guidance, as even our well-intentioned actions may conflict with His desires and provoke His wrath.
Abel and Cain wanted to please God by bringing the fruits of their labor. But God was pleased with Abel’s offering and not with Cain’s. This made Cain very angry. We may want to please God, but we should first seek his purpose, ways, and desire before carrying out our plan.
Abel’s and Cain’s offerings provide another example of the importance of aligning our actions with God’s will. While both sought to please God, Abel’s offering found favor with Him, while Cain’s did not. Cain’s anger and actions resulting from God’s rejection highlight the need to discern God’s purpose and seek His guidance before pursuing our own plans to please Him. We might therefore wonder: “Isn’t it easier to just mind our own business and not do anything extra for God, since it might tempt us to do something wrong and bring God’s wrath and ruin our relationship with God? Isn’t it better to just do what God says, no more and no less?”
If we don’t do anything extra to please God, we may not become special in His sight. To unlock some special promises of God, we have to do something that no one has ever done. For that, we need courage. Yes, going closer to God requires a lot of courage. From an outsider’s perspective, we may exclaim – “What did Abel and Cain achieve by offering their sacrifices?”. One brought about the wrath of God and the other brought about the wrath of his brother. But these thoughts did not stop Noah from offering his sacrifice after the flood receded. Because he had the courage to offer that sacrifice, God made a special promise – “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”
Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 2 Samuel 6:12
When David saw how blessed the household of Obed-Edom was because of the ark of God. He changed his mind and encouraged himself to bring the ark of God to his city. The blessings that the ark of God promised overcame his fear. Sometimes, when we decide to keep some distance from God, God entices us with some blessings. It’s not wrong to follow God for some blessings, or for some deliverance.
But remember, the people and the enemy will always remind you and God that you did all those things for God because God promised blessings. They will laugh at you when you get afraid of God seeing his anger, and when you get rid of your fear when you see some blessings of God. Like Michal, people will laugh and despise you for rejoicing in the things you did for God. Yet, if you truly love God, you will come up with an idea of serving God that no one has ever thought of, and that decision will change the course of your life.
He said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” 2 Samuel 7:2
One pivotal thought changed David’s life: the idea to build a temple for God. Although God had never explicitly asked anyone to do so, He welcomed this initiative from David. In response, God blessed David and promised that Jesus would be born in his line of heirs, leading to the common belief that Jesus was the Son of David. Hence, it became the common knowledge even for beggars that Jesus was the son of David.
Regardless of whether we follow God out of fear or in expectation of blessings. If our love for Him is sincere and we possess the courage to go the extra mile in His service, we may find ourselves chosen for the QUIVER OF GOD.
May God bless u all