Good Intentions

I have a phone up here. This is my version of my watch today. My watch is on the fritz, so I'm not about to make a phone call for McDonald's or something like that, but I thought I'd bring it up as a timepiece. Brethren, today we're going to talk about good intentions. Have any of you ever had good intentions? I'm sure we've all had good intentions in times gone by. I'm sure that all of us have had good intentions that bore grapefruit. I'm sure that all of us have had good intentions that simply didn't play out like we hoped they would play out. In examining this concept of good intentions, we're going to look at a couple of individuals in the Scriptures. One of the individuals is one of the most beloved, one of the most famous, one of the most honored men in the history of God's Word. A man by the name of King David. Another man who also had good intentions was a man we only see in this episode. That's it. Very much just one short little episode, a few verses. His name is Uzzah. You probably remember which section of Scripture we're going to go to, but before we go there, I want to give you a little bit of background. David has just captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He's made it the capital of Israel and Judah, which at the time were united. Not only was he wanting Jerusalem to be the capital of the nation, he was wanting Jerusalem to be the religious center of the nation as well. One of the things he wanted to do to ensure that that would be the case is to bring the Ark of the Covenant, the Ark of the Testimony, back to Jerusalem. It had been captured by the Philistines. They exhibited for a short time. Then it was returned to Israel, but it had been basically a place of kind of an out-of-the-way place for some period of time. Now the Ark was important for a number of reasons. Inside the Ark there were three things. You had the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments, which was the basis of the Covenant between God and his people. So not only was that something that was physically inside the Ark, but it was important because it showed that God himself was a very special God, and his people were very special people. They were his Covenant people. The second thing that was inside the Ark was a pot of manna, the pot of manna, which God used to preserve his people in terms of being able to feed them. And again, this shows something very important. Not only was the physical manna there, the pot of manna, but it showed that God was going to provide for his people. He was a great God. His people were great people. He was going to provide for these people. And the third thing that was in the Ark was Aaron's rod. And that was to show that Aaron was God's chosen. And there would be leadership, positive leadership, good leadership for the people of God.

The Ark was witnessed to the power of God.

The Levites carried the Ark during the wilderness wanderings. When they carried it across into the Jordan River, the Ark, God caused the waters to part. Now, the Israelites began to look at the Ark in a way they shouldn't in some ways. They began to view it in a kind of superstitious way. They thought the Ark was probably parting the waters of the Jordan. It wasn't the Ark, it was God. God was using it as a symbol. And secondly, the Ark was carried around Jericho. And of course, the first thing that the Israelites faced when going into the Holy Land, the Promised Land, was one of the great fortresses of the region.

Jericho was perhaps the oldest city in the region, maybe one of the oldest cities in the world. And certainly it was a very fortified city. And of course, they carried the Ark around and around and around, and the walls fell down. Again, the Israelites began to look at this in a wrong way. The Israelites thought that the Ark itself had magical powers, rather than thinking about the God who was behind all of this. So, in essence, what they were looking at, or what they began to think of, when they looked at the Ark, was God in a box.

Is God in a box? Well, sometimes we think of God that way, in terms of sometimes we limit God. Well, God is not in a box, and we certainly must not limit God. So, given all of this, David's intention was to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. With a great deal of fanfare, in his heart, in his mind, he had the best of intentions.

He was living in a palace with all the finery. And here is the Ark of God, often some obscure place where it should be in Jerusalem for the people to see and to appreciate, at least to know and to appreciate. So, given that as background, my theme for the sermon today is this. Our good intentions must be supported by God's Word. Our good intentions must be supported by God's Word. Now, let's turn to 1 Chronicles 13, where the story is told.

It's told in Samuel as well, but we're going to take a look at the Chronicles edition of it, of this situation, this event, our series of events. 1 Chronicles 13. Verse 1, 1 And with them to the priests and Levites who were in their cities and their common lands, that they may gather together to us. So basically, David here is wanting this to be almost a national holiday, something very big. 2 And let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.

