David's Second Loss
DAVID'S SECOND LOSS (1 Chronicles 13 & 15)
NOW let us look at the second great loss that David had incurred. Let us first read two portions from God's Word. The first portion we find in 1 Chron. 13 and the second in 1 Chron, 15, With what zeal and labour David sought to bring again the ark of God to its place. But alas! Instead of gathering the Israelites and the sons of Aaron and the sons of the Kohathites as commanded by God in Numbers 4 and 7, he used his own human wisdom and zeal to carry the ark in a new cart. This had been done by the Philistines in 1 Sam. 6.
You may remember how the ark of God was captured by the Philistines in 1 Sam and how, because of it a great judgement had fallen upon them when they set the ark first in the house of their god Dagon, and then sent il to Gath and Ekron. Wherever the ark of God was taken the judgement fell (1 Sam, 5:10-12). At last in Chapter 6 the Philistines sent the ark of God back lo the land of Israel.
Years later, when David thought of bringing the ark of God again to its place he first imitated the Philistines. God had so clearly commanded in Numbers 4:13 and 7:9, that the ark of God was to be carried only by the sons of Kohath, the sons of the Levites, upon their shoulders. t was never to be carried in a cart. Yet now David in his zeal, instead of consulting with the Levites, consulted with the captain of thousands and hundreds, as we read in 1 Chron. 13:1. “And all the congregation said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people" (verse 4).
The result was that the ark was placed on a new cart and on the way the oxen stumbled and when Uzza put forth his hand to steady the ark, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza so that He smote him. Thus they could not bring the ark to its place. But in chapter 15 we read how David repented of the very serious mistake made in chapter 13. Then he gathered the Levites and the children of Aaron together (1 Chron. 15:4-5; 11-13), and confessed that he had not sought the Lord after the divine order revealed so plainly and clearly in the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, and consequently he and the whole nation had suffered a very heavy loss. Now when he began to obey and follow the divine order as revealed in the Word of God, with great joy he and all the people were able to bring the ark of God to its rightful place (1 Chron, 15:28).
After this great event David wrote the wonderful song of thanksgiving which we have as Psalm 105, and we find those words expressing the thoughts that filled the heart of David after the ark had been brought to its place. "O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His Name, make known His deeds among the people, talk ye of all His wondrous works" etc. (vs. 1-7; 14, 15).
David's heart was full of praise and he was exulting in the Lord, and saying to the people: "Seek ye the Lord and His strength, seek His face evermore" (verse 4). Unless we seek God's face constantly and try to find His heavenly plan in every matter, seeking to follow His order in all our activities, duties and plans, whether in the house or in the church, we are bound to suffer very heavy loss. We cannot be governed by our zeal, or wisdom, or judgement.
Today there is very great loss among God's people, because of the failure to follow God's Word. For example, God's Word is so clear that elders and deacons are never to be chosen by election, but that after much prayer and oneness of heart they should be brought forward, and only after they have been fully tested, should be set apart.
Alas! for this spiritual ministry in the House of God, we find in almost every part of the world, and in almost every Christian congregation, that the elders or church committee members, or whatever you may like to call them, are elected by voting. Even those people who believe in finding elders by prayer become so careless and negligent im this very important task that without praying together as Gou's servants and co-workers concerning this matter, they are governed by a man's human qualifications, by his ability to speak, or by his worldly position or other resources. That is why there I
is so much strife and contention and jealousy in some congregations, because: those that were defeated in the election of church committee members or elders begin I to fight with those who were elected, and this strife I has its effect on all the people in the congregation. The result is barrenness and spiritual infancy, and people come and go away hungry from the services.
Again in the early church, when the believers were in need they trusted God. They never had to beg for; their money, nor had to go about giving hints to others, but trusted God, and God helped them.
In these days, however, it has become quite a fashion, when believers want money, to start giving. hints, or making appeals, even going to the extent of —. using high-pressure methods in order to squeeze money from people's pockets. Such money cannot be sanctified by God, and because such people have entirely ignored I the Word of God and the order of God, they are _ suffering spiritual losses.:
Though David was a great king, and had fought many battles, and was a man after God's own heart, yes, even though he was a very wise king and God had used him mightily, yet he was trying in his own wisdom to bring the ark of God to its place, and all the people thought it was the right thing to do. They all agreed with him when he suggested to the military captains and generals and officers that they should organise a grand military procession and bring home the ark in triumph. They all thought that they were doing a great service for God, but it was all entirely according to their own wisdom, and not according to the Word of God and the divine plan.
Later when David repented of his mistake, God forgave him, for God is merciful and gracious, and if we humble ourselves and confess our failures and mistakes, He forgives us and helps us to recover every loss. The result was that a great joy was experienced by the whole nation and God's Word was honoured when the ark of God was carried to its place upon the shoulders of the sons of the Kohathites as God had commanded.
