The Celebratory Worship of God

Jim Butler1 Samuel 6:1–23

2 Samuel 6 records Israel's transfer of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem — an act of celebratory worship that collapsed into tragedy and then triumph. This exposition traces the text through Uzzah's death, David's fear and delay, and the final joyful procession, drawing out the non-negotiable principle that God must be worshipped on his own terms, not according to human innovation. The sermon closes by drawing explicit parallels between the ark narrative and the Lord's Supper as a similarly appointed, similarly joy-filled, and similarly solemn act of covenant worship.