3 Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So not only does David have good intentions, the people have good intentions. Everybody is well-intentioned here. Everybody is well-intentioned. Nothing wrong to this point. Verse 5, 1 So David gathered together all Israel from Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath to bring the ark of God from Kir-Jath-Jirim.

2 And David and all Israel went up to Beyla to Kir-Jath-Jirim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of the Lord God, 3 who dwells between the carobim, where his name is proclaimed. So again, to this point, everything is just peachy.

Verse 7, We have a downturn. 3 So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart. This is very problematic. It's problematic for a number of reasons. The ark of the covenant was never to be placed in a cart. And not just anybody was to move the ark of the covenant.

So here we see sin. Here we see where the Word of God is not being followed. People have the best of intentions, but the Word of God is not being followed here. The ark is being moved in a very inappropriate manner. Put a marker here. Let's go to Exodus chapter 25. Let's get some more background. Exodus chapter 25. Exodus chapter 25.

Verses 14 and 15. Exodus 25 verses 14 and 15. You shall put poles into the rings of the side of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. We're going to find out who them is in just a moment. The pole shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it. So not only was the ark not to be carried on a cart, the ark was to be carried by the Levites. The Levites were to put two poles. Each corner of the ark had a ring. And the poles needed to go through both sides, and four men would lift that on their shoulders and be carried that way. Now, not just anybody could do this. Let's take a look at Numbers chapter 3.

Numbers chapter 3.

Numbers chapter 3 verses 30 and 31. And the leader of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizabethan and the son, Yuziel. Their duty included the ark. So here we've got some Levites who were Kohathites, the family of Kohath. They were the ones who were to transport the ark of the covenant. Nobody else. And they were to carry it on the shoulders, not in a cart. Chapter 4 of Numbers.

Chapter 4 verse 5. When the camp repairs the journey, Aaron and his son shall come, and they shall take down the covering and the veil of the ark of the testimony with it. Verse 15. And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath, these particular Levites, shall come to carry them, but they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die. You touch the ark, you die. It's as simple as that. Even if you're a Levite and you touch the ark, you die. See, God was wanting the people to realize that you just don't, in essence, touch God. There's a way to approach God and a way not to approach God. And what we're going to see with the life of Uzzah is He didn't approach God properly, and He paid the full price. Okay? Okay, let's go back to 1 Chronicles chapter 13 again.

1 Chronicles chapter 13 again. Let's read verse 7. So they carry the ark of God on a new cart, not four Levites with the poles on their shoulders. They're breaking the Word of God. They're misusing the Word of God. They're being sloppy with the Word of God. They didn't inquire before they did something. They had good intentions, but they didn't inquire of God how this should be done. And so, brethren, this is a lesson for us as you and I go through life, and we're making big decisions. We need to make sure we're inquiring of God what needs to be done. Good intentions are fine, but if they're not based on the Word of God, all sorts of wrong things should take place. Verse 8. Then David and all Israel played music before God, and all their might was singing on harps, stringed instruments, on tambourine cymbals, with trumpets. So again, David and the people, their heart in one sense was right, and that they wanted to please God, but it was not right, and that they didn't check with how God wanted things to be done. David, of course, was a gifted musician. He enjoyed all of this. He enjoyed the thought that the ark was coming to Jerusalem. He enjoyed all the fanfare. So things can be very enjoyable and seem right, but it can be very wrong. Verse 9. When they came to Kidron's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. Now let me ask you a question. Have you ever been driving in your car? You're driving. You've got somebody you love next to you, maybe a family member, maybe a friend. And something happens in front of you, and you've got to make an emergency stop. How many times in your life have you reached out to shield or hold back somebody? Well, again, Uzzah probably had good intentions. He thought the ark was going to come tumbling down. He reaches out probably instinctively. But he was doing something that was wrong. He should have remembered. You touch the ark, you die.