Now the ark of God speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Only those who are truly born again and those who are called by him have the privilege of presenting His claims and showing to the people the way of salvation. Alas! Again we find in these days so many men who are never called by God to His service, brut are simply thrust into the mission fields. The result is that more than sixty-five per cent of the missionaries who go out from countries like England or Scotland or America or Canada or Australia, never return to their respective mission fields after their first term of five years is over. They go back home disappointed, and in many cases broken hearted. They go back with a mental break-down because they were never called by Gad, but were sent out by some committee, or because of some human influence.
In the same way, many persons have been given positions in Christian circles, because of their wealth or position, but they have never been called by God for that service, and are therefore unable to govern church affairs according to God's will.
The same can be said about marriages. There are so many people who use their human wisdom when they consider marriage. As young people they like each other, and are very much attracted to each other, but they are governed only by those feelings of affection or love or attraction. Maybe they are positive at that time that God wants them to be joined together as life partners, but they never seek the face of the Lord.
I am talking about believers, not unbelievers, because as believers we have the privilege of being able to seek God's face and find his will on every matter. God has promised to speak to those who seek His face and His will. There are many believers, who, rather than consult God about their marriages and about God's choice for them, consult themselves, their feelings and emotions, or consult their friends and relatives whom they respect, and never go down on their knees about the matter. They refuse to pray with others who could help them by prayer to find God's will, and that is why there are so many unhappy homes, They begin their married lives with high hopes, but soon afterwards the couple find that they cannot get along together and there is constant strife in the family, and unhappiness in their own hearts.
In the divine order we, as believers, have the privilege of finding God's perfect will in every matter, whether it be church activity, or ministry or any other service in the house of God. In these days there are many people full of zeal, who have a great desire to take the gospel to many parts of the country and even to the world. With zeal they go from house to house, street to street, and country to country, spending much time, money and energy, yet they do not seem to accomplish much, nor do they see much fruit.
For the first few months they may be very happy as they see people buying books and showing an interest in the Word of God, but there are very few, comparatively speaking, who are really born again as a result. We cannot blame them, because we are also to blame in similar matters.
I know from my own experience, when I first began my ministry in Karachi several years ago in 1933. I used to go from house to house and street to street with gospels and booklets in many languages, because there were people from many parts of India living in Karachi in those days. I would begin my service early in the morning and was able to distribute a large number of books and tracts and Bibles, and made many wonderful contacts,
Many Hindus, Mohammedans and Sikhs showed interest. They invited me to their homes and I was able to sit with them and talk with them for hours about the way of salvation. I gave them my testimony, but I saw no results. Very few were really born again. I thought, however, that I had done my duty! After all souls are not born again in one day, and God in His own time would bless with fruit. But I got discouraged, and became tired, and wondered why there were no results. So I began to pray: ‘Lord, why is it that I don't see results for my labour and ministry? I miss many meals, I walk $o many miles, I speak to so many people, i make much sacrifice, yet J do not see any result for it all.
And God said to me clearly: 'I never told you to miss so many meals, or to go without food, or to walk so many miles. You are doing everything in your own wisdom.’ It was a shock to me. In the beginning, the Lord had spoken to me even before I came to India that I was never to make my own plans, but somehow I had not fully understood what those words meant.
Now I began to see that we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can seek His face, and before we begin our day we can get His heavenly plan. That day, I decided that I was not going to go out. The Lord was going to speak with me first; so I continued in prayer, and after a long time of prayer God spoke to me, and said to me: ‘Today I want you to go to a place called Soldier's Bazaar.' I called my friends, and said: 'God has spoken to me, that there is some soul ready in Soldier's Bazaar. Kindly come with me.
They answered, ‘I€ is very far off; it must be about four miles from here, and it is now almost midday. Besides, it is a very hot day. Let us go tomorrow morning, when it is nice and cool.’ I said: 'No, the Lord has spoken clearly and I believe there is some hungry heart wailing for the message, and we cannot disappoint him. We must go.'
So, rather unwillingly, they agreed to come with me. We had to walk. In those days we never went by bus or tram from place to place fur gospel work. After having walked about three or four miles we saw an open space before a shop, and we stood there, sang a song and began to give a message. A Mohammedan came out of the shop and said: 'Now look here, I am a Mohammedan and this is my shop. I won't allow any Christian to preach before my shop.' I said, 'Well, God's message is never forced upon anybody; if we leave you, you will have to give an account to God on the judgement day. We have been sent by Him, and if you don't want us, we will go away. Only you be prepared to give an account to God for this!’
We moved on further, and again we saw an open space, and stood there, sang a song and began to preach. Then there came a policeman. He said: 'This is a police station. You cannot stand here.' I said: ‘Lord, You told me to go to Soldier's Bazaar, and nobody wants us.' However, we decided to go still further, so we went on, and again saw an open space, and the Lord said: 'Now, stop here!' So we preached and sang a song, and had a word of prayer. We always have a word of prayer before we preach, for we find by experience that it is much better to begin the message by prayer. We have made it a rule wherever possible to go down on our knees, for hearts are softened as they see us going on our knees and calling upon God to help us to give His message, and asking that the hearers might receive God's message. So we prayed, and after I had finished the message and had a word of prayer, a man came to me, a man called Amar Nath, and said to me: 'Mister, the Lord has sent you for my sake. I am a Hindu graduate from Punjab University, and have been going about in search of peace for four years, but nobody can help me. I have been to many well-known Hindu places, but somehow I have not found satisfaction.’
