Ushering in the Presence

Ushering in the Presence
Words of Faith 1-17-25
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2025
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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2 Samuel 6:1-5
[1] David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. [2] 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. [3] They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart [4] with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. [5] David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.

For one hundred long years, the Ark of the Covenant had been separated from the Tabernacle and other places of worship. Why? After its capture by the Philistines, it remained in Philistia for seven months, then briefly at Beth Shemesh, and the rest of the time at Kiriath Jearim in the care of the house of Abinadab. Once the nation had split north and south, there was not a place that worked to keep such an important object.
David had now taken Jerusalem as his capitol. This neutral place between the north and the south allowed the Ark to be placed in the tabernacle on Mount Zion. This would make Jerusalem the religious and political center of the nation.
David first went with 30,000 men to Baalah of Judah to bring the ark from the house of Abinadab, its custodian. The Ark is described as bearing the name of God Himself. It powerfully represented the very presence of God who dwelled among His people. Because of this, the Ark had to be handled with the greatest reverence.
The Law even specified the transportation of the Ark from place to place. It had to be carried by Levites, who would bear it on their shoulders by means of poles passed through gold rings attached to the ark. Even the Levites could not touch the ark or look in it because of its holiness.
It is not clear why David overlooked these requirements. It may have been the haste built into this celebration's uniqueness. David had Uzzah and Ahio, two descendants of Abinadab, place the ark on a cart and proceed. There was a tremendous musical celebration as they moved toward Jerusalem.
The celebration revolved around the joy of bringing the Ark back to the Tabernacle and the joy of uniting the kingdom of Israel! This was a huge moment of unity. It was an exciting procession that involved many instruments. Transportation would soon become an issue, but for now, they simply celebrated the presence of the Lord among them.
As we revisit this procession, it makes sense to ask ourselves-- How do we usher in the presence of the Lord in our times of worship? How do we celebrate the unity of the Body of Christ? By what manner do we invite Him into our city? In what way do we transport His awareness into our capital? God is faithful to inhabit the praises of His people. In this burst of praise, the people of God met the Lord, found the power of his habitation, and ushered him into the city.
When we assemble for worship, we need to recognize that we are not simply gathering for some inspiration. We are not coming together for a show, a ritual, or a dry recitation of words. We are ushering the very presence of the Lord into our city, our gatherings, and homes. We are celebrating the unity that only God can establish among people.
Public assembly for worship is the celebration and testimony of God's great love and mercy toward us, represented in the Ark and its contents-- a gold jar of manna, Aaron's budded staff, and the stone tablets of the covenant. This was the witness that God's intention never has been to leave us in the bondage of sin and death but rather to set us free and bring us out.

Father God, give me a burst of joy. As I gather for worship, may I sense the power of Your presence and the wonder of the unity found only in You. Give me the joy of the Lord as my strength and inhabit the praise of Your people. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.