You touch the ark, you die. So he reached out. Let's read verse 10. And the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him because he put his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. He died there before God. Now, let's put another marker here. Let's go over to 1 Samuel chapter 5. 1 Samuel chapter 5. Here we see some of the events that took place when the ark was captured by the Philistines. Of course, now, they didn't have the same knowledge of things that the Israelites did, but that didn't mean that they didn't pay a price for mishandling the ark of God. 1 Samuel chapter 5 verse 1.

Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, Ashdod being their capital. And when the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon. Talk about insults. You're taking the ark of the covenant and bringing it into a house of a pagan deity. And they said it by Dagon. Verse 3. When the people of Ashdod rose early in the morning, there was Dagon fallen on his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. Kind of a funny thing taking place here. Everyone's sleeping. God takes this image of Dagon, their false god. He's fallen on his face. Well, who did that? Well, God did that. So they took Dagon into verse 3. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. And they rose early the next morning. There was Dagon fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. God's not going to be denied, but notice something else here. The head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were broken off at the threshold. Only Dagon's torso was left on it. Therefore, neither the priests of Dagon nor any who came into Dagon's house tread on that threshold of Dagon and Ashdod to this day. People said, this God of Israel, you don't mess with this God of Israel. Verse 6, but the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and his territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, the ark of God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is harsh toward us, and dig in our God. Therefore, they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? They said, let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath, so that he carried the ark of the God of Israel away. So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the Lord was against the city of very great destruction, and he struck them into the city, both small and great, with tumors breaking out on them. So again, you better watch what you're doing. Verse 10, therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron, and so it was as the ark of God came to Ekron that the Echronites cried out, saying, they have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people. So people are getting the message here. You do disservice to this ark, the God of Israel is going to take action against you. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, send away the ark of the God of Israel and to go back to its own place. So they shall now kill us and our people. For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city, and the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men who did not die were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. Let's go back and finish the story about the ark there in 1 Chronicles 13.

So Uzzah died, so now we're verse 11. And David became angry because the Lord's outpreying against Uzzah. Therefore the place is called Peres Uzzah to this day. Peres Uzzah to this day. I'd like to read you a quote from the Kyle and Delish commentary. It says here, David became angry. Well, who's David angry with? David angry with God? Who's David angry with? The Kyle and Delish commentary explains this, and I quote, The burning of David's anger was not directed against God, but referred to the calamity which had befallen Uzzah, or speaking more correctly, to the cause of his calamity, which David attributed to himself or to his undertaking. As he and that resolved upon the removal of the ark, but had also planned the way in which it should be taken to Jerusalem. He could not trace the occasion of Uzzah's death to any other cause than his own plans. David was upset with himself. Now, before I go further, Uzzah had a part to play in this. He wasn't innocent in this. Uzzah very much had a part to play. David is angry because he realizes with his good intentions, he set in motion a series of events that caused somebody to die. Now, part of this was also in Uzzah's head. Make no doubt about that. But brethren, notice how serious it is to have good intentions. People around you have good intentions about what you've got good intentions about. And yet, if those good intentions are not based on the Word of God, it can lead to disaster. Verse 12. David was afraid of God that day, saying, How can I bring the ark of God to me? Now, this is a good thing. It was good for David to have a proper fear of God. Verse 13. David would not move the ark with him into the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed Edom, the Giddite. And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed Edom in his house three months, and the Lord blessed the house of Obed Edom in all that he had.

Now, what are our takeaways from all of this? I've got a number of takeaways for you, spiritual lessons to be learned. Number one. God is love. God is love. Many times people will quote this section of Scripture and say, you know, your God is capricious. Your God is vengeful. He's unreasonable. He's nuts. That's what some unconverted people would say. No. God is love. You find that in 1 John 4, verse 8. God is love. Everything God does, he does because he is love. He was having to teach David and Uzzah lessons, the whole nation, lessons, because he loved them. Because he wanted them not to think of him as God in a box, but the Almighty, the All-Powerful. God is not harsh. God is not cruel. God is not vindictive. God is love. Let's look at 1 Timothy, chapter 2. We won't be going back to Chronicles again. 1 Timothy, chapter 2.