He added that he had been wishing to meet some true Christians, but he never knew where to go. And he further said: ‘I was so happy when I heard you people singing Christian songs. I am sure God has sent you for my sake.’ That day he found peace; and a great joy came into my heart as I saw that many were reading out of the Bible and finding true peace in Christ.
From that day the whole picture changed. The Lord took us to all kinds of places; some being even lonely places; and though, numerically, there were few people, the Lord began to save souls. We had decided we would pray together and find God's plan and then go out, and as we did so, people were saved and we began to see results. The work has never ceased since.
I remember another time some years ago when God spoke to me and told me to go to a very lonely village called Burnool, I had never been there myself, but having prayed again I heard the voice of God: 'Go to Burnool!' so I said to my friend: 'Come on, let us go! At a village called Burnool there is someone ready.’ He agreed, and we set out. It was a very far off place. We had to go by train about a hundred miles, then walk for same distance, go by boat and then walk again. i simply knew there was somebody there, and that we must go. We took a few books with us, and the Lord told me to take an Urdu Bible also. So having travelled nearly all day, by train and boat and then walking, we came to the village called Burnool just before sunset, I was standing on one corner of the crossing and my friend on the other side, and as I was standing there, a man came up to me. He said: 'T can see you are a Christian. I am a Mohammedan. This is my village, and I won't allow any Christian to preach in my village.’
I said: ‘Well, it is quite true you are a Mohammedan, and this is your village, but I am not sent by any man. lean tell you truthfully, I was sent by God. I don't work for any society, and am not paid for my work. I used to hate the Bible and I used to hate Christians. I was brought up in the Sikh religion, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, without my hearing a sermon or attending a meeting, met me in the month of December 1929, and changed my life completely. Later on I gave my whole life for God's service in 1932, and now He commands me, and I go where He sends me. J obey His Word. He is a living Saviour who died for all sinners. And I have heard His voice, for I never even knew the name of this village.’
Then he asked: ‘All right, where are you staying?! and I said: 'Right here.’ 'Very well,’ he said: ‘Come and stay with me ‘That's very kind of you!’ I said, and he answered: ‘Suppose I invite the people, will you give a message?’ And that man, a Mohammedan headman of the village, sent his servants and gathered a large number of Hindus and Mohammedans, and he himself became my interpreter. After I had given the message, many people showed interest and bought books, and went home, and then we had some food.
After we had food together, a Mohammedan policeman came to me. fe said “Mister, God sent you tor my sake. He then told me that someone had given him an Urdu gospel some years ago, and he had read it again and again, waiting for someone to come and explain more fully the wavy of salvation. It was for this reason God had told me to take the Urdu Bible! When I gave it-to him he was so thankful, and soon found true peace.
In this way, whenever we were able to pray together we found results, and blessing, and God's power ina new way. This had happened not only once, but all down these past thirty-two years of the ministry. We have found by experience that when we are able to wait upon the Lord sufficiently and patiently for any ministry, the Lord has been with us in a very special way. That is why there is such blessing when we have gospel campaigns, gospel meetings and holy convocations. We pray and God showers his blessings.
Because we seek God's plan for our ministry, we never had to ask tor money. Nowadays we find so many people who when they have a big project in view, and have no money, begin to bey. They feel quite justified in asking for money, and use all kinds of worldly methods, even to taking money from ungodly people. They do not see from the Word of God that the apostles never had to beg for money, People themselves were constrained, and were taught how to give joyfully. We have found in our own service for the Lord in India all these years that we never had to give any hint for money.
Sometimes the need had been very great, but we have prayed together and because it is the Lord’s work and He is responsible for our needs, He has always supplied it. We never had to wait even a single day to pay any bill. We have the promise that the Lord will pay everything on time. However, in every case, we have to make sure first of the Lord's plan and His time for any campaign, or for any gospel ministry of any kind. We do not look to any man, in [India or in any other country, for help. But we seek to follow Gad's order.
This is very important for our personal life, for our family life, and also for our church life. If we follow the divine order then we know that God Himself is responsible for all our needs. When we use our own wisdom, like David, and change God's order, we suffer very heavy loss, and this is a grave warning to us about the necessity for waiting upon the Lord, for obeying His Word and following His order.
In the building up of the church this is particularly necessary. We want shepherds after God's own heart, and we have to pray with the church tor days, maybe even tor weeks and months, to find those whom God has called and prepared and chosen for this great task. Whatever the responsibility we have to bear in God's service we must always seek God's face and His plan. We must never try to change the Word of God, by saying that we are living in a new age, and in different days.
God's Ward can never change, so pray that the Lord will help you to recover every loss that you may have incurred whether in your service through serving Him in your own wisdom, or in your married life because you married without seeking His face to find His will. Perhaps through your repentance others will be profited, and if in your married life you indeed both repent of the mistake you made, and ask God's forgiveness, then He will surely forgive you, and you will not only recover every loss, but your lives will be used of Him to the blessing of others.
Chapter 5