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Speaker 1: As the ark of the Lord came into the city

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Speaker 1: of David, Michael, Saul's daughter looked through a window and

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Speaker 1: saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and

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Speaker 1: she despised him in her heart. Second Samuel six sixteen,

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Speaker 1: Dear God, as the story of David and Second Samuel

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Speaker 1: six and First Chronicles thirteen fifteen to seventeen falls on

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Speaker 1: my ears, I will pick up where David left off.

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Speaker 1: Then praise you God, whenever I get the chance. I

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Speaker 1: refuse to treat your presence as common and ordinary. Instead,

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Speaker 1: I will honor each moment I get to stand in

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Speaker 1: your presence in my prayer time. I will make sure

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Speaker 1: that I am uninterrupted and that you get all of

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Speaker 1: my attention as I pursue you and your heart. Lord.

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Speaker 1: When I worship, I am serving all opposing forces. Notice

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Speaker 1: that the presence of God is with me and before me.

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Speaker 1: Like David, I will be unashamed to worship and praise

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Speaker 1: you for who you are and all that you've done.

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Speaker 1: I will not be like Michael, who was worried more

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Speaker 1: about image than authenticity. I declare that I will not

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Speaker 1: focus on appearance more than substance. I will remain a

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Speaker 1: worshiper because the one I praise has done great things

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Speaker 1: and is worthy of it all. In Jesus name, Amen,

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Speaker 1: thank you for praying with me to day. Continue listening

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Speaker 1: for an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year dot com bringing the r Home. In

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Speaker 1: our last story, we met the Mighty Men of David.

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Speaker 1: Their character, skill, and devotion separated them from the rest

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Speaker 1: of the soldiers of Israel, and David relied on them

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Speaker 1: as he took back Israel from the Philistines. Now we

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Speaker 1: see David's mission to successfully carry the Ark of the

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Speaker 1: Covenant back into Israel, which proves to be a daunting

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Speaker 1: task since the holiness of God is not to be handled.

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Speaker 1: Lightly inspired by the Book of Second Samuel, Hello, I'm

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Speaker 1: Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible in

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Speaker 1: a Year podcast. In yesterday's story, we heard about David's

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Speaker 1: Mighty Men, how they mirrored his own devotion, bravery, courage,

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Speaker 1: and commitment. These men strengthened David and helped him to

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Speaker 1: win many victories in the name of the Lord God.

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Speaker 1: Israel was on a winning streak, defeating Philistines left and right,

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Speaker 1: but David still knew something needed to be set right.

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Speaker 1: The Ark of the Covenant was not inel where it belonged,

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Speaker 1: and in today's story we'll see how David sets this

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Speaker 1: difficult task of moving the arc. It is no simple

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Speaker 1: task or a safe one. The arc was representative of

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Speaker 1: God's glory on earth, and as David and the people

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Speaker 1: will learn, God's holiness is not something to be approached casually.

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Speaker 1: So let's listen to today's reading. Now, the battle against

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Speaker 1: the Philistines had been won, the dust of war and

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Speaker 1: strife had begun to settle, and it was time for

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Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant to come home to the people.

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Speaker 1: David knew this took precision and a great deal of

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Speaker 1: tact Many stories had been told of men and women

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Speaker 1: dying in attempts to handle the arc, and David had

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Speaker 1: no intention of losing lives in the attempt of something holy.

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Speaker 1: David arose early in the morning with thirty thousand hand

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Speaker 1: picked men. A holy and fierce procession of warriors trailed

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Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant as priests began to carry it.

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Speaker 1: Usa and Ohio. Two of the priests carried the cart

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Speaker 1: on an oxen carriage with great trepidation David brought out

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Speaker 1: his liar, and many members of the group began to

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Speaker 1: play behind them. As the group grew more comfortable, all

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Speaker 1: the men and women surrounding the ark broke out into song. Flutes, hearts, liars,

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Speaker 1: and drums played into the air. David led the congregation

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Speaker 1: and worship, and they sung praises to God for his

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Speaker 1: great faithfulness. David was elated to lead his people in

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Speaker 1: this way. David would often forget that before he was

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Speaker 1: a warrior or king, he was a musician and worship leader.

