Are You Doing It God’s Way?
By John BJ Hall
There is a wrong way to serve God and a right way to serve God.
In 2 Samuel 6, King David decided to honor God by bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. The Philistines had captured the Ark in their perpetual wars with Israel. David now felt it was time to bring it back home. The problem was that David did not consult spiritual authorities about how the cart was to be handled.
God had given specific instructions on how the Ark was to be handled by His people. Even though David’s intent was good, his actions resulted in the tragic death of one of those trying to help.
You may ask, “But didn’t the Philistines do the same thing? Didn’t they get away with it?”
Yes, but they were ignorant of the rules. Light creates responsibility. Every Hebrew child grew up understanding there were rules regarding the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, and the Ark of the Covenant.
For Christians, this is also true. If we have the light of the Gospel, we are held responsible for rejecting it and for not sharing it with those who have not heard it.
So David went to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant and bring it to Jerusalem, but he did it in the wrong way. The Ark had rings on the corners and was to be carried on poles on the shoulders by men dedicated to that task.
Friend, God wants the Gospel to go out today. He wants it to be carried by His own people, carried by a chosen priesthood, a peculiar people. “But you are A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD'S OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NASB)
David got it wrong. But he repented, and in verses 10 and following he did it the right way.
Will you bear the Gospel of the Lord in the right way?