1 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. This is God's desire that people would be saved, come to a knowledge of the truth, whereby they can live life abundantly. So God is a God of love. 2 Peter, chapter 3. 2 Peter, chapter 3.

Verse 9.

2 Peter 3. 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering. I heard an interesting message today from Mr. Duran about patience and long-suffering. God is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, that all should have an opportunity for eternal life. Yes, God is a God of love. That's the first takeaway. The second takeaway is that God gives specific instructions on how to draw near to him. God gives specific instructions on how we are to draw near to him. Some people today, especially today, say, we're going to draw near to God by celebrating Christmas, or celebrating Easter, or celebrating this or that, that God never said we should be doing. No, God gives specific instructions on how to draw near to him. The ark had four rings on each corner. Polls were to be inserted, and once the ark was resting, those poles were to be left in there. They were not to be taken out, showing the transitory nature that we are people who are tabernacling. Our God is a God of people who tabernacle. No matter how innocently it was done, touching the ark was in direct violation of God's law and resulted in death. Good intentions can lead to death, if not based upon the Word of God. Not following God's precise instructions can be seen as not revering God's words. Is that what we want to be? People who don't revere the Word of God? We saw there in Exodus and in Numbers very plainly, who was to carry the ark, how the ark was to be carried? Well, David didn't refer back to that, and he could have. He didn't. God's words were not revered. There was an independent attitude there to some degree. Just kind of launching off and doing their own thing, as opposed to doing God's things. So a second takeaway is that God gave specific instructions on drawing near to Him. As I was thinking about this, a point number three, or takeaway number three, the counsel of men and authority doesn't constitute authority from God if it goes against God's word. Just because somebody's in authority, somebody who is well loved and respected and revered like David, but when David wasn't following the prescribed laws that were in place to move the ark, that was wrong. That caused death. You know, brethren, I remember so clearly back in 1995, very, very difficult times. Difficult times for you. Those of us who lived through leaving the worldwide Church of God. In my old study Bible, I've got various passages I've put in writing years ago talking about the return of Christ picking up His Church. And I've got my inspired margins. Yes, this is the worldwide Church of God. Well, no. That organization is not the true Church today. But I remember so clearly, it would grieve me so much as people would say, you know, Mr. Del Sandro, I really never understood everything Mr. Armstrong said. But I followed him anyway. And I really don't understand everything Mr. DeCotch says, but I'm going to follow him anyway. And we all know how fallacious that is. Just because somebody's in authority, we still have—what does the Scripture say? Obey God rather than men. And I'm not trying to say negative things about David, but David was loosey-goosey with the Word of God. He saw it Himself, and we can see it as well. What does the Scripture say? Matthew 4 for, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of who? From the mouth of God. Right?

Takeaway number four. Uzzah may well have taken the ark for granted. Why do I say that? Historians, Bible scholars, will differ on how long the ark rested in Abinadab's home. Some scholars would say 50 years, some scholars would say 70 years. Uzzah was Abinadab's son. He grew up with the ark in his house. As a matter of fact, scholars would also maybe debate whether Uzzah was a son of Abinadab or his grandson. In either case, we've got a man, Uzzah, who was very familiar with the ark. He grew up with it. He should have known better. Nobody touches it, but the priests, not the Levites, nobody touches it, otherwise they die.

Can we take things for granted? Sabbath services? Holy days? Our spiritual disciplines? Can we take these things for granted? If we do, we risk tremendous danger. Let's go to Hebrews 2.

Hebrews 2, verse 1.

Hebrews 2, verse 2.

They're full of enthusiasm, they're full of zeal, they volunteer to do everything, and they start doing everything. And they go every place, and they're visiting people, and they're just wonderful people to behold. In so many cases, five years down the road, where are they? They drifted away. They drifted away. They forgot what was important to them. They were very physically involved in things, but they forgot the most important thing was their relationship with the Great God. And they drifted away.