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Speaker 1: His heart was warmed by the opportunity to lead the

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Speaker 1: people in song. The celebration continued as Uza and Ohio

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Speaker 1: drove the cart into the city. As they were on

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Speaker 1: their way, a bump in the road lifted the carriage

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Speaker 1: and the ark began to slide off. Usa reacted quickly

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Speaker 1: and kept the ark from crashing to the ground. David

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Speaker 1: stopped playing as he watched Uzah holding the ark. Usa

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Speaker 1: turned to David with a grave look in his eye.

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Speaker 1: Before David could say a word, Uzah fell to the

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Speaker 1: floor and died. David rushed to Uzzah. His lifeless body

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Speaker 1: lay in his arms. David was filled with anger and confusion.

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Speaker 1: How could the Lord kill a man trying to save

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Speaker 1: the ark from falling, David thought to himself. He looked

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Speaker 1: behind him to see the people weeping over USA's death.

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Speaker 1: David remained silent, although his anger towards God ran deep.

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Speaker 1: He did not understand his ways or why a righteous

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Speaker 1: man would die needlessly. David drew a deep breath to

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Speaker 1: calm himself and had the Ark of God brought to

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Speaker 1: a house near by. He kept the Ark at the

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Speaker 1: home of Oberidum, a Levite who lived on the outskirts

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Speaker 1: of Israel. There it was kept safe, and Obed's household

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Speaker 1: became blessed because of the Lord's presence. David was told

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Speaker 1: of Obed's household and how the glory of God fell

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Speaker 1: upon them in a new and exiding way. David's anger subsided,

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Speaker 1: and he gave in to the confusing nature of God.

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Speaker 1: The Lord had delivered him time and time again, and

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Speaker 1: he was not about to question how to handle the

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Speaker 1: holiness of God's presence. David brought the Ark back to Jerusalem,

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Speaker 1: and the entire city rejoiced in its return. David's joy

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Speaker 1: could not be contained. He danced and leapt with joy

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Speaker 1: in the courtyard of his home, David cast off as

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Speaker 1: royal robes and danced among the people as one of them.

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Speaker 1: David danced without inhibition, embarrassing his wife, Mihaw, who watched

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Speaker 1: from the window. How could a king make such a

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Speaker 1: fool of himself, she thought. She despised David's immodesty and

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Speaker 1: made it very clear to him she was displeased. The

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Speaker 1: arc made its way through the city. David had pitched

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Speaker 1: a tent for the ark according to the law of Moses.

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Speaker 1: He brought offerings before the ark and blessed the people

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Speaker 1: in the name of the Lord. All of Israel, men,

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Speaker 1: women and children feasted and danced and celebrate. God's presence

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Speaker 1: had returned. It marked a new era of peace for

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Speaker 1: the people of Israel. For so long they had lived

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Speaker 1: under the shadow of Saul. The darkness in his heart

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Speaker 1: had seeped into the city, and hopelessness filled the air.

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Speaker 1: But now the Lord's joy was renewed in their hearts.

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Speaker 1: David looked upon his people as a shepherd who had

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Speaker 1: just fed his sheep. He was truly content and blessed

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Speaker 1: to be a part of what God was doing. The

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Speaker 1: sun began its descent and the people made their way

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Speaker 1: back into their homes. David, still humming to the tune

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Speaker 1: of warship songs, opened the doors of his chambers and

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Speaker 1: began to undress for bed. David's wife, Miha was waiting

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Speaker 1: up for him. She sat in the corner of the room,

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Speaker 1: arms folded in, eyes piercing. David looked at her, confused

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Speaker 1: as to why she looked so bleak on such a

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Speaker 1: joyous day. Ah, the mighty King of Israel, she said,

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Speaker 1: with sarcasm in her voice, Oh, how he honored himself

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Speaker 1: to day, removing his kingly robes and dancing like a commoner.

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Speaker 1: David looked at his wife, knowing she was the daughter

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Speaker 1: of Saul and expected a different type of king, He

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Speaker 1: gave a slight sigh and said, for the Lord, I

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Speaker 1: will become as undignified as necessary. I will celebrate, even

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Speaker 1: if it makes me despised in your eyes. Mihaw's words

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Speaker 1: bothered David, yet he would not allow them to rob

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Speaker 1: him of joy. He was going to be a different

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Speaker 1: type of king, a king that worshiped, a king that

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Speaker 1: would kneel down into the muck and mud to fight

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Speaker 1: alongside his soldiers, A king that would strip naked before God,

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Speaker 1: a king that would sing loudly, raise his hands, and

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Speaker 1: humble himself before the One True God. We opened today's

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Speaker 1: story with a defeated enemy. The Philistines had been driven

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Speaker 1: out soundly defeated because God gave David and his armies

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Speaker 1: many victories. This was no accident. David consistently sought God

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Speaker 1: and his favor, and God gave him victory after victory.