Hebrews 2, verse 1. Let me read it again. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed. Now, who's the writer of Hebrews? Who's he writing to? He's writing to a group of people who are thinking about going back to Judaism. These are Christians who are thinking about going back to the faith once delivered in the Old Testament. And so he's trying to make sure they don't drift away from what they've learned as New Covenant Christians. Verse 2. For if the words spoken through angels prove steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience receives a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which as the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard him? So here Paul, the person we believe is the author of the book of Hebrews, is saying, look, yes, Moses was a great leader of God, the church in the wilderness. But now we've got Jesus Christ that has come. He's established a New Testament church, New Covenant church, and confirmed by the apostles. Don't drift away. Familiarity breeds contempt. Takeaway number five.

Faithlessness can also take our life. Uzzah was showing faithlessness. Now again, he reached out probably as a knee-jerk type of reaction, but it should have been so deeply ingrained in his mind that no matter what happened on that cart, he wasn't going to reach back. Now, the thing shouldn't have been on the cart to begin with. Had it never been on the cart, the man would still be alive. I mean, not today, but in his age.

But let's go to Matthew 8 and see a lesson where faithlessness was creeping in. Could God...okay, so the oxen stumbled. It looked like the ark was going to fall. Did God have the power to make sure it didn't fall? Could God protect his own ark? I think so. I know so. Matthew 8. The disciples in Jesus Christ are on a boat. A great storm comes up. We see this now in verse 24. Notice, Christ is sleeping. He's not overly concerned about things. But the other guys, the ones who are lacking faith here, were concerned. Verse 26.

There was a great calm. Uzzah was dealing without faith. Without faith.

Numbers, chapter 20. Numbers, chapter 20. We're going to see where one of the greatest men who ever lived, the greatest servants of God, paid a terrible price for just an episode of faithlessness.

Numbers, chapter 20. Verse 7. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take the rod, you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and thou shalt yield its water. Thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals. So very simple. God says, Go talk to this rock, and you're going to have all the water you need, you and your animals. So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him, and Moses and Aaron gathered assembly together before the rock, and he said, Here now you rebels. Moses here has a bit of an attitude. He's got a really bad attitude here. He had put up with a lot of grief from these people over the course of time, and because he had not worked things out in his mind, he allowed it to get the best of him. He allowed his anger to get the best of him. Here now you rebels. Must we bring water for you out of this rock? We? Who's we? He and Aaron? God said he was going to bring the water out of the rock. And now Moses is saying, We're going to do it. Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice. Now, by analogy, we know the rock was Christ. He's basically lashing out at God. Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Now, God could have punished the whole kitten and caboodle of him, but he didn't. He had mercy. Grace was flowing here just like the water. But notice, But then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe me, because you did not have faith, to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. All that that man had done, and now he is not allowed to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Because of faithlessness. Much like Uzzah was exhibiting faithlessness, that God couldn't take care of his own ark. One last takeaway, number six. One last takeaway. God loves Uzzah, and God will grant him an opportunity for eternal life. Even though Uzzah died a premature death due to his error, God in the future will raise him up in the general resurrection. He'll come up in that second resurrection. And God will explain to him why things happened the way they did. Uzzah will understand, Uzzah will repent, and Uzzah will have an opportunity to live for all time. So, brethren, today we've taken a look at good intentions. How the good intentions must be supported by God's word and principles found in God's word. Even though you and I may have actions and intentions that are well-intentioned, the outcome can be very serious if we don't obey the word of God. Proverbs 14, verse 12. Let me read that for you. Proverbs 14, 12. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. The end is the way of death. So we want to make sure whatever we do is founded on the word of God. Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9. Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9. God's thoughts, his ways, are higher than our ways. So we must consult him before we take any action. Must consult him. Don't allow good intentions without the backing of the word of God to run your life.