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Speaker 1: But David was well aware that the symbol of God's

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Speaker 1: presence with them, the Ark of the Covenant, was not

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Speaker 1: where it belonged. It belonged to Israel, but David knew

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Speaker 1: that moving it would be no simple task. Mishandling the

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Speaker 1: Ark was felled death, as it had been for men

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Speaker 1: and women in the past who handled the arc incorrectly.

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Speaker 1: David knew he needed to be careful, but he also

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Speaker 1: was in a hurry to get the arc back to Israel.

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Speaker 1: So rather than call on the Levites to carry the

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Speaker 1: Ark on their shoulders using wooden poles as God commanded,

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Speaker 1: David summoned two priests to carry the Ark on an

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Speaker 1: ox pulled cart. He also gathered thirty thousand warriors to

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Speaker 1: form a procession to protect the Ark on its journey

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Speaker 1: from the house of Abene Dab, whose sons were going

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Speaker 1: to guide the cart to Israel. David, the former musician,

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Speaker 1: went with the people, playing the harp in leading the

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Speaker 1: people in worship. His intentions were pure and his heart

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Speaker 1: filled with the joy of the Lord. But then along

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Speaker 1: the way the oxen stumbled. Uza, who was next to

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Speaker 1: the cart, pulled out his hand and touched the ark,

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Speaker 1: afraid it would fall over. But touching God's holy presence

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Speaker 1: was a clear violation of God's law, and God struck

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Speaker 1: this man dead immediately. Though his intentions were good, he

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Speaker 1: had grown too casual around the Ark and failed to

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Speaker 1: show God the reverence that is required. It was a

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Speaker 1: reminder that God's holiness is serious. But David was angry

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Speaker 1: and didn't understand why God would do that. So he

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Speaker 1: left the ark at the home of a Levite. God

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Speaker 1: bless that home, and after some time David resolved again

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Speaker 1: to take the Ark to Israel. This time, the Levites

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Speaker 1: bore the Ark all the way to the city of David. David,

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Speaker 1: along with all the people, was ecstatic, rejoicing before the Lord.

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Speaker 1: He threw off his keenly robes and danced without inhibitions.

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Speaker 1: He was dancing for appearances or for pleasure, but for

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Speaker 1: his God. His wife Michael saw him, and she was embarrassed.

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Speaker 1: She chastised him when he got home, but David didn't care.

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Speaker 1: In Second Samuel six twenty one, we hear his response,

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Speaker 1: and David said to Michael, it was before the Lord

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Speaker 1: who chose me above your father and above all his house,

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Speaker 1: to appoint me as a prince over Israel, the people

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Speaker 1: of the Lord, and I will celebrate before the Lord.

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Speaker 1: God deserves our praise and our worship, even when it

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Speaker 1: is exuberant and enthusiastic. That's what David understood as he

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Speaker 1: danced without inhibition or fear of embarrassment. He was dancing

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Speaker 1: before and for Almighty God, because the ark was finally

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Speaker 1: home where it belonged. David was a king who waited

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Speaker 1: on God and worshiped him without reservation, and who led

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Speaker 1: the people to do the same. This was the king

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Speaker 1: that God had chosen, the man after God's own heart.

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Speaker 1: And next time we'll meet a new prophet who will

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Speaker 1: help guide this godly king in God's way. Lord, we

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Speaker 1: truly do worship you with all of our hearts. We

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Speaker 1: are unashamed to offer you our praise and adoration. Help us,

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Speaker 1: like David always to give our very best to you

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Speaker 1: with joy and excitement and great love in Jesus name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Please download the

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Speaker 1: pray dot com app and make Bible study and prayer

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Speaker 1: a priority in your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast,

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Speaker 1: share it with someone you love. And if you want

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Speaker 1: more resources as to how to live abundantly in Jesus Christ,

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Speaker 1: be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless you.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Medicine, an innovative healthcare solution

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Speaker 1: for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality